Top Ten Series I Have Started, but Not Finished

1.) Vampire Academy: I read the first one when I was eighteen and dear lord, did I love this series! I have only the last book to read, but I just haven't picked it up and probably won't unless I do a reread of the entire series. Rose Hathaway = best female character in a long time!

2.) Wither: The first book was so creepy good, but the human trafficking/statutory rape kind of turned me off. Not to mention, the love interest was super boring. I have Fever on my to-read list at the library, so there may still be hope!

3.) The Mortal Instruments: Read the first two, most likely won't pick up the rest. I found CC's writing to be exhausting to read (half of it could be cut out) and the movie casting seriously ruined the images in my head. Jace Wayland (or whatever his real last name is) deserved so much better than Jamie Campbell Bower.

4.) Graceling: I hated Graceling at the beginning and loved it at the end. Fire is on my to-be-read list and I promise to pick it up this year!

5.) Blue Bloods: I LOVED BLUE BLOODS! But the last book (the fifth, I believe?) did not keep my interest at all. More Jack/Schuyler and I'm a happy girl!

6.) Divergent: I didn't make it through the first Divergent and refuse to try and reread it. I do not get the love AT ALL for this book.

7.) Across the Universe: I liked the first book, the second was meh, but the covers were so beautiful. Until they changed them! The final book is on my life and I will probably read it sometime this year.

8.) The Wolves of Mercy Falls: This is a series I'm not sure why I haven't finished as Shiver was flawless. I have been meaning to pick up the author's other books, but alas, here I am.

9.) Hereafter: Another beautiful cover for a 'meh' book. I have no strong opinions about the series, but I should probably finish it just because I started it and didn't totally hate the book. This clearly needs to be a rule of mine.

10.) The Iron Fey: I love this series, but it's gotten lost amongst other books I want to read. This is another author I want to start another series with, but so much to read, so little time!

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Shiver
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Paranornal YA
Pages: 400
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (June 1, 2010)
Source: My Kindle
Summary: Grace, 17, loves the peace and tranquility of the woods behind her home. It is here during the cold winter months that she gets to see her wolf—the one with the yellow eyes. Grace is sure that he saved her from an attack by other wolves when she was nine. Over the ensuing years he has returned each season, watching her with those haunting eyes as if longing for something to happen. When a teen is killed by wolves, a hunting party decides to retaliate. Grace races through the woods and discovers a wounded boy shivering on her back porch. One look at his yellow eyes and she knows that this is her wolf in human form. Fate has finally brought Sam and Grace together, and as their love grows and intensifies, so does the reality of what awaits them. It is only a matter of time before the winter cold changes him back into a wolf, and this time he might stay that way forever. Told from alternating points of view, the narrative takes a classic Romeo & Juliet plot and transforms it into a paranormal romance that is beautiful and moving. Readers will easily identify with the strong, dynamic characters. The mythology surrounding the wolf pack is clever and so well written that it seems perfectly normal for the creatures to exist in today's world. A must-have that will give Bella and Edward a run for their money. --- Amazon (link to buy)

Stars: 5 STARS

Review: I am by now means a werewolf fan, but this book sucked me in right in the beginning. The novel follows a 17-year-old girl named Grace, who after surviving a wolf attack as a young girl, sees "her wolf" every winter; this is the wolf that saved her. As it turns out, "the wolf" is in fact a boy her age named Sam, who pines for Grace. During the warm months, Sam is human and the cold makes him turn back into a wolf. However, Sam's months as a human are dwindling as you can only change so many times before you become a wolf forever.

Sam and Grace meet and fall in love, with Grace finding out Sam's secrets just as her town prepares to kill the remaining wolves in the town because they supposedly killed a popular student.

Shiver is indeed a well-written book, with strong descriptions and a great love story. It is the first book in the Mercy Falls Wolves Series (the final book Forever comes out in July!) and I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a love story with a bit of paranormal mixed in.