Review: Linger

Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls) Book #2

Release Date: 21st July 2010

Pages: 416

Publisher: Scholastic

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Source: Purchased (Waterstones)

Purchase Book: Amazon UK | Amazon US

Goodreads
Grace and Sam must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping dangerous secrets. For Sam, it means grappling with his werewolf past... and figuring out a way to survive the future.
But just when they manage to find happiness, Grace finds herself changing in ways she could have never expected...

Review:

At the end of Shiver, we were left with a bit of a cliff hanger. Did the cure work? Is Sam a wolf forever or will he become human? If you have yet to read the first book, I warn you there are spoilers for the previous book as this one jumps an entire space of time between books. So shield your eyes!

Obviously you know a love story can’t continue without the main protagonist going on with the love of his life. Enter the first line in the first chapter “This is a story of a boy who used to be a wolf and a girl who is becoming one.” I was instantly reminded of Romeo and Juliet. The author presents us with a random statement at the beginning and will go on to explain what exactly it all means.

After the first book, we saw Sam and Grace build their relationship, although it was difficult to understand what they saw in each other. The focus being on Sam being a wolf and how would they work it all out. Shiver on the other hand is about Sam and Grace finally being able to be together, planning their future and generally being all merry.... enter the evil parents that are anti teenage freedom. With every teen love story, parents are bound to get in the way, along with annoying characters that are bent on killing wolves and newly formed wolves with issues. This story is choca-block with drama. We are introduced to a new wolf, Cole who comes with a tonne of baggage and we finally get to see how the effect of her brother’s death plays on Isabel. Throw in another minor romance and a death and you got yourself a pretty well rounded second book. The thing that makes this book a bit easier to read than the first is that there more substance to Grace and Sam’s relationship. We learn more about them both, their qualities and what they could possibly see in each other. They may seem like polar opposites but like they say opposites attract and their romance is quite sweet.... with the exception of the whole potential doomed future.

Interesting bits:

Continuing in the same format as the first book, It is written in alternate chapters. This time instead of just Grace and Sam’s point of view, we are getting perspectives from an array of characters... it is actually pretty creative and it gives you the chance to see how all the characters behave around set events. My only issue was keeping up with which character was narrating.

Cover:

Following the same design as the first, a fantastic cover, again with different designs depending on the country you purchase the book. I love the graphic style of the black, white and red, this time with a bit more white negative space for snow. The US was alright, but doesn't grab my attention is much as the previous US cover (below). Which do you prefer?

Final Comments:
Sadly this book didn’t leave me speechless. While it was written well and has some interesting twists, I found it a bit predictable. That’s not to say I won’t be continuing on to the third book, as this book still managed to leave me wanting to know what happens next. I find I need to run to the bookstore, because even though Grace and Sam’s relationship was odd at times, they grew on me and I want to know how it will all turn out. If you have read the first, I would definitely recommend reading this book. If you are new to the series and love your wolves, fantasy, mythology or YA books, why not give it a go. I give this book 3 acorns as the author threw me into the book without an explanation as to what happened between the two books and there was something else missing for me. Happy reading!

I would love to know what you thought of the book. If you have also read the final book, please do share links to your reviews in the comments section as I will be sharing a collection of the final reviews for the last book.

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