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The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1-4
The Shiver Series: Shiver, Linger, Forever, Sinner
The complete New York Times-bestselling series that began with the acclaimed romance, Shiver, "a lyrical tale of alienated werewolves and first love" (Publishers Weekly).
In Shiver, meet Sam. He's not just a normal boy--he has a secret. During the summer he walks and talks as a human, but when the cold comes, he runs with his pack as a wolf. Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house--but never dreamed that she would fall in love with one of them. Linger tells the story of Sam and Grace's struggle to stay together, and the dangerous secret Grace must keep from everyone, including her parents. In Forever, wolves are being hunted, which means the stakes are even higher for Grace and Sam and the wolf pack. With Sinner comes the long awaited story of Cole, a wolf wrestling with his own demons, and his attempt to win back Isabel Culper
For Grace, Sam, and Cole and Isabel, life is harrowing and euphoric, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But can it be enough?
"Beautiful and moving." --School Library Journal on Shiver
This sequel's poetic prose skillfully captures the four teens' longings for love, forgetting, remembering, righting wrongs and life itself." --Kirkus Reviews on Linger
In Shiver, meet Sam. He's not just a normal boy--he has a secret. During the summer he walks and talks as a human, but when the cold comes, he runs with his pack as a wolf. Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house--but never dreamed that she would fall in love with one of them. Linger tells the story of Sam and Grace's struggle to stay together, and the dangerous secret Grace must keep from everyone, including her parents. In Forever, wolves are being hunted, which means the stakes are even higher for Grace and Sam and the wolf pack. With Sinner comes the long awaited story of Cole, a wolf wrestling with his own demons, and his attempt to win back Isabel Culper
For Grace, Sam, and Cole and Isabel, life is harrowing and euphoric, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But can it be enough?
"Beautiful and moving." --School Library Journal on Shiver
This sequel's poetic prose skillfully captures the four teens' longings for love, forgetting, remembering, righting wrongs and life itself." --Kirkus Reviews on Linger
1412 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2014
316 people are currently reading
1009 people want to read
About the author
Maggie Stiefvater
63 books172k followersNew York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.
Maggie Stiefvater plays several musical instruments (most infamously, the bagpipes) and makes art in several media (most generally, colored pencils).
She lives in Virginia with her husband, their two children, many dogs, a bunch of fainting goats, and an irascible tuner car.
Maggie Stiefvater plays several musical instruments (most infamously, the bagpipes) and makes art in several media (most generally, colored pencils).
She lives in Virginia with her husband, their two children, many dogs, a bunch of fainting goats, and an irascible tuner car.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 19, 2024
I love this series so much that after reading it first in Croatian quite a few years ago, I had to read it again in the original in English. Shiver, Linger, Forever, and Sinner is all that I need from the young adult romance series about super cool and realistic teen characters shifting into my favorite animals. Satisfaction guaranteed. With an occasional tear.
deals
December 23, 201523 December 2015: $23.99 on Kindle
December 26, 2023
A great series! I would have given 4.5 stars but it won't let me! Maggie took a creature that has been in many movies/shows etc and made it truly unique! She is an amazing writer and I cannot wait to read more of her books!
March 13, 2018
this is like a 4 - 4.5 star read
August 16, 2022
I have the whole collection, it is one of my confort books of all time.It migth be a cheesy love story but it is so wonderful Iw ould reccomend 10/10
September 2, 2022
The. Best. Thing. Ever. Well i do say this for every book i read, but im telling you this series is 100% worth reading!!!
July 19, 2023
I absolutely fell in love with the series, the suspense it left me in was painfully beautiful.
August 13, 2024
Should not have gone past book one, in my opinion...
January 27, 2025
Beautiful werewolf story
April 28, 2015
For many years, we were inundated in paranormal romances -- including quite a few about werewolves. But Maggie Stiefvater's "Shiver Series" has a delicate, haunting, wintry quality that most paranormal romances lack, as well as a romance that tosses aside "Twilight"-style crushy obsessions in favor of a gentle, sweet romance threatened by nature itself as well as humanity.
In "Shiver," Grace has been visited by a yellow-eyed wolf every winter, ever since he saved her life as a small child. When a teenage boy is killed by wolves, and his body is stolen from the morgue, she somehow knows that supernatural stuff is afoot.
When a bunch of illegal hunters try to kill the local wolf pack, Grace rushes in to save her wolf -- and finds "her wolf" as a wounded, naked human boy. It turns out that cold triggers his transformations, while "warm makes me me. Makes me Sam." But as the cold approaches the town again, Grace may lose Sam in more than one way -- if she isn't destroyed as well.
"Linger" picks up with Sam and Grace trying to have a semi-normal HUMAN life -- getting a job, thinking about college, and fending off a police investigation into Olivia's disappearance. But Cole is determined to lose his pain in his wolf form, until he inadvertently stumbles into Isabel's life, and she finds herself drawn to him. And Grace's happiness at having Sam back is overshadowed by a mysterious illness, which may draw her even closer to the world of the werewolves.
"Forever" has Grace returning after her first winter as a wolf, still unstable. She hides in Cole and Sam's house, and for a brief time the young lovers are blissfully happy. But someone has been killed by one of the wolves, and Isabel's father has used his influence to have the entire pack killed. And as the four teens try to save the pack, their only hope may be a cure Cole has been searching for.
"Sinner" is less a sequel to the trilogy, and more a companion piece that comes after. Isabel has gone to live with relatives in California, to get away from her lycanthropy-wrecked life and her tumultuous relationship with Cole. But Cole has come to L.A., edging back into his life of rock'n'roll fame as he tries to win her back. But both of them have cracks and flaws that keep them from easily fitting back into each other's lives.
This trilogy has a poetic quality that most urban fantasy lacks -- it's a delicate, hauntingly crystalline book where even the humdrum high-school stuff takes on an ethereal quality. Maggie Stiefvater really came up with a unique idea for werewolves as well, where their transformation is dependent on the temperature -- cold makes them wolves, warmth makes then human. (Why don't they move to the tropics then?)
And her prose has a shimmering, silvery beauty that envelops you in black-leafed forests, wintry skies, snow-encrusted fur and icy air ("Despite the chilly air that made ghosts of my breath..."). She writes dramatic, intense situations that really grasp your emotions (Grace almost drowning in a muddy pool), but without melodrama or excessive dialogue.
"Sinner" is a somewhat different beast from the other three books -- while lycanthropy is still an enduring part of the story, it focuses more on romantic turmoil than on fantasy. It's a glittering, neon-hued story about a messy relationship that will never stop being messy and passionate... which happens to involve a werewolf.
I'm also rather sick of hormonal teenagers obsessing on each other and calling it "true love." Grace and Sam's relationship is a much more moving one -- hesitant, unsure, but deeply caring and rooted in true affection. As time goes on, they become more passionate and adorable, all the more so because they have to wait for each other. We also have a much more tempestuous, unpredictable couple in the charming, erratic Cole and snarky rich girl Isabel, who are just as gripping as Sam and Grace.
Maggie Stiefvater's "Shiver Series" deftly sidesteps many of the genre cliches, and leaves you in a chilly cocoon of beautiful prose. A must-read for those who want something more poetic and less creepy than your average werewolf romance.
In "Shiver," Grace has been visited by a yellow-eyed wolf every winter, ever since he saved her life as a small child. When a teenage boy is killed by wolves, and his body is stolen from the morgue, she somehow knows that supernatural stuff is afoot.
When a bunch of illegal hunters try to kill the local wolf pack, Grace rushes in to save her wolf -- and finds "her wolf" as a wounded, naked human boy. It turns out that cold triggers his transformations, while "warm makes me me. Makes me Sam." But as the cold approaches the town again, Grace may lose Sam in more than one way -- if she isn't destroyed as well.
"Linger" picks up with Sam and Grace trying to have a semi-normal HUMAN life -- getting a job, thinking about college, and fending off a police investigation into Olivia's disappearance. But Cole is determined to lose his pain in his wolf form, until he inadvertently stumbles into Isabel's life, and she finds herself drawn to him. And Grace's happiness at having Sam back is overshadowed by a mysterious illness, which may draw her even closer to the world of the werewolves.
"Forever" has Grace returning after her first winter as a wolf, still unstable. She hides in Cole and Sam's house, and for a brief time the young lovers are blissfully happy. But someone has been killed by one of the wolves, and Isabel's father has used his influence to have the entire pack killed. And as the four teens try to save the pack, their only hope may be a cure Cole has been searching for.
"Sinner" is less a sequel to the trilogy, and more a companion piece that comes after. Isabel has gone to live with relatives in California, to get away from her lycanthropy-wrecked life and her tumultuous relationship with Cole. But Cole has come to L.A., edging back into his life of rock'n'roll fame as he tries to win her back. But both of them have cracks and flaws that keep them from easily fitting back into each other's lives.
This trilogy has a poetic quality that most urban fantasy lacks -- it's a delicate, hauntingly crystalline book where even the humdrum high-school stuff takes on an ethereal quality. Maggie Stiefvater really came up with a unique idea for werewolves as well, where their transformation is dependent on the temperature -- cold makes them wolves, warmth makes then human. (Why don't they move to the tropics then?)
And her prose has a shimmering, silvery beauty that envelops you in black-leafed forests, wintry skies, snow-encrusted fur and icy air ("Despite the chilly air that made ghosts of my breath..."). She writes dramatic, intense situations that really grasp your emotions (Grace almost drowning in a muddy pool), but without melodrama or excessive dialogue.
"Sinner" is a somewhat different beast from the other three books -- while lycanthropy is still an enduring part of the story, it focuses more on romantic turmoil than on fantasy. It's a glittering, neon-hued story about a messy relationship that will never stop being messy and passionate... which happens to involve a werewolf.
I'm also rather sick of hormonal teenagers obsessing on each other and calling it "true love." Grace and Sam's relationship is a much more moving one -- hesitant, unsure, but deeply caring and rooted in true affection. As time goes on, they become more passionate and adorable, all the more so because they have to wait for each other. We also have a much more tempestuous, unpredictable couple in the charming, erratic Cole and snarky rich girl Isabel, who are just as gripping as Sam and Grace.
Maggie Stiefvater's "Shiver Series" deftly sidesteps many of the genre cliches, and leaves you in a chilly cocoon of beautiful prose. A must-read for those who want something more poetic and less creepy than your average werewolf romance.
March 8, 2017
was a very good story about people who got bit by wolves and changed back and forth..characters were great sam grace cole olivia isabela beck racheal can't really explain story as it is too long but the pack while in woods are terrific shelby is envious devious jealous over grace and sam...great read different but very good i enjoyed it immensely.
June 23, 2024
Technically, it’s four books in one. Which is why it took me so long to read them. That was a lot of pages to read through!
Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of werewolf stories but this series was so different from anything I’d read involving werewolves before. The reason why they become wolves is unique, not like the usual full-moon trope. And the plot is good, too. It feels like a real plot, not just a poorly-veiled excuse for a guy to go beast-mode and claim mates, etc… To be fair, its YA so it couldn’t get too spicy but the relationships and characters all feel REAL. Like they could happen in real life. If, you know, werewolves existed.
There are a lot of chapters in these books, but many of them are short chapters, and each is from a different character’s POV. So it’s done pretty well for having multiple viewpoints. I didn’t get too mixed up in who was narrating at any given point. I also just love the style of Maggie’s writing. By turns edgy and poetic.
My biggest critique is that, at the end of Forever, it feels … unfinished. Like there should be more to the story. But the final book, Sinner, has an entirely different plot going on with Cole and Isabel, and it leaves the first three books behind and does not have a proper ending for that story (Did Cole succeed in curing the werewolves? He was working on it. That’s as far as it got. No definite resolution that he’d found a cure).
Probably Sinner was my least favorite of the quartet, just because it felt so different from the first three. It was still a well-written book and I like Cole and Isabel as characters, but they are both so toxic. Sam and Grace balanced them out. Without the voices of reason, they’re just a mess. I wanted to smack both of them more than once. And, as I said, although werewolves were (kind of) involved, the actual werewolf plot was left in the dust in favor of Cole finding himself and regaining his former fame via reality TV.
I still don’t know what happened to the Wolves of Mercy Falls. I guess they just stay wolves forever.
Overall, if you’re a fan of stories involving werewolves I really would recommend this series. At least the first three books. Sinner, you could take it or leave it. I think it reads more like a side-story than part of the actual trilogy, but it might still be worth a read if you like Cole and Isabel and especially like them together, no matter how toxic their personalities are.
Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of werewolf stories but this series was so different from anything I’d read involving werewolves before. The reason why they become wolves is unique, not like the usual full-moon trope. And the plot is good, too. It feels like a real plot, not just a poorly-veiled excuse for a guy to go beast-mode and claim mates, etc… To be fair, its YA so it couldn’t get too spicy but the relationships and characters all feel REAL. Like they could happen in real life. If, you know, werewolves existed.
There are a lot of chapters in these books, but many of them are short chapters, and each is from a different character’s POV. So it’s done pretty well for having multiple viewpoints. I didn’t get too mixed up in who was narrating at any given point. I also just love the style of Maggie’s writing. By turns edgy and poetic.
My biggest critique is that, at the end of Forever, it feels … unfinished. Like there should be more to the story. But the final book, Sinner, has an entirely different plot going on with Cole and Isabel, and it leaves the first three books behind and does not have a proper ending for that story (Did Cole succeed in curing the werewolves? He was working on it. That’s as far as it got. No definite resolution that he’d found a cure).
Probably Sinner was my least favorite of the quartet, just because it felt so different from the first three. It was still a well-written book and I like Cole and Isabel as characters, but they are both so toxic. Sam and Grace balanced them out. Without the voices of reason, they’re just a mess. I wanted to smack both of them more than once. And, as I said, although werewolves were (kind of) involved, the actual werewolf plot was left in the dust in favor of Cole finding himself and regaining his former fame via reality TV.
I still don’t know what happened to the Wolves of Mercy Falls. I guess they just stay wolves forever.
Overall, if you’re a fan of stories involving werewolves I really would recommend this series. At least the first three books. Sinner, you could take it or leave it. I think it reads more like a side-story than part of the actual trilogy, but it might still be worth a read if you like Cole and Isabel and especially like them together, no matter how toxic their personalities are.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2024
Earlier this year, I read the RAVEN CYCLE books for the first time, followed by the DREAMER TRILOGY, and all of these were one of the most satisfying reading experiences I've had in a long time. I am not particularly interested in werewolf/shapeshifter stories, but this 4-in-1 volume showed up as a kindle deal and my love for Ms. Stiefvater's later series led me to take a chance on this one.
I didn't love this. I had a problem with Grace, a boring human girl whose only distinguishing feature is surviving a wolf attack. Sam, her werewolf boyfriend, is somewhat more interesting, but the two of them together is a snooze, and it seems like all they do is sleep for a good part of the story. From the beginning, they are like people who have been together for decades, which can be nice, but it can also be boring. As a romance, this is tepid.
Over the course of three books, things do happen, and other werewolves are introduced, including Sam's adoptive dad Beck, who makes really bad decisions. Of note, when he brings some freshly-made werewolves to the house, there are 3 of them in his car. But only 2 of them factor into the story, and I kept waiting for that third werewolf to reappear to no avail. There are actually a ton of werewolves who never factor in, about two dozen of them appearing as extras in a crowd scene near the end of the third book.
The fourth book is all about rockstar-werewolf Cole and ice queen Isabel and it takes place in LA instead of Minnesota. It is really blatantly an example of an author loving to write a character so much that it doesn't matter if he actually warrants a book of his own. I didn't hate it, but Cole and Isabel are actually a terrible couple and it's easy to imagine a life of bickering and flouncing and tears for them both.
I didn't love this. I had a problem with Grace, a boring human girl whose only distinguishing feature is surviving a wolf attack. Sam, her werewolf boyfriend, is somewhat more interesting, but the two of them together is a snooze, and it seems like all they do is sleep for a good part of the story. From the beginning, they are like people who have been together for decades, which can be nice, but it can also be boring. As a romance, this is tepid.
Over the course of three books, things do happen, and other werewolves are introduced, including Sam's adoptive dad Beck, who makes really bad decisions. Of note, when he brings some freshly-made werewolves to the house, there are 3 of them in his car. But only 2 of them factor into the story, and I kept waiting for that third werewolf to reappear to no avail. There are actually a ton of werewolves who never factor in, about two dozen of them appearing as extras in a crowd scene near the end of the third book.
The fourth book is all about rockstar-werewolf Cole and ice queen Isabel and it takes place in LA instead of Minnesota. It is really blatantly an example of an author loving to write a character so much that it doesn't matter if he actually warrants a book of his own. I didn't hate it, but Cole and Isabel are actually a terrible couple and it's easy to imagine a life of bickering and flouncing and tears for them both.
nfs
April 26, 2016Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) - 2 stars
The story line and writing was pretty simple and put me off right away. Also, the constant switching of the point of views left me frustrated. It was an extremely slow read and took me forever to get through; the plot was just sooooo slow.
First of all Grace fell in love with a wolf, a wolf, not a boy, a wolf years before she found out he could turn into a boy. This really creped me out, I am all for the paranormal romance scene with vampires and werewolves and even ghosts and everything but normally they fall in love with the human then find out they are something else NOT the other way around. I also felt that the characterization was not likable in either Grace or Sam.
One good thing about this book was that it had an interesting and unique take on werewolves which I found refreshing from the boring mundane a million times over done views.
Not finishing series
The story line and writing was pretty simple and put me off right away. Also, the constant switching of the point of views left me frustrated. It was an extremely slow read and took me forever to get through; the plot was just sooooo slow.
First of all Grace fell in love with a wolf, a wolf, not a boy, a wolf years before she found out he could turn into a boy. This really creped me out, I am all for the paranormal romance scene with vampires and werewolves and even ghosts and everything but normally they fall in love with the human then find out they are something else NOT the other way around. I also felt that the characterization was not likable in either Grace or Sam.
One good thing about this book was that it had an interesting and unique take on werewolves which I found refreshing from the boring mundane a million times over done views.
Not finishing series
June 7, 2025
The first book was amazing, beautiful and emotional. I couldn’t put it down. But the second and third books felt like a waste of time. Grace is sick in book two, then suddenly shifting in book three. Sam misses her constantly but doesn’t do much about it. Cole is clever but insufferable, and Isabel might be the most annoying character I’ve ever read. I made it halfway through the last book before skipping to the end, and even that felt disappointing. Honestly, the series started strong but completely lost its magic.
August 18, 2015
This is a really fun book and a very creative way to look at werewolves. I really like how dark Maggie Stiefvater can take her books, while still maintaining a YA status. The books look at the darker side of life without making me feel super depressed. Her writing can be blunt and shocking, but it's also creative in how she switches up points of view so that you get the entire story. Great series. My students really enjoyed them.
February 16, 2015
I want to read Rilke so bad. And spend winter somewhere where it snows. Goddamnit, there are so many phrases in this book that I just have to stop and savour the taste of. So, update: still just as good as the first time around. And my last full read for the year. Bless you, Shiver.
December 7, 2019
Official Rating:
5/5 stars 🌟
5/5 stars 🌟
March 10, 2024
I enjoyed this book
I enjoyed this story about Cole St.Clair and Isabel Culpeper. I enjoyed their journey to them finding their happy ever after.
I enjoyed this story about Cole St.Clair and Isabel Culpeper. I enjoyed their journey to them finding their happy ever after.
May 27, 2015
One of my favorite series
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews