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kirstenf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Violence, Death, Gun violence, Murder, and Blood
Minor: Confinement, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
booksandstardust's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Mental illness, Ableism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Minor: Sexual harassment
trintrin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.75
I gotta say, this book has a lot of quotable quotes. The writing's just gotten so much better and feels more poetic and very beautiful. The synonym-antonym one (Adam Parrish was lonesome, Blue Sargent was afraid etc.) was my favourite and it was a pleasure to read in a way that actually makes you sit and think about it for a while. I'm literally battling the urge to not add every single quote I highlighted into this review.
The character dynamics somehow seems to have improved? I didn't even know that was possible considering how amazing they were from the start. Every single one of their interactions add more years to my life, I'm not even kidding. Be it Adam and Ronan's relationship slowly taking root, or Adam and Gansey finally not fighting, or Ronan showing he does have affection for Blue, or even Blue pulling the plug on Noah, they all seem so real and so wonderful and I feel like a part of their group.
<blockquote>Blue and her boys were <I>all</I> in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her, or one another. analysing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running gag, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when next they would be with one another.</blockquote>
I want to childishly believe they will all remain this way until they grow very old and die peacefully, but oh well :D
Plot wise, this book turns its focus back to Glendower (who I still don't care much for) but oh boy were there some mind-blowing plot twists. And worse, some characters I hold very dear to my heart had to go and die. And possibly even worser, some characters who give me the creeps had to make a reappearance. I genuinely don't want to read the next book because 1) that means I officially have to say goodbye to the raven squad, and 2) I really don't want to see Gansey die, even if they do end up successfully resurrecting him. Now that we've had the taste of a major character death, I do not want to go through the same with Gansey.
Adam's character development was great, and so was Ronan's many subtle improvements. Gwenllilian was a nice touch. Not enough Noah scenes. Blue is such an inspiration. Gansey is as loveable as ever. Jesse Dittley is a man with a heart as huge as him. Mr. Gray must be cherished. Calla's strength is amazing. Persephone is one of a kind. Malory, however, I don't know what he brought to the plate, but that seems very fitting to his character, so whatever.
The only thing that this book, or rather, this series lacks is a strong overarching villain. It's all just very villain-of-the-week; not to worry, just a minor inconvenience, and <I>boom</I> he's gone now. Neeve was very unnerving, but she just disappeared. Whelk gave me the creeps, but then he just got trampled over by a magic forest. Mr. Gray was a cool and badass villain who looked like he would definitely get the job done, but he had to fall in love (in the span of a few weeks? days??) and did a full 180°. Kavinsky was a strong candidate but he blew himself up. And now,Greenmantle, who was genuinely scary, turned out to be a coward and ran away because of a few papers (and they never even properly revealed what was actually inside it) I hope the two women, who I assume will be the part of the antagonists of the next book, actually have some skin to them. Otherwise, I have nothing else to say (actually I have a lot of love to pour for the character writing, but that's gonna be as long as the book is, so writing all of that maybe is a bad idea)
Feb 2024 reread: 5 beautiful stars
UHMM I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE WEAKEST BOOK IN THE SERIES? Like I never once hated it or thought it was bad, but for some reason I remember just not thinking this book had much going on for it. Which makes sense, in a way, because the plot is quite slow for a majority of the book and then BOOM everything happens all at once at the end. But this is the Raven Cycle we're talking about, who cares about the plot? Let's talk characters. Wait did I say characters? Whoops, let's talk Adam Parrish.
Adam's character growth was so, so satisfying, especially knowing how much he develops all the way until the Greywaren epilogue.THAT COURTROOM SCENE!! When Adam and Gansey finally understood each other, I felt like screaming into the void and eating my pillow. That scene with Blue and Noah, the slowburn with Ronan, his "I'm awake" moment at the end, his introspection of himself throughout the entire book all deserve a medal. God I'm in love with Adam Parrish, can you tell?
The character dynamics somehow seems to have improved? I didn't even know that was possible considering how amazing they were from the start. Every single one of their interactions add more years to my life, I'm not even kidding. Be it Adam and Ronan's relationship slowly taking root, or Adam and Gansey finally not fighting, or Ronan showing he does have affection for Blue, or even Blue pulling the plug on Noah, they all seem so real and so wonderful and I feel like a part of their group.
<blockquote>Blue and her boys were <I>all</I> in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her, or one another. analysing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running gag, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when next they would be with one another.</blockquote>
I want to childishly believe they will all remain this way until they grow very old and die peacefully, but oh well :D
Plot wise, this book turns its focus back to Glendower (who I still don't care much for) but oh boy were there some mind-blowing plot twists. And worse, some characters I hold very dear to my heart had to go and die. And possibly even worser, some characters who give me the creeps had to make a reappearance. I genuinely don't want to read the next book because 1) that means I officially have to say goodbye to the raven squad, and 2) I really don't want to see Gansey die, even if they do end up successfully resurrecting him. Now that we've had the taste of a major character death, I do not want to go through the same with Gansey.
Adam's character development was great, and so was Ronan's many subtle improvements. Gwenllilian was a nice touch. Not enough Noah scenes. Blue is such an inspiration. Gansey is as loveable as ever. Jesse Dittley is a man with a heart as huge as him. Mr. Gray must be cherished. Calla's strength is amazing. Persephone is one of a kind. Malory, however, I don't know what he brought to the plate, but that seems very fitting to his character, so whatever.
The only thing that this book, or rather, this series lacks is a strong overarching villain. It's all just very villain-of-the-week; not to worry, just a minor inconvenience, and <I>boom</I> he's gone now. Neeve was very unnerving, but she just disappeared. Whelk gave me the creeps, but then he just got trampled over by a magic forest. Mr. Gray was a cool and badass villain who looked like he would definitely get the job done, but he had to fall in love (in the span of a few weeks? days??) and did a full 180°. Kavinsky was a strong candidate but he blew himself up. And now,
Feb 2024 reread: 5 beautiful stars
UHMM I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE WEAKEST BOOK IN THE SERIES? Like I never once hated it or thought it was bad, but for some reason I remember just not thinking this book had much going on for it. Which makes sense, in a way, because the plot is quite slow for a majority of the book and then BOOM everything happens all at once at the end. But this is the Raven Cycle we're talking about, who cares about the plot? Let's talk characters. Wait did I say characters? Whoops, let's talk Adam Parrish.
Adam's character growth was so, so satisfying, especially knowing how much he develops all the way until the Greywaren epilogue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Death, Grief, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
anni_swanilda's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexism
zoiejanelle's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
5.0
this has got to be my favorite book of the series so far. all i can say is I LOVE ADAM PARRISH. ADAM PARRISH HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG.
mirrors, caves, curses, cars, almost-kissing, blackmail, self-acceptance, friendship, old men and their dogs, college admissions, bisexuals, witches, school drama, MAGIC.
what really shocked me was the Greenmantles. every conversation between them had me cackling. i actually looked forward to their POVs.
fuck Maggie Stiefvater for being so good at her job, and for making me love these characters as if they were real. everything about them is palpable and consuming. i just want to live inside this dark and fantastical world forever.
mirrors, caves, curses, cars, almost-kissing, blackmail, self-acceptance, friendship, old men and their dogs, college admissions, bisexuals, witches, school drama, MAGIC.
what really shocked me was the Greenmantles. every conversation between them had me cackling. i actually looked forward to their POVs.
fuck Maggie Stiefvater for being so good at her job, and for making me love these characters as if they were real. everything about them is palpable and consuming. i just want to live inside this dark and fantastical world forever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Grief, Medical content, and Death
Minor: Physical abuse, Animal death, and Child abuse
sunsorbit's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Animal death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Domestic abuse
Also contains: ghosts, spirits, and necromancy; possession (of a bird and a spirit); allusions to child sexual assault/pedophilia and child murder (these are only vaguely implied and part of a plot toizypup's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Blood, Confinement, Gun violence, Classism, and Death
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Death of parent
sabinehunter'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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Gun violence
jenarae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Ableism, Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual content
fanboyriot's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
5.0
This series is so captivating and interesting and stunning to read. Seeing all the character development was amazing, it’s a very nice balance between characters and plot. The humor was amazing and the overall writing is so lovely to read. I really liked seeing Ronan and Blue have more of a friendship (though I don’t think either of them would admit it) seeing them be stubborn or them saying something the other’s wouldn’t dare say—very fun to read. It was also nice to see Adam working on letting people help him without him thinking it was because of where—or how—he grew up. He started to see that his friends just wanted to be there for him and it was just written so nicely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Cursing, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Rape, Child abuse, Classism, and Mental illness