Book Review: Forever

By: Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date:  TODAY! 7/12/11
Pages: 386
Source: ARC - Thanks Scholastic!

The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stiefvater...

then.

When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their love moved from a curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.

now.

That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.

forever.

Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment - a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.

Summary Taken from Goodreads

Yani's Review:

In my six months blogging, this has been the hardest review for me to write. Why? Because there are no words to describe my love for this book (and series) other than I LOVED IT! Beautiful writing, heartbreaking characters, an epic love story. That to me is the Shiver series, and what the craziest part of all this is I shouldn't even have liked the first one. I have always been able to recognize beautiful and lyrical writing, but I have never been a big fan of it. I like faster paced books. Insta-love connections bother me. All these things should have kept me from loving the series, but Shiver drove its way into my heart, wrapped its tiny limbs around and now won't let go.

I believe this is the first series where I have given every book 5 Stars (see Shiver and Linger reviews). I do understand why other people didn't enjoy it as much, but I HEART it so much, I am getting teary eyed all over again. I have nothing else to say, but I shall share with you a screenshot of my reactions from my goodreads, and my fave quote of the book...

My Review in a Tweet: 
An amazing conclusion to the Shiver series, which like the other books, left my heart full of love and warmth. This series will FOREVER be in my heart <3

Ratings:

Plot: 5/5
Writing Style: 5/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Characters: 5/5

Memorable Quotes:
Too many, check this picture out ==>

Other Reviews:

• GReads
• Anna Reads
• A Blog About Nothing

Buy the book here!
**commissions earned from sales are minimal and go towards giveaways!

Book Review : Hex Hall

Book: Hex Hall (Book 1)
Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: Hyperion Books
Release Date: March 2, 2010
Pages: 323
Source: Bookshelf
Date Read: April 10, 2011

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. 


By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

Yani's Analysis:
What can I say about this book that hasn't been said. This book has been sitting in my bookshelf after I bought a bargain copy from borders. Finally, after reading yet another positive review I picked it up. Rachel Hawkins you have a new fan in me! The book was soooo funny. It almost read like a satire of all things paranormal, yet still had the serious aspects and mystery to it.Rachel's writing is banter like, sarcastic, and filled with pop culture reference/jokes.

Although the book is very funny, there are some strong themes to it. Is evil is inherent or chosen? Does doing one bad things makes you a bad person? All these things are ideal that Sophie struggles with as she doesn't know who to trust is the new school full of paranormal Prodigium.There are so many secrets and more is revealed as you get close to the end.

Sophie goes into that school a carefree and naive girl and in the end she becomes a girl that struggles with the amount of power she possesses."With great power comes great responsibility." I by the end of the book I think Sophie understands that.

Really liked this book, it was so different from other paranormal books and includes every paranormal species.Can't wait to read what comes next!

Ratings:

Plot: 4/5
Writing Style: 5/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Characters: 5/5

Similar Titles:

Memorable Quotes:

"What, no witty retort? No standard-issue Sophie Mercer comeback?"

Review: Nightshade (Deux)

Book:Nightshade
Author:  Andrea Cremer
Publisher:Philomel
Release Date: October 19, 2010
Pages: 452
Source: Kindle Purchase
Date Read: March 23, 2011

Summary:
Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers.

But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything— including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

Yani's Analysis:
Apparently werewolves are starting to become a favorite of mine, which is funny considering I was a HUGE Edward/vampire fan in Twilight, and because of that I stayed away from werewolf books for a while. But Nightshade is different, in fact the wolves of nightshade are not even werewolves, but Guardians who take the form of wolves to protect and serve the Keepers. They whole back story was one of the things that kept me reading, these Guardians really believe in duty and their life mission of protected the Keepers (even the evilish ones). And the Keepers treat them as pets. You can tell no one has ever questioned this because of their duty... until Calla meets Shay.

Calla is one of the strongest yet realistic female characters I have read. She is an alpha and while she doesn't back down from most things, including her alpha partner to be Ren, it takes her a while to build the courage to question her loyalty to the Keepers and all she has ever known about her own world. Slowly, with the help of Shay a human boy, she learns the truth about her world and for the first time ever she has to make a choice.

Back to Ren, I think this is the first time I have ever liked the #2 guy (guy who will probably lose in the love triangle situation) more than the guy she is clearly meant to be with. I hope I am wrong about this. Usually you can tell, even when the main character loves both, who she loves the most. But Ren was fantastic character, with all these layers.Shay was great too, a cute nerdy type that loved to read. There was a part in the book where philosophy was discussed and you can tell Andrea did her research. I mean guys actually discussing philosophical geniuses and ideas...definitely HOT!

Some people had problems with the sexual nature of Calla's relationship with the boys, but I didn't mind it at all. It was never gratuitous or too graphic, yes it was a little more intense then more YA novels, but I like it like that. Calla was really struggling with the attraction she felt for Ren and the love she felt for Shay, I thought it felt very real, considering their mind set of a wolf pack about honor, loyalty, and duty.

Ratings:

Plot: 5/5
Writing Style: 5/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Characters: 5/5

Review: Linger

Book: Linger (Mercy Falls, Book 2)

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Pages:368

Date Read: January 17, 2011

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 Isabel, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole

Yani's Analysis:
Again, I can't say how much I love the writing style of this book. In fact after I finished it, I started reading another book and all I could think was, I wish the narrator viewpoints would switch. I was concerned with the addition of two additional narrator, Isabel and Cole. One being a character I never really related to in the first book and the other being a new addition to the story. I thought it would clutter the book and confuse the reader, but the opposite occurred. In real life if you where ever in someones mind, listening to their thought, you would only see the world there way. The way the want to see it. The addition of the different viewpoints gave a clear picture of what life was like for these teens in Mercy Falls.

I grew to like Isabel and Cole, and the more the story progressed they where no longer a secondary story line to me. I thought Cole was going to bring drama to the story by creating a love triangle with Sam and Grace, but Stiefvater surprised me, and Cole has become a complex and deep character like Sam. I hunger for more background on the two chacaters, and this book gave me that. It wasn't an action filled as the first, but the story line was still suspenseful. And even though I knew what was happening the ending was heartbreaking all the same.

For a sequel, this novel did not let me down. It used the things I loved about the first book (rotating viewpoints, a great love story) and added new elements (new characters, parental drama) without making the story suffer. If there really is a Mercy Falls out there, I would move in a second- though I don't know how I would handle the cold. I can't wait until the third book, Forever, is released. Until then I will have to find romance, suspense, fabulous story lines, and great characters elsewhere.

Ratings:

Plot: 5/5
Writing Style: 5/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Characters: 5/5

Memorable Quotes:

‘Aren’t you afraid?” Isabel asked, suddenly, and I opened my eyes. I hadn’t realized I’d shut them. Her gaze was intense.

“Of what?” [replied Cole]

“Of losing yourself?”

I told her the truth: “That’s what I am hoping for.”

and....

“One of these days, I am going to get used to the idea that it’s morning and I’m going to be a guy for the rest of the day. For all the rest of all the days. But until then, I’m stumbling around.” Sam

Review: Shiver

Book: Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls, Book 1)

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks

Pages: 400

Date Read: 1/6/2011

From Amazon:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Yani's Analysis:

Shiver is a beautiful poetic story about of love. As clichéd as that sounds, there is no denying that the emotions of the young adult in this novel was just that. Hearing that this book was about werewolves made me avoid it. I believed it would just be another paranormal novel on “love” which was really just lust. There were so many beautiful moments that had nothing to do with the supernatural aspect of the story. I never expected to fall in love with this book, but it captivated me to the very last page.

I really enjoyed the back and forth narrative between Grace and Sam. It felt like an elderly couple, sharing the story of how they met. Lately, I have been disappointed with the romance side of novels. There was never enough action. I never understood where the love came from.

I know many people feel Twilight is not well written and its cheesy, but that happens to be one of my favorite books. The funny thing is, is that there really isn’t that much action and the love was almost instantaneous between Bella and Edward. However, just like Shiver, you cannot deny their love. That was not the only similarity between Twilight. Both males leads where chaste, while both female leads where more scared of losing their partner’s love than the physical danger in being with them.

But Shiver had something Twilight did not. Inside the romantic story of Grace and Sam was an emotional and gripping tale of Sam’s past. I don’t think any author has created a paranormal love interest that is so well developed as a person outside their supernatural side. Sam could be that cute emo guy across the street – I’m definitely looking at him differently now – or that cute guy in your music class with sad eyes. He just felt so normal to me.

I don’t think I could say enough good things about this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even the poetry –which I usually do not understand- was woven in perfectly. No wonder so many people have called Shiver lyrical. Will definitely be starting Linger ASAP! Watch out Twilight, Shiver might just beat you out.


Ratings:

Plot: 4/5

Writing Style: 5/5

Uniqueness: 4/5

Characters: 5/5

 

Similar Titles:

• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
• Blood and Chocolate by Anette Curtis Klause
  

Memorable Quotes:

"I sat there silently, hiding behind my book, knowing that she needed words from me -- words I wasn't willing to give. I wasn't sure which of us was being more selfish -- her, for wanting more that no one could promise, or me, for not promising her something that was too painfully impossible to want." -Sam

"Humans disappeared. Humans made monsters out of us." -Sam

"I wondered if he realized that the way he looked at me was far more intimate than copping a feel could ever be." -Grace