Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

From Goodreads:

In Maggie Stiefvater's SHIVER, Grace and Sam found each other. In LINGER, they fought to be together. Now, in FOREVER, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

I adored Shiver. Yes, ADORED. Linger was pretty good. And Forever was, to be honest, just kind of meh for me. I think I wanted a book full of the passion I remember so vividly from Shiver. Sam and Grace didn't even know each other, yet they were drawn together and there was a intensity there I searched hard to find in Forever. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book as a whole, but honestly couldn't get into it in the first hundred pages.

The thing I love about Maggie Stiefvater's writing is the lyrical quality to it. There seems to be poetry in her words, though there's no meter or rhyme to them. She creates a beautiful, wintry setting that surrounds the story and makes magic out of the mundane. All of this was still there in Forever. Mercy Falls seems like something out a storybook, though at the same time it feels like places I've stopped for gas on a road trip.

Sam and Grace are just as adorable together as they have always been, though I did find at times that I didn't quite understand their actions. For example, Grace is finally human for a extended period of time, and rather than immediately finding the guy she loves, she dawdles and has a random conversation with Cole. Now, I know that if I had seen my (I suppose boyfriend is the best word...) boyfriend for several months, I would not be hanging around making small talk with someone as rude as Cole. Sorry. This leads me to my next point...

I went into Forever expecting some sense of urgency. When we learn about Isabel's dad's plans (trying to be cryptic...) I thought, "Oh yeah. Here comes some good stuff." But no one seemed to go into action mode. Maybe Isabel, a bit. Only during the last seventy-five to one hundred pages, when the threat got REAL, did anyone seem to understand what was going to happen. And THAT was when the book got engrossing. At that point, I read the rest in a single sitting, and was quite satisfied. I found myself wondering how much more satisfied I'd be if the whole book had been like that.

Now, I don't have anything else negative to say, I promise. As for the characters, I actually really liked Cole in this one. I liked knowing a little bit more about his life, and was glad someone was smart enough to figure out something, anything really! I liked him showing a softer, human side, especially with Isabel and right at the end (if you've read the book, you know!). I liked Isabel in this one, too. I didn't like the fact that she spends like zero time with the other characters, but I did like the guts she finally has, rather than just hiding behind her cold exterior.

In retrospect, Forever was good, though not as good as I'd hoped. I'm hoping I'll like it more with another reading soon. That being said, I thought it was a fitting end to the series. There were some heartrendingly beautiful moments that made the book worthwhile, and, when in doubt, the prose saved the day.


Risk a paper cut? For fans of the series, this is obviously a no brainer. If you love beautiful prose, it's worth braving the cold of Mercy Falls.

To buy: Amazon