Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #2)

Reader reviewed by Courtney

I liked Linger better than I liked the first book of the series, Shiver.  Linger was the continuation of the story of the wolf Sam and his girlfriend Grace and all their friends. In Shiver Grace tried to save Sam from staying as a wolf forever so they cured him and now he is human, so now he and Grace can be together. Things are not that easy for them though and they have to fight to stay together.  There were lots of twists and turns in this sequel that make it a fast and enjoyable read.

They've made Grace's friend Isabel a more important character in this story. Her character is a cold, angry snob but I actually enjoyed her.  She spoke what was on her mind and her emotions seemed real.  Then there are some of the newly created wolves like Cole and Victor.  Cole is disturbed and suicidal character, which is a lot like Isabel so they have a connection right from the start.

I thought Maggie did a better job at connecting you with the story Linger more so than Shiver. I felt the characters were more in depth and the story line just seemed to flow a lot better. There was again some sexual content in here that I could have lived without but it wasn't overwhelming in this book and for that reason I enjoyed it more. Great read.

Linger continues where Shiver ended.
I really liked the characters. Sam was a nice person with some interesting hobbies like bread baking and origami. Grace was practical and responsible. And the addition of Cole made things more interesting.
I liked Sam and Grace's continued romance. But, I felt that the story was kind of slow and was just leading up to the cliffhanger at the end.
I'll still read Forever to see how the trilogy ends.

Reader reviewed by The Bookshelf Sophisticate

If you've ever read a review or critique on Maggie Stiefvater or her previous books you will recognize and come to expect certain key terms like lyrical, passionate, poetic, creative and talented. All of these descriptions ring true for Stiefvater and her writing. After reading and enjoying Shiver I had high expectations for Linger and I was not disappointed. Stiefvater took the love story between Sam and Grace and if it's even possible made it more dramatic and heart wrenching. You are constantly rooting for them and crossing your fingers that they will finally get the happy ending that they so greatly deserve. But rather than stop there (because apparently Stiefvater wanted to torture readers more) we are presented with a new character Cole, and a new connection between he and Isabel.

Cole and Isabel are both going through a difficult time and I enjoyed watching them go through that together (not in a mean way or anything). It was like they recognized something in each other and knew they could lean on one another. I was a little disappointed that at times in the book we got more information on these two than on Sam and Grace, but at the same time it was like an added bonus. We got two more characters to root for and care about, and another couple to hope for. Overall I think Cole and Isabel added to the greatness that is the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, but I know some readers will want nothing but Sam and Grace and who can blame them?

I'm not sure I have a favorite when comparing Shiver and Linger but I'm upset that I have to wait a year for Forever to be released, that's just too long. All in all I think Stiefvater has another success on her hands and an overall fan pleaser.

Linger has about a million awesome quotes for everything. So yes, I couldn't help but enjoy it. I loved the characters, especially the addition of Cole, he is awesome. I love how real their flaws and personalities are, it makes for a great book. However, I kept waiting and waiting for some kind of plot to happen, but it never really got there. The big reveal wasn't that big and took up all of 40 some pages. It is almost as if both Shiver and Linger were the setting of the stage for what is going to happen in Forever instead of stories with full plots on their own. I don't mind, it just isn't what I expected. Overall though I really enjoyed this installment and am eager to read Forever, so I suppose it succeeded in it's purpose.”

I really wasn’t that into this book. I’m not sure what it was exactly that bothered me, but I had a really hard time wanting to read Linger. I vaguely remember feeling the same way about the first book, Shiver. However, I can truly say that I did find myself pretty interested in the plot by the end of the book.
I hate that it took so long for this plot to get going. It seemed to drag on for-ev-er. I had to make myself keep reading. Cole and Isabelle really were the only things in the book that held my interest. Sam seemed too emo and Grace was lacking whatever charisma she had in the first book. Actually, Grace and Sam were very Bella and Edward-like in this book. Really annoying. Cole, however, was different. His story is unique and very troubled, which made him a great addition to the story. Of course, Isabelle’s troubled nature kept things feisty as well. She was snarky and contemptuous, which helped cut through the overly sappy emotions coming from Sam and Grace. Thank goodness for characters with issues!
As I said, the ending was pretty darn good. It definitely has me wondering what will happen next. I went ahead and put in a request for Forever from my library, but I am prepared to send the book back if it starts off the way Linger did. I refuse to suffer through another slow beginning. In fact, I’m prepared to start asking people to give me a run-down of the final book’s plot. I have too many other lust-worthy books to read this summer. No time for Twilight repeats.
I give Linger a 3 based solely on the ending. Otherwise, this would have been a 2 all the way through.

Personally, I did not care for Shiver as much as I had hoped to. I found Grace and Sam's obsession with one another pretty absurdly disgusting. I suppose their are couples that want to be together 24/7/365, but they probably are not people I would want to know. This book, though, was better from the addition of Cole and Isabel's perspectives. Cole and Isabel are both sarcastic and cynical, so reading their thoughts was much more enjoyable for me than reading the love-soaked longing of Grace and Sam.

One more awesome thing about Linger: the text of the novel is green. Made me realize how awesome it is to not be reading in black and white for a change, which is rarely possible with books. That was an awesome decision on the part of the publisher, although I wish they had done Shiver in blue, so that the series was consistent.

The ending indicates that at least one more book will be coming in this series. Here's hoping that Cole and Isabel keep getting a larger portion of the book. Recommended for fans of the first book. If you're wondering whether to start the series, I might wait and see how people review the series as a whole, as I am still not entirely sold on it.