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. – Goodreads
The plot mainly revolves around Grace and Sam, and their relationship. They have the forbidden love thing going on, as Sam turns into a wolf every winter, making a relationship between the two of them next to impossible. I found their relationship to be very cute, however I did find a couple of points a bit unrealistic. *SPOILER* For example, Grace lets Sam sleep in bed with her the first night she properly meets him? Sure, they’ve been watching each other for years, but I find it a bit unbelievable that she would do this, right? Let him sleep on the floor.
There’s a bit of mystery going on, tons of action and of course, plenty of supernatural elements to keep you entertained.
The werewolf lore is interestingly done; I found it to be very, very original, and probably the most compelling part of the plot. In the winter, the werewolves are wolves. As the weather gets warmer they change back into human but the older they get, the warmer the temperature has to be to change back. The cycle begins again as the weather gets colder. It really was an interesting storyline, and this lore was one of the main battles Grace and Sam faced.
The characters weren’t amazing, but they were likable enough. Grace is a clever student, with a good head on her shoulders. Sam was a young werewolf, he was kind and sweet. Grace’s interactions with Sam are, at times, hilarious, as they are both witty and sarcastic, as well as loving and friendly. The secondary characters were also interesting. I would have liked to have seen more of them, but I guess there was only so much Maggie Stiefvater could fit into the short book.
The book is told from both Grace’s and Sam’s perspectives. I really loved this point, because I loved knowing each persons’ points of view. I also loved that I knew things that other characters didn’t, but at the same time was left in almost complete mystery until the time came for these points to be revealed.
Something about the writing style just didn’t draw me in initially, and I think that’s why I took so long to read the first half of the book. However, it did pick up (or I got used to it) and by the end I was left wanting to read more.
This book was a slower read for me and I’m unsure if that is because of the writing or the plot. However, I’m very glad that I finished this book, and will definitely be buying the sequels Linger (out now) and Forever
(July 2011)
Book Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Cover Lovin’ – Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Guess what arrived today! I know, I don’t normally do these “book cover posts” but I just couldn’t resist. I thought this cover was beautiful when I saw it online. That’s one of the main reasons I bought it. *blushes* I know. I’m bad. I don’t usually judge a book by its cover, I promise! But this one was just too gorgeous to miss.
Anyway, it arrived this morning and can I just say: OMFG!!!!!111!!!111!!1!1!
This book is even more stunning in real life than it is online. Even my mum liked it, and she’s someone who usually doesn’t care for books and their covers. I bought the US version, because I didn’t want to wait for the paperback to come out in the UK. The UK cover isn’t as nice anyway.
The cover has a wonderful feel to it, and the writing sticks out and the lilac covers.. *drools*
And the pages! They’re really rough along the edges, to which my mum made the comment “Oh wow, they’ve made it old.” Yes, mum, yes they have.
Excuse me. I do apologise. But I just wanted to share how in love with this book I am already, and I haven’t even started reading yet. I’ve heard amazing things about Nightshade, so I can’t wait to get started!
Teaser Tuesday! (3)
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. I suggest you all go and visit her blog – there are some amazing things on there that you should check out!
Wow, I haven’t done a Teaser Tuesday post in a while. But as I’m reading this awesome-epic-crazy-amazing (choose whichever adjective suits you!) book also known as Raised By Wolves, I thought now was the right time to post a TT post.
Monday 11/15 – What Are You Reading?
It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by the wonderful Sheila – make sure you check out Sheila’s blog to see what she herself is reading, and to find links to other blogs! Onto the books!
Like I said yesterday, and a couple of other times last week, I have been extremely busy. But, I still managed to read a book. Of course. I’m just that good at multitasking I guess.
Anyway, last week I read Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, and I really enjoyed it. I have yet to review it, but I’m working on it at the moment so expect a review in the next couple of days!
I reviewed Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (first link goes to my review, second link goes to Amazon!) and found that I am now thoroughly addicted to blogging after just a month of doing so. I missed reviewing and posting so much last week, so this week maybe I’ll be posting double to make up for it. I don’t know.
Anyway, I am currently reading Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I’ve seen great reviews on it, but it’s taking me a while to get into. Maybe that’s because I’ve had to read a few pages here and there. I don’t know. But I’ll definitely be letting you all know what I think of it!
In other news, I am currently being followed by 40 people! that’s amazing! 40 people are actually interested in what I have to say… just, wow. Thank you, each and every one of you!
That’s all for this week. Let me know what’s happening with your reading!
In My Mail Box – (6)
Hi everyone! Just a quick post for IMM today, as I’m tired after a busy day/night of partying 🙂 I hope this makes up for my lack of posts over the last week. I’ll be back tomorrow, I promise!
Books:
As You Wish by Jackson Pearce
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
All links take you to Amazon US. I’ll hopefully be reviewing all of these books, but if there is one that you are particularly interested in, let me know and I’ll raise its status in my TBR pile!
I hope you all had an amazing week!
Hey Hey; Update :)
Hi everyone!
Just a quick update for you all. I wanted to apologise for not blogging so much over the past week or so – but I do have a good reason excuse! It’s my birthday on Sunday and I’ve been hassling over sorting everything out for my meal, etc. As well as sorting out cars/taxis/guests/restaurants/times, I’ve been trying to juggle my A-Level coursework which, as it turns out, is a lot easier than sorting out the meal.
What I’m trying to say (but apparently failing) is that this week is pretty hectic, so I won’t be able to post that much. However, I will be back next week with a couple of reviews amongst other things.
I hope you’re all doing okay!
Amber 🙂