Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #2)

Linger continues where Shiver ended.
I really liked the characters. Sam was a nice person with some interesting hobbies like bread baking and origami. Grace was practical and responsible. And the addition of Cole made things more interesting.
I liked Sam and Grace's continued romance. But, I felt that the story was kind of slow and was just leading up to the cliffhanger at the end.
I'll still read Forever to see how the trilogy ends.

This review can also be found at http://fortheloveofbooksreviews.blogspot.ca/2016/12/linger-by-maggie-stiefvater.html

Sam believes that he's been cured of being a werewolf and that he's going to stay a human for good. He and Grace are happy about this, but they have to consider their pasts and what they want for their future. With Sam hopeful that everything will work out and Grace dealing with tensions within her family, things get a bit more complicated when a new werewolf is brought into the mix.

Cole is adjusting to life as a werewolf, but he seems happy to escape his human life and his status as a rock star. But beneath his arrogant and confident demeanor lies unresolved issues. With the worry that he'll be spotted and that his location will be revealed to the world, Grace and Sam have a whole other problem to deal with.

Personally, I found Linger to be a lot slower than Shiver, and I thought it seemed more character-driven than plot-driven. While it had a great cliff-hanger ending and has made me excited to read the next book, I feel that it didn't live up to it's full potential, especially compared to Shiver.

I was glad to read more about one of my favourite couples in YA, Sam and Grace. I think they're so sweet together! Sam is such a sweetheart, with his concern and love for Grace, and of course, his passion for music. I like Grace because she's so ordinary, she's just a girl who got swept up into a paranormal world because of her interaction with, and love for Sam, and I think that this is a nice change from the whole "chosen one" or "secret past" trends within many YA books. One thing that has made me excited to continue reading this series is my interest in Sam and Grace's relationship and my hope that everything works out for them! I have to know how it ends with them, so I know I will definitely finish this series, even if the rest of the books aren't as great as the first.

Cole was an interesting character because I couldn't decide whether I liked him or not. He was kind of annoying with his arrogance and cockiness, however he had more beneath the surface and his own personal struggles. I thought his evolving relationship with Isabel was a nice touch and I was worried that I might find it turning cliche in the end, but I never found it to be that way at all.

I really like Maggie Stiefvater's interpretation of werewolves because it's not just a paranormal phenomenon within her books, but there's a bit of a scientific basis to it. Discussions of a possible cure throughout the book intrigued me because I wanted to learn more about werewolves and how they worked in this book's universe. Along with Sam and Grace's relationship, I'm going to be reading the rest of the books in this series with an anticipation for the conclusion of Sam's research for a cure.

Overall, while slightly disappointing, this was still an enjoyable read and I can't wait to see how everything works out in the end. I recommend this series to fans of werewolves and YA fiction! If you like romance with your werewolves, this series is a must-read.

Personally, I did not care for Shiver as much as I had hoped to. I found Grace and Sam's obsession with one another pretty absurdly disgusting. I suppose their are couples that want to be together 24/7/365, but they probably are not people I would want to know. This book, though, was better from the addition of Cole and Isabel's perspectives. Cole and Isabel are both sarcastic and cynical, so reading their thoughts was much more enjoyable for me than reading the love-soaked longing of Grace and Sam.

One more awesome thing about Linger: the text of the novel is green. Made me realize how awesome it is to not be reading in black and white for a change, which is rarely possible with books. That was an awesome decision on the part of the publisher, although I wish they had done Shiver in blue, so that the series was consistent.

The ending indicates that at least one more book will be coming in this series. Here's hoping that Cole and Isabel keep getting a larger portion of the book. Recommended for fans of the first book. If you're wondering whether to start the series, I might wait and see how people review the series as a whole, as I am still not entirely sold on it.

I really wasn’t that into this book. I’m not sure what it was exactly that bothered me, but I had a really hard time wanting to read Linger. I vaguely remember feeling the same way about the first book, Shiver. However, I can truly say that I did find myself pretty interested in the plot by the end of the book.
I hate that it took so long for this plot to get going. It seemed to drag on for-ev-er. I had to make myself keep reading. Cole and Isabelle really were the only things in the book that held my interest. Sam seemed too emo and Grace was lacking whatever charisma she had in the first book. Actually, Grace and Sam were very Bella and Edward-like in this book. Really annoying. Cole, however, was different. His story is unique and very troubled, which made him a great addition to the story. Of course, Isabelle’s troubled nature kept things feisty as well. She was snarky and contemptuous, which helped cut through the overly sappy emotions coming from Sam and Grace. Thank goodness for characters with issues!
As I said, the ending was pretty darn good. It definitely has me wondering what will happen next. I went ahead and put in a request for Forever from my library, but I am prepared to send the book back if it starts off the way Linger did. I refuse to suffer through another slow beginning. In fact, I’m prepared to start asking people to give me a run-down of the final book’s plot. I have too many other lust-worthy books to read this summer. No time for Twilight repeats.
I give Linger a 3 based solely on the ending. Otherwise, this would have been a 2 all the way through.

Linger has about a million awesome quotes for everything. So yes, I couldn't help but enjoy it. I loved the characters, especially the addition of Cole, he is awesome. I love how real their flaws and personalities are, it makes for a great book. However, I kept waiting and waiting for some kind of plot to happen, but it never really got there. The big reveal wasn't that big and took up all of 40 some pages. It is almost as if both Shiver and Linger were the setting of the stage for what is going to happen in Forever instead of stories with full plots on their own. I don't mind, it just isn't what I expected. Overall though I really enjoyed this installment and am eager to read Forever, so I suppose it succeeded in it's purpose.”

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This book was just as good as Shiver but it wasn't as exciting at the start and the middle but the ending fixed all that up for me. It was such a spectacular ending, and I really wanted to read Forever but I had to wait a year for it to come out, as I read Linger two years ago and Forever only came out last year.

In Linger, its written in two more characters view, Isabel and Cole. I liked this because both were major characters and it gave more views on the whole story. My favorite character in this book is Isabel. Because she's not all weak like Grace, but she has a lot of power and strength, which made me like a her the most.

In SHIVER, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in LINGER, they 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 never have expected...

Linger is a great sequel to the heart-throbbing Shiver, and I was just blown away by the talent of Maggie Stiefvater.

It was a decent book, better than Shiver, but ch. 28 killed it for me. I am a huge animal lover and cruelty pisses me off, even when reading it. I didn't need to read the details of someone killing a deer by hand, it was just too much. I nearly put the book down at that point, but I hate leaving a book hanging. Taking a break before I read Forever, though it is on my shelf waiting.

Read this book if you're ready to be obsessed.

Reader reviewed by iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books

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