I felt...so squishy reading this. I noticed it after reading The Raven Boys, but Maggie Stiefvater has some kind of magic in her writing style that is hard to describe. I don't frantically turn the pages while I read her work; my heart doesn't pound and I don't lust after the next chapter like some of the really good books I've read. Nor do I stay awake at night chewing over the plot and implications. Her action and tension feels quiet; the characterization is done lightly yet deftly; somehow I get sucked in without realizing it, and it was only 3/4th of the way through the book that I finally stopped and thought, "now THIS is a romance". 
 A great standalone read. I recommend imagining Eddie Redmayne cast as Sean Kendrick. :P