lunep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Alcohol, Death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Classism, Self harm, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Vomit
kirstenf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Classism
Minor: Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Kidnapping
sundayfever's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Classism, Death, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Gun violence
trintrin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
THE CHARACTERS. I love the characters. I can't stress how much I love the characters. I would willingly read a thousand one-shots and spin-offs about them even though it's only been one out of four books so far.
- Maura, Calla, Persephone, and the other psychic women were very interesting to read about. I hope to get to know them more in the future books. Especially Persephone, she's got me in her charms.
- Blue is such a refreshing character, I love her so much. I thought she's gonna be one of those whiny YA protagonists,
Spoiler
especially considering her forbidden love and kind of poor background story,- I don't really have an opinion on Ronan yet, but I smell a character backstory/arc up ahead. I shall deliver my judgement after that :D
Spoiler
Although, I do admit, those little moments where Ronan actually expressed his emotions and his love for the others or Chainsaw made me feel warm- Adam is probably the most realistic character out of everyone here. He was my first favourite character, I hope he pulls through all the way to the end.
Spoiler
His relationship(?) with Blue was very pure, but obviously it's not gonna be the endgame. I pray for him and my future self.- Gansey, oh Gansey. I have a soft spot towards Gansey. Something about the way he cares so much for the Raven Boys, and eventually, Blue, makes me want to not read this book anymore. Because I absolutely do not want him to die. He's such a FANTASTIC friend and he is the glue holding the group together. I genuinely cannot imagine how the boys would even survive without him. I want a friend like Gansey, and not just because he's filthy rich.
Spoiler
I don't really sense any chemistry between Gansey and Blue so far. I kinda hope they don't have to resort to that, but oh well. A prophecy is a prophecy, but ig prophecies can also be misleading- And finally, saving the best boy for the last, NOAHHHH.
Spoiler
He went from a very suspicious background character to this adorable, cutest little child gahhhhhh someone please protect him from all the harm in the worldTHE PLOT. The first 50%-ish part of the book had a very weird pacing, so much so that it nearly took me a month to finish it. I truly did not care about Glendower or the ley lines or Aglionby, but it was the characters that kept me going. Lucky I did, because after setting up the world and everything about halfway through, the book picks up the pace. One second you think you've got it, and the next second it goes poof. It keeps you guessing all the way till the end.
Spoiler
I literally just finished reading the book, but what wouldn't I give to find out that Noah Czerny's been dead all along for the first time. I was convinced he was sneaking out trying to wake up the ley line on his own, but turns out the poor child wasn't even alive in the first place. I'm so glad the others didn't freak out and suddenly turn Noah into this ghost who haunts them now, but they gave a logical explanation on why he appeared and disappeared at certain times.The amount of foreshadowing this book has?? Noah quite literally said that the reason he is always cold is because he's been dead for seven years in the fourth chapter AND NO ONE QUESTIONED IT? Every time Noah makes an appearance has some sort of clue to his situation (the way he threw up after seeing that car and no one bothered to think why?) and yet I never guessed that he was actually dead, just that he's sketchy. And the way it matched up with Gansey's hornet death backstory and Whelk's Czerny backstory, it's incredible, really.
Whelk, I thought he's a weirdo who turns out to be a good-ish guy in the end. The psychopath straight up murdered Noah. Little bitch deserved every bit of his stupid death. Noah's funeral actually made me kinda teary eyed, but I didn't expect them to commit literal grave robbery wtaf 😭 we stan.
One thing that made me feel so relieved in a way was when Adam's father (he can go to hell) slapped him, he actually lost his hearing in a ear. That's it. It's gone. No partial hearing loss, or temporary deafness that will soon be back to normal, or magical abilities to heal his condition, or super hear with his other ear. Nothing. It's just an injury that can never be fixed. This is one thing that I never really liked about fantasy. Like why make the characters lose something as important as a body part only to immediately fix it in someway that its loss is not a big deal at all? I really hope Adam stays this way at least for a good long time, and that his partial deafness affects and slows him down every once in a while. (I understand how sadistic this sounds, but we really need more disabled characters who are actually disabled)
Overall, if only the pacing in the first half hadn't been dogshit, I would've given this five stars. As it is, I hope we can rectify that in the next one :D (although I still don't really care about Glendower, I'm just here for the lovely people and some vibes)
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Blood, Body horror, and Gun violence
Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
obviousthings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Spoiler
What exactly are the consequences of Adam's sacrifice, and the ley line being woken? His whole character arc was leading up to that, and during that scene I thought for sure he was going to be possessed by the spirit of Cabeswater or something, but it felt like... nothing happened? Neeve disappearing also felt odd and anticlimactic. I don't expect everything to be explained in the first book of a series, but it felt like that whole scene in the forest ultimately didn't affect anything much.Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Child death, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
emohell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Cursing, Child death, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol
ifoundcallie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Classism, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Child death
Minor: Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Grief, Death of parent, Suicide, Vomit, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Spoiler
Ritual sacrifice, they dig up a grave to move someone’s bones, someone is trampled to deathitsjadenbaby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcohol and Death
Minor: Violence, Animal death, Gun violence, and Sexism
nevermoregothic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Death, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Gaslighting, and Suicidal thoughts
zoiejanelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Stiefvater’s writing is so immersive, so poignant, so visceral. reading this reminded me why i loved the Shiver series so much, and compels me to read more of her work.
not only is the writing style utterly gorgeous, but the pacing and intricate plots are just divine. i won’t say everything i’ve read so far has made total sense, but the way the sub-plots and characters arcs are interwoven kept me on my toes and invested the entire time.
i had no idea Blue was the main character and i couldn’t be more pleased. she’s raw, and hilarious, and relatable, and i enjoy her POV the most. she is definitely the key to this whole mystery of Glendower and i am so excited to see the extent of her gift(s) in the rest of the series.
i’m in love with Adam, with Ronan, and I WASN’T AT FIRST BUT NOW I AM IN LOVE WITH GANSEY. and of course, i adore Noah. i loved getting to know each of them and watching their individual stories unfold little by little throughout, seeing their motivations become clear and watching them start to grow, and i cannot wait to see where this marvelous, treacherous, magical treasure(ish) hunt takes them next.
and here’s the deal. i despise love triangles. (there isn’t really one here [yet] but there is some complex teenage crushing happening) but oh my lord i am so invested and in love with Blue’s big Love Dilemma and i’m a total sucker for characters doing their damndest to fight destiny.
i have tooooooo many things to say about this book, but all involve spoilers so i’ll just leave this here.
incredible read, i am immediately moving on to the next book now!!!
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Child abuse
Moderate: Classism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, and Body horror
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Medical content, and Grief