Gale Reads: The Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater

Hello everyone! I'm back with another book review and this time it's a YA book trilogy by author Maggie Stiefvater who is known for Shiver trilogy and the Scorpio Races. I'm gonna be reviewing The Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy or sometimes known as the Shiver Trilogy.

GENRE: Young Adult, love story, fantasy
TITLE: Shiver, Linger, Forever
AUTHOR: Maggie Stiefvater
SERIES STATUS: 3 books/trilogy - Complete
SYNOPSIS:
This is a story about a girl (who was attacked by wolves when she was young) named Grace and a boy (who turns into a wolf during winter) named Sam. After meeting each other in person and falling in love, they learned that they need to fight to stay together. 

This story also includes Cole (a suicidal rockstar who became part of the wolves of Mercy Falls) and Isabel (Grace's best friend who lost her brother). The two were attracted with each other from the start and they had faced a lot of ups and downs together throughout their search for the cure.

You can read a more thorough synopsis in Goodreads or you can click here.


MY THOUGHTS:
I have read the first 2 titles late last year or early this year consecutively in ebook format while I've read the last installment in paperback last month.  

I really enjoyed reading Shiver because the concept of having ordinary people turn into wolves when the climate turns cold (winter) due to a virus is a unique approach on shapeshifting. It was actually a breath of fresh air for me because I was getting tired of the same story line that time. Also, the author's way of writing is quite nice too. I really appreciated her approach of showing both character's thoughts every other chapter. 

And so, I immediately downloaded Linger because I wanted to know the continuation of Sam and Grace's love story. While Shiver is really entertaining, Linger became a little boring. I'm not sure if it's because the author added 2 more main characters (Isabel and Cole) and viewing the story through 4 eyes can be a little dizzying OR the story just got complicated at times and shallow at times. I'm not really sure which is which. I still enjoyed it enough for me to want to read the last installment though, so I can't say it was bad. Maybe in the middle?

It was hard for me to find an ebook format for Forever and so I was unable to read it directly after.  Luckily, my cousin bought a set of this trilogy and I was able to borrow it last month. I brought it with me in the hospital but it was so boring that I just decided to buy a new book to read. I don't know what happened but the story got so slow and boring and I was already halfway through and nothing exciting was happening. To tell you honestly, I can't make myself finish it up, and I returned it unfinished. That's saying a lot for me, because I really wanted to read the conclusion but I can't make myself flip another page anymore. Sam's self-absorbed thoughts are boring, Grace's thoughts are a blur, Cole's thoughts are so shallow and Isabel's parts are so snobbish. I don't know what else to say except it was boring and I don't know how the story ended.

INDIVIDUAL RATING:
Shiver - 4.5/5
Linger - 3/5
Forever - 2/5

OVER-ALL RATING: 3.5/5

Would I recommend it? I will definitely recommend this to readers looking for a fun and unique story but definitely not for those who are used to exciting and fast-paced stories. I know a lot liked this book and there's a movie tie-in on the works, so I suggest you try it first and see if you will like this trilogy or not :)


Thanks for dropping by!