Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - Król Kruków (The Raven Boys)

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!

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parisreads's review against another edition

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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

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franzis_buecher's review against another edition

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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 and

sacrifice

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.

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durrareadsstuff's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

5.0

I can't believe I didn't read this sooner. This was such a good book I don't even know where to start. I'd say the last time I felt this way about a book was while reading six of crows, and although I can't possibly compare the two of them (soc is better sorry) the raven boys is definitely up there.

This is also my first time reading Maggie Stiefvater and OH MY GOD THE WRITING💫💥💢💫💥💢💫💫🔥🔥🔥
I love how the lines range from beautiful quotes like

She recognized the strange happiness that came from loving something without knowing why you did, that strange happiness that was sometimes so big that it felt like sadness. It was the way she felt when she looked at the stars.

Gansey had a sense of incredible rightness, then, with everyone assembled by the Pig. Like Blue, not the ley line, was the missing piece that he’d been needing all these years, like the search for Glendower wasn’t truly underway until she was part of it. She was right like Ronan had been right, like Adam had been right, like Noah had been right.

And whatever this is

“Yes,” she said. “I guess I make things that need energy stronger. I’m like a walking battery.”
“You’re the table everyone wants at Starbucks,” Gansey mused as he began to walk again.
Blue blinked. “What?”
Over his shoulder, Gansey said, “Next to the wall plug.”

“Don’t psychoanalyze me,” her mother said.
“I already have. And I say again, ‘ah.’”

LIKE HOW IS IT SO GOOD??!!?? *slams my head against the wall*

Honestly I didn't think I'd like any of the characters going in, but now I'm attached to each and every one of them. It's amazing how she managed to turn such characters into raw, vulnerable, complex people that you can't help but love. I love how there's barely any romance in here, which is also weird because I usually like that stuff. But surprisingly I don't really mind. I also didn't get why they were friends in the first place, but now—I wish I had that kind of bond with someone.

My favourite thing, I have to say though, is probably Noah. I mean, I know he's not one of the "main characters" but he's just so cute. And the dynamic between him and Blue???? I JUST CAN'T 😭💓😭😭

Again, the writing in here is absolutely stunning. I mean, the humour, the atmosphere, the VIBES WERE IMMACULATE LET ME TELL YOU. I felt like everything was so magical and wondrous. And the povs were so wonderfully personal and raw. Oh my god I just love it so much. Possibly will be the only think occuping my headspace for weeks to come and hey, I'm not mad about it.

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botanicalprofanity's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

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thegr1mreader's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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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