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summerspence's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Murder
Minor: Grief, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Classism, and Gun violence
emilylovesgoodbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse and Child abuse
Moderate: Murder and Death
lucyfette's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i really enjoyed the first book in the series! took a good while for me to properly get into, as there’s a lot of world + character building and it’s hard to grasp and appreciate why it’s all so important until you get to when the main group of characters meet. but once they do, the story flows extremely easily from there. blue, gansey, ronan, adam and noah have such a good dynamic that’s so easy to read and follow. truly fell in love and really cared about their story and their journey. really well written and i cant wait to start on the rest of the series.
would definitely recommend, but it just takes a while before it gets properly into it. be patient!
would definitely recommend, but it just takes a while before it gets properly into it. be patient!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse and Child abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Blood
definitely not a triggering read but there are some things u wanna look out for! like murder, blood, abuse, ritual + sacrifice.bjnewsom's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
been meaning to pick up this book for so longggggg and i finally did and i COULDNT PUT IT DOWN!!!!! everything i love is in this series. mystery, paranormal, supernatural, a diverse and complex set of characters, AAAHHHHH AND RHE PLOT TWISTS AND SURPRISES!!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Cursing
Moderate: Death
Minor: Death of parent, Murder, and Gun violence
rebeccacole98's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
parisreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Murder, and Child abuse
Minor: Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Physical abuse, and Death of parent
l_arand's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
okay SO i impulsively picked up this book after simply deciding “i don’t want to think about anything so i am going to throw myself into a book,” and i landed with the first book in this series. and holy shit, am i happy i did.
this books follows blue sargent, a teenager from a clairvoyant family. while she doesn’t have any “gifts,” herself, she acts as an amplifier for those in her family (ex. if a member of her family can pick up on energy, having blue around them can make the energy’s presence more known).
the story begins on st. mark’s eve, where the soon-to-be-dead appear. there, she sees a boy who speaks to her directly. he introduced himself as “gansey” and when blue asks for more elaboration, the only response she gets is “that’s all there is.”
this prompts her into discovering what is going on with gansey, and sends her on a hunt to try to delay his death (since those who appear in st. mark’s eve are to die within the next year). and on top of this, she’s been told since her birth that she will kill her true love if she chooses to kiss him by all of her family, who keep in mind, are all gifted with magic.
at a night shift at her service job, she sees the boy from st. mark’s eve, and this heightens her curiousity, and before she knows it she’s been indoctrinated into his group of friends who all attend algionby, an elite private college prep school for boys who have more money than they know what to do with.
so, there’s the synopsis. the characters in this book are lovely, and we do learn more about them throughout the book. however, stiefvater leaves out enough information on them (and the quest they’re on) to keep the reader wanting more, which is sensible because it’s the first book of a series (the raven cycle). i found this book to be so immersive, and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t typically gravitate towards fantasy/magic. also, there are some beautiful quotes in this work that i still think about;
“he’d chosen his weapon well: only the truth, untempered by kindness.”
“it was the stop that happened when you made up your mind to confess, but your mouth betrayed you in the end.”
“a soul is vulnerable when it is outside the mind.”
this books follows blue sargent, a teenager from a clairvoyant family. while she doesn’t have any “gifts,” herself, she acts as an amplifier for those in her family (ex. if a member of her family can pick up on energy, having blue around them can make the energy’s presence more known).
the story begins on st. mark’s eve, where the soon-to-be-dead appear. there, she sees a boy who speaks to her directly. he introduced himself as “gansey” and when blue asks for more elaboration, the only response she gets is “that’s all there is.”
this prompts her into discovering what is going on with gansey, and sends her on a hunt to try to delay his death (since those who appear in st. mark’s eve are to die within the next year). and on top of this, she’s been told since her birth that she will kill her true love if she chooses to kiss him by all of her family, who keep in mind, are all gifted with magic.
at a night shift at her service job, she sees the boy from st. mark’s eve, and this heightens her curiousity, and before she knows it she’s been indoctrinated into his group of friends who all attend algionby, an elite private college prep school for boys who have more money than they know what to do with.
so, there’s the synopsis. the characters in this book are lovely, and we do learn more about them throughout the book. however, stiefvater leaves out enough information on them (and the quest they’re on) to keep the reader wanting more, which is sensible because it’s the first book of a series (the raven cycle). i found this book to be so immersive, and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t typically gravitate towards fantasy/magic. also, there are some beautiful quotes in this work that i still think about;
“he’d chosen his weapon well: only the truth, untempered by kindness.”
“it was the stop that happened when you made up your mind to confess, but your mouth betrayed you in the end.”
“a soul is vulnerable when it is outside the mind.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Classism, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
imds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Classism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
franzis_buecher's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
4th reread 2022:
Rereading in preparation for Greywaren this fall! I started with the English audiobook but switched to the German edition I have at home in the end, mainly because I didn't really like the narrator's voice this time around.
I noticed so many small details again which were kind of foreshadowing events and reveals in the sequels! (e.g.Cabeswater took everything literally, like Ronan )
That's what I love about rereading: (re)discovering these kinds of details!
I wouldn't say there's a strong character development in this first installment, because the development happens over the course of the four novels. But I really enjoyed rediscovering Adam's development in this book - he's characterized so well that his decision andsacrifice at the end makes total sense and seems very impactful to the reader! Just very well written all around.
-------------------------
3rd reread:
"I took Chainsaw out of my dreams" - chills.
Read for the 3rd time and it was still as good as ever (although it's so weird to read about Adam and Blue in the first book because they just don't really fit at all and I keep thinking of how far they and the others will develop and come into their own in the next books and how the characters are like in cdth and I'm just like holy shit these early versions of these people are almost unrecognizable to me by now).
It was interesting to listen to it as an audiobook this time around, the narrator is good but I think I prefer the narrator from all the crooked saints if I was to rank the audiobooks.
I feel like I need a bit of a break from Stiefvater books before I continue with tdt, even though this was amazing. I've read so many of her books these past few months and I think I need to read some other stuff for some variety.
Rereading in preparation for Greywaren this fall! I started with the English audiobook but switched to the German edition I have at home in the end, mainly because I didn't really like the narrator's voice this time around.
I noticed so many small details again which were kind of foreshadowing events and reveals in the sequels! (e.g.
That's what I love about rereading: (re)discovering these kinds of details!
I wouldn't say there's a strong character development in this first installment, because the development happens over the course of the four novels. But I really enjoyed rediscovering Adam's development in this book - he's characterized so well that his decision and
-------------------------
3rd reread:
"I took Chainsaw out of my dreams" - chills.
Read for the 3rd time and it was still as good as ever (although it's so weird to read about Adam and Blue in the first book because they just don't really fit at all and I keep thinking of how far they and the others will develop and come into their own in the next books and how the characters are like in cdth and I'm just like holy shit these early versions of these people are almost unrecognizable to me by now).
It was interesting to listen to it as an audiobook this time around, the narrator is good but I think I prefer the narrator from all the crooked saints if I was to rank the audiobooks.
I feel like I need a bit of a break from Stiefvater books before I continue with tdt, even though this was amazing. I've read so many of her books these past few months and I think I need to read some other stuff for some variety.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse
Minor: Death, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Sexism
paulawind'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? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
The menace I would be if I read this book in middle school when it first came out. My parents already had to indulge my PJ Greek Mythology and HG archery obsessions, if I added ley lines into that with a sprinkle of Latin bc of this book, they would lose it. I know that I would have loved it back then though but I’m glad I found my way to it eventually bc now it will be a healthier temporary hyperfixation whilst I inhale the rest of the series. I’m also glad bc I would deffo make being like Gansey my entire personality and I’ve already ended up being a mum friend so it could only get worse.
Characters oh how much I love every single one of them. And how much they love each other. Peak quality found family trope, 11/10. Healthy friendship between boys? Look at that, it can be done without toxic masculinity and fighting over a girl. But more importantly - every character here deserves a hug. Those boys have so much trauma that their issues have their own issues, my little boys you deserve the world.
The plot is also great, but I admit that I was itching for the MCs to meet each other earlier on in the book but bc it’s a series I understand why the author was taking their time with it. This is mostly me being petty bc every time the 5 of them interact my heart grows 4984 times in size.
Needless to say, I’m on my way to the library for the next instalment
Characters oh how much I love every single one of them. And how much they love each other. Peak quality found family trope, 11/10. Healthy friendship between boys? Look at that, it can be done without toxic masculinity and fighting over a girl. But more importantly - every character here deserves a hug. Those boys have so much trauma that their issues have their own issues, my little boys you deserve the world.
The plot is also great, but I admit that I was itching for the MCs to meet each other earlier on in the book but bc it’s a series I understand why the author was taking their time with it. This is mostly me being petty bc every time the 5 of them interact my heart grows 4984 times in size.
Needless to say, I’m on my way to the library for the next instalment
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Death, Child abuse, and Physical abuse