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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I was really getting into this with the female perspective. She was likeable, I felt emotion with her. Then we got to the male part which quite frankly there was so much information it was hard to grasp. Much like trying to enjoy a car manual. I looked at the reviews and people who love the book are even saying you have to read the entire series in order to appreciate the first book. I’m sorry but every single book needs to be able to stand on it’s own merit. Not for me.
One of my top three books ever. No, seriously.
This was a hauntingly beautiful book narrated by the amazing Will Patton. I have heard so many good things about this audiobook and was not disappointed.
This story takes place in Henrietta, Virgnia. Blue is a teenager who lives with her family of psychics. She doesn’t have her own psychic powers, but she seems to amplify everyone’s power and energy. Her mother had a premonition that Blue’s true love, the boy she kisses, will die. Her mother has warned her time and time again about this vision – but Blue is convinced that she’ll just never fall in love.
Every year, her mother has visions of the those who will die in the coming year. For the first time ever, Blue is able to see someone. He’s a teenage boy named Gansey, a boy she’s never met from a school she never associates with. Why is she able to see and hear him? Is he her true love? Did she cause his death?
As fate would have it, Blue encounters Gansey and his friends at her work. He seems like the typical spoiled rich boy from Aglionby Ivy-League prep school. He is always with his friends Adam, Ronan, and Noah – a group of misfits who follow the top dog, Gansey. On the surface, Gansey seems like just another bored, listless rich kid. But his secret is that he is obsessed with finding ley lines, energy portals that may free the deceased Welsh king, Glendower. Something is special about Henrietta and people will do anything to uncover its secrets.
The characters are so rich and well developed. The boys are all very different characters, with varying backgrounds and temperaments. Their dynamic shifts when Blue begins to interact with them more, and Blue herself begins to change. She is able to see beyond her family and the limitations imposed on her by her mother’s vision. She learns more about her role in this world of spirits, energy, and magic. There is a mystical and mysterious element to this book. It will enthrall you and keep you guessing until the end.
I have always liked Stiefvater’s writing and this is no exception. I enjoyed this first act of a series. There were a few whiplash moments in the dialogue but overall, really liked her character development.
I love the way Maggie Steifvater expresses herself through the unique perspectives of the characters in her book. It’s the kind of book you want to just keep reading and when it’s done, it’s satisfying and complete but you still want more.
The kind of book that makes you think and wonder for days after you put it down.
I love the Raven Boys!
Honestly, this book wasn’t what I was expecting. I was expecting it to take place in a different world, like The Cruel Prince, or for it to be something like Serpent & Dove where it took place on Earth, but it felt like a different world. This book didn’t. This book felt like it took place here and now, and I loved it.
The plot, the story, this whole book is so creative. I am all here for it! There is nothing I loved more than uncovering the mysteries with the boys and Blue. I was NOT expecting any of the magical elements to appear, and I was not expecting any of the twists that came. I didn’t even see the ending coming! I was just too captivated by the book to see what was in front of me or not.
I am in love with all of the characters. Blue has some character growth, but I don’t think she has as much growth as Ronan and Adam had. I think that Gansey and Noah had similar amounts of growth, and that they would be placed between Blue (last) and Ronan and Adam (first). I really enjoyed seeing all of their development, how their differences bring them together, and to see how their friendships function. The boys clearly have a deep connection with each other to where I think you could say they need each other. Blue being added to the group felt like another piece of the puzzle being put into place, rather than an outsider trying to weave their way into an impenetrable force.
I’m so glad I gave this book a chance. Even though it felt a little too descriptive at first, it mellowed out and it is definitely one of my favorites. I highly recommend giving it a shot!
This author is new to me and I listened to the audible version of the story. I wish I had enjoyed the narrators voice but I didn’t so that took away from the story. I had no idea what to expect but I enjoyed the characters in this story. I loved Blue and her whole family. Gansey is the reasonable one. Adam was sweet and I felt sorry for him. I was happy he finally did what he had to do when it came to his father. Ronan and his sour mood took some getting use to but he wasn’t a bad person, he just didn’t have the motivation. However, his brother Declan was a jerk. There’s so much magical elements happening within this story that I’m not sure where to even begin. I thought Noah was going to disappear after everything but I was happy he was still there in the end. Although I did enjoy the characters, I’m not sure if I will continue this series.
This is UF of the people dealing with magic and weirdness in the real world vs kickass heroine fights vampires etc kind. I like both kinds. If you do too, or if you want a different kind of UF (it’s also YA), then check this series out. Beautiful writing and a great series.
I love everything by this author; her writing style is just beautiful, sprinkled with metaphors so sharp they could cut you – “his smile was a knife waiting to strike” – and her characters are fascinating.
So I was introduced to this world in entirely the wrong order, by first reading Call Down the Hawk. I loved that book so much I had to find out where all those wonderful characters came from, and I wish I would have made the journey sooner. This world is fantastic, with enough paranormal spookiness to draw you in and not let go. Her characters are so delightfully detailed and nuanced, and the prose is unexpectedly captivating. I cannot recommend this book enough and cannot wait to devour the rest of the series.
I am shocked at how much I loved this series. Not because I didn’t except it to be good, but because it takes a lot for a story to suck me in the way this one had.
I did a reread recently after Maggie Stiefvater’s twitter read-along, and I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed this entire series. A good series for inventive, close-to-our present worldbuilding, engaging characters, and genuine stakes. The world feels fully inhabited– even the side characters are intriguing. Stiefvater is also a master of foreshadowing a twist you won’t see coming until you reread the book. Highly recommended.
New favorite series!
I give it 2 1/2 stars because I only got to chapter 8. It would’ve been ch. 6 but I made myself try to finish it. This book just isn’t for me.
The writing is just out there for my liking. Over describes every word. And the way the boys talk is just too much. Repetition of certain words.
Examples-
1. “The fact was that she’d never been flirted with by someone who she wanted to succeed at it.”
2. “Don’t you feel it? Don’t you feel …?” “Feel what?” Gansey despised fighting with Adam…
Finally, he replied: “Observed.”
3. “…There was something pregnant about the night, he thought, something out of sight opening its eyes.”
I just didn’t want to waste any more of time.
I loved this whole series. I mean, I devoured it.
I love so much about The Raven Boys. First, the writing itself: I could read this book over and over just to savor the author’s word choices and phrases. Then the characters: the contrasting houseful of women and the band of boys. The author has created people that I wish were real because I would so much like to hang out with them. In a way this is the teen age girls fantasy: to be the object of interest to a group of boys, lots of underlying sexual tension but no actually sex. However, this book goes beyond that rather well=worn premise. Blue, the girl is very genuine and forthright while each of the boys is screwed up to some degree. No , she does not save them. They team up on a mission to find Glendower, the Raven King. I am not giving an adequate description of the book or the characters. I guess the key words I would use are: charming, clever, humane, insightful, realistic and magical.
Never forget it
Beautifully written!!! Blue is such a feminist ohmygod I luv her so much!!! Also I feel like the characters in this book are those characters that you can’t stop comparing to other characters bc you love them so much
I enjoyed every moment I’ve spent with these characters.
Lyrical writing in an absorbing YA fantasy.