Scan barcode
li_reading's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Alcohol, Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Homophobia, Child death, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
lindseyrenee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Blue is fine I guess, this book didn’t do much for her other than a make out session with Noah and proclaiming her feelings to gansey. The grey man was a nice character who really grew on me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Kidnapping and Suicide attempt
carlyisnotliterate's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
5.0
damn this really is the best raven cycle book huh
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Gun violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse
b3ck's review against another edition
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Death
Minor: Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
dinaisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
danaleelin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Body horror, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
rita_z's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
4.0
In the first few chapters this book already did so much more than the first one in terms of developing the characters and their relationships, it managed to pull me in and keep me invested in all the different dynamics going on and i loved every single one. The friendship between the main five was one of my favorite things in the book its so realistically written and pure and funny.
The writing improved so much it didnt get so lost in confusing metaphors or pointless descriptions and when it did it was most of the times in way that didnt interrupt the story but added to it, and there was something happening at any point during the story unlike the first one that was full of dull nothings.
And Ronan.... i love him so fucking much, its ridiculous how attached i got to him in just one book, he was my favorite in the raven boys and im so glad I got a full book about him and his personal development.
The writing improved so much it didnt get so lost in confusing metaphors or pointless descriptions and when it did it was most of the times in way that didnt interrupt the story but added to it, and there was something happening at any point during the story unlike the first one that was full of dull nothings.
And Ronan.... i love him so fucking much, its ridiculous how attached i got to him in just one book, he was my favorite in the raven boys and im so glad I got a full book about him and his personal development.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Homophobia and Gun violence
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
THE DREAM THIEVES delves into Ronan's nightmares as the raven boys (and Blue) adjust to the changes in Cabeswater after their previous adventures. Secrets can kill. Some already have.
The characters are broken and messy, trying to help each other in their various pursuits but not always getting it right. I like the shift in focus from the first book. I especially like getting a lot more of Ronan, in a lot of important ways this is his book just like THE RAVEN BOYS was Gansey’s book.
One thing this series does very well and this book continues is portraying antagonists in a way that makes them at the very least understandable, if not outright sympathetic. I came away with a much more nuanced dislike of a particular villain, and I’m really liking a different one who thus far seems to be pulling off a heel-face turn.
The world-building is a bit lopsided, it's very focused on the characters and the way that the magic affects them but it leaves even more unexplained. It makes up for it by delving into their inner lives in a very intimate way, exploring the nuances of them as people both individually and with each other. It takes seriously the idea that people are a bit different around various combinations of other people, and uses that to heighten and dissipate tension throughout the story. The Raven Boys are the Raven Boys, Blue is Blue, while everything and everyone else matter only as much as they intersects with their lives. No more, and no less. It has a feeling of extreme focus, like nothing else in the world matters to them and their story, with all its complications and obsessions, is all there is.
This wraps up a very major thing left hanging from the first book. Its main storyline was teased earlier but a secondary plot begins here and wasn't present previously. Several major things are introduced and resolved in this book. It left some things hanging to be resolved later. There's a mix of returning and new narrators, and their voices are very distinct from each other and from different narrators in the first book. Some of the plot would make sense without having read the first book, but as a whole this definitely needs the first book and couldn't stand alone if someone read it at random.
I have a couple quibbles related to characterization, but given that the overall arc of this series is that people start out mixed up and confused and bumping against each other‘s hurt edges and then gradually try to get better, it makes it hard to know whether a couple of my sticking points are on purpose or if they are artifacts of unintentional bigotry. Something that was briefly in THE RAVEN BOYS but returns here is the idea that a particular character is beautiful... except for her large nose. Since the book does go out of its way to make a point of addressing stereotypes that lie adjacent to this one and calling them out as harmful, I don’t know what to think about this moment, but it made me uneasy.
Overall I loved this as a continuation of the series but it's definitely a middle-of-the-series book (and it shows). The plot manages to be almost self-contained in its scope but utterly reliant on the first book for its foundation and backstory to sustain its emotional core. The growth and change that happens here is so wonderful because the first book had something else, something harsher, ill-fitting, and tense running through it. The release of that tension and exploration of the characters is fantastic because of how they were before, while also being utterly consistent with them as people. It's progression rather than revision, and done wonderfully.
The characters are broken and messy, trying to help each other in their various pursuits but not always getting it right. I like the shift in focus from the first book. I especially like getting a lot more of Ronan, in a lot of important ways this is his book just like THE RAVEN BOYS was Gansey’s book.
One thing this series does very well and this book continues is portraying antagonists in a way that makes them at the very least understandable, if not outright sympathetic. I came away with a much more nuanced dislike of a particular villain, and I’m really liking a different one who thus far seems to be pulling off a heel-face turn.
The world-building is a bit lopsided, it's very focused on the characters and the way that the magic affects them but it leaves even more unexplained. It makes up for it by delving into their inner lives in a very intimate way, exploring the nuances of them as people both individually and with each other. It takes seriously the idea that people are a bit different around various combinations of other people, and uses that to heighten and dissipate tension throughout the story. The Raven Boys are the Raven Boys, Blue is Blue, while everything and everyone else matter only as much as they intersects with their lives. No more, and no less. It has a feeling of extreme focus, like nothing else in the world matters to them and their story, with all its complications and obsessions, is all there is.
This wraps up a very major thing left hanging from the first book. Its main storyline was teased earlier but a secondary plot begins here and wasn't present previously. Several major things are introduced and resolved in this book. It left some things hanging to be resolved later. There's a mix of returning and new narrators, and their voices are very distinct from each other and from different narrators in the first book. Some of the plot would make sense without having read the first book, but as a whole this definitely needs the first book and couldn't stand alone if someone read it at random.
I have a couple quibbles related to characterization, but given that the overall arc of this series is that people start out mixed up and confused and bumping against each other‘s hurt edges and then gradually try to get better, it makes it hard to know whether a couple of my sticking points are on purpose or if they are artifacts of unintentional bigotry. Something that was briefly in THE RAVEN BOYS but returns here is the idea that a particular character is beautiful... except for her large nose. Since the book does go out of its way to make a point of addressing stereotypes that lie adjacent to this one and calling them out as harmful, I don’t know what to think about this moment, but it made me uneasy.
Overall I loved this as a continuation of the series but it's definitely a middle-of-the-series book (and it shows). The plot manages to be almost self-contained in its scope but utterly reliant on the first book for its foundation and backstory to sustain its emotional core. The growth and change that happens here is so wonderful because the first book had something else, something harsher, ill-fitting, and tense running through it. The release of that tension and exploration of the characters is fantastic because of how they were before, while also being utterly consistent with them as people. It's progression rather than revision, and done wonderfully.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Vomit, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child abuse
CW for homophobic slurs.magis1105's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-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
5.0
Loved it!
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse
caidyn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Finished it and I enjoyed it. Yet I felt it was terribly off the original story and I wanted to see it get back to the hunting.
DNF at pg. 304
Sorry, y'all. I just couldn't. It might have pretty prose and a Welsh-centered plotline, but it was just boring and I couldn't bring myself to care. Sorry.
DNF at pg. 304
Sorry, y'all. I just couldn't. It might have pretty prose and a Welsh-centered plotline, but it was just boring and I couldn't bring myself to care. Sorry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, and Child abuse
More...