The Raven Cycle Buddy Read/Re-Read

[Aliza]

"my name... is Colin Greenmantle". I did not see that coming!!!

[Elora]

@Aliza--me neither. I love how every character has a purpose in her books. And Piper's a hoot.

[Brigid ✩]

I've been kinda slow with reading lately but I'm like halfway through The Dream Thieves––and holy crap, I almost forgot how much I love this one.

(view spoiler)[Those nightmare creatures are so freaking scary!! And I love Ronan's home and all the weird dream objects, it's just so unique and cool/creepy.

Also I recently read the part where Blue and Noah kiss; I remember finding that part kinda weird the first time I read it, but this time it made me cry a little for some reason. :P I just love Noah and feel so bad for him. And it's just a really sweet scene. (hide spoiler)]

[Aliza]

this book is full of surprises. the part where they found gwenllian was so creepy.

[Aliza]

(view spoiler)[ I CAN'T BELIEVE PIPER SHOT JESSE (hide spoiler)]

[Elora]

Aliza wrote: "[spoilers removed]"

Oh my gosh, I know. (view spoiler)[ It was so sad, but it fit so well with him being on corpse road and his cursed cave.

Isn't she a hoot, though?

I'm bracing myself for the fourth one, since we all know Gansey's gonna eat it.

I'm really curious to see how she's going to pull it off and will he be truly dead or will he inhabit Glendower's body????

(hide spoiler)]

PS. I'm taking Tuesday off, so I can binge read!!! :)

[Brigid ✩]

@Aliza - AAHH I KNOW. I was sad about that. (view spoiler)[I really liked Jesse, he was hilarious. (hide spoiler)]

@Elora - LOL, that's a good plan! I have to work on Tuesday, but hopefully the book will be on the doorstep when I get home in the afternoon. :D

So, I just finished re-reading The Dream Thieves!

(view spoiler)[Dang, I somehow forgot how crazy the ending is!! Also, I don't remember liking Kavinsky much the first two times I read the book, but this time around I liked him a lot more. I think before I was kinda caught up on trying to figure out what his ~motivation~ was, but reading it this time, I liked that his motivation isn't over-explained or anything. And I actually felt bad for him in the end, even if he's kind of a terrible person. :P (hide spoiler)]

Hopefully tonight I can start my re-read of Blue Lily, Lily Blue.

[Aliza]

I'm going to finish blue lily, lily blue tonight (hopefully) and now I'm not sure what to read until Tuesday...

[Elora]

Tomorrow!!!!! I'm so excited.....it's like the day before Christmas and the last day of school all rolled into one!

[Elora]

Aliza wrote: "I'm going to finish blue lily, lily blue tonight (hopefully) and now I'm not sure what to read until Tuesday..."

Did you finish?

[Aliza]

yeah. sorry that I forgot to post. I finished on Saturday. the third book was my favorite so far. I feel like I'm finally really getting to know and love the characters.
I'm so excited for tomorrow although I'm a little sad I'm going to finish with the character and the world when I only just started to love it.

[Brigid ✩]

I frantically finished re-reading BLLB tonight! I read for a few hours straight which was probably a bad idea, because now I have an awful headache. :P But it was worth it!

For some reason I'd really forgotten everything that happened in book 3, so it was good to refresh my memory, haha. The first time I read it I was in the middle of finishing my senior project for college and I think I was too stressed out to fully appreciate it at the time. This time I feel like I absorbed the whole thing a lot better! :)

@Elora - LOL, right?! I have barely thought about anything else for a few days. I can't remember the last time I was this excited (and terrified) for the release of a book. I seriously get butterflies in my stomach every time I think about it. Can't believe it's finally happening!!

@Aliza - Ahhh I know––I am really excited to read it, but it will also be so sad to see these characters go. I love them so much. But of course, we can always re-read the series over and over again. :D

[Elora]

So glad you guys were able to finish! :)

[Elora]

The Raven King funnies so far.....Don't worry, no spoilers :)

"No homework. I got suspended," Blue replied.
"Get the f--- out," Ronan said, but with admiration. "Sargent, you a--hole."

And:

(Blue) "I don't really want to talk about it."
"I do," Ronan said.
"Well, I don't. I'm not proud of it."
Ronan patter her leg. "I'll be proud for you."

hahahahahahahaha

[Aliza]

I'm just about to start reading...

[Elora]

Woohoo!

[Brigid ✩]

Elora wrote: "The Raven King funnies so far.....Don't worry, no spoilers :)

"No homework. I got suspended," Blue replied.
"Get the f--- out," Ronan said, but with admiration. "Sargent, you a--hole."

And:

(Blu..."

Haha!! Loved that, too. I really love the friendship between Ronan and Blue. :)

[Brigid ✩]

So ahh, you guys may have heard that Amazon majorly f***ed up with the pre-orders of The Raven King and a ton of people (including me, unfortunately) won't be getting a copy until ... who knows when. :P

I decided to just buy a Kindle edition because I could not wait anymore. On the bright side, once I got a Kindle copy I could just start reading it right away, lol.

I'm at 45% right now and OH MAN I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS.

(view spoiler)[I think this is the scariest one so far! The other books were definitely creepy of course, but I feel like this one has had some of the most horrifying moments, i.e.:

- Those scary ladies who look like Blue in Cabeswater
- That part where Adam's eye started freaking out in the bathroom and there was the creepy black thing
- When Greenmantle got killed by the demon hornets
- Noah getting possessed and trying to gouge Blue's eyes out :O

Lol I feel like those descriptions don't do the book justice, but those parts all really freaked me out.

Other things:

- Ronan and Adam––aggh I have so many feelings.
- Blue and Gansey - aggh I have so many feelings. (Loved the toga party scene!)
- I really did not see it coming that Ronan dreamed Cabeswater???? That's crazy and awesome. (hide spoiler)]

Whew okay I think that's the gist of my feelings/thoughts for now. If you can't tell, I'm loving this book so far. ;)

[Elora]

Oh my goodness...I agree with all of your spoilers! And there are so many more to come! Don't read unless you've finished the book!
(view spoiler)[
Declan and Ronan making up
Ronan being unmade
Gansey dying
the fact that Glendower was at the start of it all this whole time!! and remains dead.

(hide spoiler)]

[Karen’s Library]

I can't take it anymore! I'm going to binge read this series! ;)

I'm ordering them all in hardback in the morning but I have from my elibrary that I started tonight. I originally read these all on audio and I can tell that it makes more sense this time around. I'd forgotten how much I loved the chaos of 300 Fox Way, and Blue!!

[Elora]

Yay Karen! I completely agree. The second time through is fantastic. :)

[Brigid ✩]

@Elora - Holy moly I finished it!

(view spoiler)[Agh yes, all of those things!!

I was so happy Ronan and Declan made up. It was really sweet.

I was so scared when Ronan was being unmade. And when Adam was possessed and tried to kill Ronan. And when Gansey died. D: I was like "NOOO DON'T HURT MY BABIES."

And yeah wow, that was not where I expected them to find Glendower! But it totally made sense. It also somehow seemed very fitting that he was dead the whole time. As corny as it sounds, I feel like the characters all had to find something in themselves rather than relying on Glendower to fix everything.

Also I'm just really happy Blue and Gansey ended up together and so did Ronan and Adam. :D (Side note: gosh when Ronan and Adam kissed I just ... AAHHHH!! That scene was just so beautiful and perfect. I was smiling my head off. They're so cute.)

I guess Noah is gone forever though, and that's sad. :(

I also feel like the ending went by really fast, but maybe that's because I had binge-read the whole thing, haha. I'm definitely going to have to re-read it. (hide spoiler)]

So yeah I'm having trouble putting my feelings into coherent explanations, but basically I loved it. And I'll miss this series so much.

@Karen - YAAAY! :D Yeah it definitely makes more sense when you re-read them. When I read the first book I was super confused, but it makes a lot more sense after reading it a couple times and reading the rest of the books in the series. :P

[Aliza]

I haven't had any time to really sit and read for a solid amount of time so I'm probably not gonna get very far into the book until next week :'(

[Brigid ✩]

Aw I'm sorry Aliza, hope you can get to it soon!! I kinda wish I'd taken more time with it, but I just couldn't put it down ... and I was paranoid about spoilers, lol. :D I'll probably re-read it when I get my physical copy of it, whenever that happens haha.

[Donna (BookDragonGirl)]

Brigid! Maggie Stiefvater is coming to Plainville, MA next month for a discussion about The Raven King and to sign books!!! I sent you a private message with the details.

[Brigid ✩]

Donna wrote: "Brigid! Maggie Stiefvater is coming to Plainville, MA next month for a discussion about The Raven King and to sign books!!! I sent you a private message with the details."

AAHH YES I SAW!! Thank you for telling me! :D I'm really hoping I'll be able to go. It's a little far from where I live, but I think it would be worth the trip. Also my mom and my sister would probably be interested, so I should consult with them. ;)

[Elora]

Aliza wrote: "I haven't had any time to really sit and read for a solid amount of time so I'm probably not gonna get very far into the book until next week :'("

Oh no! I hope you can avoid spoilers. :)

[Elora]

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "@Elora - Holy moly I finished it!

Agh yes, all of those things!!


(view spoiler)[ I was glad about Glendower, too and how they had to fix their own problems.
I also loved that her father was a "total flake." He'd been one her whole life (albeit not really his fault) but I loved how there wasn't a happy family vibe going on when he showed up. He was still absent.
I also loved that Blue was part tree. Of all the "boys" I felt that she had something missing, even though she was an amplifier. Finding that out really put her on even ground with the rest of them (at least in my head). I love that this was a coming of age story as much as it was anything else. (hide spoiler)]
Can't wait to see what new adventure Stiefvater has for us next!

[Brigid ✩]

Elora - (view spoiler)[Yeah I was nervous that they were just going to find Glendower and he would magically resolve everything, so I'm glad that didn't happen! It was really sad when Gansey was so crushed afterward and broke down crying, though. :( But I think in the long-run, he needed to learn that Glendower wasn't this all-powerful being. And he had to learn that he could exist without Glendower, and that he was capable of fixing his own problems and facing his own fears (like what Henry kept telling him).

At first I wasn't sure how I felt about Blue being a ... tree-person. :P It's definitely not what I expected, but it's an interesting twist! I always suspected there was something special about her (and about Artemus), so it's interesting. Also I've seen some people point out that it was foreshadowed in the other books, so I'm willing to roll with it. :D And like you said, I'm glad there was something special about her just like there was something special about all of the boys.

Part of me wanted to know more about Artemus, but I also agree that I kind of liked things the way they were. In fact, that's something I loved about the ending over all. It wasn't entirely perfect: Blue met her father but it wasn't a joyous family reunion. They found Glendower but he was dead. Gansey came back to life but he wasn't exactly the same person. Adam confronted his parents but didn't really forgive them. Noah didn't get to stay forever. It all just felt believable in some way, and I think that's what made it so powerful. (hide spoiler)]

And yes, can't wait to see what Maggie writes next. :)

[Ashley Marie]

Just started this afternoon, yesterday was jam-packed full of stuff to be done :) Loved the prologue. Onward!

[Brigid ✩]

Hooray Ashley!!! :D

[Aliza]

I'm 35% in TRK and I love it!!! I'm sad that it's taking me so long to read it but I have to squeeze chapters in between studying for some college exams I have this week. (view spoiler)[ I was spoiled for the Adam-Ronan relationship but I kind of saw it coming already in BLLB so I wasn't too upset (hide spoiler)]

[Elora]

Aliza wrote: "I'm 35% in TRK and I love it!!! I'm sad that it's taking me so long to read it but I have to squeeze chapters in between studying for some college exams I have this week. [spoilers removed]"

So glad you're liking it--and that you weren't too upset about the spoiler--you're right, it was alluded to in earlier books. :)
Good luck with exams! :)

[Karen’s Library]

I just caught up on all the spoilers through TDT. Ronan!! And the title makes perfect sense now!! :)

I have about 10% to go and then I'll dive right into BLLB! I have the hardback now. Still waiting on TRK to come in. If it's not here by the time I finish, I'll be one click buying on my Nook!

I'm obsessed w Ronan and his gift at this point. And maybe I'm a bit confused, (view spoiler)[ is Prokopenko from a dream? The Greywaren stuff is so creative and mind blowing to me! (hide spoiler)]

I'm also very interested in Mr. Gray! And love all the ladies from 500 Fox Way, especially Persephone!

[Brigid ✩]

@Aliza - Yay!! I went through the same thing when I was reading BLLB when it first came out; I had a lot of college stuff to do, so it took me a couple weeks. Sorry you saw spoilers! But yeah, that's something I predicted from around book 2, lol. ;)

@Karen - Omg yes, totally agree! Book 2 is really what started my obsession with Ronan. :D And his ability is so cool (and a little scary, lol). (view spoiler)[Yup, Prokopenko came out of Kavinsky's dreams. :P (hide spoiler)]

[Aliza]

Karen wrote: "I just caught up on all the spoilers through TDT. Ronan!! And the title makes perfect sense now!! :)

I have about 10% to go and then I'll dive right into BLLB! I have the hardback now. Still waiti..."

I hadn't thought about it but the title does makes sense at the end. as for your question (view spoiler)[ Kavinsky killed the "real" Prokopenko and then dreamt a "fake" one to be his sidekick (hide spoiler)]

@Elora- Thanks so much!

[Aliza]

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "@Aliza - Yay!! I went through the same thing when I was reading BLLB when it first came out; I had a lot of college stuff to do, so it took me a couple weeks. Sorry you saw spoilers! But yeah, that..."

I'm just having a busy few weeks in school since we have a lot of new projects coming up and I need to finalize plans for the study I will be conducting for the next year and a bit. Hopefully everything will settle down in the next couple of weeks but reading is definitely an escape from all the craziness.

[Brigid ✩]

Yeah, April/May is probably the craziest time of the school year. Good luck! What's your study about?

[Aliza]

Either the effects of pregnancy on vision (visual changes due to the shift in hormonal balance during pregnancy/ birth) or the public opinion on the importance of periodic eye examinations (optometrist/opthalmologist) taking into account age, occupation, education etc. (comparing the general opinions to the medical recommendations of the board of opthalmology).
hope that wasn't too info dumpy ;). It depends on which study plan gets approved.

[Brigid ✩]

Whoa, those both sound fascinating! :)

[Aliza]

thanks! :)

[Aliza]

oh...poor henry (view spoiler)[ he was kidnapped?!? (hide spoiler)]

[Elora]

Aliza wrote: "oh...poor henry [spoilers removed]"

Yeah....that's sad :(

[Brigid ✩]

Oh man, yeah. That part was heavy.

[Karen’s Library]

I finished BLLB last night and jumped right into TRK!! I'm bout 15% in. Soooooo good!!!

[Elora]

Awesome, Karen!

[Brigid ✩]

Hooray, Karen! I'm jealous you could jump right into TRK after finishing BLLB. Waiting a year and a half between books was so painful!

[Karen’s Library]

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "Hooray, Karen! I'm jealous you could jump right into TRK after finishing BLLB. Waiting a year and a half between books was so painful!"

I did wait! This is a reread of the first 3 books for me!! ;)

And what the heck!? (view spoiler)[The triplets!!? Piper's Dad?! I just got to that part! So bizarre! (hide spoiler)] The mind of Maggie Stiefvater is truly unique and brilliant!

[Brigid ✩]

Ohh okay, I didn't realize you were re-reading them! :D And yes that part was very weird/unsettling, lol. There's a lot of surreal stuff in book 4.

[Karen’s Library]

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "Ohh okay, I didn't realize you were re-reading them! :D And yes that part was very weird/unsettling, lol. There's a lot of surreal stuff in book 4."

Yes there is and I'm only in about 22%. (view spoiler)[The Orphan Girl! And Neeve, and Piper, and and and... (hide spoiler)] Soooo much to wrap your head around! LOVE IT!