The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Cycle #1
Blue has spent the majority of her sixteen years being told that if she kisses her true love, he will die. When Blue meets Gansey's spirit on the corpse road she knows there is only one reason why – either he is her true love or she has killed him.
Determined to find out the truth, Blue becomes involved with the Raven Boys, four boys from the local private school (lead by Gansey) who are on a quest to discover Glendower – a lost ancient Welsh King who is buried somewhere along the Virginia ley line. Whoever finds him will be granted a supernatural favour.
Never before has Blue felt such magic around her. But is Gansey her true love? She can't imagine a time she would feel like that, and she is adamant not to be the reason for his death. Where will fate lead them?
Since being bored to death by the Wolves of Mercy Falls series (I got halfway through Linger before I had to put it down or risk falling into a coma), I had very little interest in reading Stiefvater's other books. Then The Raven Boys was released and and I decided that four guys x one girl x Welsh mythology was something I might like to read about, so I bought it for my birthday last year. I didn't get around to reading it for a few months, but I'm glad that I was finally in the mood to pick it up, because I very much enjoyed it!
Blue, the female main character, is absolutely flawless. I adore her, and her family is amazing. I loved how Blue's family of psychics was just as prominent and relevant to the story as Blue and the guys, because this doesn't happen very often. Usually it's the main character and her love interest, perhaps a couple of friends, who go off and fight evil, but in The Raven Boys, everyone is involved.
The other characters are mostly excellent. Adam was my favourite of the guys in this book. He's the poor kid going to a private school full of rich guys who throw money around like it's nothing. I had a similar experience in high school myself, and totally understood what he was going through and how he didn't want his friends to pay his way. Adam made me cry several times, especially towards the end when THE THING happened and oh my god NOBODY WARNED ME.
Gansey, the fan favourite, is also bloody amazing. I love his whole personality, and his blissful ignorance, and his relationship with all of the guys. I think it's brilliant that he's the thread that connects them all together, and it makes me emotional because Gansey is their rock, even if some of the characters don't want to acknowledge that right now. His accidental chemistry with Blue hurts my soul, especially since it's said that if Blue kisses her true love (who is probably hopefully obviously Gansey) he will die. Gansey is my favourite after reading the sequel, by the way, because he's FLAW FREEEEEEE.
While reading The Raven Boys, I didn't really feel much for either Ronan or Noah. I know, I know, what is this blasphemy? I don't know, I just didn't find either of them to be very enticing, although Noah was kind of adorable at some points.
There is a giant twist at the end of the book that blew everything up and made people smack their heads against the wall. Unfortunately, I knew it was coming because I accidentally read part of Maggie's recap when we posted it on Recaptains. I hate myself for that, but at the same time it meant that I spotted a few things as I was reading that made me go OH MY GOD.
The Raven Boys is so much better than The Wolves of Mercy Falls, and I wish I hadn't let that series deter me from trying out Maggie's other stuff for so long. I want to read The Scorpio Races ASAP, because I have a feeling it's going to be great, and I am highly anticipating the release of Blue Lily, Lily Blue right now! The Raven Boys is thrilling, adorable, and packed full of interesting characters. Stiefvater has developed a captivating story and her writing keeps you wanting more.
Speaking of The Raven Cycle, have you signed up for the Raven Cycle (Re)Readathon yet? It's happening over the course of two months, and there's going to be giveaways and challenges and twitter chats and Q&A's and more! If you're a fan of The Raven Cycle, or if you want to potentially become one, you should sign up and read along with us!
Tatum says
lmao the wolves of whatever falls was so dull, all i remember from it was the guy and the girl spending every other page gazing at each other sadly. god
ADAMMMMMMMMM
i love gansey so muhuhuhuhuch, i think he is my favourite? it's a toss up between him, adam and blue. i like ronan but not as much as everyone else seems to i.e. lauren and noah was dul until ~spoilers~
do you ship the ships that i ship? there are so many good ships in this series
ALSOOOO I COMMENTED LOOK AT ME GO
hdu Ronan is everything, EVERYTHING. because of reasons okay
ailynk says
flaw free? strikethroughed? something must have happened?!
Gillian says
Okay your paragraph on Gansey just made my whole chest crunch up in this really painful emotional way and NO I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING SHUT UP
THESE BOOKS JUST DO THINGS TO MEEEEE
*weeps*
lectus says
I totally DNF this one.
YES. Adam is my favorite one too here! *high five* After the sequel I warmed up for Gansey. I absolutely love the cast from this book and I would be best friends with Blue in real life. She is awesome.
Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows Reviews says
Having *just* finished The Dream Thieves, I have a massive book hangover and am craving any kind of chat about the Raven Cycle so I was happy to see your review for this one AND that you enjoyed it too! I admit my favorite Raven Boy was Rowan from the start. Like you, I didn't connect with Noah all that much and fell more in love with Gansey in the sequel. I did quite like Adam too though ;-D Blue is flawless as you say, she's a brilliant MC and I can't wait till she's front and center in book three!! Awesome review ^^