Another book that is super difficult for me to rate because of my mixed emotions and tendency to fangirl over everything! I am going to have to settle for a 3.5 star rating because I wasn't completely blown away, but I am eager to get to the second book. 
 The Good Stuff 
 Okay, so this book has a killer plot. It's a story that I have never read before and I found it to be extremely compelling. A mix of paranormal with Welsh history makes for a very interesting experience, that's for sure. I enjoyed learning some of the history behind the sought after "item" and loved watching the characters interact within some really weird circumstances. 
 Which brings me to the characters. I love every single one of them! It's so rare for me to love a character, much less all five main characters, because I tend to get annoyed easily. But none of these characters bothered me. Blue is eccentric but not overly so. She willingly admits that she tries hard to make herself seem "out there" when naturally she is simply "sensible". Gansey is a charmer and a bit of a mystery. He has an outward appearance that makes you assume you already know how his story will go, but then you dig deeper and find some really interesting qualities to him. Ronan is my favorite because he is super complicated and freaking hilarious. He is a big, tough guy with some dark secrets and a tendency to be a marshmallow when it comes to innocent and helpless creatures. Love him. Noah is, simply put, fascinating. His story is probably the most interesting in this book. And then Adam is relatable. Someone who grew up without money, trying to make it in a world that revolves around money. I really enjoyed having the four different narrators. It keeps the story flowing and moving when it could easily get slow if kept with the same point-of-view. 
 The Not-So-Good-Stuff 
 Despite the awesome plot and the amazing characters, holy cow this book is incredibly slow up for the first half! I kept questioning the people who recommended this book because I was ready to put it down within the first few chapters. The build up for the reasons behind the characters' search is put off too long, and the mysteries seem less exciting until we start to learn more about the history of things. It just took way too long to get to the exciting bits. 
 There are a few mysteries that were a bit obvious, but that didn't make them any less exciting. It just made me feel really smart to have figured them out ahead of time. 
 Otherwise, overall this book is really fun! I would recommend it, but I would warn you to keep reading until the last half of the book. Don't put it down too soon because it really is a good read. I'm excited to read the next books in the series because I have no clue where the story will go. It's a totally different series, and I love that about The Raven Cycle.