Forever Review

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater is the kind of book that turns your steaming hot cup of coffee into something lukewarm and undrinkable. Seriously. And yes, that has just happened to me as I started reading - I forgot all about my drink. It’s hard to believe that this is the final book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series and I will be sad to see it end. Maggie’s books are like old friends to me and I’m thinking that I might just have to pay them another visit sometime in the future. Can I recommend to those who have not yet had the pleasure of reading Shiver or Linger to please go and get acquainted with them forthwith so you too can make lifelong friends and not encounter any potential spoilers that you might find here for the first two books. For those of you who have already read and enjoyed those books, let’s go on. As you will remember in Shiver, Sam was the wolf and in Linger, Grace was the wolf. Well, in Forever Grace is learning to live in her own skin as a wolf for most of the time and Sam desperate to have the girl he loves back in his arms (it’s a little awkward right now, what with her being a wolf and all). Unfortunately, there has never been a worse time to be a wolf as a devastating plan is put in motion to eradicate the wolves of Mercy Falls as they are thought to be a danger to the public. The trouble is, Grace doesn’t know. Eek. Here’s the very short yet tantalizing synopsis:

“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.”

What I love about Maggie’s writing is that she lulls you into a fall sense of security. I find her books comforting to read and I inevitably read along at a steady pace when suddenly, out of nowhere there will be a particular scene that shocks me out of my comfort zone and into the moment. There were a few stand out scenes for me and I want to thank you Maggie, for keeping things interesting ;)

I’m not going to go into too much detail about what happens in the book but you can guarantee that as the tension mounts, the stakes are raised and it’s not just Grace whose life hangs in the balance but all of the wolves we’ve come to know and love.

I’ve heard some grumbles in the blogosphere about the ending and I have to say that I thought the ending was perfect. It didn’t give you all the answers you may have been looking for but you know what? We don’t need all the answers. We’re intelligent enough as readers to come to our own conclusions and every character had the right ending FOR THEM even if you wanted things to go a little differently. You may also be pleased to know that there are no wolf babies (although I think secretly I hoped for them LOL). What I will say however is that I advise you to wear waterproof mascara when you’re nearing the end of the book. Shiver made me cry; Linger didn’t but Forever had me bawling like a baby.

I have to say that I’ve loved every minute of reading this trilogy and I’m glad to have the books on my shelves. I’ve also got my sister into these books and I hope I’ve inspired others to read and fall in love with them too. With its rich characters, lush setting and lyrical writing from Maggie, this book series is to be treasured and remembered forever.

Forever was released on 12th July. Thank you to Scholastic for providing me with an ARC. To find out more about Maggie’s books including the upcoming “The Scorpio Races” click here. There is also a site dedicated to the Wolves of Mercy Falls which you can access here. Maggie is also a member of the Merry Sisters of Fates (together with fellow authors and crit partners Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff) and you can access the site here. Maggie is active on Facebook and Twitter.