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

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

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 Review:

I picked up this book for a challenge, a paranormal romance. This is not something I normally would have read without prompting, but I'm glad I did. It was a much better story than I could have imagined, and although I cannot say I will continue on in the series because I'm happy with the way this story ended, I will most definitely read another Maggie Stiefvater.

Although the romance was a little mushy at times, and somewhat an insta-love (just add summer), I was able to get through it with minimal eye-rolling. Since I knew I was reading a "romance" I was able to get through it.

This story was told in alternating point-of-views, Grace and Sam, and when Grace was narrating, she was naive, unsure, and timid, but when Sam was talking about her, she was aggressive, forceful and confident. I enjoyed Sam's chapters better, and I suppose I enjoyed Sam himself better. Everyone was into Grace, but I wasn't sure why she was so special, she didn't necessarily stand out.

If you enjoy romance, and shape-shifting, I'd say give this book a whirl. I can't say you'll love it, but maybe you will.

Favorite Quotes:

“It is possible to be in love with you just because of who you are.”

“As the hours crept by, the afternoon sunlight bleached all the books on the shelves to pale, gilded versions of themselves and warmed the paper and ink inside the covers so that the smell of unread words hung in the air.”

“If that moment had been a real thing, it would've been a butterfly, flapping and fluttering toward the sun.”

“Right in this moment, I can´t even remember what unhappy feels like.”

“Some days seem to fit together like a stained glass window. A hundred little pieces of different color and mood that, when combined, create a complete picture.”

“We don't have time to be sad”

“The world needs more love at first sight.”

Read from January 07 to 20, 2016

Top 5 Genres*: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Fantasy/Paranormal, Shapeshifters/Werewolves
*According to Goodreads
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★★★★★ - I absolutely loved it
★★★★ - Good book and would recommend
★★★ - Decent book, but wasn't spectacular
★★ - Not good, but was able to finish it
★ - Did not finish (DNF) and I don't usually rate a book I haven't finished (just to be fair to the author)

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The Forest of Hands and Teeth (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #1) by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

My Review:

This might just be my opinion, but this book managed to piss me off. From the beginning, Mary, the main character, had annoyed me. She had her head in the clouds, crushing hard on a boy. She let this love-sickness cloud her judgement, and distract her from some seriously dangerous situations. I was hoping she would evolve into a more focused and determined individual, but all she managed to do was focus more on the boy she loved, and her determination to get him by any means necessary.

Mary was supposed to wed Harry. That's right, you heard, the author, Carrie Ryan paired up a Mary and Harry (of all the names in the entire world to chose from). Although, I suppose some name similarities could happen (my parents are Ken and Cam), it drove me nuts throughout the story. So, although Mary was to wed Harry, she loved his brother Travis. This was a cluster**** of a love triangle, and I really dislike love triangles. I could go into this further, but don't want to spoil anything. Mary wasn't anything special, but all the boys who were not her brother seemed to want to be with her. This just baffled me. Don't get me wrong, I really liked both Harry and Travis, but the idea of brothers pining after the same girl is sickening - and would cause a lifetime of contention to boot.

Mary's brother on the other hand, didn't think Mary was special. He was downright mean to her. I love sibling bonds, and this just broke my heart.

The one thing I did really like was Cass's resolve (Cass is Mary's best friend) to take care of a child whom was not hers, but needed a family. Ahh, the silver lining.

I suppose I'll wrap up this review right here because I'm getting worked up all over again, and I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts into words without spoiling things. I do have to give credit to Ryan because she did invoke a lot of different emotions, and without my few annoyances (some of which are mentioned above) this would have been a great story. I'm sure some will enjoy this. I just felt Ryan was trying to convey a message of "follow your dreams no matter the obstacles", but I have to wonder at what point does one, at the very least, not adjust their dreams for the sake of others lives/livelihood?

Read from February 08 to 11, 2016

Top 5 Genres*: Young Adult, Horror/Zombies, Science Fiction/Dystopia, Horror, Fantasy
*According to Goodreads
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★★★★★ - I absolutely loved it
★★★★ - Good book and would recommend
★★★ - Decent book, but wasn't spectacular
★★ - Not good, but was able to finish it
★ - Did not finish (DNF) and I don't usually rate a book I haven't finished (just to be fair to the author)

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