Werewolf Romance Book Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

0
916

Shiver is the first book in the The Wolves of Mercy Falls series, written by number one bestselling author, Maggie Stiefvater. The Shiver series is set in the fictional town of Mercy Falls, the story revolves around Grace and Sam, who first meets when she is eleven in a wolf attack where Sam saves Grace.

After six years,they meet again and fall in love. Sam is a werewolf who turns into a human form in summer and shifts into a werewolf during winter. As the winter approaches soon, Sam should force staying in human form before he can shift completely into a werewolf to stay with Grace.

Maggie Stiefvater is the New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver novel remained on The New York Times (NYT) bestseller list for over 32 weeks in 2009, selling 130,996 copies.

The shiver book series had more than 1.7 million copies printed, making it one of the highly successful books. It has been ranked four stars out of five and gained appreciation all over the
world including various film adaptions.

Part 1: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver novel cover

Shiver is the first book in The Wolves of Mercy Falls series. The Shiver book is a young adult, paranormal romance fiction which is set in the fictional town of Mercy falls. After being saved by a yellow eyed wolf, through the years Grace watches the wolves behind her house waiting to meet her savior again who only returns her gaze in winter,every year.

The sudden death of Jack Culpeper spreads terror through the town, as his death is linked to the result of a werewolf attack. This leads to the attempt of shooting in the woods as the town decides to hunt the wolves.

Sam is a yellow-eyed werewolf who only transforms during the winter. In Maggie s Shiver series the werewolves are forced to shift based on the temperature. During the shooting, Sam is hurt. Grace finds Sam naked and in the woods, but recognizes him due to his yellow eyes.

To help him, Grace takes Sam into her house, keeping it a secret from her parents. When Grace’s friend Olivia reveals that Jack should be the newly transformed wolf, Sam tries to convince Grace, saying she must also be a werewolf as she was attacked by the wolves as a child when they first met.

Jack is trying to find the cure to turn into a human again and avoid shifting. When he finds that Grace didn’t shift, he kidnaps her to know the cure that will turn him back to a human. But thanks to Jack’s sister Isabelle and Beck, she is able to save Sam who was locked up in cold, and herself from Jack.

Grace comes to the conclusion that nearly dying from the heat stroke saved her from getting shifted into a werewolf. As the winter approaches, will Sam avoid shifting to be with Grace, or will he be forced to turn into a werewolf completely as the temperature falls?

Can the cure be mirrored to help Sam to be in human form so he can be with Grace? The story shows the desperation of two characters who are in love but the uncertainty of them being together.

Part 2: Characters of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver novel series

Grace Brisbane, unlike any other teenager, she’s smart for her seventeen-year-old self. She’s confident and shows a lot of maturity. She’s quick enough to pick the leads in the story as the hunting of wolves begins. When she meets Sam, she immediately recognizes him. She not only falls for the wolf, but she intends to find the cure for them, so they would not have to transform as the winter hits. The painful transformation is based on the weather and not on their wish. Her determination and the ability to act quickly make her one of the most interesting characters Maggie Stiefvater has created.

Sam Roth is a yellow-eyed werewolf adopted by Geoffrey Beck when Sam was young. When he meets Grace in his human form, he falls in love with her. But as the cold hits, he will be forcibly transforming into a wolf form. The most appealing part of Sam is that, unlike most other characters, Sam doesn’t have control over his shifting process. When he is a wolf, he has no connection to his human form. And to be with Grace, Sam needs to avoid shifting. But the love between the characters and the fear of the cure turning to be unsuccessful makes readers bleed because one can feel the love between the characters, the painful reality.

Shiver series

The most interesting part of Shiver book by Maggie Stiefvater is the fictional town Maggie makes the readers believe in. And the unique take on werewolves in the series is refreshing, unlike any other story. Even though the characters are young adults,Maggie doesn’t make them seem dumb. The seventeen-year-old protagonist displays so much maturity, and the feelings between the couple are lovely.

Maggie Stiefvater will make her readers tear down, as she brings in the story setting it to the point of uncertainty as Sam vanishes into the woods, leaving Grace in doubt. Other than the plot, the unique style of Maggie’s writing captures the attention. Every word Sam uses to confess his feelings in his human form is lyrical, which will make any reader fall for Sam, our perfect hero.

The passionate love, the conflict, and the uncertainty will keep the readers hooked until the last word. The shiver series is followed by Linger and Forever which are part of the Shiver trilogy. The readers can see the growth of Grace and Sam through the Shiver series which can be read in order.

Part 3: Reader Comment about Shiver Book

As one of the readers,Ms.Julie Kagawa commented “Picked up a copy of Shiver last night, sat down to read it, and did not get up until 2am, when I finished it. I went in expecting an eerie, bittersweet love story, and that’s exactly what I got. Shiver is told from alternating viewpoints, and you will easily fall in love with the characters of Grace and Sam.

The writing is lyrical, the descriptions are breathtaking, and you can acutely feel the longing between the two teens, and their desperate struggle to keep Sam from changing. The ending was pitch perfect, and left me with a deep feeling of satisfaction. Amazing book. Amazing author. Will definately be putting Shiver on my “favorite books of all time” shelf”

Shiver novel series order

As the comment states, Maggie Stiefvater makes no mistake with the Shiver series. The desperation between the characters, the perfect romance would make a reader feel every word, and the rollercoaster of emotions would leave no reader without a deep satisfaction. Even when at times the writing seems slow, a reader can feel every word the characters are saying.

Part 4: Author of Shiver Series: Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater- Author of shiver series

Maggie Stiefvater was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She described being an anxious child with many phobias who wanted to be a fighter pilot and race car, driver. But Stiefvater was a voracious reader she enjoyed writing, by the time she entered college she had over 30 novels under her belt.

Maggie Stiefvater published her first book, Lament, in 2008. Her first book in the trilogy The Wolves of Mercy Falls, the Shiver novel was one of her most popular works which spent more than 40 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list. The Shiver series has sold over 1.7 million copies, and more than thirty-six foreign editions are licensed.

Maggie Stiefvater was also a professional portrait artist, who specialized in colour pencil before becoming a full-time writer. The Shiver series author, Stiefvater has her own personal blog and loves to connect with her readers. She is a wife and a mother to two children, and her four dogs, nine goats, and a horse who has been open about her writing journey and life.

Part 5: Books similar to Shiver Series

If you loved Sam and Grace from the Shiver series by Maggie Stiefvater, you should definitely be wasting no time and check out Her triplet alpha and The perfect Luna which are available on the Dreame app.

Books similar to the Shiver series- Her Triplet Alphas

Her Triplet Alphas by Joanna J revolves around Chasity and the triplet Alphas who have always bullied Chasity. But when she turns eighteen she finds out that she’s mated to the Triplet Alphas, her tormentors who are now sorry and lusting for their new mate. Can Chasity accept the Triplet Alphas?

The story is full of twists, and surprises which will have the readers wanting more as the Triplet Alpha will do anything to have Chasity. The story has over 271 thousand followers with 2.7 million followers on the Dreame app, and it’s one of the most loved books by the readers. I mean three mates wanting you, ready to do anything to win your heart? Yes, please.

Click here to read more!

Books similar to the Shiver series- The Perfect Luna

The Perfect Luna by Marissa Gilbert is an award-winning book and the first book in the Moonrise Kingdom series. The story follows Riannon who is betrayed by everyone she trusted. But when the moon goddess gives her a new chance, will she utilize the opportunity to change everything that had turned upside down for her before?

And will she find her true mate?

The story shows the growth of the female protagonist, a kick-ass heroine who is the Perfect Luna. This unique story has over 270 thousand followers and 2.2 million reads on the Dreame app. The story won in the Dreame Ace book contest and was a winner of Stary writing academy 3 which is hands down one of the best werewolf books for a reader.

Click here to read more!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here