Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

For those who LOVED Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver series, she decided to give us a pleasant surprise, a sequel, but not of Sam and Grace, this time the beloved bad boy Cole St. Clair in Sinner.

So if you are like me, and I'll just assume you are:)  I loved Cole St. Clair, musician, singer, cocky self assured, dark and total bad boy!  In fact the moment he was introduced in the Shiver series he was one of my favorites and I couldn't get enough of him.  Although the Shiver series had a satisfying ending.  I thought it was brilliant that she decided to let us know Cole and Isabel's story.

Sinner takes place not in Minnesota like Shiver, but in beautiful sunny L.A., California.  Cole has been staying with Sam and Grace in Minnesota, but he's changed.  Not just wolf changes, but changed his life and he wants nothing more than to go to L.A. and find Isabel, she's all he's thought about for months.
Not only that, but he's gone back to music.  With plans for his next album, he makes a deal to film a reality T.V. show about his life.

Cole has changed, but his attitude and persona haven't.  He's still the lovable overly self assured, good looking bad boy who says whatever he wants when he wants and it's always cleaver to the T.
Everyone is expecting him to fail, after all this is Cole the musician who collapsed on state from an overdose and than disappeared and was thought for dead.  He was dead, inside but he was also saved, saved by being bitten and becoming a wolf.  But Cole has other plans, he may fail, but if he does it will be with a bang and not without trying everything to win over Isabel.

Isabel Culpeper has been living in L.A. she looks to be everything about the word alive and anyone who looks at her would love to be her.  The only problem is, sometimes appearances mean nothing, inside she is as dead as can be, and doing everything to remove herself from the pain of actually having to feel.
Still getting over her brother's death, living in high class L.A. neighborhoods, shopping on Wilshire and everything L.A and Beverly Hills, working at one of the most high end boutiques most celebrity visited.  She feels she has found a way to live without actually having to care about anything.  That is until the day Cole shows up at the boutique and gives her the most shocking surprise of all, she may just find she does want to feel again.

Cole and Isabel both have issues, some related to the other and the hauntings of the past, and others completely different.  They are both beautiful people who have what some would say everything they could want.  But looks are deceiving and they both feel lacking.  That is when they are apart, but together sparks fly, tempers roll and being as damaged as they are becomes an intriguing chemistry that keeps the reader on edge.

I loved this book, really couldn't put it down.  Maggie Stiefvater really knows how to write the perfect Cole personality for my liking.  He's just a character, but even I fell even more in love with him in Sinner.
Isabel takes on an entirely new roll in this book, and I found her character to be the perfect fit for the on again, off again, heated, cold and re-heated relationship they share.

Fans of Shiver will love Sinner!  Even if you haven't read the Shiver series, this book for the most part could be a stand alone.  Except if you haven't read the Shiver series the Wolf part might not make entirely much sense!  Either way, I highly recommend this book!
This is Young Adult, but the characters are 18 and most of the situations in the book are more adult minded, so I think it was more written with adults in mind than teens.

Book Review FOREVER by Maggie Stiefvater

Rarely do I read a trilogy and find myself at the end loving the third and final book most out of all of them.  Generally, it's usually the first book that always tends to be my favorite.  But although I loved Shiver, I have to say Forever was just fabulous and I think I loved it the most.

Forever, takes off right where Shiver and then Linger left off.  Which might I add, Linger was quite a cliffhanger ending.  (Note, if you haven't read the rest of the series, this review from this point on may be a tad of a spoiler.)

Grace, has turned into a wolf.  Sam is human and thought to be cured and waiting for summer and the return of Grace. Cole has taken on more of a main character role at times and has been going through some thinking and life changing.  We watched Cole grow quite a bit in Linger, but in Forever he's still his handsome cocky self, but a much more mature (at times) version.  I even found myself loving his character as much as I love Grace and Sam.

Forever, is a race against time.  First when spring begins to sprout in Minnesota, some of the younger wolfs begin changing early.  But the local town is still in a rage, and when a body of a dead girl turns up and it is obvious she had been killed and attacked by wolves, this sets plans in motion to get rid of the wolves forever.
The wolves aren't the only ones in danger.  All eyes are on Sam since he seems to be the only link to the mysterious disappearances of a few members of the community.  Sam not only has to deal with the accusations, but the pack themselves.

Cole, is searching for a cure.  But it soon becomes apparent that he might not have enough time to find it, especially when a hunt to kill all the wolves is approved.  At the same time, we get a little more involved with Isabel and Cole and a relationship that may or may not ever happen.

Forever, is filled with twists and turns and lots of suspense.  It's a serious page turner, and not as predictable as I thought it would be.  In fact, I absolutely loved the ending!  I won't say much on that, except for this is one trilogy that I finished the last page and didn't wish I could re-write a bunch of it to give it a conclusion.  Forever, left me satisfied and in love with the entire series!  All I could say when I finished, was that it was so great I can't believe it took me so long to finally read!

I highly recommend this series by Maggie Stiefvater, to anyone 15 and older.  The trilogy is fairly clean and a fast read.  The entire series is out in print, so you can just read book after book and not have to wonder and wait to see what happens.  This is one of those unique series that gives you a different spin on things, and lets you sit back, enjoy and escape reality for a little while.  You won't be disappointed picking this series up!

Book Review SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater

I'd had this book on my "to read" list for quite a while.  After the first 20 pages I was glad I had finally gotten around to it.  Once I realized how much I was enjoying it, I was even happier that I had waited long enough that all the books in the trilogy are out and I wouldn't have to wait forever to find out what happens next.

Grace lives near the woods in a small town in Minnesota.  She's spent her whole life watching the wolves in the woods from her home.  One particular wolf she's always felt a connection too, this yellow-eyed wolf, she calls her wolf.

Sam lives two very different lives.  A short time each year during the summer months he is human.  The rest of the year his life is spent as a wolf.  He's kept a silent watch on the girl he loves, but has never dared to make contact with her since he knows it would never work.  But one day, a shot rings through the air and Sam for the first time shows himself to Grace.

Shiver takes you on an adventure between the lives of humans and wolves.  A love between two individuals that shouldn't be possible is and that means a fight to keep what they have now found.  Sam must fight the cold that is threatening to take him away forever, and Grace must fight against Sam's threats from his past.  Together, they search for answers, and take advantage of every moment, because each moment could be their last.

Shiver, is filled with young love, twists and suspense.  Uniquely written, I have not read anything like this before.  However, I can see how this novel would appeal to Twilight fans, even though it's nothing like it.  Shiver, sweeps you off to a unique fantasy world between humans and wolves and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.  I found it to be a quick read, and feel this book would appeal to anyone over the age of 15.  It's also quite clean, you won't have to worry about inappropriate content.  If you'd like a great read, that will allow your mind to escape reality and into romance and fantasy, I highly recommend this New York Times Bestseller Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater