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nellifer's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars- I would die for Richard Gansey III. That is all.
onthemiddleshelf's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this up bc so many people have said that this is one of their favorite series. To be completely honest I'm not sure I understand why. I'm going to continue to book 2 and see how that goes before I decide to dnf the series.
winterbinding's review against another edition
5.0
So I picked this one up purely because of how enthusiastic a friend was about it and I was definitely not disappointed. As far as YA goes, The Raven Boys avoids a lot of the normal pitfalls. The third person omniscient perspective keeps things interesting, the characters had flaws and character traits that were believable, and even the somewhat cliched catch with Blue's story didn't bother me in this. Stiefvater's writing is interesting, imaginative and descriptive, and it made the magic and mystery of Glendower seem just as grand and fantastic as Gansey believes it to be. I was a bit put off by how the climax seemed rushed together, like all the characters were smashed together all at once to wrap things up, and the abrupt, hard cliffhanger was a surprise. Either way, I'm definitely heading right into book two. The good in this one far outweighed any bad.
toriicannon's review against another edition
3.0
visiting Ronan, ten years after meeting him for the first time.
linsih's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
sj_elli's review against another edition
4.0
I couldn't wait to get my hands on The Raven Boys and I was lucky enough to win a SIGNED COPY. And then it sat on my shelf for forever. When I saw The Dream Thieves on NetGalley, I figured the best way to finally read the book sitting on my shelf was to request the sequel and have a deadline to read it. I had read the synopsis at one point, but it had been forever, so I went in a little blind.
What I really enjoyed about this book was the multifaceted characters. The POV is hard to catch onto (for me at least) at first, but once I did, I didn't really noticed it as much. You experience the story from many different POVs and I think that really helped to tie in all the loose ends. I adore Blue's family. It's like the Addams family at 300 Fox Way and what more could you ask for in a story than a kooky bunch of relatives under one roof? Blue was a very solid, noncliched YA girl. She stood up for herself and was a loyal friend to the boys. She was there when they needed her. I had no issue taking to her at all. She was so likeable.
Gansey was easy for me to like as well. His interest in the Welsh king and ley lines was phenomenally done. I loved when they went to Cabeswater. Just loved it. It was mysterious and spooky.
Overall, great plot, great cast of characters, amazing secondary characters!
Reread via audio 4/18/23: I still really liked this upon reread. The family at 300 Fox Way is still my favorite part of the book.
What I really enjoyed about this book was the multifaceted characters. The POV is hard to catch onto (for me at least) at first, but once I did, I didn't really noticed it as much. You experience the story from many different POVs and I think that really helped to tie in all the loose ends. I adore Blue's family. It's like the Addams family at 300 Fox Way and what more could you ask for in a story than a kooky bunch of relatives under one roof? Blue was a very solid, noncliched YA girl. She stood up for herself and was a loyal friend to the boys. She was there when they needed her. I had no issue taking to her at all. She was so likeable.
Gansey was easy for me to like as well. His interest in the Welsh king and ley lines was phenomenally done. I loved when they went to Cabeswater. Just loved it. It was mysterious and spooky.
Overall, great plot, great cast of characters, amazing secondary characters!
Reread via audio 4/18/23: I still really liked this upon reread. The family at 300 Fox Way is still my favorite part of the book.
queenr23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
rinn's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those few books that I'd heard was good, seen on a lot of blogs, but never really knew what it was about. Even when I ordered it from the library, I still didn't quite have a clear picture of the story. And to be honest, I'm glad that I picked this one up because of the reviews and ratings rather than the blurb - it sounds like a typical, Young Adult paranormal romance, but it's so much more than that. In fact, the romance barely comes into it.
Blue's family - all female - are psychics, or have some sort of supernatural powers, except for Blue herself. Instead, she is like an amplifier, making the gifts of the rest of her family stronger. While this doesn't seem like much, it plays quite an important part later in the story.
Through a series of events, Blue ends up hanging out with some of the 'Raven boys' - the nickname for boys from a local private school, so called because of the Raven on their school crest. The characters are all very different from one another, and work together nicely. There is Adam, from a poor background and who has worked incredibly hard to get where he is, privileged Gansey, who doesn't think about money at all but concentrates all his efforts on the search for Glendower, and Ronan, an angry, misunderstood boy with family problems. And then finally Blue, the protagonist, who is a bit quirky, and despite a supernatural family, very much with her feet firmly on the ground.
The weaving of the Welsh mythology into the story was a nice touch, but I would have preferred more information on it, so perhaps that will be something for the next book. I am a little afraid that the tagline - 'If you kiss your true love, he will die' - might put some readers off, as it implies the sort of insta-love many of us have come to hate in Young Adult books, particularly as this one is of the paranormal persuasion. But that was one of the things I really liked about this book - Blue's first impression of the boys is not love, lust or even any sort of interest. She dislikes them instantly, because of their flashy ways and arrogant manners. It is this, that despite the book's paranormal theme, makes the story all the more believable.
Finally, the book ends far too abruptly. It doesn't even really feel like a cliffhanger, more like a chapter got cut in half. Which of course means I will be reading the next one - and I encourage you all to read the first!
Originally posted on my former blog, Rinn Reads.
Blue's family - all female - are psychics, or have some sort of supernatural powers, except for Blue herself. Instead, she is like an amplifier, making the gifts of the rest of her family stronger. While this doesn't seem like much, it plays quite an important part later in the story.
Through a series of events, Blue ends up hanging out with some of the 'Raven boys' - the nickname for boys from a local private school, so called because of the Raven on their school crest. The characters are all very different from one another, and work together nicely. There is Adam, from a poor background and who has worked incredibly hard to get where he is, privileged Gansey, who doesn't think about money at all but concentrates all his efforts on the search for Glendower, and Ronan, an angry, misunderstood boy with family problems. And then finally Blue, the protagonist, who is a bit quirky, and despite a supernatural family, very much with her feet firmly on the ground.
The weaving of the Welsh mythology into the story was a nice touch, but I would have preferred more information on it, so perhaps that will be something for the next book. I am a little afraid that the tagline - 'If you kiss your true love, he will die' - might put some readers off, as it implies the sort of insta-love many of us have come to hate in Young Adult books, particularly as this one is of the paranormal persuasion. But that was one of the things I really liked about this book - Blue's first impression of the boys is not love, lust or even any sort of interest. She dislikes them instantly, because of their flashy ways and arrogant manners. It is this, that despite the book's paranormal theme, makes the story all the more believable.
Finally, the book ends far too abruptly. It doesn't even really feel like a cliffhanger, more like a chapter got cut in half. Which of course means I will be reading the next one - and I encourage you all to read the first!
Originally posted on my former blog, Rinn Reads.
candece's review against another edition
5.0
Wow!!! Just wow!!!! How did I wait so long to read this book?! It’s so good!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed this book it was such a quick and easy read!!!!
saraphinasnape's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed the book and am already moving on to #2 in the Raven Cycle. I can wait to see what happens with Blue and the Raven boys.