Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver is being heralded as the new Twilight, and I completely agree. Shiver is the best new supernatural, young adult romance since Twilight came out way back in 2005. I was a rabid fan of Twilight when it first came out and never thought anything could measure up to it. This was before I got my hands on Shiver.

Shiver is the story of Sam and Grace. Grace has always been fascinated by the wolves in the woods behind her house. One night, she is attacked by the wolves, but is saved by the wolf with yellow eyes. She deems this her wolf and watches as they return in the winter and leave in the spring. Then, one summer she meets a boy with those exact eyes that she is sure is her wolf.

I didn't want to like Shiver. I'm not a werewolf person. I've always preferred my leading men cold and dead. I devoured half of Shiver in one sitting before I even knew what happened. Sam and Grace's relationship is electrifying and has that breathless, aching romance that so many readers fell in love with when Twilight came out. Shiver does that and more. Grace and Sam desperately need each other, but their relationship is much more balanced than Edward's and Bella's. Shiver also has many more plot twists than Twilight ever dreamed of having. I didn't think I was invested in Sam and Grace's relationship until the very end at which I almost cried when things starting going south. I won't say any more than that; you wouldn't want me to ruin the ending for you. I almost never cry at books, and the talented Maggie had me shedding a tear or two despite my best efforts. This book left me with the great, "Ahh, that was amazing. My life is great" feeling while aching for more. I also immediately wanted to read it again, to bask in all of it's glory instead of feverishly racing through to discover the ending.

My only gripe, and mind it is only one, is that Sam is a song writer and the book included his flowerly, slightly emo songs. I really just wanted to hug him and tell him he was fine on his own. We don't need songs to know how amazing you are. There aren't that many songs, and it did very little to detract from my love of the book.

I give Shiver a five out of five. You can not go wrong with this book. I'm so excited about this book, and I'm even more excited for the sequel, Linger, to be released on July 20, 2010.

People I would recommend this to: fans of Twilight, anyone looking for a great romance, and any fans of the supernatural/fantasy genre