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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
First off this is a 4 1/2 not 4, just wanted to put in that little clarification. I cannot even explain how excited I am to have gotten an ARC of this. I have actually had it since March, thanks to the wonderful owner at The Fountain Bookstore, but I still pre-ordered a signed copy of my own! Ok, so onto my review of Linger. If you don’t know (which if you don't know this book I think you might have been living under a rock) Linger is the second book of a trilogy, the first book being Shiver. I loved the tone of Shiver, it was sweet and innocent and so hopeful. The tone of Linger is quite different, it feels melancholy and you can almost see the despair dripping from the pages of the book. I am not sure if everyone feels that way after they read it or if Maggie even intended it to read that way but that is how I felt after I finished the book. That does not mean I did not like it, I did, it just had a sad undertone.
Linger picks up where Shiver left off, Sam is trying to adjust to life as a human and finds that he is still in denial over never becoming a wolf again. Grace is trying to be with Sam as much as possible, keeps getting frequent headaches, and has to deal with her overprotective parents who are not so happy with how serious Grace is getting with Sam. While we are on that subject, Grace’s parents are driving me crazy! They have been absent pretty much her whole life and now is the time they decide to pay attention? They jump to all the wrong conclusions and just get in the way throughout this story, I was rooting for Grace to just tell the off.
In Linger we also get the introduction of a new character Cole, who is running from his past and finds that becoming a wolf becomes the perfect escape for him. Cole becomes one of the narrators in this story along with Isabel, Grace and Sam. So in Linger we have four narrators, which gives the reader multiple perspectives and really paints a complete picture. I also like getting inside Isabel’s head in this one, she becomes the surprising voice of reason in the story.
The only downside to Linger for me was that I felt like I never really got a moment a “happy” moment for Sam and Grace like we did in Shiver. Get your minds out of the gutter, I just mean I felt like we never get to see them just happy for more than a page or two. There was so much going on that they don’t really have down time and I missed that. It probably has a lot to do with all the conflicts that arise in their lives, but I still missed just seeing Grace and Sam happy. I also feel like the ending happened in fast forward, which was good because I kept reading and could not put the book down, but on the downside I was left seriously wanting at the end. Which come to think of it might have been Maggie’s point, to leave us wanting more.
If you liked Shiver then you should pick up Linger and see how the story continues to develop. Sam and Grace are still the main focus but Cole definitely shakes some things up, especially for Isabel. I eagerly await the final book in this series, Forever, to see what happens to all of the characters.
Linger picks up where Shiver left off, Sam is trying to adjust to life as a human and finds that he is still in denial over never becoming a wolf again. Grace is trying to be with Sam as much as possible, keeps getting frequent headaches, and has to deal with her overprotective parents who are not so happy with how serious Grace is getting with Sam. While we are on that subject, Grace’s parents are driving me crazy! They have been absent pretty much her whole life and now is the time they decide to pay attention? They jump to all the wrong conclusions and just get in the way throughout this story, I was rooting for Grace to just tell the off.
In Linger we also get the introduction of a new character Cole, who is running from his past and finds that becoming a wolf becomes the perfect escape for him. Cole becomes one of the narrators in this story along with Isabel, Grace and Sam. So in Linger we have four narrators, which gives the reader multiple perspectives and really paints a complete picture. I also like getting inside Isabel’s head in this one, she becomes the surprising voice of reason in the story.
The only downside to Linger for me was that I felt like I never really got a moment a “happy” moment for Sam and Grace like we did in Shiver. Get your minds out of the gutter, I just mean I felt like we never get to see them just happy for more than a page or two. There was so much going on that they don’t really have down time and I missed that. It probably has a lot to do with all the conflicts that arise in their lives, but I still missed just seeing Grace and Sam happy. I also feel like the ending happened in fast forward, which was good because I kept reading and could not put the book down, but on the downside I was left seriously wanting at the end. Which come to think of it might have been Maggie’s point, to leave us wanting more.
If you liked Shiver then you should pick up Linger and see how the story continues to develop. Sam and Grace are still the main focus but Cole definitely shakes some things up, especially for Isabel. I eagerly await the final book in this series, Forever, to see what happens to all of the characters.
This one was better. The whole ending was kinda spoiled in the prologue tho.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Sad, mysterious, tense. I couldn’t put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
I LOVED LINGER.
This is definitely one of my favourite trilogies
This is definitely one of my favourite trilogies
This one is just insane. I feel like I remember not liking it as much in my first read as a teen because everything felt so messy, but I was eating up all the angst, drama, and unpredictability this time around. Everything is just bad and I was here for it. One of my opinions that hasn’t changed is that Grace’s parents can just fuck right off. They’re actually the worst.
I remember being a huge Cole stan and that also continued. I have such a thing for a full genius character who isn’t the stereotypical smart character, plus he’s so messed up but also such a great character. I love the Isabel x Cole relationship, always have. Also the friendship that grows in general between that group of four.
I found this one exceptionally well written, especially regarding the decline of Grace’s physical health. Like it made me anxious just reading it - I felt like I could feel her pain and fear, which on top of feeling that awful and then being separated from your soulmate, would send me into panic mode too. Again, her parents can fuck off.
I remember being a huge Cole stan and that also continued. I have such a thing for a full genius character who isn’t the stereotypical smart character, plus he’s so messed up but also such a great character. I love the Isabel x Cole relationship, always have. Also the friendship that grows in general between that group of four.
I found this one exceptionally well written, especially regarding the decline of Grace’s physical health. Like it made me anxious just reading it - I felt like I could feel her pain and fear, which on top of feeling that awful and then being separated from your soulmate, would send me into panic mode too. Again, her parents can fuck off.
Also posted on Rally the Readers.
4.5 Stars
It's book two into Maggie Stiefvater's The Wolves of Mercy Falls series, and I am madly, madly in love with it. Each page is an exquisitely composed piece of prose; I'm fumbling to find the right words to describe how addicted I am to reading her writing. It's as though she infuses language with magic.
Shiver was heartbreakingly beautiful—emphasis on the heartbreak. But, the ending did kindle a spark of hope, which then gets doused fairly quickly in Linger. Sam appears to have been cured and no longer shifts into a wolf, but he struggles to believe that his humanity is permanent. Unease hangs over the story from the beginning, and it only snowballs from there.
Grace and Sam's swoon-tacular romance forms the centerpiece of this series, and anything that interferes with it shreds my heart. In Shiver, the pair's main obstacle was Sam's shifting; Linger doubles their adversity, which centers around Grace this time. There's something . . . amiss with her (vagueness necessary here to avoid revealing too much), plus her parents snap out of their self-involved bubble and actually try to parent. I'm still wrapping my head around that because their world consisted almost exclusively of themselves in Shiver. Now that Grace has a boyfriend, they're suddenly concerned and feel the need to establish rules because surely this is mere teenage infatuation on their daughter's part. I find it kind of funny, and maybe even a little ironic, that I've read plenty of YA in which the supposed romance lacked the emotional depth to make it come across as more than attraction or infatuation. But what Grace and Sam have—it’s the real deal. They picture themselves married one day and talk about growing old together. I can't think of many other YA couples who see beyond the here and now, and to me, that's what really sets Sam and Grace apart.
Linger adds two POVs to those of original narrators Sam and Grace. I loved Isabel's character in Shiver and was thrilled to discover that she had a POV in Linger. I know that she's not an easy character to warm up to, but I totally relate to and love how she has a very low tolerance for BS. Don't even consider spinning her a yarn because she doesn't have time for that crap.
Linger also introduces us to Cole St. Clair, former rock star and newly created wolf. His character is such an interesting study, especially when you compare it side-by-side with Sam's. Music has played a prominent role in both of their lives, but where it's still going strong in Sam's, Cole has walked away from it. He's walked away from the entire rock and roll lifestyle and now wants to lose himself in the oblivion of being a wolf. That's another key point on which Cole and Sam differ significantly—Sam wants to hold on to his human form and his human memories.
Not only does Cole cause some ripples for Sam, but he also creates quite a stir in Isabel's world. These two—it’s all sharp edges and cutting words with them, but there's also an undeniable magnetism there. I loved every Cole/Isabel scene, and I'm as wholly invested in what happens next with them as I am in Grace and Sam's future.
Linger is an entirely apt title for this novel; I kept thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. I'm still thinking about this book, and this series, and the characters, and how I excited I am to read Forever, even if it destroys me emotionally, which is highly probable.
4.5 Stars
It's book two into Maggie Stiefvater's The Wolves of Mercy Falls series, and I am madly, madly in love with it. Each page is an exquisitely composed piece of prose; I'm fumbling to find the right words to describe how addicted I am to reading her writing. It's as though she infuses language with magic.
Shiver was heartbreakingly beautiful—emphasis on the heartbreak. But, the ending did kindle a spark of hope, which then gets doused fairly quickly in Linger. Sam appears to have been cured and no longer shifts into a wolf, but he struggles to believe that his humanity is permanent. Unease hangs over the story from the beginning, and it only snowballs from there.
Grace and Sam's swoon-tacular romance forms the centerpiece of this series, and anything that interferes with it shreds my heart. In Shiver, the pair's main obstacle was Sam's shifting; Linger doubles their adversity, which centers around Grace this time. There's something . . . amiss with her (vagueness necessary here to avoid revealing too much), plus her parents snap out of their self-involved bubble and actually try to parent. I'm still wrapping my head around that because their world consisted almost exclusively of themselves in Shiver. Now that Grace has a boyfriend, they're suddenly concerned and feel the need to establish rules because surely this is mere teenage infatuation on their daughter's part. I find it kind of funny, and maybe even a little ironic, that I've read plenty of YA in which the supposed romance lacked the emotional depth to make it come across as more than attraction or infatuation. But what Grace and Sam have—it’s the real deal. They picture themselves married one day and talk about growing old together. I can't think of many other YA couples who see beyond the here and now, and to me, that's what really sets Sam and Grace apart.
Linger adds two POVs to those of original narrators Sam and Grace. I loved Isabel's character in Shiver and was thrilled to discover that she had a POV in Linger. I know that she's not an easy character to warm up to, but I totally relate to and love how she has a very low tolerance for BS. Don't even consider spinning her a yarn because she doesn't have time for that crap.
Linger also introduces us to Cole St. Clair, former rock star and newly created wolf. His character is such an interesting study, especially when you compare it side-by-side with Sam's. Music has played a prominent role in both of their lives, but where it's still going strong in Sam's, Cole has walked away from it. He's walked away from the entire rock and roll lifestyle and now wants to lose himself in the oblivion of being a wolf. That's another key point on which Cole and Sam differ significantly—Sam wants to hold on to his human form and his human memories.
Not only does Cole cause some ripples for Sam, but he also creates quite a stir in Isabel's world. These two—it’s all sharp edges and cutting words with them, but there's also an undeniable magnetism there. I loved every Cole/Isabel scene, and I'm as wholly invested in what happens next with them as I am in Grace and Sam's future.
Linger is an entirely apt title for this novel; I kept thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. I'm still thinking about this book, and this series, and the characters, and how I excited I am to read Forever, even if it destroys me emotionally, which is highly probable.
While I am glad to continue this series, this book wasn't quite as engrossing as the first. At times it was a little hard to determine who was who—the four POVs we hear from in the book aren't all that different, writing-wise. But I'm glad we got into a little more of the "why" of it all, and am sure that will progress in the final book in the series.
Strong character development:
Yes
Once again, Maggie did an amazing job. Her writing is beautiful. I can't wait to read "Forever" :)
