Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) by Maggie Stiefvater review

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Forever is a fantasy, werewolf, teen fiction, drama, and love story. It is the third of a trilogy called Wolves of Mercy Falls. This book picks up rather oddly following the character Shelby (which is the one and only time the story is told from her point of view), and it was very confusing to me. Eventually the scene does make sense though. There is a slight gap in time that is probably at least a month or so. The story is still told from the viewpoints of Sam, Grace, Isabel, and Cole.

The change in each character is definitely more visible in this book, and it really hits you how much they’ve grown. They are still at the core themselves, but each has grown in other facets greatly. This book definitely made me care more about Isabel and Cole than Sam and Grace. It felt weird to not be more connected with the main characters. Not that I wanted them to die, but I definitely wanted Cole and Isabel to live and be happy.

The composition wasn’t as great as the other books; there were random moments that just didn’t read as nicely as other parts did. It aired on the side of feeling sloppy and quickly thrown together as well. This book also randomly decided to up its vocabulary level and I had to look up a one or two words, but their meaning were easy to pick up from their context. There was also a lot more angst and tension within this storyline, and I liked that part of it. But I was left feeling like I wanted more things to happen. The storyline isn't overall action filled with stuff; it is definitely more talk and people looking longingly into the distance.It is quite unlike a lot of other werewolf and fantasy books, there isn’t a like rivalry between two groups (i.e. werewolves versus vampires).

Overall, this isn’t one of my favorite series. There is also a somewhat anti-climactic ending; I was left wanting like an epilogue or something. As well as feeling a little soft on the ending, I did find that with the level of angst in this book there wasn’t enough big events. So it really left me wanting more things happening. There was a moment towards the end of the book that I had to completely like disassociate with, because it was so dark and hard to read. It wasn’t like a bad dark though; the events really give the book like a deeper feel. I'd probably give the series as a whole like a 6 or 7, because I liked parts of it and did enjoy reading it. I just wish there was more!

Side Note: the book does have red font which I quite like.

You can get it here:

Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls)

Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls, #2)

Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls, #3)

Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls #2) by Maggie Stiefvater review

Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls #2)

Maggie Stiefvater

Linger is a fantasy, werewolf, teen fiction, drama, and love story which was released May 1, 2011. It is the second of a trilogy called Wolves of Mercy Falls. This book picks up the story of Sam and Grace from the previous book while also following Isabel and a brand new character named Cole. All four continue to learn about the wolfs and events happening with each. 

The characters begin to change within the series, and not like bad change. It is more like they develop and grow, but in a believable way. It was rather odd going from only reading Sam and Grace's point of view to all four of their perspectives. I was surprised by Isabel in the first book and I continue to be surprised by her. She is slowly working her way towards being a major player in this game which I'm excited for. I did find myself absolutely hating Cole; he did bring a new side to the storyline and added depth to the plot. He was just a big jerk though, so he is a character you love to hate. Even better, this series Grace's parents manage to make you hate them even more which I really didn't think would be possible!

Normally, I find with any book series that each book has a similar overall tone while reading. Like the Harry Potter series, the whole thing was about love and friendship, and the power the two had. The first book of the Wolves of Mercy Falls was around curiosity and acceptance, but the second one feels darker. There was so many difficult things happening to the characters, and it felt like at any point at least one of the characters was in the midst of breaking down. This change in tone was nice though, because it makes the plot feel so much deeper. I also appreciated the use of science with the wolves. It seems often when there is mythology or mythical creatures in a series, everyone just accepts things for what they are. There is no real reasoning behind them that is a proper explanation. This series seems to be doing a better job answering the questions with solid reasoning.

Overall, I am really loving this series. It is just enough drama and love story and mythology that it is perfectly rounded. It is different than most other mythology series I've read, and it does a different take on werewolves. While I wasn't completely pulled into the first book, the second one has definitely gotten my attention. I would suggest this series to teens and adults, but probably not the elderly. If you are a stickler for old school mythology, this series will probably bother you. Another nifty feature in this book is that the font is all in green! which in certain lighting makes for a hard read. So read in a well lit area!

If you'd like to read this book or the series, you can buy it or them here:

Linger from Amazon

Shiver Trilogy from Amazon

Linger from Barnes and Noble

Shiver Trilogy from Barnes and Noble

 More information about the series can be found HERE

(This is also where the images shown came from)