seanamcphie's review
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Alcohol, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, and Self harm
holly_tree's review
5.0
Opened to the first page: "But. The ink is black."
I didn't realize I was expecting the colored ink of the first 3 Shiver books, but when Sinner was plain black, I was deeply disappointed. Huh.
But: oooh, but. Does it ever make up for it in the story.
It's no secret that Maggie Stiefvater is one of my top three favorite authors. There's something about her writing that is so unique and refreshing that I can't find anywhere else. It's out of the box and cutting edge while being extremely accessible to YA. Her characters come alive in your mind and won't leave you alone.
Having spent my entire life in Southern California, I highly appreciated the setting in LA, and the completely realistic descriptions of it. The relationships and characters are all the dynamic, multi-layered wonders that you expect from dear Maggie. The plot is amazing. Of course, involving both Cole and Isabel, it is full of sass and pain. As Ron Weasley once said, "You're going to suffer, but you're going to be happy about it."
I didn't realize I was expecting the colored ink of the first 3 Shiver books, but when Sinner was plain black, I was deeply disappointed. Huh.
But: oooh, but. Does it ever make up for it in the story.
It's no secret that Maggie Stiefvater is one of my top three favorite authors. There's something about her writing that is so unique and refreshing that I can't find anywhere else. It's out of the box and cutting edge while being extremely accessible to YA. Her characters come alive in your mind and won't leave you alone.
Having spent my entire life in Southern California, I highly appreciated the setting in LA, and the completely realistic descriptions of it. The relationships and characters are all the dynamic, multi-layered wonders that you expect from dear Maggie. The plot is amazing. Of course, involving both Cole and Isabel, it is full of sass and pain. As Ron Weasley once said, "You're going to suffer, but you're going to be happy about it."
jenbsbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I LOVED book one "Shiver" ... and as I reviewed books 2&3, I mentioned I almost wished I'd stopped with that first book. But as I did read the others, when I saw a fourth book available, I felt I should finish, for the sake of completion if nothing else.
It had been a while since I'd finished the trilogy. Long enough that I only had vague memories of the characters and what had happened. Also, after waiting for my library to get in a digital copy, I finally gave up and attempted this in audiobook. To be upfront, I'm not really an audio-gal, so that may have impacted my enjoyment somewhat as well.
But really? I just didn't feel like there was even a story to be told here. There was a touch (very small) of the supernatural, but otherwise, this was just a modern-day romance. I didn't really care for either of the characters much, and ... there just wasn't a lot happening. I was glad when I finally finished it up.
It had been a while since I'd finished the trilogy. Long enough that I only had vague memories of the characters and what had happened. Also, after waiting for my library to get in a digital copy, I finally gave up and attempted this in audiobook. To be upfront, I'm not really an audio-gal, so that may have impacted my enjoyment somewhat as well.
But really? I just didn't feel like there was even a story to be told here. There was a touch (very small) of the supernatural, but otherwise, this was just a modern-day romance. I didn't really care for either of the characters much, and ... there just wasn't a lot happening. I was glad when I finally finished it up.
booksandpajamas's review
4.0
I'm probably crying rainbows right now. I'm such a sucker for cheesy stuff. My god, I love Isabel and Cole.
reeby's review
4.0
AAAA this was such a cute read!! maggie always makes me feel things that i forget to feel on a daily basis. i just- im so happy for the characters and they will always have a place in my heart (i still like grace and sam more oops) such a wholesome wrap up to the series :') <3
writingwwolves's review against another edition
5.0
So this is the part where I’m supposed to sit here and analyse what I’ve just read, but I don’t know how to. Whenever I finish reading a really good book I seem to go into shock, to the point that if someone tries to speak to me, it just doesn’t work. I don’t work. I’m like that now. I keep forgetting what I want to write, I can’t seem to get my thoughts in order.
I fell in love with Maggie because she writes in a way that makes her stories real. She has faeries, wolves, ley lines, dream thieves, water horses and an imagination that could challenge [insert something/one really imaginative], but yet everything she writes is still so damn real. Cole and Isabel make me feel things I didn’t know characters in a book could, sure we all relate to characters in a book and manipulate them to make ourselves believe that we are the same as those characters, but I’ve never felt that need to manipulate and relate more than I have done in this book.
Normally I read to escape from my years-old drowning, but trying to escape from it with a book that revolves around it logically should be a hindrance – but. It’s not. In fact it takes away that really wet feeling drowning causes and now I know that the fact that I can’t swim is okay because Isabel can’t either. And although I’ve never touched drugs, the way Cole is toward his addiction to them is a sister to how I have/do feel about my own self-harm. Maggie has managed to put all the emotions involved in drowning into a beautiful and charming story and it makes my heart lighter and my drowning less watery to know that I have access to this story whenever I need it.
And I will need it. On those nights where I just want to cry and cry and cry and I hate myself and everything I’ve ever done or anything I ever will do or be, and I get swept away by a current and end up fighting for my life – on those wicked, whirlwind nights I will be able to turn to Cole and Isabel and know that they get it.
It won’t last but the two days I’ve spent reading Sinner, I’ve felt less alone. That feeling doesn’t last, if you can’t swim you’re going to drown, but it’s nice, even if for just a second, to get my head above the surface and breathe the clear air.
I didn’t expect the story to hit me so hard, I didn’t expect myself to have such feels when reading it – this entire reaction is completely unknown to me… because yes, I cry over books and I get attached to the characters and yes I have a whole string of fictional boyfriends that spoil me within my fantasies, but I didn’t just cry because the story was sad or because I felt sorry for the characters – I cried because it’s real, and I know it, I know the story, I understand why Isabel runs away from Cole so much and I get why Cole can’t seem to escape from his addictions. I know how it feels to be stuck in your own head, and feel so alone even if you have dozens of people around you. People think drowning is losing your way in a current for a while, or feeling alone, or feeling self-conscious but it’s so much more than that and I will never be able to explain it to someone who hasn’t experienced it first hand – but this book does it, it doesn’t try to describe it, it doesn’t try to make you pity those who can’t swim, what it does is surround you with the salt water, you’re part of the ocean where so much is happening and the story isn’t truly about not being able to swim – it’s not really about anything, but whilst you’re reading through Cole and Isabel’s lives you become surrounded by that bastard salt water and I don’t think I’ve ever read or heard anything that explains/shows/represents/illustrates the drowning so well.
I fell in love with Maggie because she writes in a way that makes her stories real. She has faeries, wolves, ley lines, dream thieves, water horses and an imagination that could challenge [insert something/one really imaginative], but yet everything she writes is still so damn real. Cole and Isabel make me feel things I didn’t know characters in a book could, sure we all relate to characters in a book and manipulate them to make ourselves believe that we are the same as those characters, but I’ve never felt that need to manipulate and relate more than I have done in this book.
Normally I read to escape from my years-old drowning, but trying to escape from it with a book that revolves around it logically should be a hindrance – but. It’s not. In fact it takes away that really wet feeling drowning causes and now I know that the fact that I can’t swim is okay because Isabel can’t either. And although I’ve never touched drugs, the way Cole is toward his addiction to them is a sister to how I have/do feel about my own self-harm. Maggie has managed to put all the emotions involved in drowning into a beautiful and charming story and it makes my heart lighter and my drowning less watery to know that I have access to this story whenever I need it.
And I will need it. On those nights where I just want to cry and cry and cry and I hate myself and everything I’ve ever done or anything I ever will do or be, and I get swept away by a current and end up fighting for my life – on those wicked, whirlwind nights I will be able to turn to Cole and Isabel and know that they get it.
It won’t last but the two days I’ve spent reading Sinner, I’ve felt less alone. That feeling doesn’t last, if you can’t swim you’re going to drown, but it’s nice, even if for just a second, to get my head above the surface and breathe the clear air.
I didn’t expect the story to hit me so hard, I didn’t expect myself to have such feels when reading it – this entire reaction is completely unknown to me… because yes, I cry over books and I get attached to the characters and yes I have a whole string of fictional boyfriends that spoil me within my fantasies, but I didn’t just cry because the story was sad or because I felt sorry for the characters – I cried because it’s real, and I know it, I know the story, I understand why Isabel runs away from Cole so much and I get why Cole can’t seem to escape from his addictions. I know how it feels to be stuck in your own head, and feel so alone even if you have dozens of people around you. People think drowning is losing your way in a current for a while, or feeling alone, or feeling self-conscious but it’s so much more than that and I will never be able to explain it to someone who hasn’t experienced it first hand – but this book does it, it doesn’t try to describe it, it doesn’t try to make you pity those who can’t swim, what it does is surround you with the salt water, you’re part of the ocean where so much is happening and the story isn’t truly about not being able to swim – it’s not really about anything, but whilst you’re reading through Cole and Isabel’s lives you become surrounded by that bastard salt water and I don’t think I’ve ever read or heard anything that explains/shows/represents/illustrates the drowning so well.
clarynathanwill's review
4.0
I enjoyed this. It was great to wrap up Cole and Isabel's story. Not as good as the first three books though.
futurememory's review
3.0
I'd probably give this a 2.5, if we could rate using half stars on GoodReads.
I really enjoyed Cole and Isabelle when I was reading the Shiver trilogy. They were fun, different secondary characters, and they were enjoyable in that context. To explode them into their own book... some stuff works, and some stuff doesn't. Maggie Steifvater still has some very pretty prose going here, but there were some parts of the plot that dragged a little. And I found myself thinking that the book was pretty similar to Where She Went (probably shouldn't have read these two so close together). Neither character is the most sympathetic narrator, and I've always loved Isabelle's hard edges. It's nice to see a female protagonist that's not a "nice girl." But her and Cole jumping through the same immature hoops over and over again gets fairly old, fairly quickly.
It's a decent capper to the Shiver books, but it's divorced from a lot of what made those books pretty decent paranormal romance.
I really enjoyed Cole and Isabelle when I was reading the Shiver trilogy. They were fun, different secondary characters, and they were enjoyable in that context. To explode them into their own book... some stuff works, and some stuff doesn't. Maggie Steifvater still has some very pretty prose going here, but there were some parts of the plot that dragged a little. And I found myself thinking that the book was pretty similar to Where She Went (probably shouldn't have read these two so close together). Neither character is the most sympathetic narrator, and I've always loved Isabelle's hard edges. It's nice to see a female protagonist that's not a "nice girl." But her and Cole jumping through the same immature hoops over and over again gets fairly old, fairly quickly.
It's a decent capper to the Shiver books, but it's divorced from a lot of what made those books pretty decent paranormal romance.
in_emmas_library's review
5.0
This was everything I needed.
I connected with Cole and Isabel in a way I never did with Sam and Grace so I'm so happy to see more of them
I connected with Cole and Isabel in a way I never did with Sam and Grace so I'm so happy to see more of them