Sinner

by Maggie Stiefvater

Paperback, 2015

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Series

The Wolves of Mercy Falls (4)

Genres

Publication

Scholastic (2015), Edition: 1, 400 pages

Description

Fantasy. Romance. Young Adult Fiction. HTML: SINNER follows Cole St. Clair, a pivotal character from the #1 New York Times bestselling Shiver Trilogy. Everybody thinks they know Cole's story. Stardom. Addiction. Downfall. Disappearance. But only a few people know Cole's darkest secret - his ability to shift into a wolf. One of these people is Isabel. At one point, they may have even loved each other. But that feels like a lifetime ago. Now Cole is back. Back in the spotlight. Back in the danger zone. Back in Isabel's life. Can this sinner be saved?.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Pabkins

Another Maggie Stiefvater book to rave about

Indeed she said Sinner is the truest novel she’s ever written. I found that to have a dual meaning for me personally. In that it was the closest to straight contemporary fiction as well as it showed me deep truths about it’s characters. Lately I’ve

been finding many YA books coming across as shallow. So it’s refreshing knowing Maggie’s got the goods right here.

Young adult, Contemporary Reality TV drama with a pinch of Paranormal

You heard me right – Sinner may have a paranormal element because of the fact that Cole is a werewolf but ultimately that is not a key part of the book to me. Substitute any other substance abuse or ‘recreational stress relief’ tactic in it’s place and this book would in no way be a paranormal fantasy. What it really is, is a contemporary drama. But a damn fine one at that! There are no qualms here. Just don’t go in expecting the wolf business to be a huge part of the story because at least in my opinion it was not. I think this ties into a letter that the author writes to the readers at the beginning of the book – which I notice is only in the ARC version and not in the published version because of course you know I snagged a final version as well. The last paragraph of the letter to her readers goes like this:

It’s also, despite the shape-shifting, the truest novel I’ve written. I hope that those who don’t need the truth in it will see only the werewolf, and I hope that those who do need the truth will see only the human.

I see your truth Maggie and it’s moving. We’re all a little bit broken and this novel lets you see those beautifully broken bits about the characters and how they strive towards mending themselves and how more often than not you need to allow others in to help with the mending. I know I’ve heard it said before that you can’t love someone fully until you learn to love yourself but I don’t believe that’s true – I think sometimes, you need someone to love you, to believe in you – to realize that there is something in yourself worth loving after all. Alright I’ll stop being all sappy and soggy. On with it!

Hot and Cold, In and Out – someone glue their asses to the floor

Probably some of the most fun in this book I had while reading was
wondering – “when will the bitch switch flip next?” That’s right. Isabel is more hot and cold than any other character I’ve ever seen. She wants reasons to fight what she’s feeling for Cole. I think normally behavior like this would piss me off but I love Isabel’s character and I enjoyed seeing the struggle she goes through. It read real and not contrived – so I didn’t have a problem with it at all. It is indeed one of the biggest themes in the book, so keep that in mind if that sort of thing bugs you. If so, then you might want to bugger off of this one. *wink*

Secondary characters worth their salt

You know when the secondary characters are just thrown on there as the necessary window dressing to complete a story? That is not the case here. I cared about both of the main secondary characters. Though it’s told from the dual perspectives of Isabel and Cole you still key in on the people that are important to them and they in turn become important to you. Isabel and Cole are extremely selfish, self centered people, but despite that I care about them and I didn’t get angry with them because of their behavior (as I am often want to do when I find a character selfish). Perhaps it’s because you can see underneath their selfish exteriors to the good underneath they are so used to ignoring. They invest time in people like Sophia and Leon and that proves they aren’t as selfish as we or they themselves might think they are. And in the trend of broken characters these two also have something about themselves that is unique to them that makes you want to invest your feelings in them as well.

And everything changes while it all stays the same

Does the core of a person every fundamentally change? Who the hell knows. I mean really do Isabel and Cole have these earth shattering changes to their persons making them into bright shiny new people? You’ll have to read Sinner to find out your own perspective and it is most certainly well worth the read.

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24 more

LibraryThing member loveofreading

If you haven't heard of Maggie Stiefvater, welcome out from under the rock where you've been living.

While I love Maggie and I'm ALWAYS recommending her as a go-to fantasy/YA author, I'm not her biggest fan. Don't get me wrong: all her books are good. However, Lament and The Dream Thieves were a

little TOO "teen" and fantastical for my taste. I was also more than a little disappointed with Linger when *** SPOILER ALERT *** Grace turned into a wolf. So when I say that Sinner is riveting, addictive, and beautifully written, you know that I'm genuinely praising this novel and Maggie for the exceptional author she is.

While it is a companion novel to the Shiver trilogy, Sinner is strictly about Cole and Isabel. This is a love story about falling for the bad boy, about overcoming life's obstacles, and taking risks for love—and when you're in love with a rock star like Cole, who turns into a werewolf to escape his human problems, there are many risks.

Sinner is the perfect summer novel for fans of supernatural romance. New readers can step into the series here as you don't have to have read Shiver to enjoy Sinner. Cole is unpredictable, funny, and sexy, with an undeniable magnetism, complete with fatal flaws and irresistible heartbreaker charm.

Cole and Isabel each have their own personal obstacles to face, along with everything it is to be a teenager in love. Isabel and Cole are like fire and ice, but together, they balance each other. There's several make out scenes and sex is mentioned, but the book is aimed at readers ages 13 & up and therefore it is certainly not graphic (no more than Twilight: Breaking Dawn).

Sinner is everything I wanted in a companion novel and more. I really like the Shiver trilogy, but I love Sinner. It offers exactly the kind of sexy, addictive, and exciting story the reader has craved since meeting Cole St. Clair in the Shiver trilogy. Maggie Stiefvater continues to deliver YA books that are gripping, full of danger, magic, and mystery, and that are populated by characters who continue to exist long after you've closed the book.

This must-read novel for summer is available in Canada on June 30th!

4 Stars

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LibraryThing member mikitchenlady

Read Shiver and then skipped the rest of the series, and realized that perhaps some back story might be helpful to fully appreciate Sinner. Still a great YA ride - passionate, intense, full of angst and all that good coming of age stuff. My first galley from ALA 2014 - way to go Maggie Stiefvater!

LibraryThing member Ginger_reader22

"Sinner" By Maggie Stiefvater

Cole St. Clair is back and in the spot light (where he belongs) in this new stand alone companion novel to the Mercy Falls trilogy.

Cole is picking up the pieces of his former life, attempting to start new, fresh, and hopefully with Isabel by his side. Drugs, alcohol

and a different girls every night are now a thing of the past. Now he spends his days trying to win over Isabel, write songs and be somewhat entertaining for the TV crew that follows him around day and night.

When asked during an interview what scares Cole his answer is blunt and to the point: 'Nothing'.

But with the possibility of shifting into a wolf hanging over his head and the thought of losing Isabel (for good this time) lurking in the back of his mind Cole knows he is only lying to himself and his fans by answering 'nothing'.

Isabel is still trying to find a place to fit in since moving to L.A. Her family is as dysfunctional as ever and she spends her time either at work or school, dreading having to go 'home'.

Isabel is known for her wit and snarky attitude. She never pulls punches and if you don't want to hear the truth then don't ask her for it. She has no problem telling Cole to leave her alone, but behind the wall she has meticulously built and maintained all these years Isabel is starting to wonder if living without Cole is even a possibility.

I think one of the reasons I liked "Sinner" so much was that the two main characters were once sub characters vying for attention.

The way that Maggie writes gives breath to each and every character whether they have a minor or major roll in the story. Which of course always leaves me wanted more.

"Sinner" reminds me of a quote from the movie "The Holiday"

"You're supposed to be the leading lady of your own life."

While Grace and Sam had their time and told their story (which I loved) I always wanted more from Isabel and Cole.

I'm ecstatic that Isabel and Cole finally got their leading roles.

Until next time,
Ginger

In compliance with FTC guidelines I am disclosing that this book was given to me for free to review.
My review is my honest opinion.

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LibraryThing member ewyatt

A companion to the Shiver series follows Isabel and Cole in their lives in LA while Cole tries for a music comeback on reality TV and Isabel acts as his social media director. The two have to deal with trust issues and overcome the demons of their past to determine if they have a chance at a future

together.

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LibraryThing member mollymortensen

I won another book from Netgalley!

I haven’t read the trilogy, but you don’t have to, Sinner stands on its own.

Sinner is billed as a fantasy, (and Cole is a werewolf) but Sinner's really more of a romance. The werewolf part isn’t all that important to the plot and is easily ignorable, so

don’t pass on this book just because of the werewolves.

SUMMARY: (By Molly.)
Cole used to be a popular music singer, but after a drug overdose on stage he's stayed out of the public eye for over a year. He decided to take a job creating an album on a reality TV show so he can go to LA and see Isabel again.

Isabel has just graduated high school. She has a job at a fancy designer’s store and she’s taking classes to get her CNA in nursing, because it will help her get into med school. She's good at not caring about anyone. The last thing she expected was for Cole to turn up at her work, bringing all her old feelings back.

MY REVIEW:
This was my first book by Maggie Stiefvater. She has a unique voice and has an interesting use of similes. I liked the way she describes things. Perhaps because of the wolves in this book, everything is described in scents. LA was beautifully pictured. It was like the city was a character in the book. She really puts the reader into the scene. (Molly moves the Raven Boys up on her to read list.)

I thought she depicted accurately what it must be like inside the mind of a recovered drug addict. I loved all the little inside jokes the characters had and the nicknames they had for places and things. (Isabel's House of Dismay and Ruin.)

Cole and Isabel knew each other before Sinner, (In the trilogy I'm guessing.) but it didn't feel like I missed anything. They had feelings for each other before, but in this book we're there for the start of their relationship and its growth.

They're not your typical protagonists, but surprisingly they're both likable. Even though Isabel can come off as cold and unfeeling and Cole uses people like they're objects. They both still have someone who shows they can be kind. Cole is nice to his driver Leon for no reason other than the man seems unhappy and Isabel cares about her cousin Sofia and wishes she'd learn to stand up for herself. I liked both Sofia and Leon. Sofia reminded me of myself, except she can cook. (This book sure made me hungry!)

The characters really grew into themselves and it was done so subtly as to be believable. They were still the same people, but stronger.

I’m torn when it comes to epilogues that take place years after the story, but I felt that Sinner needed one and was made all the better for it.

Though Sinner isn’t an action book it’s fast paced and not at all boring. I read it in one day, so that tells you something! I’d recommend Sinner to fans of romance books.

8/10 Stars

My favorite quote:
I only knew that my heart was galloping so fast that my fingers were numb. Logically, I knew it was just from surprise, but I didn't know if it was like Surprise, here is a cake or Surprise, you've had a stroke.

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LibraryThing member nbmars

I am one of those people who totally loved the “Shiver” series by Maggie Stiefvater and was sad that she repeatedly claimed to be done with the characters. She creates characters you love, and you don’t want them to be out of your life. So imagine my joy when I discovered she backpedaled, and

took a break from writing the “Raven Boys” series to sneak in a book on Cole and Isabel.

Cole St. Clair is a rock star, lead singer of the band Narkotika. Two years earlier he had passed out during a concert and went missing. In truth, he would have died, had he not been made a werewolf. And it was because he was a werewolf that he met Isabel, whose brother became a werewolf and died trying to stop being one.

Isabel went back from Minnesota to the L.A. area, and now Cole has just signed a deal to go to L.A. as well, to make a comeback via starring on a reality show. He misses music, and wants to play again, but what he really wants is to be with Isabel:

"Isabel was the real thing. She was the song.”

Isabel and Cole both realize they are the only ones that really know each other. For every one else, they each put up a facade. Even Jeremy, Cole's close friend and the former bass player for Narkotika, doesn’t know all Cole's secrets like Isabel does. But Isabel is afraid. Her parents have taught her that love is quixotic and “happy ever after” is chimerical. She asks Cole:

"‘What do you want from me?’

‘I told you,’ he said. ‘Dinner. Dessert. Sex. Life.’”

But what Isabel thinks is:

"And here is what I was most afraid of: that Cole St. Clair would fall in love with me, and I’d fall in love with him, both of us human weapons, and we’d both end up with broken hearts.”

In spite of Cole's persistence with Isabel, he is afraid too. His parents just seem tired, and weary of life. He doesn’t want to end up like that. But in running from that specter, he has gone too far, too fast, and lost touch with himself along the way.

Yet Isabel (and only she) knows what is inside of him:

"How ridiculous to reduce Cole to his mess and his loudness, to be so furious with him that I erased the other true parts.”

At one point, Cole presses his forehead against Isabel’s and she holds his face and they stay like that for a while. She thinks:

"It was so much us and so little him and me. Us, us, us. The opposite of lonely was this.”

So what, if anything, can convince them to overcome their fears and take a chance on each other? Isabel asks her uncle why his marriage didn’t work out, and he inadvertently provides her with the epiphany she needs, to decide one way or the other.

Discussion: Stiefvater’s writing is so richly evocative. Listen to her clever description of Cole’s first view of L.A. from the airport:

"…craning my head to look out the deeply tinted window. View out the left: blinding-white cars. View out the right: fossil-fuelblack cars. Mostly Mercedes with a chance of Audis.”

And her knack for penning romantic dialogue is one of the best in the YA world, in my opinion. She doesn’t need to add explicit sex scenes - she manages to make her romance powerful and poetic all at once.

Even the epigraph she chose for this book is perfect:

"Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. I miss you like hell. Edna St. Vincent Millay, Letters.”

Evaluation: If you are one of those people who did not get into the “Shiver” books because you saw they were about werewolves, you may want to try this one, because there is very little werewolf involvement here. Besides, Maggie Stiefvater is so enormously talented at story telling, it’s worth taking a chance you might encounter the presence of an occasional dog (as Cole calls himself) . . . .

Note: This book can be read as a standalone.

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LibraryThing member stefferoo

I’m disappointed to say the least. Stiefvater’s Wolves of Mercy Falls was a trilogy I read a few years ago, and while it might not rank up there as one of my favorite Young Adult series of all time, it had its moments. One of the highlights was the supporting character of Isabel Culpeper who

was a bit of a queen bee, plus she’s angry and bitter to boot. And yet, I found her to be a lot more interesting than the very blah protagonist of Grace Brisbane, and I was rather fond of Isabel. I was also intrigued when I found out she would be starring in her own book Sinner along with Cole St. Clair, the rock star/werewolf with whom she started a budding romance towards the end of the Mercy Falls trilogy.

Sinner begins in California, where Isabel has started her new life, going to school preparing to be a doctor while working part time at a clothing designer’s store. Cole on the other hand is trying to make a comeback to the music scene after being rehabilitated from a life of booze and drugs, by — ugh! — agreeing to be the focus of a godforsaken reality TV show, of all things. When he arrives in LA, the first thing he does is look up Isabel, hoping to rekindle what they had from their days back in Mercy Falls, Minnesota.

There’s really not much else to say about the plot. The story zips along at the speed of molasses, and for the longest time I tried to figure out what the conflict was, only to resign myself to the fact that there really isn’t one. Cole does his reality TV show thing while acting like a prima donna, and Isabel goes about her daily life putting up with his crap.

To be fair, Sinner ended up being a completely different book than I expected it to be. First of all, it probably falls more into the New Adult category instead of YA, following the characters like Isabel in their post-high school life, and werewolves or not, the themes are more contemporary rather than related to speculative fiction. It has very few paranormal elements compared to the Mercy Falls trilogy, so few that I was just barely able to label this one a fantasy.

My main issue, however, wasn’t the lack of fantasy elements or the fact that there was hardly any story. My problem was the vacuous, insufferable prat that was Cole St. Clair.

For the love of God, I don’t remember him being so annoying in the original trilogy. A big pet peeve of mine is bad boys who try oh so very hard to be a bad boy. Let’s face it, if Cole hadn’t gotten lucky and become a rock star, he would have ended up living in a cardboard box in some alley, offering to take your verbal abuse for chance at a bit of change. And who knows, he still might end up that way. He’s already washed up at this young age, reduced to dancing-bear status on an insipid reality TV show.

The sad part is, I still really like Isabel’s character, which made it doubly hard to watch her fall for this joker when all I wanted to do was scream at her to run, run away! Get as far away as you can from this idiot because God forbid if you end up marrying him he’ll end up a worthless thirty-five-year-old has-been, having pissed away his royalties on cars and parties, with no aspirations other than to be a professional layabout because working for an honest living is just sooooo lame. He’d probably let his looks and physique go too, because exercise and taking good care of one’s health is something, like, everybody does! And we all know Cole’s just too cool to go along with everyone else!

I feel kind of bad for being snarky, but it just makes me so ANGRY. I think this was my problem with the Wolves of Mercy Falls series as well. The trilogy started well enough, but things went downhill in the last book Forever when the characters suddenly developed these horribly bratty and angsty attitudes. To a certain extent you have to expect a fair dose of youthful naiveté in YA, but this whole “OMG I hate everyone and everything!” and “Adults are stupid morons and I totally know better than all of them!” kind of thinking gets a bit old, especially in Sinner when we’ve supposedly left high school far behind. Frankly, Cole’s behavior towards his parents made me sick, especially considering how by all accounts they are perfectly good, sensible people. The worst thing Cole can think of to happen to him is if he became his dad, because apparently, Cole thinks being a responsible contributor to society is boring. Go figure.

As a novel, it saddens me to say this, especially since according to her foreword it sounds like a pretty important book for the author, but Sinner felt kind of pointless. For me, it was also 300-ish pages of teeth-grinding aggravation, thanks to the big, cuddly ball of phony that was Cole. Read this if you’re fan of the Mercy Falls books because you’ll probably want to see what happened to two of the more important side characters from the trilogy. That’s what I told myself I wanted to do, and I don’t regret reading this because at least I got to follow up with Isabel, but unfortunately not even her chapters could make up for her co-star.

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LibraryThing member mountie9

My observations come from the audio version of this one. I am actually going to go back and reread this one. Usually the audio versions really impress me, but this time around, the audio version didn't do the story justice. In this case it was the female narrator. She made me dislike Isabelle, who

I used to thoroughly enjoy. She has a lovely voice but I found she didn't bring out the personality of Isabelle. Everytime she started talking I cringed as she made Isabelle so over the top angsty. This really effected my enjoyment of the story. Which is so horrible as Maggie is one of my favorite authors. Ok enough whining about the narrator. The narrator who voiced Cole did a good job though, so I found the Cole parts of the story more interesting. Will be interesting to see how I feel after re reading the story. Nice character development and some very wise commentary on love, family, forgiveness, addiction, cars and rock and roll. Oh yeah and back to the narrator I felt the same way on her reading of Allegiant. She really does have a lovely voice, but I just find she always sounds the same.

Some great lines as well and this story made me love Cole even more. Also loved the scenes with Leon, they really brought some heart to the story

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LibraryThing member Letora

I was leery about this installment, afraid it would tarnish my love for the Shiver trilogy, but Stiefvater continued to amaze me with her writing. If I were able to, I would give this book a 10 star rating.
This book was fast paced, dark, gritty and filled with complex emotions. You see Cole St.

Clair's tough, but needed transformation into a better person, fighting his new addiction, turning into a werewolf. Isabel does her own share of growth as well, fighting to come to terms with the incidents that occurred in the original trilogy.
Despite the fact there was musical lingo mixed in, Stiefvater wrote in a way to make it easy for readers who know next to nothing about music or the industry. And the friction! When Isabel and Cole were written on the same page together, you could almost see sparks with the sarcasm, witty come backs and depth of emotion.
Beautifully written, I wish there were more to be said about the wolves of Mercy Falls but sadly I think their stories are now finished.

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LibraryThing member tjsjohanna

The ending was good, but the getting there was difficult. Both Cole and Isabel just seem so broken in this novel and redemption seems very out of reach for them both. This novel didn't capture my imagination like the other books in the series.

LibraryThing member gubry

I first read Shiver many many moons and years ago, after I asked for it as a birthday present. I followed it all the way to the third book, Forever, when it had come out. That was many years ago.

I never got the chance to read Sinner when it had come out even though Cole St. Clair was probably one

of my favorite characters, mostly due to laziness. But Shiver was one of the series that, after my life crisis and reading spell, I kind of just remembered. Like when I look through some of the books that I've read, I think, 'I honestly don't remember anything about this at all.'

But with this series, I do.

This was a totally emotional book with lots of feelings.

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LibraryThing member DarkFaerieTales

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: I have not read the previous books in this series and this book ended up really not working for me!

Opening Sentence: I am a werewolf in L.A.

The Review:

Isabel Culpeper left her life in Mercy Falls to start over in California. She had to get away

from the pain and the memories that place held. But the longer she is gone the more she comes to realize that you can’t run from your past, it always catches up to you eventually. She never stopped loving Cole St.Clair no matter how hard she tried and when he comes waltzing back into her life she can’t help but fall back into his arms. But did he come to LA for her or did he come for something else? There were a lot of reasons why they didn’t work the first time and Isabel can’t help but wonder if anything has really changed and if it is possible for them to get a happily-ever-after.

Cole knows one thing and it’s that he loves Isabel. He will do anything to get her back. He will give up all his addictions including turning into a wolf. But no matter what he promises, she just keeps pushing him away. Can he prove to her that he is a different man that deserves to be with her before he loses her for good?

Isabel was a hard character to understand at first, but as the story developed I began to see why she acted the way she did and I slowly started to connect with it. But I felt like it was too little too late in the story for me to truly love her as a character. She is so negative and insecure right up front and people like that are always hard to like. She also was so hot and cold with Cole and it drove me insane. I think if I knew more about their relationship this might not have been as much of an issue, but since that wasn’t the case I just found how she treated him annoying. Overall, I think Isabel had potential to be a great character, she just didn’t get there for me.

Cole was interesting and I actually kind of liked him. He is extremely moody and cocky but there was just something about him that I found intriguing! He could be a total conceded jerk but at the same time he could be really sweet. His relationship with Isabel was all over the place but they did have great chemistry. Cole was the best part of the story for me, but sadly he didn’t make up for all the other problems I had with the book.

Sinner is a drama filled romance that I sadly couldn’t get into. This is a companion novel to the Wolves of Mercy Falls series and I thought that would mean you could read it on its own without having read the other books. I was wrong. You definitely should read the other books before trying this one. I actually tried to read Shiver multiple times in the past and I could just never get into the story so going into this I didn’t have high expectations, and sadly, I was not impressed. I think part of the problem was that the characters past was a huge part of the plot and since I haven’t read the other books, I didn’t care or understand what the big deal was with what happened between Cole and Isabel. I felt like there was all this unnecessary drama and I started to get annoyed real quick. There were also a lot of references to other characters and experiences that I didn’t understand. Suffice to say, if you have not read the rest of this series do not try to read this one. I got about 25% in and ended up skimming the rest of the book. If you are a fan of the series, I imagine you will probably love this because the writing was gorgeous and the story was actually intriguing, but for everyone else start at the beginning of the series if you are interested!

Notable Scene:

Hanging up, I opened the door. The car behind us let out the softest of honks as I climbed out. The heat—oh, the heat. It was an emotion. It owned me. The air smelled of forty million cars and forty million flowers. I felt a spasm of pure adrenaline, memory of everything I’d ever done in California and anticipation of everything that could be done.

Leon was staring out plaintively, so I leaned in swiftly. “It’s never too late to change,” I told him.

“I can’t change,” he replied. It crushed him.

FTC Advisory: Scholastic provided me with a copy of Sinner. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

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LibraryThing member kissedbyink

Oh hells yes! Maggie does it yet again! There is plenty if brooding Cole St. Claire and troubled Isabel Culpepper to make all fans of The Wolves of Mercy Falls very happy:)

LibraryThing member A_Reader_of_Fictions

For more reviews, Cover Snark and more, visit A Reader of Fictions.

The problem I had with most of the prior Stiefvater novels were the leads, who were basically the sort of people who murder banter. They bore me to tears. Cole and Isabel’s narration on the other hand crackles and pops with

incendiary wit. They’re rough-edges, tremendously-flawed, violent, strange, hateful, inconsiderate, stubborn, and visceral. They’re not the sort of people I can imagine myself being friends with ever, but they’re fascinating. They’re compelling, the sort of people who, against their own will sometimes, cannot help drawing other people to them, like the flame that draws moths. These are the sort of characters that I like to read about.

In Sinner, I feel like Stiefvater may have realized somewhere along the line that the wolf thing isn’t really the best part. In fact, the wolf stuff hardly factors into this book at all. If you loved the Mercy Falls series for the shifting, you might be disappointed, but, if you were skeptical, then this is what you wanted. In fact, read as a standalone, the wolf is so entirely a metaphor in this book for the escapism Cole St. Clair indulged in during his younger years. The wolf is his desire to not be himself, to not think, to not deal, to not live as a human. The wolf is much more powerful this way than as an odd paranormal plot line, because, honestly, it factors into the plot not an iota.

Were I one to use the classification, I would actually put Sinner in new adult, probably. Though they’re still young, Cole and Isabel are dealing with new adult problems. Isabel’s taking a nursing class before med school and working a retail job. Cole’s a rock star trying to figure out what to do with his life. Unlike the rest of the Mercy Falls books, there’s not the slightest touch of high school in this one. Sinner is dark and edgy.

Both Isabel and Cole have inner demons to fight. That’s the real plot here. Can these two get together in spite of themselves? They’re drawn to each other, but they’re both hesitant to commit for various reasons. Ultimately, they don’t entirely trust one another and for good reason. Cole doesn’t trust Isabel to stay and Isabel doesn’t trust Cole to stay sober. Their relationship problems are their own and no one else’s. No one is trying to keep them apart and, actually, they do have some shippers trying to help these two kids work it out.

The other aspect of Sinner I found so charming were the characters that Cole and Isabel pick up along the way. I say ‘pick up’ because they don’t do anything the way ‘normal’ people do. Cole befriends his driver, Leon, an older man a bit sad with life. I also adore Isabel’s cousin Sofia and would honestly love a book about her coming of age, the poor sweet dear. There’s just something so fabulous about the way Cole and Isabel interact with people. They’ve got such powerful voices and ways of being. Plus, I have to love any two people who are so incredibly terrible at small talk as Cole and Isabel. It’s so much fun watching them either intimidate or confuse anyone they speak to.

If Sinner is what Maggie Stiefvater’s writing has become since her debut, I may just have to jump on the bandwagon. Sinner‘s a departure from the rest of the Mercy Falls books, so that’s something to be aware of. I think there’s definitely appeal here for new adult readers who might have been hesitant to try something paranormal in a series. Though part of the series, it does serve nicely as a standalone.

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LibraryThing member snickel63

I enjoyed continuing this series. I have loved all of Maggie Stiefvater’s books that I have read. I think the story is beautifully written. I always thought Cole was a fascinating character. I liked that this tells us more about what happened to Cole and Isabel after Forever ended, but I wish we

had a little bit more insight into what happened to Grace and Sam. I loved their story and would like to have hear more about them as well. I probably would have given this book 5 stars if it went into more detail about all of the characters.

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LibraryThing member Menshevixen

What a good fun summer read.

LibraryThing member Mirandalg14

A great wrap-up/companion. We really didn't need more from Sam or Grace, but Isabel and Cole needed to complete their story.

I love that MS can write such diverse characters that are realistic and believable, and still be recognizable as individuals. Her characters have issues to deal with, but they

do it in real ways. That is more apparent in the Raven Cycle than in Sinner, but it's still a part of this story. This is more difficult than it sounds as most authors who try to add "quirks" to their characters just end up with wacky strange ones, not meaningful people who are trying to grow and change.

One fun thing about reading this now is that after I met MS this summer I can hear her voice in her characters. It adds just a little more life to them for me. I may need to go back and re-read the others soon to get the same experience.

The only big hang-up I had with this story was with Isabel. If she hates people and touching people so much, what is her real motivation to becoming a doctor? And why does she have to work so hard to keep up her harsh image? If it was really her, it wouldn't be work to be herself. I know she was working on changing herself, but it just wasn't quite enough for me.

Overall, a great read for her fans. And most anyone else who likes a little paranormal in their everyday world.

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LibraryThing member ToniFGMAMTC

I really liked the other books in this series when I read them several years ago. I was crazy over Cole even though he wasn't the main character, and I had no idea that he had his own book. I just happened to stumbled upon it. Even though it is part of The Wolves of Mercy Falls series, it has a

very different feel from the others. They were more YA fantasy romance, and Sinner is more of a NA rockstar romance. The others really centered around the werewolves, but this is mostly about Cole's life separate from the pack. It doesn't have the suck you in ups and downs of the other books. It's more of a lighter read. I did like it, but I missed the feelings I had from the others.

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LibraryThing member ToniFGMAMTC

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LibraryThing member jennybeast

Holy crap, it's better than the rest of the shiver books put together. I mean, you need them for background, but this book is so full of razor blade prose -- you read and you laugh and it cuts you to pieces with sharp truths and killer dialogue. Glorious writing.

LibraryThing member brittaniethekid

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.

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LibraryThing member jwitt33

Cole and Isabel have a very, very messy past, but Cole wants to change all that, so he goes to LA to find Isabel and make his rock star comeback. But will it be as easy as he hopes it will? Of course not, but where would be the fun in that?

I love, love, love The Wolves of Mercy Falls series and

looked forward to seeing where the story between Cole and Isabel went. Cole is loveable and funny and flawed, so I connected with him right away. Unfortunately, Isabel spent most of the book being icy and cold to everyone around her, so I had some trouble with her. Maggie Stiefvater definitely took the time to explain why she was this way, but I still felt disconnected from her, and this took away from my ability to enjoy this story as much as I would have liked. And although I loved the ending, I felt like it was a bit rushed. I wish it had been drawn out more.

All in all, I did enjoy this book, just not as much as I had hoped I would.

3/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, Scholastic Press, and Maggie Stiefvater for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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LibraryThing member mojomomma

I didn't realize this book was part of a series. Now I understand why I wasn't understanding the back story with the death of the old drummer.
Cole and Isabel are privileged whiny people who totally deserve each other. Cole turns into a werewolf sometimes. Isabel just whines a lot about her terrible

life, but she is the least likeable character and least empathetic character I've ever read about. Of course, she wants to be a doctor and somehow gets through college and medical school in two years.

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LibraryThing member kmartin802

I really enjoyed this story because, after first meeting Cole and Isabel in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, I wanted to know more about them.

This was a wonderful story about two damaged people who have both the power to hurt and to save each other.

Cole is a famous rock star turned werewolf who

spent a whole lot of time being very self-destructive. He is clean now and determined to stay that way. He has also found a way to live with his wolf and control the changes - mostly.

Isabel lost her brother when he tried to become a werewolf. She is the child of parents who are fighting and galloping toward divorce. She has tried to make herself unfeeling because feelings have hurt her so badly.

In this story, Isabel is the one in control. Cole needs her and is strong enough to say so. Isabel is so afraid of being hurt and starting something that will break her heart that she hurts Cole again and again as this story progresses.

I admired Cole's ability to try and try again to get the life he wants. I liked that he knew how to play the celebrity game but didn't let it become his whole life.

I loved that the book was told from both Isabel and Cole's points of view in alternate chapters.

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