The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1) in Pick-a-Shelf

Jan 26, 2015 Bror (Abrar) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

Loved it more this time ^_^ mood reader lol

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Jan 16, 2021 Jennivie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: must-re-read, landon-rec-dude-yes

Wow... This was amazing and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the rest. ...more

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Jun 13, 2021 Rosemary rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This starts out as if will be a standard psychic teen romance - girl is told by psychic mother that her kiss will kill her true love - but it becomes much more nuanced. Blue (the girl) lives in a town in Virginia where there's a private school full of rich boys (and one on a scholarship) who wear sweaters with a raven emblem. One of them is searching for the resting place of Owen Glendower whose body they believe was transported along a ley line from Wales across the sea to Virginia.

It's a dark ...more

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Aug 12, 2015 Tanya rated it liked it

Actual Rating: 3.5

Review To Come

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Aug 07, 2012 Kari rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The Raven Boys is my second Maggie Stiefvater novel that I have read, and I am really developing a taste for her books! Last year I read The Scorpio Races, and fell in love with the beautiful scenery and world building Stiefvater composes. When I read her novels, I can really see exactly where she is taking me. The colors appear vivid in my mind, and the characters are completely believable in the fact that I can see them, and hear them. I love books that can transport me so thoroughly. The Rave The Raven Boys is my second Maggie Stiefvater novel that I have read, and I am really developing a taste for her books! Last year I read The Scorpio Races, and fell in love with the beautiful scenery and world building Stiefvater composes. When I read her novels, I can really see exactly where she is taking me. The colors appear vivid in my mind, and the characters are completely believable in the fact that I can see them, and hear them. I love books that can transport me so thoroughly. The Raven Boys was no exception! I could instantly see the eclectic personality that was Blue, the slightly smudgy look that belonged to Noah, the mass of hair that made up Persephone, and the ingrained smugness of Gansey.

The premise of the story starts off with Blue in an abandoned church on St. Mark's Day with her psychic aunt Neeve watching for spirits. Because of the way energies work on that day spirits of the people who would die within the next year would appear along the "corpse road" that runs through this church. Blue works as an amplifier for psychics, so while she can't see the spirits herself she makes it easier for anyone else to see them. However this particular day turned out a bit differently for blue: she saw her first spirit. This was no ordinary spirit either, it is the spirit of the boy she is destined to kill, or who will become her true love. As there is a prophecy in her life that she will kill her true love when she kisses him, it could possibly be both. After this encounter she then runs into the boy in real life and learns his name is Gansey. Gansey is searching for the tomb of the legendary King Glendower of Welsh stories, and Blue quickly gets caught up in his adventure. As she adventures with him she starts falling for his friend Adam. Can we see where the inevitable love triangle is going to develop???

As a whole I did enjoy this book. The world building was gorgeous, and the characters had some witty exchanges that literally had me laughing out loud. However, some of the foreshadowing that occurred in this book did drive me a little crazy because it made some key plot points a little TOO obvious. (view spoiler) I didn't need 150 pages of lead up time to a major revelation. I had it figured out pretty early on. Thus a lot of the book seemed mildly transparent to me, but I enjoyed the overall story so much that I was willing to forgive this minor transgression. One plot twist did catch me a bit by surprise (view spoiler), so all was not totally lost!

It was also interesting the way the author decided to deal with issues of class difference. She has some very rich characters, and some very poor characters; and yet, they all have problems just the same. The underlying commentary about money not being able to buy happiness was definitely present, however not overdone. Each character has something they must struggle with, whether it be a bad home life, the drive to not waste life, or the suffering of losing a parent.

This book is the first in a series, so I am eagerly awaiting the next installment! I can't wait to see where the search for Glendower takes them, even if there is a very nasty love triangle coming up in the foreseeable future.

This review also appears at www.caffeinatedbooker.com ...more

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Jan 05, 2017 Charissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, fantasy

When I started this book, I was disappointed at first. For some reason, I was thinking this book was set in a fantasy world. However, it is set in modern day. Which it really does work with the story, there was just that adjustment period for me.

Overall this was a wonderful story. The characters are so real and... I can't even find another word for them. But these characters have become like friends. That is how real they have become to me. It is a great story and fantastic writing.

While this b ...more

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