Review: Sinner (The Wolves of Mercy Falls 3.5)

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Format: ebook
Pages: 368 (?) (My ereader is on the otherside of the room and if you think I'm getting up to check the page count you are so very wrong. This page count via a random edition of this book on Goodreads)
Rating: 7 out of 10

Summary (Love Goodreads): A standalone companion book to the internationally bestselling Shiver Trilogy. 

Sinner follows Cole St. Clair, a pivotal character from the #1 New York Times bestselling Shiver Trilogy. Everybody thinks they know Cole's story. Stardom. Addiction. Downfall. Disappearance. But only a few people know Cole's darkest secret -- his ability to shift into a wolf. One of these people is Isabel. At one point, they may have even loved each other. But that feels like a lifetime ago. Now Cole is back. Back in the spotlight. Back in the danger zone. Back in Isabel's life. Can this sinner be saved?

Thoughts: I read The Wolves of Mercy Falls about a million years ago in book time so I hardly remembered it. This series made me want to go back to the series. I think I will right before school starts. I remembered that I liked them a lot (except that the font matched the cover colours and that drove me bonkers). You don't really need to remember much about the series to read this novel. The 3.5 suggests that it's a novella but I was happy to find out that it was a full length novel. The numbering is really screwy...

It was nice to be back into the world in which the story took place. I mean, the setting was different and there were only a few characters carried over but still. I thought that it was very well written and the characters were sufficiently fleshed out. It reminded me why I loved this author so much...so I bought a few more of her novels...

The only problem I really had with it was that I may have read it too fast. It seemed to jump a little bit. I honestly believe that this was my own fault, not the author's. It seemed stretched out at times. Again, probably an interpretation problem.

There were many times when I wanted to punch Cole in the face. I would have liked to get a little bit more of the emotion behind his character though. I could follow what was happening and why it was but I want to hear more about it from his perspective. I thought the ending was too fast, too sudden for me. This is basically the problem I had with Cole. Give me just a little bit more of a glimpse into Isabel's thought process here.Any issues I had with this, I think would be corrected a little bit by reading this novel right after rereading The Wolves of Mercy Falls because you would already have a solid idea of the state of mind of the two main characters.

If you read the rest of the series it makes sense to continue on with this novel. If you haven't this novel has some potential to be a stand alone, I guess. I'm not sure how much you will take from it without the previous novels but that's up to you. I recommend that you read the main series before reading this...like closely before... enjoy!

The Wolves of Mercy Falls

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Rating Overall: 9 out of 10

I loved this book. It was one of the best introductions to characters I have read. By the end of the novel, I cared so much for the main characters. I ordered the second one from Bookdepository.uk.co right away. I hated the wait. I found that the book flew by. I had just started it but it was already done. I would have read it if it had been 700 pages. Also, I might be in love with Sam...just saying. Then again, who am I to break up these two?

Original Shiver Review



I think that, of the three in this series, the second was my favourite. It was full of emotions of every kind. It is told from the perspectives of four different people so I was worried that it would become hard to follow but it didn't. I also found that the green print didn't bother me at all. By the end of the book, you can't even tell that it is green. I would swear to you that it was black print. Anyway, back to emotions. I felt what the characters felt. I felt the love that was shared. I could feel the character's pain. I even cried at the end when... kidding, I refuse to give spoilers. Let's just say that I had a total melt down and made my friend take me to buy the third. I couldn't even wait for it to come in the mail this time!


I was quite happy with the ending to this trilogy. I admit, I was horribly sad to let them all go and at one point I put the book down and refused to finish reading it because I was so upset by something that happened. I almost threw the book across the room. I fell in love with characters that had once driven me mad. Some of them, I still hated. It's okay though because they needed to be hated. The red ink turned black just like it had for the green ink. I was alright with the final ending though I wish I could have gotten something a little more concrete. I'll live. I really did enjoy this trilogy. I'm definitely going to be reading them again, soon. I think that they are worth your time.You should check them out.


Reviewers Note: I decided to only give a partial review because I hate reviewing all the novels in a series. I have this horrible fear of spoilers. I feel I should avoid them at all costs. With this series, however, I feel the need to say goodbye to characters and story line in a proper way. So anyway, clearly, I loved these...

  

Shiver

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Format: Paperback (Series novel)
Pages: 390
Rating: 8 out of 10

Summary (Love you Goodreads!): 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.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this novel. While reading, I wasn't even aware of how long it is but I read it in less than a day. It was great. Nothing was over-explained, which drives me crazy. There was space for your own interpretations and room to grow to love the characters in their own ways. I was glad that the book let me think for myself for a while before giving me the answers.

The down side? The text was in blue. In my copy, it was dark enough in most places to think it was black but certain pages threw me. It was not enough for me to put the book down but books two and three have green and red text, respectively, which may be hard for some people to read. I know it drives Kristen crazy. I was also kind of sad that we didn't get more at the end but, after thinking on it, it might be good that we didn't. I want to read the next one because of that. I guess, I have to admit, that it was a good place to end the story (only because it is continued into another novel). One last minus, at first, I found it hard to believe that she would just fall in love with Sam but I suppose that they were already close so I decided to push on. In the end it was alright and didn't bother me that much.

To close: I over all enjoyed this novel. Like I said, I read it in under a day. I even ignored my midterm and didn't study so I could finish it. It left me with that amazing book high that we all read for. I will be buying the next book!