The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater -- Restarting August 20th 2025

[Aaron]

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Date changed. Restarting July 11th 2022. Happy Reading ☺

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[Aaron]

Chapter 5
(view spoiler)[ I’m intrigued by what’s going on so far. I’m not sure how I feel about the characters though. Ganesh and his friends are an odd collection of people. I think I’m gonna get confused with who’s who in Blue’s family later on. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Adam wrote: "Chapter 8

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I do like Adam. He seems like the most decent one of them. I’ve been going with the pronunciation Ag-Lee-On-Bee but no idea if that’s right or not. It would be a pretty cool place to live but I feel like it would’ve ended up a mess and we wouldn’t have eaten properly if it was when I was in high school. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Chapter 15
(view spoiler)[ I like the atmosphere this book is creating. It’s eerie. I’m coming round to the other characters now we’ve been given more information about them all. I would appreciate the pace of the plot picking up a bit though. It feels like there is a lot of filler. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Adam wrote: "Chapter 16


[spoilers removed]"
(view spoiler)[ I was thinking he’d probably been saved at the last minute by some kind of magic but reincarnation isn’t a bad guess either. I’m interested to find out. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Chapter 22
(view spoiler)[ There are a lot of ravens in this story. I wonder what the significance is. I still don’t really understand this quest Gansey’s on or what he actually has to do. He doesn’t seem to be making a whole lot of progress. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Adam wrote: "Chapter 27

Right, it doesn't really make sense why he is so obsessed with finding Glendower. But hopefully it's a 'wait and see' thing. I really liked the chapter where they were in the woods and ..."

(view spoiler)[ That was a good chapter. I quite like the interactions between Blue and the guys. They’re keeping me interested. There’s still a lot of pages left in this book but I’m presuming this finding Glendower thing isn’t gonna happen until the last book in the series. I hope I’m wrong or this is gonna get slow. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

I’m at chapter 33. It started to get a bit more interesting with (view spoiler)[ Noah being a ghost (hide spoiler)] but your 2 stars aren’t giving me much hope for the rest of this.

[EdenB15]

Ahh im excited to read this but 2 stars yikes..

[Aaron]

Adam wrote: "Finished!

[spoilers removed]"

Done
(view spoiler)[ I’m also not planning on reading the rest of the series. I’m presuming that means chainsaw wasn’t real but I really don’t understand the point of that. I still don’t get what they’re doing on this quest. I have no idea what happened in the forest. This was too slow for me as well. (hide spoiler)]

[Jenn]

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Date changed. Restarting April 1st 2023. Happy Reading ☺

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[Jenn]

Starting my reread of this now. So excited to be back in this world!

[Kay-Mika]

Chapter 7
(view spoiler)[ Maybe it's the German in me, but : Why does Declan drive a Volvo? A Volvo!!!! That's what fathers with a 9 to 5 job drive. It's a sensible var; a boring car. So, why does Declan drive one? Does a Volvo have a different meaning for you Americans? (hide spoiler)]

[Kay-Mika]

Jenn wrote: "Starting my reread of this now. So excited to be back in this world!"

I never got passed the first book 😅 Too afraid

[Dannii]

Ill be starting tonight and cant wait to reunite with these characters too

[Jenn]

Kay-Mika wrote: "Chapter 7
[spoilers removed]"

Hahaahah. I do believe that Volvo's were once considered luxury cars here in the US - well, some of them. Like the upper end line.

[Karen]

I've managed to get my hands on copies of the series, but I worry that I might just not quite be the right audience for it. There's always something that never sits right with every Maggie Stiefvater book I've read. Maybe it's a timing thing!

[Kay-Mika]

Maggie Stiefvater suffers from the same condition that Cassandra Clare suffers from: They can't write a straight character to save their lives.
Ronan, Adam and Gansey are like five sentence away from making out with each other.

[Jenn]

Chapter 10: (view spoiler)[ poor Ronan. Having lost his father and then ultimately hia relationships with hsi brother is obviously affecting him. I felt Ganseys fear at how he would find Ronan.

On the other hand, the exchange between Blue and Gansey at the pizza place was just hilarious. And adam just being so embarrassed. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Decided to give this series a second shot. I hope I’ll find something I missed on my first reading.

[Jenn]

I hope you enjoy it more this time around Karen!

[Karen]

First quarter. The setting up of Blue and her family raises so many questions. There’s a curious relationship between the boys.

[Karen]

Jenn wrote: "Chapter 10: poor Ronan. Having lost his father and then ultimately hia relationships with hsi brother is obviously affecting him. I felt Ganseys fear at how he would find Ronan.

On the other han..."

(view spoiler)[ I'm not sure why Blue seeks them out when she seems to be under the impression that she will kill one of them. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Second quarter. Finding Whelk a little creepy. Is there a reason for the ley-line hunting that I've missed?

[Jenn]

Karen wrote: "Jenn wrote: "Chapter 10: poor Ronan. Having lost his father and then ultimately hia relationships with hsi brother is obviously affecting him. I felt Ganseys fear at how he would find Ronan.

On t..."

After seeing Gansey's ghost and knowing he's set to die, I think she's intrigued by them. Plus, she has a little crush on Adam lol

[Jenn]

Karen wrote: "Second quarter. Finding Whelk a little creepy. Is there a reason for the ley-line hunting that I've missed?"

Whelk is super creepy for sure. As for the reason for the hunt, I think each person has their own reason. Whelk wants power, Adam wants a wish, Gansey seeks knowledge

[Shonali]

Jenn wrote: "Karen wrote: "Jenn wrote: "Chapter 10: poor Ronan. Having lost his father and then ultimately hia relationships with hsi brother is obviously affecting him. I felt Ganseys fear at how he would find..."

I think it's funny how Blue 'likes' Adam, but she and Gansey are 'true love' lol

[Kay-Mika]

I realized something
Remember Chapter 13, when a man comes to the house and wants a reading ( sorry I'm reading the book in German, so I don't know what word is used in English) ? I always thought it was Whelk, but wouldn't Calla have recognised him, since she works at the Aglionby Academy, too?
Who was the man?

[Kay-Mika]

Jenn wrote: "Karen wrote: "Jenn wrote: "Chapter 10: poor Ronan. Having lost his father and then ultimately hia relationships with hsi brother is obviously affecting him. I felt Ganseys fear at how he would find..."

Also her mother forbid it. And we all know that if you forbid something, people will go and do the forbidden thing.

[Jenn]

Chapter 21: (view spoiler)[Annnd now Blue is in it. Love it. But can we just talk about Neeve for a moment. She doesn't give off the greatest of vibes and her secretive nighttime scrolling's are suspect as hell. The entire group of women at 300 Fox Way area trip. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Up to ch25…it’s starting…and about time (though I’m not sure why they’re in this situation). Anyway, why do three of the boys get referred to by their surname and one is known by their forename? I seem to remember it being significant.

[Karen]

Third quarter. How had I forgotten that! The pace is picking up a little, but I wonder whether it’ll be too late for the boys to try to stop Whelk.

[Karen]

Finished - review on home page. Definitely picked up a little more of the Ley line focus this time round. The angsty romance seems like an unnecessary diversion for me, but I suppose it will have fans.

[Karen]

Jenn wrote: "Chapter 21: [spoilers removed]"

Never really did not act as I expected. Not sure we've seen the last of her!

[Jenn]

Chapter 30: (view spoiler)[ the Noah is a ghost bomb always gets me, even though I know it's coming. I feel so bad for him! I just want to hug his ghostly self. (hide spoiler)]

[Jenn]

Finished: (view spoiler)[Ugh, so happy Whelk got what he deserved and that Noah is still around, even if he really is only powered by Blue and the ley lines. And that Ronan bomb drop at the end, perfectly sets up the second book! (hide spoiler)]

[Jenn]

Karen wrote: "Finished - review on home page. Definitely picked up a little more of the Ley line focus this time round. The angsty romance seems like an unnecessary diversion for me, but I suppose it will have f..."

The romance fan is me haha. Well, at least between Blue and Gansey, not Blue and Adam lol

[Dannii]

Kay-Mika wrote: "Chapter 7
[spoilers removed]"

This is something i never really thought of before but the image is so amusing to me now, for some reason 😅

[Dannii]

Kay-Mika wrote: "Maggie Stiefvater suffers from the same condition that Cassandra Clare suffers from: They can't write a straight character to save their lives.
Ronan, Adam and Gansey are like five sentence away fr..."

Straight up facts!!

[Dannii]

Jenn wrote: "Chapter 10: poor Ronan. Having lost his father and then ultimately hia relationships with hsi brother is obviously affecting him. I felt Ganseys fear at how he would find Ronan.

On the other han..."

(view spoiler)[I feel like this book does a great job of showing you all the character's weaknesses yet still making them likeable. Gansey's privelage is obvious to the reader but i dont dislike him for it as his other good character traits assure me that he'll learn and grow. (hide spoiler)]

[Jenn]

Dannii wrote: "Jenn wrote: "Chapter 10: poor Ronan. Having lost his father and then ultimately hia relationships with hsi brother is obviously affecting him. I felt Ganseys fear at how he would find Ronan.

On t..."

Agreed Dannii!

[Kay-Mika]

Dannii wrote: "Kay-Mika wrote: "Chapter 7
[spoilers removed]"

This is something i never really thought of before but the image is so amusing to me now, for some reason 😅"

Every time I pass a Volvo Combi , I have to think of Declan driving one 😆

[Kay-Mika]

Jenn wrote: "Chapter 30: [spoilers removed]"

Yeah, it always gets me, too

[Kay-Mika]

Chapter 21
(view spoiler)[ I love how crafty Blue is (hide spoiler)]

[Kay-Mika]

Chapter 25
(view spoiler)[ That is the reason why Gansey doesn't want children with Ronan? When? How ? What? Why? In which situation did they discuss this? And what where the reasons for having children together? (hide spoiler)]

[Kay-Mika]

Chapter 32
(view spoiler)[ Noah died so Gansey couzlive 🥺😭 (hide spoiler)]

[Kay-Mika]

Chapter 41
(view spoiler)[ Well, the solution for their problems is: Therapy. They all need one. Or two. ( Even Noah, and he is dead) (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Karen wrote: "First quarter. The setting up of Blue and her family raises so many questions. There’s a curious relationship between the boys."

(view spoiler)[Her family are definitely an unusual one but definitely, immediately, a warm one. I felt comfortable with their oddities rather than unnerved by them.

The same too with the boys. I love how each had a distinct personality that shouldn't have made them work so well as a group. One of my favourite aspects about this series is how Steifvater crafts these boys. Ronan is introduced slamming a car door like he slams everything and a paragraph later it is stated that he likes his habits to come with hangovers. I just love the way they feel real from little snippets like this being introduced so early on. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Jenn wrote: "Chapter 21: [spoilers removed]"

They are all so suspicious, in different ways, yet keep some lovable qualities around them. They are odd but I want to be one of them so bad!

[Dannii]

Karen wrote: "Up to ch25…it’s starting…and about time (though I’m not sure why they’re in this situation). Anyway, why do three of the boys get referred to by their surname and one is known by their forename? I ..."

A class thing perhaps? I'm not sure...