Sinner - Review

Sinner

By: Maggie Stiefvater

Published: July 1st 2014 by Scholastic Press

368 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreds | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--A standalone companion book to the internationally bestselling Shiver Trilogy.

Sinner follows Cole St. Clair, a pivotal character from the #1 New York Times bestselling Shiver Trilogy. Everybody thinks they know Cole's story. Stardom. Addiction. Downfall. Disappearance. But only a few people know Cole's darkest secret -- his ability to shift into a wolf. One of these people is Isabel. At one point, they may have even loved each other. But that feels like a lifetime ago. Now Cole is back. Back in the spotlight. Back in the danger zone. Back in Isabel's life. Can this sinner be saved?

MAGGIE IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!! *SIGH* At the beginning of Sinner was a letter from Maggie Stiefvater to the readers. She said, "I had a blast writing Sinner. It was a summer-hot, neon-pink, sand-blasted-kiss vacation from The Raven Cycle. It's also, despite the shape-shifting, the truest novel I've ever written." And boy do I agree. I struggled through The Raven Boys because everything that I loved about her writing seemed to be missing. Where The Dream Thieves was much better to me than The Raven Boys, Sinner makes me see how much of Maggie Stiefvater's writing that I fell in love with was still missing even from The Dream Thieves. And well guys, it's back! Maggie's back! And I loved it.

Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, # 3) wraps things up for Sam and Grace, but Cole and Isabel felt very "unfinished." We pretty much leave off knowing that Isabel is moving to California with her mother, but Cole is staying put. And so their ending was left unresolved and open. I'm so thankful that Maggie Stiefvater returned to Cole and Isabel's story. Cole and Isabel weren't my main focus while reading the first three books, but there was such a strong presence about both characters.

Cole was the lead singer of a rock group. He got into substance abuse and basically hit rock bottom. While Cole is sober now, he still uses his wolf self as a means of temporary escape in order to deal with heavy emotions, especially when things don't go as planned. He comes to California at the beginning of the book for one main reason--Isabel. Of course being Cole, Isabel isn't the ONLY reason. Cole has a plan to be on a reality TV show known for turning the subjects into a train wreck. Cole's thought process is that he can use the show to record a new album without having to sign with a record label.

Isabel...oh Isabel! Jaded as all get out. Isabel is still reeling from the pain of her brother's death and the destruction of her parents' marriage. Isabel is just in pain all around. Yet she tries so hard to hold it all in all the time. To be put together. To show no emotion to those around her. She doesn't trust ANYONE. And Cole showing back up...well she can't trust him when he says that he's back for her.

These two are a train wreck together. And they're a train wreck apart. But you can't help but feel the pain they both experience. You can't help but root for them individually and as a couple. You just can't help but get sucked in. Being Cole and Isabel means that this whole ride isn't all sunshine, blue skies, and rainbows. Things get real and dark and sometimes ugly. But Isabel and Cole have a connection that they just haven't, and can't, share with anyone else. They know each other. And that's something that neither one of them can take for granted.

As I've said, Maggie Stiefvater's writing is right on with this book. I loved it. I was highlighting like every page. Sometimes multiple times on a page. I was so excited to have this side of her writing back. My favorite quotes:

-The truth was that fame was an inconsistent friend, never there when you needed it, ever-present when you needed some time away from it.

-...now I'd let myself think Isabel's name and there wasn't room for anything else.

-The others slithered and crawled to get her the tanks and the belt, unaware that in order to really get my look, you had to accessorize with death in the family and generalized heartbreak.

-"No, no, I'm looking for something very particular. Oh, wait, I just saw it."

-Here was the thing: I was in love with Cole. Or had been. Or was going to be. I couldn't tell the difference.

-What I wanted was: I wanted.

-"I'm asking if you want to take a manly stroll on the beach."

-"Here we have the glazed miniature chocolate bathroom cakes with a paraffin topping. These here are a duo of free-range eggs that are probably hard-boiled, or at least were wet for a long time. This here beside them is a furry, green egg."

-"I'd like to send a card to the flamingo who died to make your coat," Cole told me, "because it is doing a great job being apparel. I would like to put everything not covered by it in my mouth."

-His eyes said everything he hadn't. I wasn't sure my face hadn't been saying the same thing back to him.

-Imaginary creatures are always happy with other imaginary creatures.

-...nine or fifteen or twenty-two minutes...

-Internet: What do you want for your birthday?
Virtual Cole: to stay young forever
Cole texted me: Actually I want you

-...which made me wonder if I'd even said the never mind part out loud. I thought about it and I was pretty sure I remembered the action of forming the words.

-Did it matter if you'd changed if no one believed it?

-Fate was a lousy lay, and I was over her.

-"Take him!" I shouted gladly to the crowd. "He is one of yours!"

-I was so tired of being alone, but I was always alone, even with people around me. And I was so tired of being surrounded, but I was always surrounded, even when I was by myself.

-"I love L.A., but I broke her things. I don't think it's going to work out."

So many quotes, but seriously, I was so excited to have this version of Maggie Stiefvater's writing back that I couldn't stop highlighting.

Cole and Isabel's story isn't an easy one, but I fell in love with it. I want to discuss it for days and days and days, but I want you guys to experience it for yourselves. It's a quick read, and I have no doubt you'll get sucked in without much resistance. I dare you to try not to feel for these two characters who have been hurt so many times before. Sinner gets 4.5 Stars from me. Have you read Sinner? What did you think? Let me know!

Waiting on Sinner

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Sinner

By: Maggie Stiefvater

Expected Publication: July 1st 2014 by Scholastic Press

416 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves

( Goodreds | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--A standalone companion book to the internationally bestselling Shiver Trilogy.

Sinner follows Cole St. Clair, a pivotal character from the #1 New York Times bestselling Shiver Trilogy. Everybody thinks they know Cole's story. Stardom. Addiction. Downfall. Disappearance. But only a few people know Cole's darkest secret -- his ability to shift into a wolf. One of these people is Isabel. At one point, they may have even loved each other. But that feels like a lifetime ago. Now Cole is back. Back in the spotlight. Back in the danger zone. Back in Isabel's life. Can this sinner be saved?

"Legions of fans -- myself included -- have wanted Maggie to return to the world of Shiver, and now she's found an ingenious, sexy, utterly compelling way to do it," says David Levithan, VP/Publisher and Editorial Director, Scholastic Press. "This isn't so much a re-visitation as it is a reinvention, with Maggie taking readers to many places they've never been with her before. There is nothing quite so amazing as Maggie Stiefvater at the top of her game."

Author Maggie Stiefvater says, "For me, finishing the Shiver trilogy was a bittersweet moment -- I knew that I wouldn't be returning to Mercy Falls once Sam and Grace's story was over. But Cole and Isabel still lurked in the back of my mind. Both of them were only half-fixed at the end of the trilogy, and I wanted to know if they could be fixed the rest of the way."

I'm so excited that Maggie Stievfater is returning to The Wolves of Mercy Falls and specifically to Cole & Isabel! What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Top Ten Character Names

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Character Names.

These are names that are either unique, that I just like, or that roll off the tongue.

1) Arya Stark - A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin

2) Blue - The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

3) Cole St. Claire - The Wovles of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater

4) Layken - Slammed by Collen Hoover

5) Cinder - Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

6) Sydney Sage - Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

7) Zuzana - Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

8) Cassian - Firelight by Sophie Jordan

9) Tyrion Lannister - A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin

10) Katsa - Graceling Realm by Kristin Cashore

11) Four - Divergent by Veronica Roth

Those are my favorite character names. What are yours? Let me know!

The Dream Thieves - Review

The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, # 2)

By: Maggie Stiefvater

Expected Publication: September 17th 2013 by Scholastic Press

448 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--The second installment in the all-new series from the masterful, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater!

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...

Oh guys. *deep sigh* I didn't love The Raven Boys right? (Here's my review for that.) But the lowdown was that I felt like it was missing all of things about Maggie Stiefvater's writing style that I loved reading The Wolves of Mercy Falls series. The Wolves of Mercy Falls has really strong characters and is completely character driven in plot. And it's utterly poetic and lyrical. The Raven Boys was more plot driven and was missing the poetry completely. So while I wanted to read The Dream Thieves, I wasn't all that excited about it until I came across this review by Heidi @ Bunbury in the Stacks. Granted I only read the part where she said The Dream Thieves has everything The Raven Boys was missing and I saw that she rated it as 5 stars on Goodreads, but I didn't read the rest of the review because I didn't want my opinion affected by hers.

So I start up The Dream Thieves expecting what I normally expect out of Maggie Stiefvater--brilliance and a flowing, poetic way with words. Well for one, I had forgotten a good bit of the details from The Raven Boys by the time I picked up The Dream Thieves so I started off a bit confused. Then I was just all around confused by the beginning. With the introduction to the Gray Man as a narrator, but really no introduction to him at all. It literally took me until 50% of the way through the book to feel invested and fully interested in the story. And up until this point the writing felt a bit "klunky." It was still poetic, but not in a free flowing, lyrical way. More in an "I'm really having to think about what's being said" kind of way. As I progressed through the book, this got better for me, and I didn't have to think as hard to follow what was happening.

Ronan is such an integral part of The Dream Thieves whereas he wasn't focused upon as much in The Raven Boys. I really enjoyed him being more front and center. I actually struggle with Adam as a character. In a lot of ways, I feel sorry for him. He's had a rough life, and I know there are so many people out there who have been where he's been. But he also has a crap attitude, and I feel like he makes himself weak. It was good to see what character growth he goes through in The Dream Thieves. Gansey takes a much more backseat kind of role in The Dream Thieves as does his search for Glendower, but I absolutely loved him in this book. And then of course there's Blue. Blue also takes more of a secondary kind of role, but as with Gansey, I think I liked her much more in The Dream Thieves than in The Raven Boys. And I completely love the changes that are happening between Blue, Adam, and Gansey.

Our secondary characters make more of an appearance. Blue's mother Maura is developing "something" with the Gray Man. And Persephone's really crucial to Adam's character growth. Obviously as I already mentioned, the Gray Man himself--there's so much going on there. Can I just stop and mention that I thought Blue's family accepted the fact that he's a hit man a whole lot easier than anyone should ever accept such a fact. I mean how many conversations begin with "I'm a hit man," and end with "let's make out,"? Ok, poor example. But you get the point.

The Dream Thieves is told by varying points of view. You're never really quite sure who's going to take on the role next. From Blue, Adam, Ronan, Gansey, and even the Gray Man himself. In some aspects I think writing this way must be difficult because the author must fully understand the minds of each character, but from a reading standpoint, sometimes these multiple POVs make it a little more difficult to connect to our main characters because we don't stay with them for the entire length of the book.

All in all, I did enjoy The Dream Thieves once I made it past 50% and I got really excited about a scene around the 84% mark. I definitely enjoyed this installment much better than The Raven Boys, and I will most definitely pick up book 3 whenever the time comes. I'd give The Dream Thieves a solid 3.5 to 3.8 stars. I think Maggie Stiefvater's work is brilliant when I really break it down, but this one was not "easy" to muddle through. The extremely slow beginning has me unable to give this a full 4 stars. Have you read The Dream Thieves? What did you think? Let me know!

By the way, did you guys hear, Maggie S. is writing a standalone companion to The Wolves of Mercy Falls about Cole and Isabel? You have no idea how happy this makes me. Book one is called Sinner! YAY!

Top Ten Books I Wish Had a Sequel

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Books I Wish Had a Sequel.

Well I don't actually read too many stand-alone books. I'm a series reader...but there are series that I didn't want to end--at least give us a companion novel.

1) Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, # 3) by Cassandra Clare - I'll admit, I'm one of the few people who probably didn't love how this one ended. I definitely want to know more about what's going on with Tessa and Jem after it ended. Maybe we'll get more info in the last Mortal Instruments or in the new series The Dark Artifices.

2) Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo - So this one was a coming of age story, but I wanted her to "win"...I'd like to see Amelia end up happy and in an successful relationship.

3) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Tell me you wouldn't want to know the happenings of Lizzie and Darcy's married life and the romantic adventures of their children. AND actually written by Jane Austen, not fan fiction.

4) Bitterblue (Graceling Realm, # 3) by Kristin Cashore - I want Bitterblue to have a successful relationship, plus I'd just like more of this world.

5) Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley - I don't really want to mess with Ed and Lucy's story, but maybe a companion for this one too. Or shoot, I'd just be happy with more work from Cath Crowley.

6) The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - Again, don't want to mess with Sean and Puck, but I'd take a companion. Want more water horses.

7) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - What I'm thinking is prequel. I'm totally interested in how some of the other games went. I'm sure that would be pretty depressing to read though.

8) Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, # 3) by Maggie Stiefvater - I need to know what's going on with Cole St. Claire.

9) Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, # 7) by JK Rowling - So again, I'm fine with where Harry's story ended, but lets get a companion--read about Harry's kids or something. Or even some random other Hogwarts students. I just don't want to leave this world.

10) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - I want to know more about some of the other characters: Renesme and Jacob. Leah...I want to know Leah has a happy ending. Or shoot...just Midnight Sun finished would be good.

Which books would you like to have sequels? Let me know!

Forever - Review

Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls, # 3)

By: Maggie Stiefvater

Published: July 12th 2011 by Scholastic Press

388 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves

Source: Personal Library

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*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--then.
When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their loved moved from curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.

now.
That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.

forever.
Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment - a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.

So, 4 stars. I read this book pretty quickly. I picked it up on my way home from work on Tuesday, but didn’t start reading it until…Saturday, I think? Finished it in 3 days. I had a hard time putting it down—which usually means one of two things. A) It was excellent. Or B) It kept me thinking good stuff was about to happen and never really did so I had to keep reading to get to the good stuff. I guess this one is unusual as looking back on it I’m not quite sure it fit in either the A or B category. I can’t say it was excellent, but it wasn’t a let down either. Fair warning, I’m having trouble putting my thoughts about this book into coherent sentences.

I do need to address that I love Maggie Stiefvater’s writing style and will be checking out any and all other books she has available from here on out. Now onto the review.

There is a lot of weightiness to this book. Returning to the story after the end of Linger, Grace is now missing/a wolf. Olivia is still missing, and eventually found dead—near Beck’s property. Jack has died (in Shiver). A lot has gone wrong for Mercy Falls. And for Sam and Grace. Sam has the weight of the world on his shoulders. The entire pack’s survival is in his hands, despite not shifting anymore. Grace is a wolf, which is the last thing he wants. He feels like he has to keep Cole from self-destructing—even though Cole’s destructiveness has been put to good use in the experiments he’s created and used on himself to control the shifting. Grace’s father thinks Sam has murdered his daughter—a large portion of Mercy Falls agrees, along with murdering Olivia. The police even agree. And Sam can’t shake the questions he’s ignored for so long about his adopted father’s choice to turn him in the first place. As if all of that is not bad enough, Tom Culpepper is working to get the wolves removed from the protected list so they can be hunted down and snuffed out once and for all. This doesn’t set the stage for good things for our friends in Mercy Falls.

Experiencing the volatility of Grace’s shifting due to the newness of her transformation was interesting. It finally gave us a look into the world of the wolves that we’d yet to experience in the past two books. Grace’s transformation also offers us a transition in her relationship with Sam. They understand each other better having changed roles, yet there’s a wariness about their relationship that they can’t seem to shake. It makes them closer and further apart all at the same time.

If ever there was a theme to this book, it would be trust and forgiveness. Sam and Beck, Grace and her parents, Grace and Rachel, Sam and Koeing (I can't remember if that's how you spell his name and I'm too lazy to look it up right now--sorry, no excuse, I know), Sam and Grace's mom, Cole and life, Cole and Jeremy, Isabel and life, Sam and Cole, the list goes on and on. Just goes to show how dynamic the story really is.

I feel like this review hasn't been composed at all. I can't quite explain it. Maybe I should give it some time and think on it some more, or maybe I need to read the series again. I'm not sure. I'll just say this and leave it be for now, check it out. It's definitely worth a read.

*Updated: September 6, 2013

Linger - Review

Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls, # 2)

By: Maggie Stiefvater

Published: July 13th 2010 by Scholastic Press

360 pages

Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy, Werewolves

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--The astonishing #1 New York Times bestseller.

In Maggie Stiefvater's 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 a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

Ok, so I don’t think I gave Shiver 5 stars, but I’m starting to feel like I should have. I guess I’d be leaning toward 4.9 to 5 for Linger and for the series as a whole thus far.

I very much enjoy the writing style of Maggie Stiefvater. The tone she writes in is beautiful and can be heartbreaking exactly when it should be. I enjoy swapping the narrator in the way that she does. It feels natural, where as other books that I’ve read do this, but have not achieved the narrator swap with the perfection that she has. The voice of the character she chooses to showcase always best fits the situation, whichever is experiencing the scene in the most interesting way is the exact person‘s view she chooses to share with the reader. Continuing with the praise of her writing style, the addition of Cole St. Clair and Isabel’s voices as narrators was also natural and seamless. I was hesitant about this when I first heard they would be additions, but it works so well.

A good portion of the storyline fits in with the real world and that is important to me. I can’t take a book that portrays things as normal—in a semi-normal world—that in no way represent how life is really lived. Grace’s parents don’t believe or understand the intensity behind her relationship with Sam, which I find to be realistic. How many parents would take their child’s first relationship seriously? So many of us have several misses before we hit any where close to the mark. Another realistic aspect of the book is the blow up Grace has with her parents after they find out that Sam’s been spending the night in their daughter’s bed. I had a hard time believing that no matter how absentee the parents that Sam and Grace could get away with sleeping in her bed together every night for so long. So it was appropriate for this to be the catalyst between Grace and her parents’ explosion. The rebellion Grace goes through after her parents’ reaction appears yet again very typical. Despite how unfounded their opinion of Sam, Grace never fully explains why she feels the way that she does and how wrong they are—about Sam’s character in particular. I feel like that’s classic teenage pride—though I can’t imagine myself not vehemently defending my beloved’s honor. It’s a follow up on how adults make teenagers feel like they are idiots and how adults think teenagers believe they know so much more than they actually do. It’s all very believable. One last tidbit about how real this book felt for me…Sam and Grace both have that “miss you while you’re still there” thing going on. I’ve totally felt that before.

Moving into the actual storyline, I was also nervous that with the addition of Cole & Isabel’s voices that we would have a repeat of the exact way that Sam & Grace came together. Forgive me, Maggie Stiefvater, for not having faith in you. It wasn’t personal. It came from being let down by other stories where the characters change names but the overall arch of the story and events remains the same. This did not happen in this book and I loved it for just that reason. Cole and Isabel are their own story. They are their own characters. They are not Sam and Grace, and they stand their ground just the way that they are. SPOILER ALERT: I actually like that they don’t get together in this book. It would be out of character. There is so much pain between the two of them. They need time. They need to heal. And they have to do that alone before they can achieve anything higher than where they are. Cole is learning to let go, learning how to be human again, and Isabel seems to be just trying to keep it together. It would have been fake and completely forced to have them fall madly in love upon first meeting and subsequently solve each others problems and broken hearts.

Sam and Grace. Oh Sam and Grace. I feel certain that Hollywood and critics will talk down about Sam and Grace because they are both so young and are already talking about marriage. Some seem to think it is a weakness to be so in love that you’re broken when they are gone, that you’re unable to function when life threatens to take away your love. They think that makes you weak. I think they are wrong. Perhaps it’s because I was that way myself that I defend this position so adamantly. But all I wanted was to love and to be loved. To hold onto my love with a fist so tight it threatens to snuff out the oxygen for the rest of the world. Sam and Grace are unafraid of loving so deeply that they would be destroyed without the other. I don’t call that weak. I call that strong. Love like there’s no tomorrow.

*Updated: September 6, 2013