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A review by sethxo
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This is a series that came highly recommended to me, something that I took with a grain of salt as I’m known for easily being let down by things that are too hyped up. (You would throw rotten fruit at me if I gave you a list of films that just didn’t impress me due to them being talked up so much, how dare I.) That being said, not only did this book live up to those recommendations, I would argue it might even have exceeded them.
There was a lot to like about this book. The characters, the plot, the writing, and the world building. Sometimes a line came out a bit too caustically or I got temporarily confused by a location, but these were such minor grievances that it didn’t take away from my enjoyment in the slightest. Though the book swears up and down this is Blue’s story, I would argue the opposite; she’s a passive character, and for me, this isn’t a bad thing. She’s very present and aware and important, but at its core I would say this specific book in the series is someone else’s story. (I feel like it might be a spoiler to reveal who I think that is.)
Still, Blue very much so is a main character. In fact, this book has four main characters. Which further interested me, because there are also six important side characters, which is a relatively large cast, and at no point did I feel like the book was struggling to involve all of them; even when multiple characters were on screen it never felt cluttered. Every character got their due time (the main characters more often, obviously), and everyone felt fleshed out and real. Even characters only briefly mentioned feel like they probably might be important down the line.
Due to the consistent third person POV, there are certainly mysteries surrounding all these characters, and some of those questions aren’t answered in this book. However, given I know there’s four books in this series I’m not particularly bothered by that fact. I was, however, delighted when I managed to solve one of those mysteries on my own, with the book confirming it later on.
Despite the main tagline being the idea of “true love or death”, this book has very little romance, bordering on none, something I was extremely happy about. There may be an inevitable endgame in progress, but this book is certainly not handing it to you on a platter. I appreciate a slow burn, especially when it allows all the characters to get to know one another first, and it doesn’t hesitate at all to put every character’s flaws front and center in the process.
The first half of this book is largely setting things up and putting a lot of pieces into place. This only would have become an issue if the entire book had continued on in this way, but the second half of the book knows where its pieces are and immediately ramps it up in every way in an appropriately dramatic fashion, and truly, the book knows how to fish. The first half is casting; the second half is reeling you in on that hook, and it does so superbly. I went from interested to extremely invested, and both halves accomplish exactly what they meant to. It ends on a mild cliffhanger, but I’m so far behind on the times that I don’t need to wait to find out what happens next. Hurrah for procrastination.
If you find this book slow, I urge you to give it until the second or even third act, because the payoff is spectacular. I personally didn’t mind the slow buildup, but I was definitely excited to see where it went with it. More than anything else, it made me eager to read the next book in the series, so I would say it was a success on that front. I look forward to finding out what happens next!
There was a lot to like about this book. The characters, the plot, the writing, and the world building. Sometimes a line came out a bit too caustically or I got temporarily confused by a location, but these were such minor grievances that it didn’t take away from my enjoyment in the slightest. Though the book swears up and down this is Blue’s story, I would argue the opposite; she’s a passive character, and for me, this isn’t a bad thing. She’s very present and aware and important, but at its core I would say this specific book in the series is someone else’s story. (I feel like it might be a spoiler to reveal who I think that is.)
Still, Blue very much so is a main character. In fact, this book has four main characters. Which further interested me, because there are also six important side characters, which is a relatively large cast, and at no point did I feel like the book was struggling to involve all of them; even when multiple characters were on screen it never felt cluttered. Every character got their due time (the main characters more often, obviously), and everyone felt fleshed out and real. Even characters only briefly mentioned feel like they probably might be important down the line.
Due to the consistent third person POV, there are certainly mysteries surrounding all these characters, and some of those questions aren’t answered in this book. However, given I know there’s four books in this series I’m not particularly bothered by that fact. I was, however, delighted when I managed to solve one of those mysteries on my own, with the book confirming it later on.
Despite the main tagline being the idea of “true love or death”, this book has very little romance, bordering on none, something I was extremely happy about. There may be an inevitable endgame in progress, but this book is certainly not handing it to you on a platter. I appreciate a slow burn, especially when it allows all the characters to get to know one another first, and it doesn’t hesitate at all to put every character’s flaws front and center in the process.
The first half of this book is largely setting things up and putting a lot of pieces into place. This only would have become an issue if the entire book had continued on in this way, but the second half of the book knows where its pieces are and immediately ramps it up in every way in an appropriately dramatic fashion, and truly, the book knows how to fish. The first half is casting; the second half is reeling you in on that hook, and it does so superbly. I went from interested to extremely invested, and both halves accomplish exactly what they meant to. It ends on a mild cliffhanger, but I’m so far behind on the times that I don’t need to wait to find out what happens next. Hurrah for procrastination.
If you find this book slow, I urge you to give it until the second or even third act, because the payoff is spectacular. I personally didn’t mind the slow buildup, but I was definitely excited to see where it went with it. More than anything else, it made me eager to read the next book in the series, so I would say it was a success on that front. I look forward to finding out what happens next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Minor: Emotional abuse