BOOK REVIEW – The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1)
by Maggie Stiefvater
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

4.5 stars, one stunned face, one hundred facepalms, a dozen OH MY GOSH I CAN’T BELIEVE SHE WROTE IT THEN AND I DIDN’T EVEN NOTICE, one brilliant book.

“Ronan said, “I’m always straight.”
Adam replied, “Oh, man, that’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told.”

Truth be told, I wasn’t fully immerged in The Raven Boys when I first read it, and it took Ronan’s amazingness in The Dream Thieves to make me fall in love with these boys and their strange quest.

Honestly, I didn’t even want to give another chance at what stayed for me the weakest book of the series : God, I was so scared to be disappointed. Not because of Blue’s curse, as I never understood why people were annoyed with the “romance” here (understand : there’s none worthy of attention PYNCH!! , definitely nothing going on between Blue and Gansey, and no will they/won’t they vibes yet in my opinion), but because I found it so sloooow and all kinds of confusing (yes, I mean that it made me feel stupid. No, that is NOT a feeling I enjoy)

Trust me : I am so very surprised at how much I loved it this second time.

One word: FORESHADOWING

All week I’ve been rereading these books and every one of them left a stunning impression on me because of how brilliantly Maggie Stiefvater crafted her plot. Indeed I can’t even count how many times I stumbled upon a sentence and widened my fucking eyes before such talent and well, planning. I don’t know about you, but in the past few years I’ve been too often appalled by how weak and nonsensical plots could get, especially in PNR.

Really, did you look at my name? What do you think, that I chose “frowner” out of the blue? (haha) Elite, Inescapable, Hush, Hush, Alice in Zombieland – They all have a hand in this. Fuckers.

Anyway – what I meant to say is this : no matter how confusing it can appear at first glance, it is NOT messy at all : everything has meaning, even if I didn’t manage to understand it two years ago. Oh! And I should also tell you that I was OVERWHELMED by feels. I know, I know. How can the story’s impact be more powerful the second time is beyond me. I mean, hello, I know all the twists. Go figure.

Not to mention that all these Chainsaw feedings were fucking cute.

OKAY?!
Okay.

RONAN’S THE BEST?!
Ronan’s the best.

Now, is this review useful for you who never read it? The fuck if I know.

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