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.
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The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, Book 1)
By Maggie Stiefvater
I’m not sure when, exactly, I fell in love with this book, but I noticed that love by page 60, when the author produced two quotable lines within two pages (one which just happens to already be a personal mantra). This is an urban paranormal read that I couldn’t put down.
Blue Seargent, the story’s protagonist, lives in a house full of women psychics. Not carnival fortune-tellers, but legitimate psychics. Her talent? Amplifying the power of others. That’s it. That’s also why it’s so surprising when Blue interacts with the spirit of a boy named Gansey on the corpse road. What’s even more surprising is when she meets him in person shortly afterward and becomes caught up in his quest to find the body of the Welsh king Glendower. Blue’s not sure whether she wants to kill Gansey or kiss him, but either action would mean his demise.
This story is filled with so many things that I love: Welsh mythology, a snarky protagonist, humor, and a genre-based story that doesn’t rehash all of the old genre tropes. And ravens! Did I mention the raven?
I normally don’t read paranormal stories, but the title and blurb of this book caught my eye, so I gave it a try. I’m so glad I did! I devoured the book in two sittings, and am on my way to buy the rest of the series.
A caveat for those who are sensitive to things of the occult (in the way some are sensitive to the magic in Harry Potter): This is a paranormal story, so it deals in a minor way with things like tarot cards, demons (who are presented as evil, not desirable), and witchcraft (also presented as undesirable). If any of these things is a sensitive area for you, you may want to pass on this book.
I loved this quirky set of books following a group of private school boys on a quest and their interactions with a townie girl who lives in a house full of psychics. Magical and mysterious things begin to happen. I was very well entertained.
I love the Gansey gang! An intriguing read!
This novel takes emotional tension to a whole new level. Fascinating world, incredible characterization and an intense plot means a solid five stars from me.
The interaction between the characters is believable and entertaining. The world built around the characters makes you feel like you are there with the details so realistic that you can picture every bit of it in your mind.
As someone who grew up in Virginia near an all boys’ boarding school and who now lives in the mountains Stiefvater describes, it felt like this book was written for me. Add to it that it’s magical realism with a great dose of the mystical question of ley lines and ghosts, and I was hooked. Plus, the characters are complicated and sometimes unlikeable, and yet, I loved them anyway. Totally fun. Can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
This is my second book by Maggie Stiefvater and she is simply amazing! The characters draw me in. The story has a mysterious pull that’s a bit dark around the edges. I enjoyed the mystical aspect and surprises. I will be continuing this series.
AH MAZING READ!!!! LOVE it!!! I bought the REAL BOOK version I liked it so much. I’ve read them MANY MANY times never get tired of them. The characters are amazing, you’ll fall in love with them, hate some of them, fear some, want to BE some of them. Their interactions are incredible, insane, sweet, innocent, horrific and every other emotion there is. Once you begin you will not be able to put it down and when you do finish it you’ll want MORE!! and luckily there are about 5 books in the COMPLETED series!!! and each one gets even better than the previous one and that AIN”T easily done. Get ready for an amazing adventure with new friends and enemies.
This book is nothing short of EPIC!
This is obviously a story ruled by characters and that fact couldn’t make me happier. Each one felt 100% genuine and real and absolutely original. And while I loved Blue and the boys, I absolutely adored Maura, Persephone and Calla, if our fair writer decided to give them a series of their own, I’d be stoked.
But that doesn’t mean that these kids don’t have my strict attention and heart, hook, line and sinker. I have an especially large soft spot for Adam and Gansey. The two of them probably couldn’t be any more different and I totally understand where they’re both coming from. And in the end they’re both looking for the same thing; understanding. And both managed to break my heart and get me all emotional.
Under normal circumstances I’m not a huge fan of battles, but the climax definitely had me on the edge of my seat and the pages turned faster and faster until we came to book one’s conclusion. I’m most definitely ready to continue this adventure!
Magnificent!!
Love this whole trilogy, but you can read as a stand alone book. It seamlessly combines reality and fantasy with lots of twists. Fantastic writer!
This book is creative and unique. Great characters with so much depth and mystery. Once you start reading you’ll be grateful the whole series is written.
I have absolutely no words to describe how wonderful this book was. The only problem is that now i have to wait to get the other books of the series.
Loved this book for its paranormal element of seers and crossing over.
I finally listened to the audio book and I couldn’t believe how much I loved this book. Its so amazingly great. Everything you could ever want in a book its got it and more. So in love with this book.
I would love to see this book made into a movie! As soon as I finished this book, I immediately started surfing the net to see if there is any indication when and if a movie was in the works. According to the author’s website a movie is not in the works (and it seems she prefers that). Understandable though because the book is fantastic and a movie might not live up to the book.
Here’swhat I loved:
– Great characters that are wonderfully developed
– A fascinating, intriguing plot
– Mysterious and haunting
– Leaves the reader wanting more
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
I would love to see this series on the big screen, or even better on TV as a series….so freaking good
Wish I could have read this as a kid.
This is fascinating…..have you ever read a book that’s smarter than you?
If I were going to review this book in only one word it would be: perfect. Luckily nobody is asking me to sum it up quite that briefly so I’ll go on to say that I was absolutely obsessed with these characters by chapter 6. Like, texting friends to ask why they hadn’t insisted I read it sooner, looking at fanart on Pinterest, and absolutely purchasing all the rest of the books in the series. This book is magic, not just the actual magic either, but the relationships between the characters feel real and intriguing and yet as a reader you know there’s still so much more to learn about them as they grow through the events of the book. From the girl named Blue who swears she hates Raven Boys but then somehow manages to love and be loved by a whole pack of them to ringleader Gansey to poor but prideful Adam to mysteriously dangerous Ronan to shyly invisible Noah, they form not just a group of friends but their own little family who protect each other, call each other on their BS, love one another with near Herculean effort and fight like it too. I’m heading straight into book 2 because the last line of this book alone would have hooked me even if the rest hadn’t. Excelsior.