Review of Shiver

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Series: Wolves of Mercy Falls #1
Official Website
Description: For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to be human - and Grace must fight to keep him - even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.
Review: Seeing as Shiver is very big in the blogosphere, I thought I should read it before the final book, Forever comes out. I still have one more to read, (Linger) but I think I can finish it by July.


Shiver tells the story of Grace Brisbane, a girl who was attacked by wolves when she was 6. However, there was one wolf, the one with distinct yellow eyes, who did not attack her, and instead prodded her with his nose. She was bitten, but miraculously, she survived. 


She become obsessed with the wolves, always watching for 'her' wolf in the winter, and seeing him disappear in the summer. When a local boy, Jack Culpeper, gets killed by the wolves, there is a shooting party to kill them all. But Grace stops it. When she goes back home, she finds a boy on her deck, shot, with those same yellow eyes, gasping for air. And thus begins her new life, with her werewolf boyfriend by her side.


I really enjoyed Shiver. I thought the romance between Sam & Grace was believable. They have been waiting for so long to be together, and now that they finally are, it's overwhelming at first, but it blooms into a beautiful relationship. I read some reviews on Goodreads, and people said things like, she's only 16, she doesn't know love. Yes, but she's been waiting for this wolf, who saved her life, forever, and now she finally has him. Wouldn't you be in love, too?


I liked many of the supporting characters as well. First there was Beck, who was the father that Sam never had. He taught him the 'ways of the wolf' and helped him conquer some inner demons. Then there was Isabel, who I really liked. She was mourning her brother, and she was tough. She reminds me a lot of Isabelle Lightwood from the Mortal Instruments series. She seems like a 'hard as nails' type of girl, and I'm glad that she gets a romantic interest in Linger. 


I don't know why, but I feel like the mortal friends in any supernatural romance book are annoying.Olivia was the friend who Grace shared her love of wolves with, but they fight for about half of the book. She becomes a semi-big part of the book, when she has more in common with Grace than Grace knows. Rachel was just sorta there, and was annoying to me. 


As I was reading the other reviews of Shiver, I read about the constant similarities between Shiver and Twilight. Yes, there is supernatural romance. But the only real similarity I found was when Grace thought Sam was dead, and she was lost without him. I pictured it in my mind like in New Moon (is it New Moon....??) when Bella's sitting in the chairs watching the months pass by. 


Another thing I liked was how Grace was trying to figure out, scientifically, if there is a cure for werewolves. Grace was bitten, but didn't turn into a werewolf. She comes to the conclusion that since she was locked in a car when she was younger, and exposed to extreme heat, that cancelled out the werewolf within. Sam and the pack change when it is really cold. So, her and Isabel try to come up with a cure. 


Overall, Shiver is a wild ride that includes tears, smiles, and a little bit of hope.

"I knew with sudden, chilling certainty that this was my last year. To meet Grace only 

now seemed like an intensely cruel twist of fate."

-page 82-83, Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater