Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

32 reviews

moonkat's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I adored it! I adored the story, the characters, the friendships, the found family aspect, the atmosphere, the mystery, the witchy magic, the small town setting. It has so many things I love in books, and I had no idea before I started reading! Aaaaaah! Finally, after almost 10 years, I understand the hype. Can't wait to continue the series. 
(I have to say, I could live without the "love" plot. Luckily, it's not very present. And I hope it won't become... love triangly. But I'm curious if it will actually mean what everyone thinks it means, or if there will be some twists there.) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, and Domestic abuse

grimmdark's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i enjoyed myself enormously. head over heels!! the characters, the prose, the universe, the characters, the plot, the CHARACTERS

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Medical content, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

lindseyrenee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I very much enjoyed this and am ready to dive into book 2. I’m a big fan of multi POV, so being able to see the big picture while watching the characters unravel what is happening was a lot of fun. There were a few times when I actually gasped - no spoilers - but I liked the resolution that came with Noah. I’m excited to see how the story progresses throughout the series!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

myarae's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, and Body horror

notabookseller's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

i’m glad adam didn’t die

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Cursing, Child abuse, Car accident, and Alcohol

irinalast's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death and Grief

gcjay1994's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Gives me Lost Boy vibes. I have mixed feelings on this book. It was one where I felt reluctant to pick it up, but enjoyed my time listening to it. At the same time, nothing really happens and there are a lot of unanswered questions (which I am sure are touched on in the next books). I just enjoyed it, but didn't love it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

ukalaylee's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Alcohol, Eating disorder, and Grief

keen's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Raven Boys is an enjoyable book. It's not usually the kind I'd read, as I tend to avoid Young Adult novels since the days of Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, and Legend by Marie Lu. This was not helped by the summary, with its focus on "true love's deathly kiss" and an apparently big romance aspect. It all looked so cliché. It took a friend suggesting me The Raven Boys, a praise from acquaintances, some spoilers, and, finally, the first friend wanting to read the book with me. That was when I gave in. Another friend buying me the book sure did help too.

And I was pleasantly surprised. It starts off seeming like a romantic-focused story, but while romance is a factor, it's written well and has big plot relevance other than love-triangle nonsense meant to keep people guessing who will be The One. Based on comments on other fans, they also acknowledge that the summary is misleading and doesn't give a good idea of the actual contents of the book.

As I continued reading, I had to reconcile with the fact that the book was slower than I'm used to. Most stories I read are fast-paced. Horror books are the ones I accept for being medium or slow-paced so atmosphere can be build up. I'd say this book was medium-paced, with the slow beginning used to build up characters in preparation for the later acts and future books. Aside from that, I have to take some blame in how slowly I read. The struggles of the character Adam were so relatable to me that I had moments where I wanted to drop the book. Luckily, I kept going.

By the end, I was deep into the story. Despite reading another book with this one, I had to keep myself from buying the rest of the series the moment I finished. I'm excited to see where this story goes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, and Bullying