This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic 
 Going into The Raven Boys I wasn't really sure what to expect. There was no way I could have missed the out pouring of love that happened when it was first released back in September. So many people, whose opinion I trust, assured me it was amazing. But I was apprehensive. I always find Stiefvater's books pretty hit or miss. I didn't care for Shiver in the slightest but I was floored by how good The Scorpio Races was. How I will react to her novels is always a mystery to me, so I was understandably a little nervous when I finally picked this book up to read with the Forever Young Adult book club. 
 I was immediately struck by how unique the writing felt. Similar to how she wrote for The Scorpio Races but with a little something more. With each new book I can definitely see how Stiefvater is maturing as a writer. The Raven Boys is a very detailed and poetic work. It's the kind of writing I love. The kind of writing that makes me want to whip out my post it notes and pepper the pages so I can never forget the passages I adore. However - that being said, at times I did feel like she was getting a bit flourishy. "Red as a dream"? Dear Maggie that is simply not a thing. But it is a fine line between poetic and flourishy and all in all she walked the line quite well. 
 One of my favourite quotes/examples: 
 "My words are unerring tools of destruction, and I've come unequipped with the ability to disarm them." 
 But enough about the writing. What about the story itself? 
 I read, on average, over 200 books a year. So believe me when I say something is unique, it really has to be unique. I loved the history of the ley lines and Glendower and I may or may not have requested some books about these topics from the library because I am just so fascinated! It's not something I've ever read about before and the unknown is always more exciting than the overdone. I also really enjoyed that you can't put an official label on this book. It has spells and psychic abilities but it's not quite fantasy. It has spirits and talking trees but it's not quite paranormal. It's the kind of book that I named my blog for - it's more than just magic. It's haunting and spooky and an absolutely delicious mystery. 
 The only thing I really have against this book is that there may be a few too many characters. No, there's definitely too many characters in this novel. And you meet them all at once. It felt like you were dropped right into the middle of an ongoing story, and it took me longer than I expected to find my footing. In particular the amount of people living in Blue's house. It could be that they will all become important later on, but within just The Raven Boys it felt crowded and at times a little annoying. 
 There were also a few characters, who were important yet felt very shallow/one-dimensional. While people like Gansey, Adam and Ronan are incredibly fleshed out and believable, others like Declan and Welk felt like they were going through the motions of advancing a particular plot point. I would have liked to know more about them as I am a total character junkie and always want to see the layers of any major player. This includes Blue! She is central to everything going on but when I was finished the book I felt like I knew next to nothing about her. 
 I did really like Gansey, although I'm not completely enthralled by him. It felt like I was missing some key to understanding his personality, but from the way Stiefvater set things up I am confident that key will come in subsequent books. Much to my surprise my favourite character was Adam. When I started reading I didn't take much notice of him, but as the story went on he was constantly challenged and growing. He was a fascinating character to watch and I became very attached to him very quickly. 
 Recommendation: The Raven Boys is a beautiful book and one that I will treasure for a long time to come. It may not be as appealing to those who love fast paced adventure stories as it is slow to reveal itself. But it keeps you entertained with gorgeous prose while you wait! Highly recommended to fantasy fans, those who like a bit of magic in their stories or simply those looking for something different to blow them away. 
 Other quotes I really liked and just had to throw in here: 
 "Gansey had once told Adam that he was afraid most people didn't know how to handle Ronan. What he meant by this was that he was worried that one day someone would fall on Ronan and cut themselves." 
 "Where do you live?" 
 Adam's mouth was very set. "A place made for leaving" 
 "That's not really an answer." 
 "It's not really a place."