Forever

It was a super great series, and I loved every second of it, except for my favorite character died and there was a HUGE CLIFFHANGER AT THE END AND NO SEQUEL!!!!! What?!?! What kind of lazy writing is that?!?! Other than that...... really cool.

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Forever

Tom Culpeper will not rest until the wolves in Boundary Wood are dead. And this time he may get his wish. He's petitioning to lift the protection off the wolves and wipe them out with an aerial hunt. With Grace in the woods, Sam and Cole must come up with a way to save the wolves on their own, but time is running out.

Even though as a whole I love this series, there were some moments in Forever that made me take away a star. Sam was less endearing in the third book. He was still fiercely dedicated to Grace, but his hesitation to help and make decisions without her made the story slow down. Beck raised him to be the new leader of the wolves, but I found Sam falling short of that title. Cole took up the mantle more often than Sam, even if Cole acknowledged Sam was higher in the pack.

Cole became the highlight of Forever. His character arc had an explosion of development as he struggled to become comfortable in his human skin. His life took on a new purpose and with it, Cole became someone that was damaged but fought to be a better person. A well-written redemption story will catch me every time, and Cole certainly redeemed himself in Forever.

There was also a tendency throughout the series to push aside secondary characters. While they at first seemed important to the plot, they were used and cast aside never to be seen again. But despite having characterization flaws, Forever is still an emotionally gripping addition to The Wolves of Mercy Falls. The danger to the pack has increased and lives hang in the balance as their time slowly begins to wind down. Revisiting this series was a walk down memory lane with characters that will forever be close to me.

It's a 3.5

One of the main plot devices in this book is the conflict with Grace's parents and, just like in the last book, it seemed so forced and unrealistic. Grace was still acting like a 17 year old child and treating her parents like trash. Also, it seemed like they kind of gave up on searching for her, even if they continued to think that Sam murdered her. No combing of lakes or the forest? No search warrants for Sam's house and property?
The second is Cole suddenly becoming a genius scientist and working out how the wolf “disease” works - and actually solving it. It seemed ridiculous and, while it's hard to argue against a fantastical disease that turns a human into a wolf seamlessly, trying to explain it like it's a realistic disease and akin it to malaria and thus making malaria a “cure”... it was just hard to not roll your eyes at. Just because your dad is a famous “rocket scientist” (do we ever learn what his dad actually does?) doesn't mean you can solve complex problems, even if troubleshooting the results on yourself without fear of death.
I still give this 4 stars because overall I really enjoyed it and thought it was a decent close to the trilogy, even if it had a lot of problems. Despite all the problems I have with Steifvater's logic and plots (see my reviews for her Raven Cycle series which I liked less than Shiver), I still really enjoy her writing and characters and will continue to read her books.

what an ending . i loved every page and the concept with all the wolves too. new love for wolves? you bet.

It's a solid series for me. I read all 3 books in the span of 3 days and it was an enjoyable way to pass the time, even though I'm not a fan of books revolving around werewolves. I've never really cared for these mythical creatures. But I truly enjoy Maggie Stiefvater's writing and her characters just grow on me.

¿Es siempre tan difícil hablar de algo que te apasiona? Tenía una “reseña” para este libro, pero luego de una leída profunda decidí no ponerla, me parece que es de las peores reseñas que escribí.

Esta es una de las series de libros que más me gusta. Estuve esperando mucho tiempo por este descenlace y por fin pude hacerme con el libro, sobra decir que me lo devoré en un instante. more

It was alright. [a:Maggie Stiefvater 1330292 Maggie Stiefvater http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1268241579p2/1330292.jpg] seemed to fall off at bit after writing [b:Shiver 6068551 Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) Maggie Stiefvater http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328839272s/6068551.jpg 6244926]. This book was mostly boring and loaded with cheesy, unbelievable romance up until the last 5 chapters. I would have stopped reading early on, but it was the last book in the trilogy and I just had to find out what happened. Why do I give it 3 stars? Mrs. Stiefvater has a magical way of telling a story. She describes the characters, feelings and scenery like she was actually there. [b:Forever 9409458 Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #3) Maggie Stiefvater http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1285771367s/9409458.jpg 6961290] is a boring, yet beautifully written book that I will never read again. I would definitely recommend it for older teens that are into lovey dovey type literature.

Deducting stars for the seemingly unfinished ending.

This book....even better than the previous two. Sam and Grace were amazing and Cole was even more than I thought anyone could be. Brilliant.

Despite acknowledging all its flaws, I can't help loving this series. I had so many thoughts running through my head while reading but all I can say now is that it's hard to let it go.