Shiver-----Absolutely Loved it!

Wow, I absolutely loved this book. I started it this afternoon and had to finish it in the same day, which I finished about 10:00. I couldn't put the book down except to fix supper and check on the kids. My daughter had already read it and said she liked it better than the Twilight series and as much as I love the vampire/Dracula stories I admit the writing in this book about the werewolves was superb and more intriguing to me than most books I have read. The characters simply came to life on the pages and you could really empathize with them. I loved the romance in it and how it lured you into the plot and how you kept hoping that Sam wouldn't change. Being fast-paced helped me keep my attention on finishing the book in the same day, which is not usually the case for me. The characters had a lot of similarity to Bella and Edward and similar storyline but I felt that there was much more depth in the story and felt more realistic, even though there are no such things as werewolves but there are wolves. I loved how the author incorporated poetry in the story that Sam liked to share with Grace and that really showed his sensitive side. The characters would be appealing to both teenage boys and girls. You have Sam, who is not perfect and has had to overcome a lot in his life and you have Grace, who longs to have her parents notice her more and teens can relate to that; just normal everyday people, except Sam is a wolf part of the time. I loved how the author switched back and forth with Grace telling her story and then Sam telling his; it's good to have both point of views and their perspectives. Just having the temperature at the beginning of the chapter would get me on edge as to whether or not he was going to change; I loved the suspense! You have amongst the other characters, friendships developing and problem solving at every turn that the characters must make. You have the strong female protagonist who hopes and will stop at nothing to help Sam. Sam is longing, regardless of anything to be human after building the friendship he has with Grace and as he learns of true love. We see how Sam saved Grace early on and then Grace saves him and he builds that trust with her and then Grace is the hero once again in the end. The characters are modern and are relative to our teens problems today and throw in a little fantasy of real werewolves as if you could almost believe it could be true. It's a journey that teens could follow and relate to some of the issues they deal with at home and at school themselves. I loved the simple line that Sam said in chapter 42, "A life is measured by moments like these." It makes one think to never take things for granted and to enjoy the moment. I really loved this book and can't wait to read the next of the series!!