Justine's Thoughts: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Linger
[The Wolves of Mercy Falls - book 2]
By Maggie Stiefvater

Source: Won
Pages:  360
Book Description:

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

A quote:

I never knew there were so many ways to say good-bye.

Thoughts:

Expectations: It has been such a long time since I’ve read Shiver that I almost forgot what had happened in the story. So reading the description made me a tiny bit confused. Who’s Cole? I wondered if he was a character I missed from Shiver. No, it turns out he’s a new one, who I’ve come to really like. But throughout reading Linger, I remembered everything about Shiver. It took some remembering, of course, but I ended up loving Linger almost more than I did with Shiver.

About Setting: The small town of Mercy Falls. What I picture? A similar setting to Twilight’s Forks, Washington. It makes sense since there’s woods and what feels like gloomy days. It is Springtime in Linger, however, so the days are brightening but are sometimes filled with rain.

About Characters: I love Sam and Grace and their heartbreaking relationship, but the ones that steal the show are Cole and Isabel. Each of them illuminated in this novel. The way they shone to me individually and together made me so attracted to them. Cole’s character is broken and he covers this up by creating a steel mask of cynicism. Not to mention he is trying to escape from his past. Isabel on the other hand is dealing with a great loss. With the two on a crash course, they’re meant to grow with the help of the other. Also, a similarity or pattern that I find in all the major characters is that they’re all experiencing pain. That’s what makes this series such a pull-at-your-heartstrings kind of book.

About Plot: New hardships come in between Sam and Grace. It feels as though not much happens in Linger though I was fine with it. It sort of prolonged the inevitable that was always there between Sam and Grace, with the addition of a sub-plot (Cole). It is in the end when I could finally see where the trilogy is headed. The writing is absofreakinglutely beautiful. I can’t get enough of it. It makes my heart squeeze, especially with all that angst. I love me some heartbreaking stories.

Overall Rating: Y Y Y Y Y
Linger was perfect after Shiver and there is still so much to know about everything. Forever, here I come!