The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

May 06, 2016 Jojobean rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paperback, physical-books-owned, fantasy, 2012-publication, series-book-1, set-in-us

Youtube Video Review: https://youtu.be/w4mncZpdDD0

After reading this book I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I had read Stievater's book Shiver and I really didn't enjoy it. It was so boring and I was afraid this book would be the same. However after seeing booktube reviews on how good it was, I decided to give it a try. I figured I could always DNF it if I didn't like it.

However, once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. I don't know what it was about it. It wasn't my ...more

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Oct 11, 2015 Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: great-side-characters, young-adult, 4-stars, completed-series, paranormal, from-my-shelf, fantasy, fantastic-heroine

4 stars. This was a really fascinating read. I enjoyed it a lot but the first half of the book was really slow for me. Once it picked up, though, it got so good!

I absolutely loved the writing. It was scenic and beautiful. I felt as if I was right there with the characters. The story is intriguing and very different than what I've ever read before. I like that this isn't romance heavy. It's Blue getting to the know the boys without any kind of insta-love which I was very pleased about. The chara ...more

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Oct 04, 2013 Megs rated it really liked it

This one would have been five stars if it weren't for the ending! It's kind of a shame. I was so into this one and then the ending really threw me for a loop. No spoilers, but it was not at all what I expected and I still don't actually know what happened. I'm very glad I have the sequel right beside me, so I can hopefully figure things out!

I didn't have an immediate connection with the characters, but by the end, I found myself caring about all of them. Well, except Neeve, who gave me the creep This one would have been five stars if it weren't for the ending! It's kind of a shame. I was so into this one and then the ending really threw me for a loop. No spoilers, but it was not at all what I expected and I still don't actually know what happened. I'm very glad I have the sequel right beside me, so I can hopefully figure things out!

I didn't have an immediate connection with the characters, but by the end, I found myself caring about all of them. Well, except Neeve, who gave me the creeps. But all of the boys and Blue for sure. The boys are all different and I feel like each one was his own cautionary tale, showing the effects of traits like pride, obsession, recklessness and following blindly. Of the boys, I think Gansey ended up being my favourite, although there were aspects of all of them that I loved. Blue herself was probably the main character I had the least connection with. I did care about her, but I just felt she could be a touch blah. I hope to get to know her better in the sequel.

I fell in love with the world of Henrietta. I loved Blue's family, especially Calla and her snarky attitude. I also loved the creepy vibe Maggie Stiefvater was able to invoke. Probably not the best book to read alone in the dark. It's not scary in a goes-bump-in-night-jump-out-and-grab-you way, but in a more subtle way that still managed to send a few chills up my spine.

As I mentioned, the one thing that knocked this one down from 5 stars to only 4 was the ending. To give you a non-spoiler explanation, while I was reading, I realized I only had 18 pages felt. It felt like there was so much left to happen that I was sure it was going to end in a huge cliffhanger. But it didn't. It just sort of ended and then had a final chapter that felt like an epilogue. It left me a bit disappointed, although I'm hoping to find out what actually happened in The Dream Thieves, which I'll be starting next.

This one is worth the read for the atmosphere alone. I know some people found it a bit slow, but that didn't bother me at all. As I said, I'm excited to start on the sequel and I'm hoping to get all my answers from the ending answered shortly! ...more

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Sep 09, 2015 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction, paranormal, not-what-your-expecting, ghosts

I like to be honest when I write my reviews so I will tell you straight up I had very little hope for this book. First of all Maggie left a bitter taste in my mouth after I read Linger. I couldn't understand how someone could write a brilliant first book in a series and totally drop the ball in the second book. I went into this book not really expecting to like it and for the first half of the book I really didn't like any of the characters except for Adam. Everyone else just really seemed to ha I like to be honest when I write my reviews so I will tell you straight up I had very little hope for this book. First of all Maggie left a bitter taste in my mouth after I read Linger. I couldn't understand how someone could write a brilliant first book in a series and totally drop the ball in the second book. I went into this book not really expecting to like it and for the first half of the book I really didn't like any of the characters except for Adam. Everyone else just really seemed to have some serious psychological issues. In fact one of the first phrases out of my mouth was, "OMG what a bunch of assholes. Who are these people?" I didn't like the point of view it was written in and that is something that I still don't like, but it didn't take away from the story as much as I thought it would.

In the beginning of the book Blue was quite annoying and pretty condescending. She mentioned that Gansey was like that, but she acted the same way. I despised how she stereotyped everyone of the boys and she was just so hateful towards Gansey. Granted Gansey was a bit clueless when it comes to money, but it was not because he wanted to be a dick, He truly wanted to be helpful and nice. To me it did not feel like he was trying to control everyone with his money. Personally I felt he was a bit mis-understood. That still did not mean I liked him very much in the beginning. His cluelessness was a bit too much and I wondered if his social skills were a bit lacking. However as the book went on I finally got a good idea of who he was, what he wanted, and what he really wanted to accomplish. I guess we can say I had a bit more respect for him towards the end.

Ronan is a dick. He was a dick in the beginning and was pretty much a dick at the end of the story. I give him props for taking care of a baby bird and for kicking Adam's Father's ass, but the dude is in some serious need of therapy. He's hiding something I do believe and I believe it has something to do with the death of his father. I still don't trust the boy as far as I can throw him. He feels like the type of person who would slit your throat in the middle of the night.

Blue's mother and her gaggle of Psychics that live at the house are a bit out there for even me. I've lived in some not so normal situations, but this one was really strange and a bit far out. I don't like Maura based on the fact that she is/was hiding who Blue's father is.

Adam is the one character that I liked from the beginning to the end.

I gave this 5 stars because it was original, fresh, and it was just that much different than most of your YA/Paranormal type of books. Hopefully Book 2 in this series will live up to the same reputation. ...more

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Apr 15, 2016 Carla Simoes rated it it was ok

Shelves: not-own, audiobook, 2017

I had this book in my wishlist for quite some time now and i admit that this one catch my eye mostly because of the cover, but i never buy it because there are so many books i want to buy that this one end up getting delayed.

Last month i start listening audio books during work hours and travel time and i stumble upon this one on audible so i think well let's see if this series is so good as it looks.

In truth i don't think this should be listen on audio, for me the narrator is not a good one, th ...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Tina ❣ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, series, romance, paranormal, reviewed, finished-the-series

I was surprised that I found that I liked this book.
It's something new to me. Reading about Blue and her hectic psychic family, as well as Ronan, and Adam's unstable families. I'm going to say that I loved Adam the most.
The characters were quite complex and the plot was released slowly.

What I loved about this book, was Gansley's usage of language. I found that it wasn't like other characters who were brought up in a middle-class family who experimented with words that they have not used before. ...more

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Aug 08, 2018 Taleisin (Tales of a Bookwyrm) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobooks, fiction, fantasy, fae-mystic-creatures

OMG why did I not read this book sooner?! Great characters, mythological elements ... and the ending. I'm already 50% through book two. This is shaping up to be a new favourite series!! ...more

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