Sinner (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #4) by: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Published: July 1, 2014 by: Scholastic Press
Pages: 357
Rating: 3/5 stars

Cole St. Clair has moved to sunny Los Angeles, a far cry from when he lived as a wolf back in Minnesota. Cole has one mission: to get Isabel Culpeper back. She moved to LA to get away from her damaged life, but moving on has proved to be difficult. As Cole and Isabel reconnect, Cole must find a way to earn back Isabel's trust and control his shifting, while Isabel must decide if she wants to let him into her life again.

If you knew me in 2012, then you knew how OBSESSED I was with the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. Shiver, Linger, and Forever were my shit. I still have the boxed set. When Sinner came out, I was excited, but I just never got around to reading it. This book has sat the longest on my tbr, at six years. Finally, on a random whim, I picked up the coveted book. It was... ok.

First off, I appreciated how this book gave me the nostalgia of the kind of stuff I read when I was a pre-teen. I think I'm just a sucker for werewolves (I was always Team Jacob), so any book that is remotely "wolfey" (is that even a word?), I will give a try. I love books that contain the aspect of being like a fantasy, but also being placed in the real world. I really appreciate fantastical elements in a sense of reality, which I think Maggie Stiefvater does very well.

I think I liked Cole as a character. By this I mean, that since I haven't picked up this series in nearly a decade, I couldn't remember if I liked him or not. I think all my attention was on Sam in the first three novels, that I didn't really pay much attention to Cole. That being said, I thought his character in this book was well written, and I found him to be very well-rounded.

I loved Isabel. Again, I can't remember my opinion on her from the original trilogy, but in this novel she was very likable. I found her to be hilarious and strong-willed. She had that sarcasm that Stiefvater writes so well. I thought that her character was very independent, and she didn't take crap from anyone. I appreciated that.

All of this being said, I can't say that this book gave me the highly anticipated conclusion I was looking for. I mean, it's more of a spin-off anyways, but I wasn't wowed like I was in the original trilogy. And this honestly just comes with getting older. My taste in books has definitely evolved, and this book just didn't impact me in the way it might have when I was twelve. What can I say, I'm pickier now.

I also would like to say that I think picking up a series years after you have read the previous books is very brave. I could not remember what the hell these characters were even like, and how the previous novels ended. I think because of this, it was hard for me to fully connect with the story and feel emotionally invested in it. I've just moved on, so to speak.

Overall, I think it is worth finishing this series if you're like me and have waited years. Although, you might want to take a refresher course on the material, because I was lost as heck at some points.

Have you read Sinner? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess