Sinner (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #4)

by Maggie Stiefvater

You thought it ended with FOREVER, but there's another story to tell
- the one of Cole and Isabel.

SINNER follows Cole St. Clair, a pivotal character from the #1 bestselling
Shiver Trilogy.

found.

Cole St. Clair has come to California for one reason: to get back
Isabel Culpeper. She fled from his damaged, drained life, and damaged
and drained it even more. He doesn't just want her. He needs
her.

lost.

Isabel is trying to build herself a life in Los Angeles. It's not
really working. She can play the game as well as all the other fakes.
But what's the point? What is there to win?

sinner.

Cole and Isabel share a past that never seemed to have a future.
They have the power to love each other and the power to tear each
other apart. The only thing for certain is that they cannot let
go.

• ISBN13: 9781407145730
• Publish Date: 2 July 2015 (first published 1 July 2014)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Out of Print: 16 September 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Imprint: Scholastic Press
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[ladygrey]

I read the opening pages years ago when the book first came out. I remembered them wrong. I remembered them as clever and dynamic and yearning and exquisitely poignant in a way I didn't think could be captured again. The real pages weren't bad, but they weren't that.

The thing I like about this book is that it's real and it's honest but it's not ugly. It goes through difficult things with a shine (it is LA after all) and satisfying and sad moments. I like Cole so much and even his torment is kind of attractive. Jeremy is fantastic and exactly what the story needs. And Isabel is confounding but also kind of wonderful with her sharp edges. It's the sort of book I wouldn't expect to like but crafted in just the right ways to draw you in and make you want to stay.

[Kelly]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/08/sinner-by-maggie-stiefvater.html
I really enjoyed the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, and Sinner is no exception. It follows the story of Cole St. Clair, leader of the pack and owner of the reserve in Minnesota, to which Sam from the original series calls home. But after the incident with Victor and Isabel, in which Cole had begged for death to take him, he's reinvented himself and is now clean. He's signed onto a reality based show, which is said to document his rise to stardom once again, but producer Baby North is known around Los Angeles as a woman who has made her living from destroying the lives of former celebrities trying to claw their way back into the spotlight.

But Isabel doesn't trust easily and is struggling to accept Cole's new found lease on life. Despite her internal conflict, she falls into a game of avoiding the cameras, learning to trust again and share Cole with his fans, while navigating the delicate relationship Cole is persistently pursuing. Just one of the many aspects that I found endearing about Cole, was his friendship with driver Leon. Leon is middle aged and unhappy in general with his life, and Cole is determined to help Leon make the most of being a tourist in his own city. Well loved characters such as Sam and Grace from the original series make brief appearances, but the reader is reintroduced to former Narkotika Bassist Jeremy, who is now happy and living in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Maggie Stiefvater has an edgy and contemporary style of writing, weaving paranormal elements throughout the storyline. She creates strong, sassy and sarcastic characters that readers can endear themselves to. Sinner is engaging, flirtatious and a brilliant read for not only fans of the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, but can also be read as a standalone. But if you plan on reading the original series, Sinner does contain spoilers that are unavoidable.

[Stephanie]

There is something about two people who are a hot mess, figure out their crap, and come together that makes me weep with joy.

[KitsuneBae]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

One the biggest reasons why I love this book so much is I am obsessed with Cole and Isabel ever since I've read the Wolves of Mercy Falls. Sinner is more of a contemporary read than a paranormal one. And kudos to Maggie for not giving us an open-ended story which seems to be her forte. The Wolves of Mercy Falls, Scorpio Races and The Raven Cycle, anyone?

Full review to come soon.

Maggie is one of my all time favorite authors. I've read everything she's ever written (Shiver and The Scorpio Races remain my favorite).

Sinner is different.

The writing is impressive, which isn't the same as saying it's enjoyable. There are lines that I reread several times because the cadence was genius. But the story is almost nonexistent. Each chapter is more like a character study than a piece of a plot. And unfortunately the plot that is present is less than engaging as it involves a classless reality tv show.

I almost wish this wasn't connected to the Mercy Falls series at all, because it feels so different. It really was only nominally about Cole being a werewolf. The rules were totally different and ultimately, turning into a wolf was equated to nothing more than getting high. You could pretty much just replace the word 'wolf' with 'ecstasy' and nothing else would need to change.

The characters of Cole and Isabel were fascinating to me in the original trilogy. In Sinner, it was a bit much dealing with the two of them exclusively. They are both so miserable, but in a way that makes it really challenging to empathize with them. I can't even imagine how insufferable they would be as real people (and they very nearly feel that way thanks to Maggie's skilled writing). Cole and Isabel are so consumed with themselves that people around them are just props, carelessly treated and dismissed afterwards.

I don't know. It feels blasphemous to fault something Maggie has written, but here it is. I can't say I liked Sinner. I felt depressed and irritated through most of it. A lot of it felt, for lack of a better word, pointless and a tad indulgent. And worse, I really just wanted it to be over long before it was.

Brilliant writing. Nothing story. Characters that were probably better off from a distance.

*Sigh*

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

The Wolves of Mercy Falls is one of my favorite paranormal romance series. It's beautifully written, gorgeously compelling, and just full of amazing characters that you can't help but love. So, I was extremely excited when I discovered that Maggie Stiefvater was going to write another book featuring characters from that particular series. Sinner is a gorgeous stand alone companion novel to this awesome series, that is beautifully poetic, and full of raw emotional turmoil that will grip readers hearts in the palm of its hand and squeeze them until they burst. Cole St. Claire and Isabel will leave you absolutely breathless and gasping for more.

Right off the bat, Maggie Stiefvater, pulls readers in with the opening line "I'm a werewolf in L.A." and keeps them captivated with the thrilling tale she has spun so beautifully and imaginatively. It's probably the best line in the entire novel, if you want to know the truth. It helps to set the tone right away and showcase Cole St. Claire in a way that defines his character throughout the full length of the story being told. It's a dangerous, terrifying, illustrious love affair that's full of pain, despair, heartache, and amazing emotion that will hook you from the beginning and keep you turning the pages until the last one has been read. It gives you a different perspective on two characters lives in such a way that you can't help but become entangled in their epic affair.

This isn't Mercy Falls anymore, this is L.A. to borrow a lyric from Sheryl Crow, and what you get is something different, mysterious, dark, tantalizing, and alluring. Cole and Isabel are incredibly raw, edgy, broken, and full of strong differing opinions that sometimes it causes havoc in their tumultuous relationship. They are so intensely emotional that it's hard not to fall in love with the idea of the two of them together. As rough as Isabel is, her tough exterior somehow manages to cloak how much pain and hurt she possesses beneath the rough and tumble facade she displays to the world. Cole has made and continues to make so many mistakes in his life, his emotional issues run much deeper than they were ever explored in the Wolves of Mercy Falls and it's heartbreaking to watch his struggles throughout Sinner. Yet, it's one of the most beautiful aspects of the book, how he tries his best to navigate the complicated waters of his relationship with Isabel, reconcile with his past, and rise above everything else.

As much as Cole is touted the "sinner" in this novel, I was very happy to see that this story didn't exactly fall prey to the "savior complex" troph that I usually see in books of this nature. It was more the route of Isabel and Cole helping one another to save themselves, rather than to save the other one. Or, at least, that's the way that I read it. They both seem to have this uncanny ability to make the other one better, even though their relationship was definitely messy and heartbreakingly complicated at times. Aside from Cole and Isabel, there are some other wonderful characters that Stiefvater introduced that will fill in those few spaces of your heart, characters like Leon, Jeremy, and Sofia. Out of them all, I think that Leon, is the one who really managed to steal my heart. There was just something so magical and right about him, I just couldn't help but love everything that he brought to the story.

Sinner is so much more than just another paranormal fantasy book about werewolves, it's a story that's incredibly real and raw in more ways than one. It's a story that isn't afraid to highlight the dangers of addiction, the highs and lows of fame, complicated relationships that are full of so much pain and anguish, and heartbreak. It's a story that's teaming with so many realistic real-world issues that you can't help but forget that you're reading a story about werewolves, because it feels as if these things could actually happen. They did happen, they happened to Cole and Isabel and getting to read their story was definitely one of the highlights of my summer, so far. If you're a fan of young adult paranormal fantasy and you enjoy reading books that induce many feels, then this would definitely be the novel for you to pick up. Even though Sinner is a stand alone companion novel to the Wolves of Mercy Falls I would recommend that you read that series first, before you read this book just so that you can understand the back story for Cole and Isabel.

[ellieroth]

It was beautiful and painful. Completely perfect. A Maggie Stiefvater's

Publicado originalmente: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Ay

¿Cómo parecer imparcial cuando es mi escritora favorita? ¿Cómo hago que me crean que soy objetiva si ésta es mi serie favorita? ¿Cómo no parecer sólo una fangirl más? ¿Tengo que hablar mal del libro? Tendría que hacerlo si tuviera algo malo ¿Pero que si todo fue perfecto para mí? Será difícil que no creas que solo soy una fan sobre extasiada.

Creo que te he dicho más de veinte veces lo mucho MUCHO que adoro a Maggie Stiefvater, que mi libro favorito es Shiver o lo emocionada que estaba por Sinner. También te he dicho que se me hace extremadamente difícil hablar de algo que me importa mucho, algo que es especial para mí y es por eso que me demoré tanto en escribir esta reseña. Todos los días me encontraba con una nueva reseña de alguien que adoró el libro y tuvo la suficiente objetividad y nervios para escribir sus comentarios sobre el libro, sin duda mi favorita es la de Cait @Notebook Sisters (aunque tiene un ligerísimo spoiler casi al final, claro eso si no has leído los tres libros previos pero ¿por qué estarías leyendo Sinner si no has leído primero Shiver, Linger y Forever?) y con cada una asentía y me reía y fangirleaba y... Adoro a Maggie Stiefvater.

Como dirían Tegan & Sara: Everything Is AWESOME!!!

La escritura de Maggie es hermosa, desde la carta que está al comienzo, una carta de Maggie a nosotros los fans y la dedicatoria. O como puedes pasar de una perspectiva a otra y sentirlo de verdad, diferenciar los matices de sus personalidades: la frialdad de Isabel y la ligereza de Cole.

Y por supuesto no podía faltar la música o referencia a ella, Maggie es una artista, en toda la definición de la palabra.

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