From the Bookshelf of Random Readalongs…

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)

Maggie Stiefvater

Start date: September 4, 2015

Finish date: October 10, 2015

Discussion: The Raven Boys

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Showing 2 of 6 topics — 67 comments total

The Raven Boys

Chapters 17-24
By Samantha · 12 posts · 63 views

last updated Oct 12, 2015 08:26PM

Chapters 1-8
By Samantha · 25 posts · 120 views

last updated Oct 08, 2015 09:44PM

What Members Thought

Nov 08, 2017 Unabridged Bibliophile added it

I ended up DNFing this at around the 130 page mark. I believe I gave it a fair chance (or 2 to be more precise). I am, however, not going to give it a star rating because I did not finish the book.

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Sep 10, 2015 Zezee rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal

As posted on Zezee with Books.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this story from beginning to end. It starts out slow and takes its time building to its climax. During the slow beginning, Steifvater acclimates you to the characters, their troubles and motivations, as well as the setting, which has an eerie atmosphere about it. Once that’s done, the story takes off. Some readers might get frustrated with this slow start, as a few readers in the Goodreads readalong group did, but it pays off.

Once the story pic ...more

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Jul 03, 2018 Onka rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sk-cz, ya-paranormal, own, series

Jednoznačne najoriginálnejší paranormálny príbeh, aký som čítala. Neskutočne dobre sa to čítalo (žeby super preklad?). A čo ma fakt prekvapilo je, že na prvý pohľad to vyzerá, že sa v celej knihe dokopy nič nedeje, no stále som v napätí otáčala stránky a čakala, čo sa bude diať (žeby opäť raz vďaka super prekladu?). Proste zbožňujem fantazijné knihy, ktoré nemusia byť prepchaté akciou, aby boli dobré. Myslím, že toto bol skvelý úvod do série a už sa neviem dočkať zvyšných častí. (plus Gansey a R ...more

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Oct 30, 2017 Katy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I have heard and read so many good things about this series so I was really eager to start reading The Raven Boys this autumn. Autumn is the perfect time to read this book as it is full of the paranormal and creepy locations. It was very atmospheric.

It’s not quite what I was expecting and I have mixed feelings about it. The story follows Blue, who lives in a house full of psychics, as she gets involved with a group of boys from the local private academy, Aglionby. Gansey is obsessed with finding ...more

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Jul 23, 2015 Delaney rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, mystery, books-i-own, urban-fantasy, books-that-should-be-movie, read-in-2015, fiction, magic, paranormal

I really enjoyed this book.

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Oct 12, 2016 Brittany rated it liked it

I have very mixed feelings about this book. The premise of this book sounded amazing, and I've never read anything like this before, so I was really excited to read it. However, I was a little let down. First of all, this book took FOREVER for me to get into. The first 200 pages were really boring, in my opinion. I found myself not wanting to read it, which is why it took so long for me to finish it. The final 200 pages were really good though. I started to get into the book a lot more and start ...more

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Oct 29, 2015 Silke rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, ya, read-2015

Well, another case of a book synopsis that doesn’t come close to what the book is actually about. And in this case I thought it was a good thing! Because the synopsis makes it sound like another paranormal romance and what is this book lacking of? Exactly romance! And again, that is a good thing. Because the story that is told is so good that you don’t even need the physical romance. (Because there is a little bit of romance vibes going around.) You don’t miss it at all. All though I think there Well, another case of a book synopsis that doesn’t come close to what the book is actually about. And in this case I thought it was a good thing! Because the synopsis makes it sound like another paranormal romance and what is this book lacking of? Exactly romance! And again, that is a good thing. Because the story that is told is so good that you don’t even need the physical romance. (Because there is a little bit of romance vibes going around.) You don’t miss it at all. All though I think there will be some kind of romance further into the series and I will welcome it with joy! But for now the story was perfect as it was; full of mystery, magic, legend and adventure.

So you hear me say a perfect story, so why only 4 stars? Doesn’t a “perfect” story deserve 5 stars? Yes, it does, normally. But I had some issues with the first part of the book. It felt a little bit dragging, but at the same time it was a magnificent piece of character building and there are lots of characters in a complicated web of relationships. So yes, there is a sheer amount of character building and it is necessary for the plotline to come together in the end. But at times it made the first part of the story a bit slow and hard to digest. But then all the action is happening at once and you go down a rollercoaster of emotions and adventure.

One of the strongest points of this novel is the fact that it’s not a predictable story. At multiple times I was surprised by the twists and turns inside the story. I even had a few “Ow no, that did not just happen!” moments and they are rare for me. A pleasant surprise, especially because I started this book thinking I was going to read another textbook paranormal romance. Oh boy, it was so much better than that!

The main story line might be a little complicated to explain for people who haven’t read the book. It involves leylines and sleeping hero kings. There are mystical places where time travels at a different speed and it’s all very mystical and magical. I love that Stiefvater took an actually legend (Owen Glendower, he is up there with Arthur and Cadwaldr, waiting to be woken and fight for his people.) and mixed it with her own magical story. I am surprised at the sheer amount of research that went into this book and I loved how the world building was done.

And then I didn’t even mention all the atmospheric reading you will be doing once you dive into this book! The writing style in this book compliments the story in such a way that it make the story actually better and stronger than it already is.

So there you have it, wonderful fleshed out characters, a unique storyline and a magical writing style. You should already be reading this book!
...more

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Apr 20, 2016 Ashley rated it it was amazing

Full review to come in May.
Really excited that I finally picked this up, have no clue why I waited so long.
Best way to get out of a reading slump pick up The first three books in the series so you can binge.

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Oct 29, 2016 Lindsey Baker rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-read-in-2016

Let's just add this one to my favorites of the year. Wow, I just loved everything about this book. I knew from the very first chapter I was going to enjoy this. The writing was wonderful, I could picture everything with such ease. I fell in love with these characters and am so invested in what happens to them. The story is much more than you expect.

I am dying for the rest of the series to get to my house so I can continue reading! ...more

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