Jenn's Review: Shiver

Summary:    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.

Review:  Shiver is yet another book that has been on the To Be Read pile since it came out a year and a half ago.  Thanks to Roof Beam Reader's TBR Challenge, it got pulled closer to the top of the pile.  I heard wonderful things about this series ...and they're all true.  I started off enjoying this story, but by the end, I was in love with it.

Maggie Stiefvater has a wonderful, unencumbered style that keeps her narrative flowing.  Though her secondary characters feel slightly underdeveloped, Grace and Sam more than make up for it.  Without feeling angsty or forlorn, these star-crossed soul mates do their best to enjoy their time together.  Grace is a strong but unimaginative girl and she's well balanced by romantic and defiantly aspirant Sam.  They are flawed, yet incredibly likable.  You can't help but root for them, though the odds seem stacked.

This was a nice, light romantic read.  There was intrigue but it wasn't packed with action to the point of breaking.  It was a beautiful, story that unwound at the perfect pace, until you arrive at the end.  The ending completely took me by surprise.  The main plot of the book was focused elsewhere, so when things start snowballing in a completely different direction, the story leaves off somewhere you never thought you were headed.  And it's fabulous.

Now I can't wait to jump in to Linger.  Maggie Stiefvater has a fantastic website that should be explored too.  There are even playlists for each book, and I'm a sucker for novels with playlists.  I am re-shuffling the the To Be Read pile as soon as I finish writing this post, adding her other two series' and stand alone novel as well (to be found here).  Yes, I'm that taken with Ms, Stiefvater.  Oh, I have so much to read!  But that's a good problem to have.

Final Take:   4.5/5

Compliments of Scholastic, you my read the first two chapters here, if you have yet to check out this series.