The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)

by Maggie Stiefvater

 


The first electrifying book in Maggie Stiefvater's The
Raven Cycle series.
"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit
on St. Mark's Eve...


Either you're his true love... or you killed him."



Part of a clairvoyant family, Blue has spent sixteen years being
told that if she kisses her true love, he will die.


So when she meets Gansey's spirit on the corpse road, Blue knows
that either he is her true love - or she has killed him.


The boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His
name is Gansey, and he is a student at Aglionby, a wealthy local
private school. With three other mysterious and privileged boys,
he is on a quest to find the grave of Glendower - a Welsh king buried
somewhere on a Virginia ley line. Whoever finds him will be
granted a supernatural favour.


Never before has Blue felt such magic around her. But is Gansey
really her true love - the one she is destined to kill?


Blue never fully believed in the prophecy. But as she is caught
up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not
so sure anymore.





Absolutely addictive writing for teen girls... and grown-up girls...
Magic, mystery and adventure at every turn

From the bestselling author of Shiver, Linger
and Forever which all debuted at #1 on the UK book bestseller
charts

Film rights to The Raven Cycle have been acquired




 


PRAISE FOR MAGGIE STIEFVATER BOOKS


The Raven Boys:


A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year 2012


"Stiefvater is a master storyteller." - USA Today


"A dizzying paranormal romance tinged with murder and Welsh mythology."
- The Los Angeles Times


"Simultaneously complex and simple, compulsively readable, marvelously
wrought." - Kirkus Reviews


"A tour de force... such a memorable read." - Publishers Weekly 



"One unexpected and wonderful surprise after another... a marvel
of imagination." - Booklist


"The Raven Boys is an incredibly rich and unique tale, a supernatural
thriller of a different flavor... Fans have been salivating
for Stiefvater's next release and The Raven Boys delivers." -
School Library Journal 


"Equal parts thriller and mystery, with a measured dash of romance
sprinkled on top... Maggie has woven such a unique, intriguing
narrative that I struggled for comparisons." - MTV.com



 


Blue Lily, Lily Blue:


"Blue Lily, Lily Blue is, simply, a triumph." - Booklist 



"Expect this truly one-of-a-kind series to come to a thundering
close." - Kirkus Reviews 


"We have not yet finished loving these characters and exploring
their world." - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 



"Stiefvater's razor-sharp characterizations, drily witty dialogue,
and knack for unexpected metaphors and turns of phrase make
for sumptuous, thrilling reading... Readers will snap up the final
installment the second it's available." - Publishers Weekly 



"The prose is crisp and dazzling and the dialogue positively crackles."
- School Library Journal 


 



The Scorpio Races:


"Masterful. Like nothing else out there now." - Kirkus Reviews



"An utterly compelling read." - Publishers Weekly


"Filling it with loving descriptions of wet, wind-tossed Thisby
as well as exciting equine action, Stiefvater has created a thrilling
backdrop for the love story that blooms...A book appealing
to lovers of fantasy, horse stories, romance, and actionadventure
alike, this seems to have a shot at being a YA blockbuster." -
School Library Journal


 


#1 New York Times bestselling Shiver trilogy:



"A lyrical tale of alienated werewolves and first love....Stiefvater
skillfully increases the tension throughout; her take on werewolves
is interesting and original while her characters are refreshingly
willing to use their brains to deal with the challenges
they face." - Publishers Weekly


"Readers will be able to enjoy Stiefvater's fast-paced storytelling
and dedication to the old-fashioned art of creating a believable
and enduring romance. Shiver is beautifully written, even poetic
at times, and a perfect indulgence for readers of all ages."
- Bookpage.com


"This riveting narrative, impossible to put down, is not only
an excellent addition to the current fangs and fur craze, but is
also a beautifully written romance that, along with Shiver, will
have teens clamoring for the third and final entry." - VOYA

Reviewed by Jordon on

3 of 5 stars

Share
Review originally posted at Simply Adrift.

I have heard so much about The Raven Cycle series. Everyone raves about it. They love it. Ever review I've read loves it.

I recently decided to read this series because the last book came this year, and all I've heard is how amazing the last book is and the book hangover's everyone is getting from it. So I finally decided it was time I gave The Raven Boys a go. After all, I often agree with the hype. I've only disagreed a few times.

Disappointingly so, this is one of the rare times that I disagree.

I don't understand the hype. I just don't quite get it. I mean, I thought I would at least enjoy The Raven Boys, but I couldn't, I found nothing about this book that I enjoyed reading. Here's why:

1. I couldn't connect with the characters.


I couldn't connect with any of the characters. I really liked the sound of Blue when we first read her chapter, I instantly wanted to know more about her. I was intrigued by her psychic family, I wanted to know why she was the only one in her family that wasn't a psychic, I wanted to connect with her. But I found it very difficult after the first few of her chapters. I ended up feeling like she was someone I was watching, like I was a fly that followed her around, instead of actually being invested in her life. If that makes sense?

I didn't get Gansey at all. I wanted to like him but he never really did anything that would make me like him. At first I felt sorry for him that everyone judged him by his money, and that he always said the wrong thing even though he had good intentions, but it never got bigger than that. He never really grew. His character growth was non-existent in this book and it bored me.

Ronan was a sad, disturbed character, he was constantly angry and always ended his arguments with his fist to someone's face. Okay, so the anger issue was more annoying than anything else, but I liked his character growth a lot more than anyone else's. He was the only one that actually had any growth.

Adam seemed like such a push over and it annoyed me! He was also obsessed with being his own person, to the point where he ignored his friends help when they tried to offer it to him. It made no sense! It was incredibly frustrating reading how he thought near the end of the book. At the beginning of the book I quite liked him, he grew rather dark overall.

I just didn't feel like I really connected with any of the characters, nor was I invested in them. I was really disappointed by this!

2. I wanted more investment.


I wanted more investment in the characters and then in Blue's life. The story revolved around the raven boys, which makes sense with the title of the book called that. But I wanted more from her life. After she meets the raven boys, we don't see her anywhere else except with the raven boys. Her life outside of them didn't exist in this book.

I also wanted more investment in the story away from searching for Glendower, even though that is the main storyline of this book, I jut wanted something else to be interested in. There was nothing. This story solely focuses on Gansey's search for Glendower and each of the characters involved in this search, there is no other story really.

Adam kind of has a story but we don't get much of it, Blue's mum also kind of has a story but we also don't get to see a lot of that either. There were bits and pieces but nothing too big to detract away from the main storyline.

3. I was so bored.


Yep. You read right. I was down right bored nearly the whole of this book.

It was so disappointing! I was waiting and waiting and waiting for the moment where I got sucked in to this story. I was waiting and waiting and waiting for that 'Yes! This book IS amazing!' moment. I was waiting and waiting and waiting for the moment that had me furiously reading and reading and reading until the end. I was waiting and waiting and waiting until... I realised I was at the end of the book. And that was it.

That was the end of the book and I didn't once feel like I was really enjoying the story, or the characters, or anything of what was going on. I was just bored the whole way through! I was so surprised since I have heard so many amazing things about this book. The hype monster may have raised my expectations too far.

4. The writing style wasn't for me.


I've read from a lot of people that they loved the writing style in this book. However, for me, I just couldn't get into it. To be honest, I found it incredibly confusing. I had to keep re-reading things because I didn't understand the structure of the sentence the first time or what on earth characters were referring to. Sometimes it took me a while to figure things out and other times I decided just to continue reading and try and get the gist of it as I read on.

So the writing style wasn't something I really enjoyed.

5. Nothing held my interest.


So honestly, nothing in this book held my interest. Nothing. Not Blue (even though I was begging her too), Gansey and the raven boys, Glendower, or even Ronan and his character development. I only pushed through this book because I was waiting and waiting and waiting for the thing that is the reason that everyone loves this book. But I missed it. It went right over my head. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't love this book, and I'm sorry nothing in this book really held my interest.

I'm really just... sorry that the hype raised my expectations way too high.



Will I read the next book? I have no idea. I haven't ruled it out yet because I'm wondering if this is one of those stories that gets better with each book (Like the Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas), so perhaps I will read the second book at some point.

I found it really hard to rate this book. I didn't hate it. I didn't think it was bad. I didn't think there was anything incredibly wrong with it. I simply just didn't enjoy it.
Do you feel the same way as me with The Raven Boys? Or do you love it? What do you love/not like about it?

Always,
Jordon


This review was originally posted on Simply Adrift

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 24 June, 2016: Finished reading
  • 24 June, 2016: Reviewed