Review : Shiver

Posted by on November 4, 2009 11:12 pm in 3.5 stars reads | 9 comments

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Pages : 390
Genre : YA, Romance, Werewolves
My Rating : 

What it’s about :

Grace has known Sam for the most part of her life, except she doesn’t know it : for years now, when winter comes, Sam has been changing into a wolf and spending the cold season in the forest. Grace only recognizes the wolf, her wolf, and she’s ready to protect him no matter what.

When Sam turns up in her yard, shivering and hurt, she recognizes him by his beautiful yellow eyes. They fall for each other, but nothing is easy : Sam has a hard time fighting the wolf in him and staying human, while at the same time a new wolf has been scaring the town. Time passes by and the days get colder; can Grace find a way to keep Sam with her – or will she loose him forever?

There are two things I have said over and over since I began blogging : I don’t mind romance in books but I don’t read pure romance novels, and I didn’t hate Twilight but didn’t love it either. So, when I heard Shiver was “a romance like Twilight but with only werewolves instead”, I had all the best reasons to not read it. Still, I love werewolves and I was curious about the book, and so with very little expectations I decided to read it.

Maybe that’s why I liked it so much and went through it quickly despite all the studying I had to do! That’s not to say the book is without merits though, on the contrary! Stiefvater’s prose made the story very enjoyable. Some metaphors were a little too far-fetched, but overall her writing was easy to read and carried the romance perfectly. And romance, there is! Despite Sam’s condition – yes, the one that makes him go hairy in the cold – the biggest part of the story is about the romance between him and Grace. It’s strong and passionate and, dare I say, believable enough considering she’s known him as a wolf most of her life. The point-of-view alternates between both of them and creates an interesting dynamic, and I found both voices to be distinct enough.

I also loved the mythology Stiefvater chose/created for her wolves. Like I said, the romance took the most importance in the book, but the simplicity of the mythology made it feel more real, more believable. I was curious about it and about the other wolves, too, and I wish I could have read more about them – maybe in the next book? One non-wolfy character I did enjoy was Isabel. Not very likeable at first, she was in fact really entertaining! I would definitely read more about her.

Linger’s cover, the sequel to Shiver, has just been revealed and it looks fantastic! It’s for Fall 2010 though, so it will be a long wait…

linger

9 Comments

  1. I have this on my coffee table just waiting to be read… but I didn’t know it was part of a series when I picked it up (I was cover shopping lol). Now I’m hesitant to read it when the next book doesn’t come out for so long 🙁 I wish they would put Book 1 on the front of books….

    Great review by the way!!

    Tara SG

    • I completely agree with you! I have so many “first in a series” at home, that I bought without knowing they weren’t standalone books… it makes me crazy! I wish it was more clear, too.

  2. I really want to read this book. I love Twilight but I’m hoping this one isn’t similar. Glad you liked it though 🙂

  3. I’m glad you enjoyed this so much! I haven’t read any werewolves books, but I’m not into romance, so I’m not sure this is for me.

  4. Fantastic review 🙂

  5. What beautiful covers!

  6. I’ve been unsure about whether I should read this book, but maybe I should! I haven’t read may books with werewolves in them, but the way they’re presented in this series sounds really interesting.

    I agree with everyone else – both covers are wonderful!

  7. I have this on hold at my local library. I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

  8. I love the covers of both books (maybe I’m a cover snob, like Ti?), but werewolves aren’t really my ‘thing’ (now I sound like just an ordinary snob!)

    Looks like you’re having fun decorating your Shelf for the holidays!

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