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ek4therin4h's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.5
veraann's review against another edition
3.0
This book was not what I expected from the description. I liked reading it, though it was slow at times and the beginning was a little weird. It did pick up and was very interesting. A lot of characters and set up, would like to see where things are heading and waiting for the next book to arrive now.
sarathegirl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
5.0
brisingr's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars actually, because there are some problems I'll discuss a little bit later, but!!! I enjoyed this book so much!!
Everyone knows that Aglionby boys are the type of people that have it all: family money, good looks and a personality to match it. Maybe that's why Blue, simple daughter of a psychic, can't stand them. But on the night of St. Mark's Eve the spirit of an Aglionby boy speaks directly to her, and soon enough Blue finds herself caught up in a web of fantastical histories and uncertain futures, stepping on mystic grounds with the raven boys at her side.
If you've known me for some while now, you'll also know that at some point last year I've read The Scorpio Races, another book written by Maggie Stiefvater, and you'll also know that I loved that book a lot. Mostly because Stiefvater's writing is incredibly amazing, it makes you want to care about her story and her characters, it makes you hurt with the raw feelings she injects in your mind through her carefully arranged words. It's like I'm getting high on stories through words, and it's my favorite feeling in the whole world and the main reason why I keep reading so intensely (I will not find rest until I've found every book that can make me feel this way).
But anyway, getting back on track with The Raven Boys. Man, this was such a ride! The story starts quite slowly, you get an initial taste of the life of each of the main characters in the book and it does take a while to get caught up on the actual story. This is the first minus of this book, but oh god, it did make it up after the first 80-100 pages or so. I also adored the subject of the action, mixing welsh kings with psychic activities, and all the magic in the book is so dreamy and strong and raw and I loved it because I adored it but also feared it and it made me a little bit obsessed.
The other minus is that all the characters are whitewashed, and while I don't usually bring this up in reviews, it's a known thing that tumblr people do tend to head-canon the characters in this book as poc (which is totally cool!!), but I liked Maggie Stiefvater's very polite response to this (X) and well, it's a thing to keep in mind and hope for more amazingly written books with some diversity!
What I liked best though was definitely the friendship between the raven boys. They're all damaged in a way or other, they all have fears and dreams and they know how to act around each other to bring out the best (or the worst) in each other and the simple fact that they know each other well enough to make it seem like they're kings and forever and they're so young but they know and want to know so much, their curiosity endless and the posibilities just as such. Really, I was deeply unprepared for the force and the dynamics of this group, and it's not only because they're young and bold and rich and have the right of acting like spoiled children, while having to be mature as well, but the way they wear the burden of being alive is fascinating. Wow, I'm talking in lots of metaphors, but really. I love them so, SO much.
My favorite was Gansey (powerful but scared but excited Gansey, whom I could love to the moon and back because he so deserves it), followed closely by Noah (shy and silent Noah, that I want as my eternal bff).
This book brought tears in my eyes, several times. It made me gasp, it made me fiddle in my chair because I was so excited but could read only that fast, it made me nod in agreement, it made me laugh and I adored every moment spent reading this book (and my jam for this book was 'transpose' by bad suns!)
This was a really, really good first book in a series, it ended in such a cliffhanger, but so amazing and I am honestly so satisfied. Like, crazily so. This book stays very, very high in my top with satisfying endings and I adore that it promises to destroy my life even more in further volumes. I am all for it.
This series has the potential of becoming one of my favorites and I AM SO EXCITED.
Everyone knows that Aglionby boys are the type of people that have it all: family money, good looks and a personality to match it. Maybe that's why Blue, simple daughter of a psychic, can't stand them. But on the night of St. Mark's Eve the spirit of an Aglionby boy speaks directly to her, and soon enough Blue finds herself caught up in a web of fantastical histories and uncertain futures, stepping on mystic grounds with the raven boys at her side.
If you've known me for some while now, you'll also know that at some point last year I've read The Scorpio Races, another book written by Maggie Stiefvater, and you'll also know that I loved that book a lot. Mostly because Stiefvater's writing is incredibly amazing, it makes you want to care about her story and her characters, it makes you hurt with the raw feelings she injects in your mind through her carefully arranged words. It's like I'm getting high on stories through words, and it's my favorite feeling in the whole world and the main reason why I keep reading so intensely (I will not find rest until I've found every book that can make me feel this way).
But anyway, getting back on track with The Raven Boys. Man, this was such a ride! The story starts quite slowly, you get an initial taste of the life of each of the main characters in the book and it does take a while to get caught up on the actual story. This is the first minus of this book, but oh god, it did make it up after the first 80-100 pages or so. I also adored the subject of the action, mixing welsh kings with psychic activities, and all the magic in the book is so dreamy and strong and raw and I loved it because I adored it but also feared it and it made me a little bit obsessed.
The other minus is that all the characters are whitewashed, and while I don't usually bring this up in reviews, it's a known thing that tumblr people do tend to head-canon the characters in this book as poc (which is totally cool!!), but I liked Maggie Stiefvater's very polite response to this (X) and well, it's a thing to keep in mind and hope for more amazingly written books with some diversity!
What I liked best though was definitely the friendship between the raven boys. They're all damaged in a way or other, they all have fears and dreams and they know how to act around each other to bring out the best (or the worst) in each other and the simple fact that they know each other well enough to make it seem like they're kings and forever and they're so young but they know and want to know so much, their curiosity endless and the posibilities just as such. Really, I was deeply unprepared for the force and the dynamics of this group, and it's not only because they're young and bold and rich and have the right of acting like spoiled children, while having to be mature as well, but the way they wear the burden of being alive is fascinating. Wow, I'm talking in lots of metaphors, but really. I love them so, SO much.
My favorite was Gansey (powerful but scared but excited Gansey, whom I could love to the moon and back because he so deserves it), followed closely by Noah (shy and silent Noah, that I want as my eternal bff).
This book brought tears in my eyes, several times. It made me gasp, it made me fiddle in my chair because I was so excited but could read only that fast, it made me nod in agreement, it made me laugh and I adored every moment spent reading this book (and my jam for this book was 'transpose' by bad suns!)
This was a really, really good first book in a series, it ended in such a cliffhanger, but so amazing and I am honestly so satisfied. Like, crazily so. This book stays very, very high in my top with satisfying endings and I adore that it promises to destroy my life even more in further volumes. I am all for it.
This series has the potential of becoming one of my favorites and I AM SO EXCITED.
theblueribbon's review against another edition
4.75
wow holy wow. it’s so MUCH that’s a lot and very complex complicated. but the ending is not the ending it literally feels like the end of the beginning LOL THIS WAS GOOD. i’m about to download the next book. real nice and creepy but not so creepy which was good for me. characters are lovable which is important to me 🫰 i just feel like this will 💔💔💔 you know it’s the type. at first i really liked adam he’s so sweet and then i started not liking him bcs he just became … yk and then i’m starting to like gansey & ronan. i also liked noah poor noah. blue is cool i like her i hope ms author doesn’t ruin her character LOL MULTIPLE POVS MAKE ME CONFUSED 😵💫
mariam___ahmed8's review against another edition
This series may contain an explicit gay romance scene
xladyxdreamer's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
The Raven Boys was an odd experience. On one hand I really loved the first few chapters of the book, setting up the characters individually and mentioning how it's all leading up to them actually meeting was really cool to read about. And I liked this set up with these characters. The further this went tho, the more problems I saw in it.
Some of the characters (Adam) were actually so fucking annoying to read about. And I feel like a lot of their actions in context to the scene they were in, was written in such a strange way? Like I don't know, something especially during that final sequence (with no stakes btw, it came and went and I was just like... okay?) felt so off and I cannot put a finger on what specifically. That ending overall seemed like it came out of nowhere.
The thing about this first book is that even in the middle of the book you're like 'no way does any of this go anywhere in this book'. It's actually just pure set up and I don't think I've ever experienced a book like that. I've read series before obviously, but all of them successfully set up the world, told a story it wanted to tell in book one and there was enough left to continue it further without the first book being just filler. It was such a strange reading experience when I realised this felt like that.
The magic system in this was also set up so weirdly, it's not even unpolished it feels unfinished. There's some semblance of ideas but it kind of goes to shit sometimes and it feels like the writer was just throwing shit at a wall. It doesn't seem purposeful like it does in fantasy books with magic systems I love (The Gilded Wolves/Mirror Visitor come to mind as great examples).
Even with that much negatives to say, I do own the whole series (Ily Casey, will thank you for it forever) and besides all that annoying aspects I had a decent enough time that I will continue reading these books. If not for the actually good comedic moments then to give this series another chance and see what direction this is all heading in.
Different note, but I fucking love these covers for this series. The main reason I was interested in picking it up and I cannot stop looking at them even now. Great job Polish publishers, as always <33
Some of the characters (Adam) were actually so fucking annoying to read about. And I feel like a lot of their actions in context to the scene they were in, was written in such a strange way? Like I don't know, something especially during that final sequence (with no stakes btw, it came and went and I was just like... okay?) felt so off and I cannot put a finger on what specifically. That ending overall seemed like it came out of nowhere.
The thing about this first book is that even in the middle of the book you're like 'no way does any of this go anywhere in this book'. It's actually just pure set up and I don't think I've ever experienced a book like that. I've read series before obviously, but all of them successfully set up the world, told a story it wanted to tell in book one and there was enough left to continue it further without the first book being just filler. It was such a strange reading experience when I realised this felt like that.
The magic system in this was also set up so weirdly, it's not even unpolished it feels unfinished. There's some semblance of ideas but it kind of goes to shit sometimes and it feels like the writer was just throwing shit at a wall. It doesn't seem purposeful like it does in fantasy books with magic systems I love (The Gilded Wolves/Mirror Visitor come to mind as great examples).
Even with that much negatives to say, I do own the whole series (Ily Casey, will thank you for it forever) and besides all that annoying aspects I had a decent enough time that I will continue reading these books. If not for the actually good comedic moments then to give this series another chance and see what direction this is all heading in.
Different note, but I fucking love these covers for this series. The main reason I was interested in picking it up and I cannot stop looking at them even now. Great job Polish publishers, as always <33
toomx's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-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? No
3.5
snoopydoo77's review against another edition
3.0
To be honest it took me a while to get into this book. For one I think I was in a reading slump, two I had a hard time connecting to the characters at first and lastly, the blurb was nothing like the story I was reading. It is a bit misleading.
All that having been said I ended up enjoying the book more than I thought at first I would. Somewhere along the 50% mark I really started to get the character as we learned more about them and there motives and most importantly for me their backgrounds. Though this is one book I wish would not have so many POVs , which made it a bit more confusing than it already was at some parts.
The more I understood the world building the more I liked it but I think it is by far not all and we will see a lot more and new things in future books.
The story seemed dark and mysterious and sometimes sad. Really we don’t find out much by the end of the book if anything we are left hanging with even more questions than we started but somehow I really enjoyed that and it kept me clued to the pages/ (once I reached a certain point).
I can’t wait to finds out more about Blue, her family, including her father and the boys. I’m really curious to see what all will be uncovered in the next book.
I’m giving this book 3★ but only because I had a hard time getting it to it but I think the next book might be easier and therefore faster to read for me and I might enjoy it more.
schnappii's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.5