January 17, 2012

Review: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls #3)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: July 12, 2011
Pages: 390
Source: Hardcover/Library 

The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

Review: This was a bittersweet ending for me. First of all, Grace being a wolf! It was so hard seeing Grace struggle with her wolf self and her human self. I also hated how upset Sam was every time he'd get a call from Grace and get to her a few minutes too late. He was so sad! Not to mention while Grace was a wolf he had to deal with everything (Isabel, Cole, the wolf hunts etc.) without any help. It must have been so stressful! I cant imagine having to deal with all that stress all at one time and still keep my sanity. And I cant even begin to imagine how Grace felt! Coming in and out of wolf form, not knowing where she was when she turned human again. I'd be freaking out if I had no idea where I was. I was so happy when Grace finally became human for a while. It was so nice to see her and Sam happy together again and working on solving their problems (wolf hunt!!!) together! It wasn't just put completely on Sam! The ending was bittersweet for me because we don't know what happens to Grace when it seems like she's about to get shot with the Meningitis (I'm pretty sure that's what it is, though I kept getting the different things confused).

Cole and Isabel.. At first I'll admit. I thought Cole was trying to kill himself. After I learned he was desperate to find a cure than I started thinking otherwise. He really tried everything he could think of to try and find a cure. Isabel. Have I ever mentioned how much I despise her father??? I mean seriously, get over yourself! Stop trying to kill every wolf on the planet! I get it, you think a wolf killed your son but that doesn't mean EVERY wolf is a killer (At least in these books). Every time her dad talked I was annoyed to death, especially at the fact that he wouldn't listen to her until she drove her car in front of the helicopter so he wouldn't shot the wolves! Back to Cole and Isabel. I was annoyed at how it was obvious they liked each other (despite their problems) but both of them were to stubborn to actually do anything with it except be mad and ignore each other (because of their problems, lame!). I did like what Isabel did at the end like I explained above, it took a lot to take on her dad like that. And OMG! I had a freakin heart attack with Cole!!! I cant be the only one that feels that way. I mean I was freaking out until I learned what happened to Cole after the helicopter shooting scene.

4 Stars!

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November 13, 2011

Review: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls #2)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: July 13, 2010
Pages: 360
Source: Hardcover/Library

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other.  Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack.  And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

Review: So I'll start off with the points of view. At first I wasn't a big fan of the four points of view the story was being told from but as it went on I started liking it. I think it was because as the story went on Cole was  more introduce to everyone. I think it was just him I wasnt sure of at first. I really enjoyed Linger for the most part. I really enjoyed Sam getting used to being human and taking over as the one in charge since Beck was no longer able to be. It took him a while but he started to adjust to it. I found some parts that dealt with Sam talking about his parents hard to read sometimes though. Along with parts I found hard to read I also found Cole's story hard to read at points.

Now lets get to Grace. It was really saddening me how she seemed to be getting sicker throughout the book. I really enjoyed the book but her being sick kinda made it a bit sad. Also, I felt the whole thing with Grace's parents and Sam was way over done. Like seriously. I was thinking the whole time "just get over it." I think everyone knows your not gonna stop a teenager from rebelling, ESPECIALLY if you ground them. That only makes them want to more. And her parents only cared when it dealt with Sam, any other time they couldnt care less about her. I totally agreed with Cole when he said that Sam belonged there more than her dad did. I really enjoyed Sam and Grace being together though. I still love those two together. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. I'm happy Grace is still alive but I'm not sure I'm happy with that ending. 

4 Stars!

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November 12, 2011

Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls #1)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: August 1, 2009
Pages: 390
Source: Paperback/Own

the cold.
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

the heat.
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

the shiver.
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

Review: I really didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. Once I started reading it though I couldn't stop. The story just pulled me in. So lets start with the wolves. I need to save my over excited ranting til the end. Lol. I honestly don't know how I feel about the wolves in this story. The whole changing when it gets too cold, only changing back when it gets warm enough and eventually not changing back at all. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I mean, it makes me kinda sad that they get to a point when they cant change back into a human at all. Did I mention that I hated when the wolves were being shot at? I don't care what kind of an animal it is I hate animals being killed.

Now for my squee moments! AHHHHH!!!!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE SAM AND GRACE!!!!!!!!! Like I really don't know how many times I was smiling at moments between them but AHH! I couldn't help it. Those two are just absolutely adorable!!!! I love how he would watch her when he was a wolf, being protective of her. Now, I hated that he was shot when they first talked to each other in person but when they kept getting closer and closer after that. AHH!!!! They have an amazing love for each other! I hated seeing Sam struggle though to stay human. That must have sucked so much always having to make sure he was somewhere warm. I hated those times reading about where he was so close to changing and trying so hard to fight it. I loved though that he fought so hard to stay human for Grace. I like seriously just love these two!!!!!!! The end, the end! Omg! That's all I have to say. :)

Overall I really enjoyed the story!!!!

4 Stars! 

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August 10, 2011

Cover vs. Cover [#5]

Cover vs. Cover & US vs. UK are weekly memes hosted by a number of different people, I found out about it from As These Pages Fly. Its about comparing different covers of the same book.

This weeks covers are:
        The US Cover                                                                                      The UK Cover

I like both these covers. I like the black, red and white scheme on the UK cover. I also like how they have the one heart red and the way they did the title. It looks cool. I also like the saying on the front. On the US cover I like the white and blue scheme. I like how they have different shades of blue. I really like how in the background they have a wolf. I honestly like the US cover more. Yes, the UK cover is nice too but I feel like the wolf in the background of the US cover brings out more of what the story is about. So my choice is the US cover.

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