Forever

Forever is the final book in the Mercy Falls trilogy, and it's just as gripping and filled with emotion as the first two, Shiver and Linger. Beginning a few months after Grace has shifted into a wolf, we find Sam and Isabel waiting for her return as the weather warms, and Cole still intent on discovering a cure. Meanwhile, suspicion has turned on Sam due to Grace's disappearance, and Isabel's father is determined to rid Boundary Woods of all wolves, no matter the cost. When he gets lawmakers on his side, Isabel knows time is running out and she has to do something.

I love Cole St. Clair. I just had to say that. He is comic relief, determination, arrogance, and romance all rolled into one character, and while his story is secondary, he's actually the one I felt closest to throughout Forever. I loved the banter between he and Isabel, and the scene in her mother's clinic is perfect. Don't get me wrong, I love Sam as well, but Cole...he's the most three dimensional figure in the series.


Forever runs mostly on emotion, with the love and longing of Grace and Sam taking center stage. I love how these two work together and I swear I could feel the longing between the two when Grace kept shifting. Both characters have a lot of childhood issues to deal with in Forever, and things don't always work out as planned. It's during those times that both Isabel and Rachel shine; I would want both of these girls on my side in a crisis.


Possible spoiler...While I loved Forever, and feel it's a strong finale, I am disappointed in the ultimate ending. For the last of a trilogy, it's just too open-ended. I can imagine what I hope will happen, and the title of the book gives me a clue that perhaps I'm right. But to leave things unsettled really bothers me, to the point that I took a star off my final review. I felt as though, rather than making a statement, the ending was almost a cop out; perhaps the author had originally intended for either Grace or Sam to die and then just couldn't do it herself so she left the possibility? And if she wanted them to live, why not just extend the book a bit more or add an epilogue? It just doesn't make sense in a series that has been carefully plotted and developed so well up to that point. Don't get me wrong, I loved Forever and will recommend this series to others. I just will always wish the author hadn't left it up to me to decide the ultimate fates of two people I'd grown very close to over the course of three books. One way or the other, I needed more closure than was provided, and that mars my overall enjoyment (slightly) of this book.

~taminator40

Shiver

In Linger, the sequel to Shiver, Sam is beyond excited that he's stayed human through the cold months of winter, which means he's cured of his werewolf nature. He's looking forward--cautiously--to being with Grace forever, though the loss of Beck and the other wolves still hurts. Grace, meanwhile, has begun to worry her parents with her devotion to Sam, and when they catch him in her room one night, the hammer of doom descends. Which would be bad enough, but there's something wrong with Grace, something really awful, and she is beginning to realize she's not going to be around for much longer.

Linger is captivating from the first chapter and doesn't let go with the last page. Mixed into the deep connection between Grace and Sam, we also get the stories of Isabel, Grace's friend, and Cole, a newly turned wolf who also happens to be a rock star looking for a way out of his life. The viewpoints shift frequently in Linger; while I might not have been enamored of Cole especially in the beginning, I came to care equally for all four by the time the book closed. It's that good.

There are lots of emotions packed into Linger, and a sense of forboding surrounds almost every page. The stress Grace feels and the doubt that continues to permeate everything Sam does is palpable, and I actually liked the dynamic that Cole brings to the wolves. There is desperation, denial, and hope all wrapped up in Grace's life, and a sense of urgency kept me turning the pages. This one lived up to my expectations fully, and I'll be waiting eagerly for the final installment, Forever.

~taminator40