Sinner

Obviously Steifvater knew that she had an interesting character in Cole St. Clair that she would write a book outside of the original trilogy centering around him. In this book, we get only Cole and Isabel's POV, both ending up in L.A. after the events of the Shiver series for different reasons. Isabel and her mother moved back to California to get away from Isabel's father, Cole goes for Isabel and to reignite his defunct music career (and fame).
While Cole is a fun character to read even at his lowest points, I have a huge problem with Isabel. It's good that Steifvater writes in a lot of vulnerable moments for her because otherwise Isabel would be completely unlikable. She is the definition of cold bitch and being a 17 year old with a privileged life, it's hard to have any sympathy for her or to relate to her in any way. She's a spoiled brat and treats everyone around her like she's completely above them in every aspect, even Cole who she keeps trying to convince herself she hasn't fallen in love with. How or why Cole keeps trying to get past that to have a relationship with her is beyond me as I would have given up on her much faster. They didn't have a sexual relationship until near the end of this book so you just want to yell at Cole to move on, there was literally nothing to be gained. Isabel is a character that needs professional help but not in a way you can feel sympathy for, you just want her to seek help to keep her from hurting literally everyone around her.
I still gave this book 5 stars because besides the problems with characterisation, I loved the story and the arc of the book. It was a book I didn't want to put down and that's all you can really ask for.

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Sinner

Out of Boundary Woods and into LA, Sinner takes readers on a wild ride with Cole as he tries to win back Isabel. Cole struggles to become a better person. Instead of escaping into drugs or alcohol, he is one syringe away from becoming a werewolf. On the other hand, Isabel fights against the emptiness that is beginning to consume her. And as alluring as Cole is, she dreads being attached to someone who may simply cast her to the side.

Filled with complex emotions, Sinner is a battle between ice and fire. Isabel and Cole are at constant odds, and when they are on the pages together be prepared for sparks to fly. The tension between them is intense as they trade sarcasm and witty comebacks. But as much as their back and forth was entertaining at first, the repetitive nature became somewhat draining to the storyline.

Years ago when I first read Sinner, the amount of drama between Cole and Isabel entertained me. And while it engaged me as a reader in my twenties, now that I am revisiting the characters in my thirties, I wondered why they continued to try. I also recognize that I am no longer part of the target audience for Sinner and am now looking at this from the approach of how this book fosters unhealthy relationships.

The fantasy elements that originally drew me to The Wolves of Mercy Falls are also almost nonexistent. I did think it was a creative twist to have Cole addicted to becoming a werewolf, instead of using drugs, but this made the fantasy more of a plot device than actual context. Sinner focuses heavily on relationships, drama, and addiction. Would I recommend this for young adults? Yes, I think it does hit the right marks for older young adults due to its content. But I think this one will be just for young adults.

It was beautiful and painful. Completely perfect. A Maggie Stiefvater'sPublicado originalmente: El Extraño Gato del CuentoAy¿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.Twitter   Blog   Pinterest   Tumblr   Instagram