Title: The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1)Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Published: September 18th 2012
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For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of theShiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.
Maggie Stiefvater is made of something else entirely, I tell you! I have never been a fan of wolf books, but somehow she made me fell in love with her wolves that were so natural, organic and it was a completely different take on these creatures. Well, ladies and gents, she slams again with another magical story filled with Celtic myths, passion, destiny and secrets. It’s completely unique and fascinating to its core and it’s bound to make you wholeheartedly invested in the story.
“She wasn't interested in telling other people's futures. She was interested in going out and finding her own.”
As always,
it takes time to adjust to Maggie’s lyrical writing which, in all honesty, is
indeed magical and also kinda fairy tale-ish.
Moreover, Maggie’s books and world building are always full of fantasy, but
they feel so real and truthful that it’s easy to connect with the characters
and find something relatable in all of them. At first I wasn’t sure if I was
going to get used to different 3rd person POV-s, but it paid off and it felt to
me as if I was one step ahead of our gang, but I could still be taken aback by
some of the surprises.
The romance
definitely takes the backseat in this story, but its presence is always there
and sometimes it’s so close you can almost taste it, but not quite. The
characters and their personalities add spice to an otherwise just adventurous
and mysterious story. By the end I was so fascinated and caught up in the story
that I was sad to see that I had reached the acknowledgements. There were two things
that somewhat bothered me: 1st – I would
have loved to see more of the dynamics between the boys. I adored every
single one of them in my own way and their interactions, history and
relationships were really the heart of the book; 2nd – the action and the real quest to find the source of Gansey's obsession could have begun sooner.
In a
nutshell, Maggie Stiefvater, you are made of magic and evil! I adored this
book, but THAT cliff hanger? I want the sequel now! I knew I should have put
reading The Raven Boys off as long as
possible;) Oh well.. Dear September 5th – I’m waiting for you! I think there’s
so much more to explore and the bomb that was revealed an the end? Yes, yes,
yes! That’s all I have to say. Oh, and team Gansey, too:) *blushes*
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
That trailer is super cool! I haven't read any of Maggie's books yet but I really want to read The Scorpio Races. I had been turned off of all her other books due to reviews but you make me curious about this one. I love how magical and beautiful you make it sound! Fabulous review darling!
ReplyDeleteThe thing is that.. *ashamed* I am jealous of how talented Maggie is. It's unreal! She writes these gorgeous stories that I almost want to lick the cover lol and she draws like a goddess lol. Thanks babe:)
DeleteWoo Hoo Siiri! This was one of my favorite reads last year, I just adore Maggie's writing! I loved each of the 4 boys as well, but I do wish the romance played a bigger role. Don't get me wrong, I loved that it wasn't the sole focus, but the premise led me to believe it was going to be a bigger part than it was, so I kind of missed it. Also, that ending. I was all "what, now?". I've never been so confused by a final line of a book before, but I don't even care. It just sort of added to the strange brilliance of it all:) Thanks for your thoughts my friend!
ReplyDeleteThe synopsis did kinda promise a little more on the romance front, didn't it? I still liked it though since it was refreshing:-) Haha, I was that way, too!! I wanted to re-read it all over again so I could see if I missed some clues or something since I didn't guess it beforehand but decided against it because I'm sure we'll get some explenations in the sequel:-) x
DeleteI didn't love this one (I don't remember much about why just that I was a lil bored after a while) but I did like it enough for a 3. I like that the romance did NOT take over which is rare and refreshing nowadays. I also love this cover and did you see the cover for the sequel? SO PRETTEH! Also, I dont remember the cliffhanger at all. Hmm. >.<
ReplyDelete:( At least you'll probably read the sequel lol. The reason I didn't give it 5 stars was the exact same reason you pointed out - it could get a little boring for some people and even though I wasn't exactly bored, I was close to it at one point. Luckily I still enjoyed it thoroghly:) btw, that cliff hanger - it wasn't like TO BE CONTINUED kind, but it was something I consider a cliff hanger. So does Jenny it turns out :D
DeleteOh boy, cliffhangers! :| I have a hate/love relationship with them (most of the times hate :p) And when you say something with 'fairytale' I'm already hooked! Haha.
ReplyDeleteMel@thedailyprophecy.
Hehe;-) I found this to be the good kind of a cliff hanger. There're the ones that make me want to throw the book into a corner of my room and scream from frustration that I can't read the sequel, but I did love this cliff hanger and I'm excited:-) Haha, you little fairy tale pumpkin:-)
DeleteI really enjoyed this one, too. It was the first book I read by the author--I tried to get into Shiver, but just couldn't--but it won't be the last. I can't wait for the sequel, although I know I'll have to re-read this one closer to its release date to remember all that happened. And team Gansey all the way!
ReplyDeleteYay!!! I, however, loved Shiver from the bottom of my heart. LOVE Maggie. LOVE Shiver. LOVE The Raven Boys:-) I'll probably re-read my favorite parts;-) Hehe! Team Gansey, indeed!
DeleteSo so happy that you loved this one! I agree that Maggie Stiefvater is an amazing writer. She is definitely on my automatic buy list! You're right she has a unique and lyrical style that make her books sound like myths, despite the modern setting. Very insightful thought. It definitely took a while to get into this one, but slowly building the characters was lots of fun and I cannot wait for MORE of everyone. I hope we'll get a lot more about the boys in the next story, which features Ronan on the cover. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI agree 100% - my auto buy as well and she is so lyrical and different. Eeek!! I know. Ronan is probably the most intriguing of the guys and it feels like it'll be more of his book than the others'. I absolutely adore them all though and I cannot wait to see what's next to come :-) Thanks, Lauren!
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