When I first heard about this book, I knew I was going to have to pick it up at some point. It took awhile but when I finally had it, I jumped in, ready to love it. Sadly, that's not what happened. This book really didn't catch me at all until much later in the story. I just couldn't read more than a few pages at a time without becoming bored with it. After I got about half way through, though, I finally realized why this book, this series, was what everyone was talking about. 
 Maggie Stiefvater's writing really is beautiful, and this book is something like I've never really read before. Before I really start my review, I know a lot of people may think that they're jumping into a love story with this, and while it is hinted at a bit and there is a relationship, it doesn't take over the whole story. The relationship is shown in only a few places in the book, and if the two characters are in the same room, they aren't always acting like a couple. It's not a full on love story. (I can only speak for this first book though; I haven't read the other 2 books yet.) 
 Moving on, character wise, we have 5 main characters, but only 3 of who are narrating parts of the book. Blue, our 'main' main character; daughter of the best psychic in town, but without any powers of her own. 
 Then the Raven Boys. Raven Boys go to a private school in their town, and this is really just a nickname that Blue and the rest of the town have given these boys because of their school's mascot: the raven. Gansey is the 'main' Raven Boy; he's kind of the leader of his group of friends. He's also very rich, and can seem very intimidating sometimes. Gansey is also obsessed with finding ley lines. Ley lines are sources of energy and the book tries to explain it but it can be confusing. 
 The other Raven Boys include Ronan, Adam, and Noah. Ronan is more of the bad boy type at first but there is more to him. He has an old brother who really wants nothing to do with him but fight. Ronan seems much scarier to many of the characters who meet him for the first time. He has family issues that reach beyond his brother. He and said brother are also wealthy. 
 Adam is the only one of the Raven Boys who attends the school due to scholarship. His home life is terrible, and he works his ass off to attend the school. He fights with Gansey a lot when it comes to Gansey spending money on him. Adam doesn't want that, he wants to be able to take care of himself, and not have to take others money. 
 Noah is the quietest of all the Raven Boys. He's hardly around them, and when he does, he is quiet, and, when he does speak, very soft spoken. Not a lot is known about him, not even by his friends. 
 There are other characters as well, but this is the main group. 
 As for my pros and cons for this books; pros: amazing characters, very nicely detailed, and I really believed in them. I really fell in love with Adam the most, and I understood how he was feeling, which is always a way to to get me (and a lot of others) to love a book as well. This book is also full of magic and energy, and lots of action at times. The writing is wonderful, as well. 
 As for cons, it is pretty slow at the beginning. And then for awhile after that. And after that. It just took awhile to catch me. The explaining on a few things (ley lines, see above) was confusing at times, and I did spend some time looking up these things myself. The characters can be predictable at times, but at the end, this book did surprise me. 
 In the end, this is definitely one of the best books I've read this year and I've already bought the next book so I intend on starting that one shorty. I need to see what happens to Adam!