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A review by freadomlibrary
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
4.0
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/
Check out my series review here: https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/2017/04/25/series-review-the-wolves-of-mercy-falls-trilogy-by-maggie-stiefvater/
Critically
Plot – 3 out of 5 stars
Honestly, I was hoping the plot of this book would improve over the previous two but it was very similar. There was a much bigger conflict which was interesting but then another angsty romance was added to the lineup. It got boring sometimes again and I felt like the ending was interesting but kind of sad all the same.
Writing Style – 3.5 out of 5 stars
There’s nothing much that’s different from this book to the previous one. The writing style is descriptive and detailed though slow paced. The narrative dragged a bit and kind of made it hard for me to keep engaged. However, it was still poetic and lyrical in delivery.
Characters – 4 out of 5 stars
I kind of wish I could say that I ended up falling in love with these characters by the end, but that’s just not true. I like them all well enough but the whole story as well as their personalities were just too dramatic for me.
Grace changed in this book. From the end of the second book to this one, she’s quieter, much more vulnerable. She kept her defiant spirit as well as her independence. But she’s tired and that really came through.
The rest of the side characters are also much more stressed out, specially since the plot of this book is pretty intense for them. They’re all dealing with a lot of different things and it affects each of them in different ways.
Emotionally
In this third book, I was looking for something much more intense than what this book was, but I liked it.
The plot is dramatic. We follow Grace, now shifting into a wolf which brings a whole new set of problems into her life and the life of her loved ones. I don’t know what I was really expecting from this book but it definitely could’ve used more action in the plot. It was pretty simple in general, but the characters spend most of the time thinking, plotting and dealing with drama which is what gives the book its length. I was really invested in the saving of the wolves. This thing that has brought the main characters together, kept them apart and brought them together again is in danger and they all do their best to make sure they can keep the pack safe. I wanted to read and be involved in that more but most of the time the story revolves around the separation between Sam and Grace. I was just generally annoyed with the fact that they were the most important thing in the entire trilogy, by now I’m just beyond caring about the angst in their relationship and want something more. What I get instead is another angsty relationship, much more toxic than the first and a lot of trying to figure out how to do something good. There were a lot of interesting elements within this finale that I wanted to explore a lot more: Grace’s time as a wolf, Cole’s family and his intelligence, Beck and his past, etc. All these things were part of the narrative but they weren’t developed enough. The things that could’ve actually made the story the most entertaining were not really taken as much into account as I wanted. I liked how they managed to get everything together though those last few chapters were really intense and much too close for my own comfort. I think the ending was sweet but overall, it left me unsatisfied. I wanted more from the story.
I like Grace in general, really, but I wished for more growth throughout the series. I feel like she started on a great path in the second book but because of the change to werewolf, the growth was more stagnant than I generally like from my main characters. I wanted her to be more daring, to just be more than she actually was.
I liked the romance. That sounds weird since I’ve complained about it a lot but I really did like it. It just had too much attention throughout the series. I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if the werewolf story was the focal point, instead of the romance. The pairing of Isabel and Cole are the most complex characters but not in the best way possible. They are almost toxic personalities and they are definitely not in the best state of mind at all throughout the series. I kind of just want to wrap them in my arms and give them love.
Overall, this series let me down. I wanted to love it as much as I did when I was younger and I read it the first time. The romance is the focal point of the entire trilogy and while I enjoyed it overall, it made the story kind of boring and didn’t keep me engaged throughout the whole thing. I really liked the werewolf lore, what attracted me to the trilogy in the first place, and I wish it would’ve had a more important role in all the books.
Check out my series review here: https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/2017/04/25/series-review-the-wolves-of-mercy-falls-trilogy-by-maggie-stiefvater/
Critically
Plot – 3 out of 5 stars
Honestly, I was hoping the plot of this book would improve over the previous two but it was very similar. There was a much bigger conflict which was interesting but then another angsty romance was added to the lineup. It got boring sometimes again and I felt like the ending was interesting but kind of sad all the same.
Writing Style – 3.5 out of 5 stars
There’s nothing much that’s different from this book to the previous one. The writing style is descriptive and detailed though slow paced. The narrative dragged a bit and kind of made it hard for me to keep engaged. However, it was still poetic and lyrical in delivery.
Characters – 4 out of 5 stars
I kind of wish I could say that I ended up falling in love with these characters by the end, but that’s just not true. I like them all well enough but the whole story as well as their personalities were just too dramatic for me.
Grace changed in this book. From the end of the second book to this one, she’s quieter, much more vulnerable. She kept her defiant spirit as well as her independence. But she’s tired and that really came through.
The rest of the side characters are also much more stressed out, specially since the plot of this book is pretty intense for them. They’re all dealing with a lot of different things and it affects each of them in different ways.
Emotionally
Spoiler
I finally managed to re-read and finish this series after reading it in middle school the first time and I have to say that it’s not as good as I remember.In this third book, I was looking for something much more intense than what this book was, but I liked it.
The plot is dramatic. We follow Grace, now shifting into a wolf which brings a whole new set of problems into her life and the life of her loved ones. I don’t know what I was really expecting from this book but it definitely could’ve used more action in the plot. It was pretty simple in general, but the characters spend most of the time thinking, plotting and dealing with drama which is what gives the book its length. I was really invested in the saving of the wolves. This thing that has brought the main characters together, kept them apart and brought them together again is in danger and they all do their best to make sure they can keep the pack safe. I wanted to read and be involved in that more but most of the time the story revolves around the separation between Sam and Grace. I was just generally annoyed with the fact that they were the most important thing in the entire trilogy, by now I’m just beyond caring about the angst in their relationship and want something more. What I get instead is another angsty relationship, much more toxic than the first and a lot of trying to figure out how to do something good. There were a lot of interesting elements within this finale that I wanted to explore a lot more: Grace’s time as a wolf, Cole’s family and his intelligence, Beck and his past, etc. All these things were part of the narrative but they weren’t developed enough. The things that could’ve actually made the story the most entertaining were not really taken as much into account as I wanted. I liked how they managed to get everything together though those last few chapters were really intense and much too close for my own comfort. I think the ending was sweet but overall, it left me unsatisfied. I wanted more from the story.
I like Grace in general, really, but I wished for more growth throughout the series. I feel like she started on a great path in the second book but because of the change to werewolf, the growth was more stagnant than I generally like from my main characters. I wanted her to be more daring, to just be more than she actually was.
I liked the romance. That sounds weird since I’ve complained about it a lot but I really did like it. It just had too much attention throughout the series. I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if the werewolf story was the focal point, instead of the romance. The pairing of Isabel and Cole are the most complex characters but not in the best way possible. They are almost toxic personalities and they are definitely not in the best state of mind at all throughout the series. I kind of just want to wrap them in my arms and give them love.
Overall, this series let me down. I wanted to love it as much as I did when I was younger and I read it the first time. The romance is the focal point of the entire trilogy and while I enjoyed it overall, it made the story kind of boring and didn’t keep me engaged throughout the whole thing. I really liked the werewolf lore, what attracted me to the trilogy in the first place, and I wish it would’ve had a more important role in all the books.