PJ Review: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance
Para Element: Werewolves
Series: Wolves of Mercy Falls Book 3
PreOrder Online:  Amazon.com
Stalk the Author: Web | Twitter
ARC given to me by the publisher.

A quick forward before reading this review: Maggie Steifvater the author of Forever is an extremely talented author and I would recommend her writing to anyone. Her words are like a delicacy as if she weighs each one out for the proper weight and flavor. This is the first book I didn't like of hers and it was mostly because the characters behaved in ways that didn't relate with me. I only recommend this review if you have read the two books before, Shiver & Linger and please don't throw something at me...once again just my opinion.


PJ's QUICKIE POV:
This really pains me, but I did not enjoy FOREVER. This is a book that I have been looking forward to reading for a year. One year and ten days actually. So, I should have just powered through it…loved on it, rolled within the pages and then lamented on the end of an era. Sadly though, it was not to be. I actually had a hard time finishing this one. Don’t hate me, but it’s true. Stiefvater’s token prose actually grated on my nerves and her descriptions dragged instead of titillated. I was literally yawning through the first 100 pages and forcing myself to just finish – hoping for redemption, yet never finding it.

REVIEW:
Grace is a wolf and Sam is left behind as a human with Cole St. Clair and Isabel. Sam is a bit down and out because of his girlfriend being stuck in a four-legged state and the fact that everyone in town thinks he killed her. Cole St. Clair is busy dealing with his new “unstar” state and a slight obsession with Isabel and the fact that he is pretty sure his brain can whip up a cure for their werewolf. Then there is Isabel, who finds out her father is calling in the big guns to hunt down the wolves and when one wolf kills again – the townspeople will do anything to support him even round up some helicopters and sharp shooters. Will the trio be able to save the wolves in time? Will they be able to work together long enough to even come up with a plan?

This physically hurts me to write this review but I actually felt that Sam was a moping mess most of this book and I literally wanted to scream “Get your head out of your butt emo boy!” Then the Cole and Isabel dynamic was trying. I really felt that the first 100 pages were just a big sobbing mess of descriptions and angsty lamenting about how their life sucks. Then when the action did pick up and a certain minor but featured character dies off – there was very little reaction. Then swoosh into the action and it rolled right into the ending. Then there was the ending, I couldn't believe it ended that way. I just felt deflated; it was anti-climatic. Where was the wrap-up? Was I missing something? I felt like through this entire book nothing was accomplished! I’m having an urge to rant – and please feel free to let me know if you feel the same way. I guess to describe my overall feeling would be let-down. This should have been epic. This should have been the culmination of a three year journey. I should have rejoiced as two of my favorite character’s got their HEA – yet, I felt all I found was new characters with the same name. A new emo boy with drama queen tendencies and a detached and rather non-existent werewolf girl that needed to be shaken out of their depression to actually make a decision and move the story forward.

    I am sad.

         This is me being sad.

    

Because I didn't enjoy this book.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Recommended only for fans of the series and it should be read in order.








Like this series Like That

1. Need by Carrie Jones
2. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Winner of Signed Shiver & Linger!

Have ya'll been waiting for this? Just a little?? Well, wait no longer... the lucky girl and winner of Maggie Stiefvater's signed Shiver & Linger is....

Kailia Sage

Congrats! Email me your address: parajunkee at gmail.com

I also have a fun announcement to make! Maggie Stiefvater in celebration of her release of Linger is having a TWITTER party! Here are the DEETS!

Join Linger author Maggie Stievfater and Kristi of The Story Siren for a Twitter party Thursday, July 22, between 8:00 and 9:30 p.m. EST!

• Be sure to follow Maggie @mstiefvater and Kristi @thestorysiren before the party!

• Join the fun! No one expects you or your tweets to be perfect; we’re just happy you made it to the party!

• Anyone who tweets during the party using #Linger is entered to win a limited edition Linger tank top!

• Watch for questions from @thestorysiren and win awesome prizes including an iPod Touch, Maggie’s artwork and gift cards!

• To join the party, you can use our official party tweetgrid or just search #Linger on Twitter.

• Ask Maggie questions or chat with other partygoers—just use the tag #Linger in all of your party tweets! (This is added automatically in TweetGrid.)

Please don’t post any spoilers and don’t forget to pay attention to the time zones, the party starts at 8:30pm EST.

 

I'll be there....hope to see you too!

 

 

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
Review copy provided by Big Honcho Media

Stalk the Author:
Web | Twitter | Facebook | Personal Blog | Merry Sisters of Fate

Win an Autographed copy of this book along with Shiver... right here.

PJVs QUICKIE POV: Have you ever bought/received a book that you were afraid to read? Afraid to enter it's world because it might not be as good as you imagined it would be? Afraid to have your heart broken, feel the awful heaviness of utter let down? Jaded as I am from other authors, Linger  sat upon my table for two weeks. I would look at it, my heart would race, and then I would turn away jittery. What is wrong with me? How could I doubt the genius that is Maggie Stiefvater? Linger not only delivered it left me mourning the fact that I would have to wait a whole year to get to the conclusion of the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. Run, don't walk to your bookstores on July 20th and purchase Linger...and if you haven't read Shiver - you are missing out!

If you haven't read Shiver you might want to stop here and read my review of Shiver. Then buy Shiver and then come back here and read this review. ;)

REVIEW: From one POV to the next, Linger is the shared experience of Grace, Sam, Isabel and Cole. Four very different characters yet all cohesively meshed together in one poetic package.  From reading Stiefvater's other works, I have come to realize that she loves "broken" characters, the more bent the character, the more depth she pushes into them. From broken-hearted James of Lament and Ballad to the newly introduced, drug-addict, self-destructive Cole, Stiefvater knows how to create a character with such depth that they burrow into your soul and attach themselves to you emotionally, much as a family member or good friend might.

The plight of the characters of Linger is compelling, anxiety riddled and emotional. The emotional roller-coaster of this novel is a "must experience". Grace's emotions are on high-alert as the love she has for Sam solidifies and becomes real, all the while her parents are now taking a more "parental" interest in her when they begin to notice Sam over a lot more than they would like. Being almost non-existent parents before, the sudden interest in her well-being has Grace on edge, paired with the fact that something is not quite right with her body takes it's emotional toll.

Sam on the other had is still waiting to turn back into wolf, he has not quite accepted the fact that he is fully human. He has never planned before, he has never given himself the opportunity to dream and have goals - so his new life as a human is confusing, but in a good way. Yet, behind him are the wolves. The wolves that he must care for no matter how human he is now - and Beck's creation of the new wolves adds even more to his tumultuous life. When he comes face to face with one of the new wolves, cocky, careless and secretive Cole - Sam, for the first time begins to doubt Beck's decision making. The realization that your parents are not the all-knowing, gods of childhood is a heady experience.

Then there is Cole, the newest member of the wolf-pack. Cole is on the run from life. Determined to escape his path in the form of an animal. The problem is, he can't stay wolf - forced to deal with his problems as a human, Cole is willing to do anything to shut out the voices and his past.

Isabel, whom I still didn't warm up to that much in Linger, still makes for a good read. Even though Cole is quite disturbed, I would have to say Isabel is probably the worst of the lot. Still torn up from her brother's death, which she blames herself for entirely, Isabel hides her damages with mean rebukes and snarky comments. Yet, you know she is trying her best deep down inside, just for the simple fact that she has befriended Sam and Grace, when any other would have run screaming from them the moment her brother died.

I'll end this review there, because I've rambled, but there is a lot covered in this book. I'll just leave you with this. While not better than Shiver, Linger, was a wonderful follow-up. The book left me in tears, not sobbing uncontrollably (sorry Maggie!) but I did shed a few. This novel was a lot deeper than it's predecessor, with more emotional baggage and grief. Shiver was the romance, Linger is the emotional aftermath.

RECOMMENDATIONS: A must read for fans of Stiefvater and those that enjoyed Shiver. I do not recommend for people that have not read Shiver. YA fans. If you have read/enjoyed books such as The Dark Divine, Poison Study, gasp Twilight - go and read Shiver. 



Pre-order:

Win Signed Copies of Shiver & Linger

In honor of the greatness that is Maggie Stiefvater.... and the impending release of Linger (July 20, 2010)...

Parajunkee's View is giving away (dramatic pause to build tension - yes I know I mention it in the title, you didn't have to point that out to me! Sheesh.)

Signed Copies of Shiver & Linger
Books 1 & 2 of The Wolves of Mercy Falls

 Never have I wanted to win a contest that I hosted so badly!

Stalk the Author:
Web | Twitter | Facebook | Personal Blog | Merry Sisters of Fate

Shiver

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.

Linger

This is the story of a boy who used to be a wolf and a girl who was becoming one.

Just a few months ago, it was Sam who was the mythical creature. His was the disease we couldn't cure. His was the good-bye that meant the most. He had the body that was a mystery, too strange and wonderful and terrifying to comprehend.

But now it is spring. With the heat, the remaining wolves will soon be falling out of their wolf pelts and back into their human bodies. Sam stays Sam, and Cole stays Cole, and it's only me who's not firmly in my own skin.

Here are the details:

• One (1) winner receives:
  Autographed copies of Shiver and Linger!
• Contest Ends July 12th, 2010
• For each entry that you have, please fill out the form once, so if you follow through Google Friends Connect and Twitter you fill out the form twice. (It is easy only three input areas)
• You can come back and enter in the two weeks if you accomplish more of the entries listed
• This contest is for US & Canada only, if you are international and would like to pay for shipping please indicate that in entry area
• Entries will be confirmed, if an entry is unable to be verified that entry will be discarded
• Winner will be chosen using Random.org
• Books are being shipped from a 3rd party, not through Parajunkee's View
• Please pay attention to these rules and good luck!

 

Each item is worth one (1) entry - remember to fill out the form each time:

• Follow on Google Friends Connect
• Follow through FeedBurner email
• Follow me on Twitter (@parajunkee)
• Follow Maggie Stiefvater on Twitter
• Tweet this (once every 24 hours): Win Signed copies of both Shiver & Linger by Maggie Stiefvater at @Parajunkee 's View http://is.gd/d7B0V PLZ RT
  {leave link}
• Fan Parajunkee's View on Facebook
• Friend Maggie Stiefvater on Facebook
• For each one of my "other" blogs you follow {Blog with Bite, Anya's Room, Parajunkee Design}
• Do a blog post {leave link}
• Sidebar Post {leave link}
• Comment on my review {will be posted tomorrow - 6/29}
• Comment on this post

Trailer Tuesday & Teaser - Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Today is Trailer Tuesday and this week I've been in Maggie Stiefvater world, reading Linger. So...I thought I would share all things Maggie Stiefvater...promo the contest that will be happening, right here next Monday and tease you with a look into the pages of Linger.

First the Trailer. Can you believe that the author composed this herself, everything from the artwork, to the music?

Second, the Tease:

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Release Date: July 20, 2010

Sudden euphoria rushed through me, a grin stretching my face at this cosmic lottery I had won. I had risked everything and gained everything, and here I was, of the world and in it. I laughed out loud, no one to hear me but the audience of snowflakes.

And lastly, the contest:

Check back on June 28th for a chance to win an autographed copy of BOTH Shiver and Linger by Maggie Stiefvater. Yes, I am jealous of the winner of this contest!

If you haven't read Shiver...now is the time!

Linger Trailer

As usual Maggie Stiefvater, Renaissance chick that she is, has done it again. Here is the Linger trailer she created.

Maggie Stiefvater Signing!

I had the pleasure of attending a book signing today that featured the very talented Maggie Stiefvater (Ballad, Lament, Shiver, Linger). I was also pleased to be introduced to two other authors from the YA realm that attended with Maggie, Carrie Ryan (The Dead Tossed Waves)  and Jackson Pearce (As You Wish). The girls were very entertaining, and surprising some parts were almost like stand-up.  Carrie Ryan really impressed me with her brains, Maggie with her wit, and well Jackson seemed to be the youngest of the group so a bit of the, well, comic relief.

Scoop that I picked up. Maggie mentioned that she is toying with a 3rd book to follow up Lament and Ballad. There will not be any ARCs for Fovever! *sob*

The signing was at Octavia books, which was a very cool little bookstore Uptown.  As an added bonus I got to meet Patti from Book Addict my fellow New Orleanian book blogger. Very cool...and I spent a fortune. I'll post In My Mailbox next to "Show-Off" my loot.

Carrie Ryan, author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth & The Dead-Tossed Waves told us that there will be a third book in her series and that she will have a few short stories released this summer, including a piece in a Zombies vs. Unicorns anthology. Sounds interesting.

Maggie, Jackson and Carrie gave us some insight into characters that were hard to write and the characters that were most like themselves. Maggie was actually surprised when the crowd answered that James was the character that was most like herself. She said that rarely happened, most people said a lot of her other characters.  What was the funny thing though, and you can't see it in this picture is that Maggie's left hand was covered in writing, and little notes. Which could be what clued most in to who she related with.

There is Patti getting her book signed by Carrie. Hate to admit this, but I had the guts to do a little promotional business card slipping to Jackson and Carrie, but just didn't have the cojonas to slip one to Maggie, especially after she dropped the Forever ARC bomb. That means that release will be HOT. Hope you enjoyed my share!

Books by the above mentioned authors: