Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

66 reviews

ifoundcallie's review against another edition

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

4.75


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girlgetsbook's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I struggled to find a rating for this book but I finally realized it was just a bit short of 5 stars. The struggle came because I'm a hard-core mood reader and I was in a reading slump after starting several books and not being able to figure out what mood I was in, so I decided that I was in a fantasy mood and picked this one up, and I love it, I love tarot reading and witchcraft and psychic themes so I loved loved this part of the story and I loved Blue and could relate to her a lot, I also am surrounded by amazing women who would do anything to protect me so I loved her family as well. 

I was able to go through the book easily without even a sign of the huge reading slump I was going through for a long time, but then it kind of slowed down during some specific parts, especially the ones where the boys were concerned. I grew to like them but, at first I was a bit tired of Gansey and Ronan whilst Adam was very easy to sympathize with and Noah (despite being very whimsical) was easy to like (even before knowing anything). I felt like some parts where very teen drama-esque with Gansey's big problem being he is rich (come on now), and between him being very insensitive towards Adam's more serious issues and wanting to change Blue's name (which would be quirky if he wasn't a rich powerful person), I found super hard to like him, though, of course, I started doing it by the end. Even so, he is an incredibly traumatized character and it was really weird how the author focused on him being overtly concerned about having money and power (whilst using those two things), and not the clear intense events that happened in his childhood. But maybe Maggie has a bigger brain than I do and this is supposed to be what you feel towards him and in future books you understand him better (or maybe not). Ronan grew on me with time, and I hope I keep liking him on future books, it's really easy for me to hate overtly violent characters.

Once this drama was mostly over and the whimsical magic things started happening and the secrets were revealed I finally understood the hype and oh my god it is so well deserved, the way things played out is definitely something I would love to write someday and I ended the book wanting to hug every one of those boys which says a lot for someone who wasn't vibing much with them in the beginning, I'll definitely continue the series, it does have a 5 star series potential.

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princessmoonsy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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? No

4.75

super good book. so easy to just sit there and binge it. definitely will be reading the second book right after this.

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nevermoregothic's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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


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zoiejanelle's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious 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

i CANNOT believe i did not read this series sooner. holy moly. 

Stiefvater’s writing is so immersive, so poignant, so visceral. reading this reminded me why i loved the Shiver series so much, and compels me to read more of her work. 

not only is the writing style utterly gorgeous, but the pacing and intricate plots are just divine. i won’t say everything i’ve read so far has made total sense, but the way the sub-plots and characters arcs are interwoven kept me on my toes and invested the entire time. 

i had no idea Blue was the main character and i couldn’t be more pleased. she’s raw, and hilarious, and relatable, and i enjoy her POV the most. she is definitely the key to this whole mystery of Glendower and i am so excited to see the extent of her gift(s) in the rest of the series. 

i’m in love with Adam, with Ronan, and I WASN’T AT FIRST BUT NOW I AM IN LOVE WITH GANSEY. and of course, i adore Noah. i loved getting to know each of them and watching their individual stories unfold little by little throughout, seeing their motivations become clear and watching them start to grow, and i cannot wait to see where this marvelous, treacherous, magical treasure(ish) hunt takes them next. 

and here’s the deal. i despise love triangles. (there isn’t really one here [yet] but there is some complex teenage crushing happening) but oh my lord i am so invested and in love with Blue’s big Love Dilemma and i’m a total sucker for characters doing their damndest to fight destiny. 

i have tooooooo many things to say about this book, but all involve spoilers so i’ll just leave this here. 

incredible read, i am immediately moving on to the next book now!!!

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sheadunlop's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring 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


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melurmom's review against another edition

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

5.0

Gosh I wish I could give this more than five stars. I read this for the first time in middle schools seven years ago and I've re-read this series if not this book each year since. The characters are incredible and the mix of fantasy and coming of age is perfect.

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nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0


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bugcollector's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Did Lana Del Rey design the cover

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bi_n_large's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.0


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