Tag: Magic/Supernatural (Page 14 of 29)

BOOK REVIEW: The Unbound (The Archived #2) by Victoria Schwab

BOOK REVIEW: The Unbound (The Archived #2) by Victoria SchwabThe Unbound (The Archived #2)
by Victoria Schwab
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Last summer, Mackenzie Bishop, a Keeper tasked with stopping violent Histories from escaping the Archive, almost lost her life to one. Now, as she starts her junior year at Hyde School, she's struggling to get her life back. But moving on isn't easy -- not when her dreams are haunted by what happened. She knows the past is past, knows it cannot hurt her, but it feels so real, and when her nightmares begin to creep into her waking hours, she starts to wonder if she's really safe.

Meanwhile, people are vanishing without a trace, and the only thing they seem to have in common is Mackenzie. She's sure the Archive knows more than they are letting on, but before she can prove it, she becomes the prime suspect. And unless Mac can track down the real culprit, she'll lose everything, not only her role as Keeper, but her memories, and even her life. Can Mackenzie untangle the mystery before she herself unravels?

With stunning prose and a captivating mixture of action, romance, and horror, The Unbound delves into a richly imagined world where no choice is easy and love and loss feel like two sides of the same coin.

“Open your eyes,” he warns.
I drag them open and find his face inches from mine. “Why?” I growl. “So I can see the truth?”
His smile sharpens. “No,” he says. “So I can watch the life go out of them.”
And then he drives the knife forward into my chest.

Well, well, well…..color me surprised. You see, I received an ARC after finishing book one of this series, so immediately after I chose to read it…before this one. Bad mistake, my dears-Because what happened was that I became so enraptured and awed by that complex, barbaric ARC, that when I finally came back to this precious piece of work, I wasn’t as interested or as in tune as I had been before. But then, about 50% through, the author knocked me upside the head and screamed in my face ‘PAY ATTENTION,’ and Wesley immediately came into focus-brilliant, funny, loveable, and witty Wesley. And we all lived happily ever after.


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Nah, I’m screwin’ with ya. But the fact remains, about halfway through the book I started to wake up again and see why I fell in love with this world in the first place. That’s not to say that there weren’t reasons I had issues at the beginning, Ie unnecessary flashbacking (okay, I’m TOTES making that into a word, shut up) and, I can’t believe I’m saying this, high school attendance. See, I actually always love when the main characters go to school in a YA novel. It’s where all the flirting and jealousies and petty fights commence-GUILTY….I’m a YA drama whore-but in this book, I felt it took away from the beauty and magic that we felt in book one. At the beginning of it all, Wes and Mac met during the summer…so I would have liked for it to end during the summer. You know, all that free time to hunt histories and ghosties together? Alas, this was not meant to be, so at some point, I had to push my whiney shit aside and play the hand that was dealt to me. And guess what? When I did that, the story blew wide open.

“It’s all new to me, too, remember?” he says a few minutes later. “I’d never met another Keeper before you. And having you in my life is terrifying and addictive, and I’m not going to lie and tell you it doesn’t make my heart race. It does.” I wonder if he can feel my own pounding pulse through my noise as he tangles his fingers through mine. “But I’m here. No matter what happens with us, I’m here.”

I loved how much Wes showed he cared for Mac in this one. He always has, but there’s something adorable about him being out in the open about it and not caring that she’s trying to keep him at arm’s length. I know people got annoyed by Mac’s secrets and her not just letting Wesley in, but that is the agreement, life, and oath a Keeper takes on when they are welcomed into the Archive. In book one, we saw Mac hide everything from Wes, her family, etc, but that came with the territory, and I totally understood it. But in this one, she only kept secrets when necessary from Wes-she swore, after the life-altering events of book one, that she would never keep Wes in the dark, no matter how painful. And we see her struggle through the entirety of the novel with the burden of keeping him safe, keeping him away from the evil enveloping her, and what to include and not include of her sordid nightmares and illusions that blur between reality and dysfunction.

Music fills my head, strong and steady, and I look down to see Wesley’s hand wrapped around mine, his eyes bleary but open. He must misread the shock and fear in my eyes for the echoes of a nightmare-how I wish this were still a bad dream-because he doesn’t ask what’s wrong. Instead he climbs onto the bed beside me and rolls me in against him, his arms wrapped around my waist.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he whispers sleepily into my hair.

The best part about our darling, Wesley? No matter how odd, how crazy, how off-the-wall weird Mac is acting or her situation is, he still stands by her side and believes everything she says. He is kind, understanding, and doesn’t let anyone walk all over Mackenzie-not even her parents. He would sacrifice himself and his time in a heartbeat…just to spend more time with her or to save her.

Wes hits the table. “You broke into a crime scene without me?
“Be glad, Wes, or we both would have been caught.”
“We’re a team, Mac. You don’t go committing a crime without your partner in crime. Besides, if I’d been with you, we probably wouldn’t have been caught. I could have stood at the door and made wild bird sounds or something when the cops came back. And if we did get caught, our mug shots would look fabulous.”

Probably one of my other favorite things about this series is the action and…hmm…what’s the word…violence? No, for real, though, I think the correct term is bloody reality? I have no clue, ugh. My point is, this author doesn’t shy away from bashing someone’s head in or slicing and dicing and bringing the pain. I love that…if you don’t know me lol.

He’s not real, whispers another voice in my head. You’ve just lost it.
Cracked little head,
echoes Sako.
Broken, whispers Owen.
Weak, adds Agatha.

So, you know, despite the disconnection, for me, in the beginning and the flashbacks (I HATE flashbacks), this book was stellar. Oh yeah, bringing that word back, too. I think my biggest problem with the flashbacks was the fact that they were cute Wes and Mac moments that I would have liked to have lived, myself. Why couldn’t we have just seen that firsthand? That’s all, really. Hardly a big deal-just a personal preference that I’ve always been wonky about. So, I really think this series is great for everyone, with fun characters, a new and original plot, and a love interest that will make you smile from ear to ear. But, don’t let me tell ya, pick it up for yourself…enjoy!


Fight back…
…with everything you have…
…to the very end.

BOOK REVIEW: The Archived (The Archived #1) by Victoria Schwab

BOOK REVIEW: The Archived (The Archived #1) by Victoria SchwabThe Archived (The Archived #1)
by Victoria Schwab
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often—violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

Knowledge is power, but ignorance can be a blessing.

This book…this book took me by surprise. If not for how much the idea of a place where the dead are cataloged and their memories forever embedded in their very being (I think that’s the best way to describe it), then for how much I loved and adored these abilities.

A death is traumatic. Vivid enough to mark any surface, to burn in like light on photo paper.

Imagine a place where the dead sit behind shelves. Where they aren’t really gone. A place where, if word got out, the masses would storm to get only a glimpse of their loved ones shelf-only to make it out to be a shrine of something it really isn’t. The bodies are preserved. They look just as they did before they died-same clothes, same face-peaceful. But what you see isn’t what you get. Say one of these ‘histories’ wakes up. They break out of their shelves, they are disoriented, scared, unsure. And as they begin to slip….they become unpredictable. They lose their shit. They’re frantic. Their pupils begin to slowly seep into their irises until nothing is there but a black orb…and that person is no longer that loved one you once thought they were. They are a walking, talking, violent shell of soul and they aren’t where they are supposed to be-in their shelf. And that’s where the keepers come in.

We leave memories on objects we love and cherish, things we use and wear down.

Ya know, I got creeped out quite a few times. I make it a habit to stay away from books with people that have black eyes or where there are spirits or ghosts-I’ve learned my lesson and I know my limits. But, as I was reading this beautiful story and I began to realize what I had unintentionally gotten myself into, I couldn’t make myself put it down. It was so expertly written, with a soft finesse that leads you from one scenario to the next. Each scene unraveled in a way that made you so eager to continue that you couldn’t help but to become gluttonous with your limited reading time, couldn’t help but to curse when your time wound down and you had to give way to sleep lest you become a ‘history’ yourself the next day-all tired and disoriented and disgruntled. Ultimately, this author knew how to pull me along on a string and paced this so wonderfully that it never became too much-info, action, or otherwise. It was a mystery through and through, and I had so much fun trying to figure out who was letting histories out of their boxes and who was wreaking havoc in the library. I am not ashamed to say that I went in circles on who I thought the villainous traitor was. Because only a trusted someone could have been the possible culprit for wreaking the havoc that rained down on the archive library….right?

“What happened to the humanitarian approach?”
I shrug. “Sometimes it’s just not enough.”
“You are crazy,” he says. “You are a crazy, amazing girl. And you scare the hell out of me.”

The characters. I loooooooved the characters. Schwab painted such a vivid canvas that I could actually see their facial expressions and guess their next move. Mackenzie was such a great main character to follow. She was strong, fierce, determined to do what was right and just for the archive and those who inhabited it. She started to fall for a boy….but didn’t ever let it get in the way of her judgement (Ha, well maybe a little, in a weird way, you’ll see (maybe, if you ever read it, lol)). And then there’s Wes. I just…I really liked this guy. He was sweet, funny, witty, kind, caring, and, most of all, vulnerable. They’ve been through so much so when they finally meet and start to talk and realize things….it was like finding a mirror of their own soul, in a way. And, while he wasn’t in it an overwhelming amount, he actually made me smile so big. He was just so cute and so sweet to Mac! In a way, and this is very very minuscule, he really really reminded me of Augustus Waters-only in his wit, loyalty, and charm. He had THAT type of thing going on. I dunno. I was immediately drawn to his quirky personality in just the same way as I was with Gus. So…for me…there was that.

“Looks like you’ve lost a couple fights of your own,” I say, running my fingers through the air near his hand, not daring to touch. “How did you get that?”
“A stint as a spy.”
A crooked line runs down the back of his hand. “And that?”
“Scuff with a lion.”
Watching Wesley lie is fascinating.
“And that?”
“Caught a piranha bare-handed.”
No matter how absurd the tale, he says it steady and simple, with the ease of truth. A scratch runs along his forearm. “And that?”
“Knife fight in a Paris alley.”
I search his skin for marks, our bodies drawing closer without touching.
“Dove through a window.”
“Icicle.”
“Wolf.”

(Oh, forgot-keepers can’t actually tell anyone that they are, indeed, keepers-no one knows of the archive. Also, when Kenzie, being a keeper, touches something, if there is a memory attached to it, she can see it. It’s so fascinating and I wanted to get it in my review somewhere. Imagine being able to see history through an inanimate objects’ perspective-a wall, a floor with blood on it, a teddy bear a child held…it could SOLVE MANY MYSTERIES…unless someone erased the memory or altered them…. see the dilemma?)

I may fangirl and obsess and flail about on my reviews when I love a guy or a story, but it’s rare you see me actually, out in the open, smiling as I read. Like, Wes and Kenzie just made me smile. In the midst of pandemonium, they brought something real and palpable to the book that made the words jump off the page for me. They still did their jobs. They still had other things going on. But when they were together, it just completed the story in a circumvent way that touched me deeply.

“Don’t look at me like that with those big brown eyes.”
“They’re not just brown,” he says. “They’re hazel. Can’t you see the flecks of gold?”
“Good God, how much time do you spend looking at yourself in the mirror each day?”
“Not enough, Mac. Not enough.” But the laughter is gone from his voice. “You’re clever, trying to distract me with my own good looks, but it won’t work. What’s going on?”

A side character that I also adored? Roland. He trusted. He sacrificed. He taught. He mentored. And he was her friend and savior. I loved him. He really brought the story to another level. He was so sweet, kind, and giving. And, most of all, he was so funny. If you read this and saw the scenarios she walked in on-him reading Lifestyle magazines in a library full of dead people, feet propped up on the desk, wearing red chucks despite being on duty-I loved him. So, it was very fun to read and learn more about him, as well.

What if echoes through my head as I hunt.
What if haunts me through the Narrows.
What if follows me home.

That’s all. Honestly. If you pick it up, the story speaks for itself. The characters speak for themselves. The way it all unwinds….you get the picture. It’s an impressive novel with intricate layers that you should pull back delicately…but you should pull them back, all the same. It is expertly woven with a funny flair for the dramatic concerning certain characters, and I don’t believe anyone would feel they are wasting their time. I certainly cannot wait to read the second. I only hope it’s as compelling as the first.

BOOK REVIEW: Biting Cold (Chicagoland Vampires #6) by Chloe Neill

BOOK REVIEW: Biting Cold (Chicagoland Vampires #6) by Chloe NeillBiting Cold (Chicagoland Vampires #6)
by Chloe Neill
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

By far my favorite in the series to date. It has a mix of everything that has made me fall in love with Ethan and Merit and their world, thus far:

-Action
-Peril
-Romance
-Angst
-Humor
-ETHAN
-ETHAN
-ETHAN
-ETH-eerrrrr

My keyboard must have stopped working for a second…hmm

Anyway….

I loved this. I have fifty-million quotes highlighted (Yes, LITERALLY fifty million, shut up) but this is a non-review. And I think the fact that I am STILL reading this series and it has kept my attention this long speaks for itself. I get bored so so easily! I am obsessed, entranced, unable to stop thinking about it….and it has become a problem.

Me every time I pick up one of these books:

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Oh what the Hell, maybe just ONE widdle quote:

His gaze went fierce, and he lifted my chin with his finger and his thumb. “I know you love her. I have no doubt of it. But if it comes down to a choice between you and her, my choice is already made.”
“Ethan-”
“No,” he said, crystalline green eyes boring into me. “You are my choice. I told you before-you are mine, by blood and bone. I won’t let her come between that, no matter how sick she is.”

Aaaaaaahhhhh mah gaaaahd, Ethan….okay, just one more…whoops

I looked at Ethan and smiled a little.
“I love you,” he mouthed.
…..
“I love you, too,” I mouthed back.

Okay. That last one was just for me-no one gets how big, how monumental that is. Muahaha. Okay, I’m doooone. ♥

BOOK REVIEW: Talon (Talon #1) by Julie Kagawa

BOOK REVIEW: Talon (Talon #1) by Julie KagawaTalon (Talon #1)
by Julie Kagawa
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

A ruse. That’s all it was. Pretend to like this girl. Pretend to have feelings, to pursue some kind of relationship. Earn her friendship and trust, knowing I might have to destroy it, and her, in the end.

Ruthless. Julie Kagawa is ruthless. Mad. Intoxicating…Brilliant. I just….I don’t get why people aren’t loving this one. Is it the content? Is it because it’s about dragons and you just can’t get past it? Is it the non-existent love triangle? The not-so-insta-love? Is it because it isn’t over-packed like an action movie full of explosions and power-plays? Is it the substance? OR, is it because it isn’t all about her abilities as a dragon and it focuses more on the romance? Well…see…that’s the problem: That’s why I loved it so much.

Those eyes. I felt like they pierced right through me; that if I didn’t break away now, they would peel me open to see what lay beneath. Deep within, the dragon stirred, growling. She didn’t like this human, I realized. Maybe he scared her, or the intensity of his gaze reminded her of a predator. Or maybe she felt that, if I stared at him much longer, I would lose myself in those stormy eyes and forget all about a certain golden-eyed rogue, waiting for me in the darkness.

This story isn’t about learning her abilities, about Talon itself, or even how she got to where she is now: It’s about being free. It’s about having one summer to be free from the system, to have fun, to not look at her past, to not face her chosen future, to fall in love. And, not only that, it’s about falling in love with the enemy. You know, that person that is sworn to kill you without blinking an eye? That person that would soon rather stab themselves in the eye than to be in the presence of the very thing they fear and loathe more than anything in the world. I mean, how could that ever work? A human and a dragon? But, as they find themselves wrapped in each others’ embrace, one undercover as a ploy to get close to the ‘sleeper’ and one actually being said sleeper, they start to wonder what it would be like to be normal, to stay frozen in that moment together and to never face those harsh realities and responsibilities ever again. But how could they ever be normal when they are both hiding a deadly secret-a deadly secret that could kill each other?

I wanted to spend more time with her; she was constantly in my thoughts, and right now the only thing I wanted was to lean in and kiss her. Which was, of course, disastrous for the mission, but I couldn’t help it. Somewhere between that day on the beach when I’d met her for the first time and the night of the party when we’d kissed in the ocean, she had become something more than a potential target. She had, very inexplicably, become the most important thing in my life.
And that terrified me.

This is Julie Kagawa-Her romance is unrivaled and she embraces forbidden love like she would coddle a child. No one compares and I admire her work greatly. Kagawa is the type of writer that can suck you in without you ever intending for it to happen. She writes beautifully and has a way with words, as my friend said, erasing any remnants of the novel before that you read and loved dearly and holding nothing back-Kagawa takes no prisoners-you will succumb to her writing and drown in her expertly woven pages…there is no way around it.

I clenched my fist around the railing, finally forcing myself to acknowledge what that meant. I’d always known, of course. It was always there, at the back of my mind; I just didn’t want to think about it. But if Ember was the sleeper…I would have to kill her.

If it’s possible, I think her writing is even better than before. This is so different from her previous novels and it really showed in this story. I didn’t once feel she was drawing ideas from her previous works and nothing felt recycled. It was fresh, clean, like a whole new slate. And despite the fact that I had my doubts on whether I would like this story or not, I never once thought, ‘oh, this might be a four,’ or ‘should I take a .5 star off?’. No, this was a five through and through-and as another friend said-she finally beat the 3 star book one curse! I always three star her first books in her series only to love and adore the rest of the remaining books. I am so happy with this book, it’s unreal-seriously.

I sighed again, tipping my head back. My skin was still flushed, whether from anger or adrenaline or both, and my dragon crackled and snapped in myriad different directions. I needed to calm down. I wished I had my board. It was impossible to stay tense while floating on the surface of the ocean, its cold, dark depths lulling you to sleep. The sea was fascinating. It always amazed me how calm and peaceful it was one moment, only to bear down on you a moment later with the power and savagery of a hurricane.

Ember and Garret were just…so fun to follow. Maybe at first I was skeptical as to how the alternating POV would work because she’s never done it before, but I loved every minute of it. I was never mad it switched to one or the other and I loved seeing the events through each of their eyes. I didn’t think it was possible, but I fell in love with yet another of her male leads. Garret, for real, doll, you better watch out-I. Am. Obsesssssed with you.

I found myself hating him, wanting to hurt him, to drive him away from the red-haired girl who was supposed to be mine.
Breathless, I slumped to the wall, numb with the realization. This anger, these illogical feelings of rage and possessiveness…I was jealous. I was jealous of a girl I was supposed to be stalking, seducing, for the sole purpose of revealing her true nature. This had become more than an objective, more than a mission.
I was falling for her
.

An undercover soldier out to kill the girl he’s falling in love with??? Come on. Come ooooooon. How. HOT. is. that? Every look, every touch, every caress…every kiss…..I couldn’t breathe. I was choking on butterflies, my heart swelled to immeasurable proportions. I was biting my lip and covering my mouth with the largest smile on my face because I couldn’t contain my geek out. I don’t know when or how, but he got under my skin…and every time he doubted himself or how he would ever be able to kill this girl he was holding and hoping wasn’t the sleeper, my heart broke a little more…and my evil side cackled without remorse.

At certain (okay, many) points near the end of the story I was gasping out loud, shooting my hand up to stifle my weird sounds, chanting ‘oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no…’. I was smiling so big and then tearing up when the hard decisions had to be made. It was a roller coaster of emotions-up, then down, up, then down, thrown to the side against a massive rock and then pummeled with the ocean waves, then up again. Not once was I bored and it came to a point where this was unputdownable, because I just didn’t know when that ball would drop and they would find out they were sworn enemies…and, hey, I loved those stolen kisses-I am a girl, after all.

Being with him did strange, twisty things to my insides. My dragon instincts did not approve; they still didn’t like this human with his amazing reflexes and bright, intense eyes. They eyes of a predator. But there was another part of me that couldn’t resist. And the thought of never seeing him again was unfathomable. Even if I knew it was probably for the best.

Jealousy (yaaas), lies, betrayal, true love, angst, and much more, this story became an instant favorite. The beginning was mild, I’ll give you all that. But I know Kagawa, and if I know anything, she’s hiding in the shadows with a malicious smile and steepled fingers because the pain will come. Oh, she’ll bring it. I don’t doubt that even for a second. I know her, and I know the end of this book was just the beginning of what we’ll face in the future books. Our little Ember (on a side note, how damn cute is that name? Ember. Like a spark, a flame, a fiery soul trapped and hidden in a tiny, harmless body. So clever and fun-I love her spirit.) and my dear Garret are in for a world of trouble. I don’t know what all is to come or what’s up Kagawa’s sleeve. But I do know one thing: She is a genius and I’ll never doubt her ideas again. Because, in the end, she got me, I’m rooting for the impossible: I want that human and dragon together, damn it!

 

 

 

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Urrrmmmmmmm….another book by Julie fuckin’ Kagawa??


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In 2014, you say?


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YES


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PLEASE! ! ! ! !


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Never in a million years would I have guessed that a book about dragons, DRAGONS, would excite me…but I would read ANYTHING this woman writes-now…..GIVE IT TO ME IMMEDIATELY

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BOOK REVIEW: Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3) by Maggie Stiefvater

BOOK REVIEW: Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3) by Maggie StiefvaterBlue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3)
by Maggie Stiefvater
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

“Blue,” he warned, but his voice was chaotic. This close, his throat was scented with mint and wool sweater and vinyl car seat, and Gansey, just Gansey.
She said, “I just want to pretend. I want to pretend that I could.”
He breathed out.
What was a kiss without a kiss?

Oh, Richard Gansey III, you’ve swept me away again!!!!

It was too much, it was too little….it was perfect.

Let’s take a moment to breathe and reminisce about the latest installment of one of my favorite series on the face of this earth. Let’s think back to every heart-stopping, soul-crushing, and earth-shattering moment within this series thus far. Let’s remember where this all started-a girl, a graveyard, St. Mark’s Eve….an apparition of my beloved Gansey. In case you’re just tuning in or live under a rock, since Blue saw dear Gansey in the graveyard on that night, he is destined to die within the year. Not only that, but whenever Blue, our heroine, kisses her true love….he will die.

She wished she could still evoke that Blue who despised him. She wished she knew if Adam would feel terrible about this. She wished she knew if fighting this feeling would make Gansey’s foretold end destroy her any less.

Beautiful, poetic, magical, out-of-this-world writing, Maggie Stiefvater ensnares me in her web, tangling me up and not letting me go. I can’t focus on reality when I am in this world. Nothing else matters but seeing how much closer Gansey is to his fate and what the others are willing to do to prevent it. I sit and I stare ahead at my computer screen, trying to work, but failing as my stomach flutters because I am reminiscing about a Gansey mannerism, a Gansey and Blue encounter, his touch….it’s all too much and I am a heartbroken fool longing for any and every opportunity that might save him. And, even more than that, I crave for the moment when (when, it has to be when or I’ll die) he and Blue can kiss and he won’t keel over and cease to exist. The emotions I feel while reading these stories are palpable and written all over my face. Everything that happens is amazing, but everything that happens is terrible. Nothing good comes from a curse, and Maggie Stiefvater isn’t afraid to do what she’s foretold-for our sakes, I sure hope it was always in her writing plan to find a loophole…..if not, she doesn’t seem the type to stray from her maniacal prophecy because we are all a bunch of love-sick saps who fell head-over-heels for a walking dead man (boy).

There was something unfamiliar about him when he arrived in the Pig. Something ferocious about his eyes, some sort of bite in his faint smile. Something altogether hectic and unsettled. She stood on the ledge of his smile and looked over the edge.
This wasn’t the Gansey she’d seen in the kitchen earlier; this was the Gansey she secretly called at night.

Before I start on the characters and why I officially love them all (yes, even Adam, shocker, right??!!) I want to say one last thing before I forget. Everyone knows how an old movie reel sounds, right? Well, these books are like that. They play out in front of me with a tick, tick, tick and a hazy, grainy feel. It almost unfolds in a slow-motion sort of way, letting you savor each individual word. They’re special, ya know? They’re wholly individual and unlike anything I’ve ever read-Maggie isn’t afraid to play things out just how she wants them to. No one sways her vote, undermines her confidence, or altogether makes her re-think what she’s doing. These stories stay at the pace they’ve set since book one, and I have never seen anything played out otherwise. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again-when I’m reading Raven Boys, it’s like sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair on a hot summer day with only a light breeze to cool me. Each story is like sweet, smooth honey slowly pouring out of a Ball jar…they aren’t hurried, the writing is poetical and un-rushed, and I’m utterly enraptured by each and every page. That’s what reading is all about.

The stars winked through the beech leaves. She’d read that new stars tended to form in pairs. Binary stars, orbiting in close proximity, only becoming single stars when their partner was smashed off them by another pair of wildly spinning new stars. If she pretended hard enough, she could see the multitude of pairs clinging to each other in the destructive and creative gravity of their constellations.
Impressive.

******

Orla wasn’t wrong, of course. But what she didn’t realize about Blue and her boys was that they were all in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her, or one another, analyzing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running gag, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when next they would be with one another. Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn’t all-encompassing, that wasn’t blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she’d had this kind, she didn’t want the other.

I think I’ll mention Adam before anyone else because, well, I’ve hated him since book one. He was whiny, petulant, and he altogether gave Blue and Gansey problems (both individually and separately) from the beginning. That’s not to say I’m not biased because I’ve wanted Blue and Gansey together since the beginning, but it wouldn’t deter my thinking in this manner-he was cruel and unkind to people who only deemed themselves his friends and wanted to help, and to me, that is unforgivable. Gansey may have first started as someone who didn’t realize he was saying the wrong things, but even now as he has grown to understand that some things are better left unsaid or rephrased for those around him, he’s always been consistent-he loves his friends to a fault, and he’s only trying to help. And, again, to me, it’s nasty and unnecessary to fault your best friend because he is more privileged than you. But, that’s neither here nor there. My point, which I’m finally getting to, is that Adam, himself, was selfish in the first two installments even as he accused Gansey of acting in such a manner because of his wealth and how he takes it for granted (it all comes back to the wealth). But, something happened this time around-he has matured. He didn’t want to fight with his friends, he realized the error of his ways and wanted to improve his attitude, even if he had to swallow some of his stubborn pride along with it. He was funny, witty, and helpful. This is the Adam I’ve always wanted, and here he is. He has redeemed himself (a fact I never thought possible). Finally.

“No, it’s not. It’s disgusting of me.” Gansey didn’t open his eyes. “Everything has gotten so ugly. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
Everything had begun ugly for Adam, but he knew what Gansey meant. His noble and oblivious optimistic friend was slowly opening his eyes and seeing the world for what it was, and it was filthy, and violent, and profane, and unfair. Adam had always thought that was what he wanted-for Gansey to know. But now he wasn’t sure. Gansey wasn’t like anyone else, and suddenly Adam wasn’t sure that he really wanted him to be.

Ronan!!!! I’ve always liked Ronan. There’s never been a question of that. But in this installment, I grew to adore him. He became an absolute favorite of mine. He was funny, raw, unfiltered-with a single tear, he became more human to me. His feelings became tangible and recognizable, whereas before I think I was missing his humanity. I know that’s weird, but Ronan has always been the wildcard of the group. And while I’ve always liked him, he always felt unreal and a tad…inhuman? to me. I loved his evil smirks, his snark, almost everything he said made me bust out laughing. Needless to say I have yet another Raven Boy to fret over…my heart can’t handle all four of these boys being in danger, but inevitably so, it will happen.

Instead she said, “You know, you’re not such a shithead.”
“No,” Ronan replied, “really I am.”

There was such a creepy undertone to this novel. And I think quite a few of those times the source of that malicious atmosphere centered around Noah. Yet again I’ll say that I fell even harder for yet another guy. He’s always been sweet, our darling Noah, but he was also hilarious (and wholly creepy) in this one. He always said the obvious thing that made any situation lighter and a whole lot funnier (to us as readers), and I couldn’t help but to grasp onto that comic relief. It was spread throughout, as it always is in a Maggie novel, but it centered around Noah, Ronan, and Adam in this one. (And Blue’s inner thoughts, but I’m getting ahead of myself)

He remembered this: He had been lost.
Which meant that if he had come alone, he would have been dead now.
“Sorry,” he said. “I was being sort of a dick.”
“Noah replied, “We weren’t going to say it.”
“I was,” Blue said.

I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit one thing: this story is, and always will be, to me, the Gansey and Blue show. I’m sorry. I love every single character without a doubt, but Gansey is my first priority and my true love of the story. I was smiling ear-to-ear for the first fifty percent, just happy to be back in Gansey’s world of mint leaves, Welsh kings, and new love for his best friend’s ex-Blue. One of the cutest things about Gansey since day one, even above his kindness and motivated way of life, is how he’s always had a soft spot for Blue, even though he didn’t realize it. He calls her Jane, just because he wants to, and I melt every time he says it. That’s his personal coined name for her, and it kills me every time it’s repeated. He breaks my heart with his loyalty and devotion to his friends (and now crush, Jane), and one scene in particular brought tears to my eyes-(view spoiler) And…I dunno-it warmed my heart. His curiosity, his strength, his palpable fear, it touches me and burns deep in my soul. He will always be a favorite male lead of mine, no matter his fate in book four.

Casually, out of view of Ronan, making sure Adam was still sleeping, Gansey dangled his hand between the driver’s seat and the door. Palm up, fingers stretched back to Blue.
This was not allowed.
He knew it was not allowed, by rules he himself had set. He would not permit himself to play favorites between Adam and Ronan; he and Blue couldn’t play favorites in this way, either. She would not see the gesture, anyway. She would ignore it if she did. His heart hummed.
Blue touched his fingertips.
Just this-
He pinched her fingers lightly, just for a moment, and then he withdrew his hand and put it back on the wheel. His chest felt warm.
This was not allowed.

In all reality, there was no way I wouldn’t have loved this-it’s impossible. But, there were many ways I could have been disappointed in different areas. But, as it was, I loved every page and every quote and every idiosyncrasy. The banter for these books is unrivaled and unlike any other I have ever seen, taking bickering to an almost educated level. Some of the banter is petty, of course, but it still has a different quality to it that I admire. Ronan was the best at banter, though-any person he went up against, it was hilarious. Even he and Blue had great chemistry in this installment…one scene in particular makes my heart soar. Both in the beginning and the end Ronan proves he’d risk it all for them (which we knew already)-but we never saw such loyalty to Blue. I loved that aspect. Blue’s inner dialogue was cute and funny, adding yet another intricate layer to this finely woven masterpiece. This was complex story-telling at it’s finest. My only regret? I read it way too fast. Now I have to wait a year for the tragic (or maybe not so tragic? Please, Maggie, Pleeeeeeease??!!) final installment. With the unraveling of book four I’m sure something wicked this way will come…..and here I am devouring the third book in one damn day.

But the horror was his spine, bent back on itself. It was his hand, pressed to his throat. It was his breath-a gasp, a gasp, a choked-off word. It was his fingers, shaking as he held them to his mouth. It was his eyes, open too wide, too bright, cast up to the ceiling. Seeing only pain.

My final exclamation, true story, as the final page was withering away before me:
“Oh, my God. Oh no.”

Guess there’s nothing left to do but wait for hell to inhabit the tiny town of Henrietta. Or has it already done so?


“Queens and kings
Kings and queens
Blue lily, lily blue
Crowns and birds
Swords and things
Blue lily, lily blue”

*****************************************

Aaahhhhhh Omg-Prologue and Excerpt HERE-

http://www.scribd.com/doc/238426271/S…

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG GOMGOMGOGMFGOSsfsadfashfsdafasdkjfdahfjasdhfjasdhfhsdafhsdafhasdhfhsadfhasdfhsadhfhasdhfjsdahfsdjafhasdhjfhsadjkfhkjsdahfjkhasdkjfhsdkjahfasdhjfhjashfksh

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Yes, that about sums THAT up perfectly.

Maggie you evil genius….I can only imagine the amazing amount of peril you have up your sleeve for this book…

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I NEED this book like I need my next breath. That excerpt???!!!! Maggie you about ruined all my hopes and dreams for my dear, dear, dear, sweet Gansey.

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If you haven’t read this series, you are SERIOUSLY missing out. If you haven’t, you must read it IMMEDIATELY.

See what all the

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is about.

GO ON. NOW. READ IT. What are you F’in WAITING FOR?! GO.

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