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REVIEW: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Summary:

Even if Blue hadn’t been told her true love would die if she kissed him, she would stay away from boys. Especially the ones from the local private school. Known as Raven Boys, they only mean trouble.

But this is the year that everything will change for Blue.

This is the year that she will be drawn into the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys. And the year Blue will discover that magic does exist.

This is the year she will fall in love.



I’ve wanted to read The Raven Boys since it came out in October, but didn’t have the chance to until now. I seriously regret not buying it before as this book definitely belongs on my favourites list.

The Raven Boys is a thrilling and fast-paced novel, set in Virginia and one of the things that I loved about it was it’s mythological background. This book was full of references to old Celtic culture and, coming from England myself and knowing quite a bit about the subject, I particularly loved this aspect.

Blue was one of those main characters that I loved right from the start. I was horrified at the start when I thought there wouldn’t be any kissing because of the ‘if you kiss your true love, he will die’ thing but I actually managed to put that fact aside and really enjoyed it. In fact, the romance plays quite a big part in this book and you really need to look between the lines to see it. Blue isn’t a typical YA female protagonist and, for this reason, I loved her. She didn’t pretend to be anything she wasn’t and I liked that she was natural around the Raven Boys.
Gansey and Adam! Eep! Two AMAZING male characters in this novel, and two to add to my favourite love interests list. Adam was down-to-earth and I really liked him. He was easy to understand and there were times in the book when I just wanted to time travel to Henrietta and tell him that everything would be okay. I liked that he wasn’t full of himself and that he thought things through carefully.
Gansey is another matter altogether, though! He was cocky and loud, but not in a bad way, I must add. There was this huge vulnerable side to him which was really sad and I just wanted him to be happy. He always had to sort everyone else’s problems out and he was having to lead an adult life at such a young age.
Whelk! The name makes me want to growl in fury. There was something really creepy about him and I really wanted to slap him.
There was also the mysterious Czerny who we find out more about towards the end of the novel and, for me, this was one of the biggest shockers. When I find out a particular detail I got so annoyed and upset that I could feel tear’s in my eyes.
Ronan was also a great character and really added something to the novel. He was funny but he also had a kind side when he wanted it to show and his love for Gansey was evident.

THAT COVER! WOW! Maggie Stiefvater’s books have some of the best covers and I must buy this book to add it to my collection! Look at the Raven!!!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and don’t think I’ll be able to wait until the second book comes out! IT WILL BE TORTURE!

RATING: 5/5
-Favourites list

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10 Comments

  • Reply
    Cait
    14 January, 2013 at 1:09 am

    Great review, we’ve already talked about our love for this book 😉 I like how you mention that you had to read between the lines to see the romance and I think that is dead on. It wasn’t all in your face, it was subtle but really sweet and clever

    Cait x

  • Reply
    Eileen
    14 January, 2013 at 3:10 am

    NOPE. NOPE. NOPE.

    I refuse.

  • Reply
    Emma
    14 January, 2013 at 4:59 pm

    I have a proof of this and its I seriously can’t wait to get around to it! I love the mythical background to books, though I haven’t read one in a while! This will have to be my next! :)I really like how you phrased the love of the story, ‘that you have to look between the lines’. I think sometime a love like that is deeper throughout the whole book! Lovely Review, Lucy! 🙂

  • Reply
    Sam
    14 January, 2013 at 5:24 pm

    Yes! I do enjoy an obvious romance if done well, but I was very impressed with the subtle approach Maggie took. You do have to look between the lines for it. Well said. 🙂

    I can’t wait for book 2 either! Brilliant review, Lucy!

  • Reply
    Escapism Fanatic
    14 January, 2013 at 7:40 pm

    I have Maggie’s other series out with me but haven’t read it yet. I hope it’s good.
    Samina @ Escapism from Reality

  • Reply
    Brandy Graves
    15 January, 2013 at 6:13 pm

    I’m so glad you loved it. It’s one of my favorites! 🙂 Maggie is just awesome.

    Brandy @ A Little of the Book Life

  • Reply
    Heather Topham Wood
    15 January, 2013 at 10:17 pm

    I LOVED this too! It was such an amazing read, I loved all of the characters and the plot was so intriguing.

  • Reply
    Clover
    24 January, 2013 at 12:14 pm

    Oh I loved this one as well. I was expecting MORE in terms of romance, but man, I think I preferred the way Maggie Stiefvater did it in this book more 🙂

  • Reply
    Basma
    1 June, 2013 at 11:26 am

    I’m glad you loved this book as much as I did!
    I saw so many negative reviews of it and I was all: 🙁

    So you can imagine how I enjoyed reading your review.

    Basma @ My Bookish Thoughts

    🙂

  • Reply
    Cindy
    30 June, 2015 at 4:41 am

    I can’t wait to read this book, I’ve heard about this book before but I haven’t really looked into it until recently so I’m really happy that the hype for the book isn’t for nothing, so thanks for the review! I’ll definitely check out this book soon. 😀

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