Review: Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Grace and Sam share a kinship so close they could be lovers or siblings. But they also share a problem. When the temperature slips towards freezing, Sam reverts to his wolf identity and must retreat into the woods to protect his pack. He worries that eventually his human side will fade away and he will be left howling alone at the lonely moon. A stirring supernatural teen romance.

Maggie Stiefvater is an author who is known for being fun and eccentric and this passion of hers comes out in her writing. When I picked up Shiver and read the book jacket, I was expecting a typical paranormal/fantasy young adult read. What I was not expecting to find was a love story to rival the likes of Bella and Edward (for the Twilight fans), or Elizabeth Bennett and Mr.Darcy (for the Austen fans like myself.) Grace and Sam have now been cemented in time as having a love story that is swoon worthy. Their relationship will make you jealous and envious, frustrated and worried, but above all else, readers will find themselves caught up in hoping against all hope that these two will get the happy ending everyone knows they deserve.

Stiefvater gives us not one narrator but two in Grace and Sam, and I have to tell you this may be one of my favorite things about the book. More often than not, we only see a story unfold from one character's perspective but Shiver leaves nothing out. We get alternating points of view, feelings from both characters, and because of this you will only find yourself loving these characters and their story all the more. Grace is a sweet and innocent girl who is a truly kind person that has had only herself to rely on despite having two parents under the same roof, but that's until Sam enters her life. And Sam, well Sam is that boy that every girl hopes to eventually find because to him, making Grace smile is his main task every day...that and of course fighting like hell to stay with her. What's not to love about these two? If you read Shiver and find something lacking let me know, because after reading it myself, to me, these two are the epitome of perfection.

This is one of those reviews where I don’t want to get into the plot too much because every tiny detail Stiefvater weaves has its own significance and deserves to be discovered in her way through the pages by each reader. I will say I did get my paranormal/fantasy fix with this read but not in the normal ways that most novels in these genres provide. There are spins on details like what controls the werewolves’ shifts, and how the transformation may not last forever. An expiration date is laid on these characters and their time together and as a reader I was constantly thinking about the unfairness of it all. Yet somehow these two maintained their own version of hope and kept mulling through it. They didn’t want a pity party; they were just moving forward with their lives and taking nothing for granted, most especially not each other. It was a lesson learner for me.

This is yet another novel that I’ve had on my TBR list for way too long and I wish I had gotten to it sooner, but there is a silver lining in my procrastination…Linger, the sequel to Shiver comes out soon. If I had to wait much longer I’m not sure I would be what you could call a “happy camper”. I’ve heard from so many readers and fellow bloggers that this is a novel that has made it into their top “10” lists of all time favorite books they’ve read. They continuously piqued my curiosity and after reading the novel for myself I now understand. There’s just something different about Shiver. It has that “it” factor that not many novels do. It’s that extra something that makes a novel not just good, but great! Go out and get this book if you haven’t read it yet, you won’t regret it. I can’t wait for Linger to hit the store shelves.

I gave Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) 4 shamrocks!