Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - The Raven Boys

Gives me Lost Boy vibes. I have mixed feelings on this book. It was one where I felt reluctant to pick it up, but enjoyed my time listening to it. At the same time, nothing really happens and there are a lot of unanswered questions (which I am sure are touched on in the next books). I just enjoyed it, but didn't love it.

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theespressoedition's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

What the actual heck did I just read? No, really. What did I just read? I have no clue. I really don't know what even happened in this book - but I'm invested? How did that happen?

My introduction to Maggie's writing was with The Wolves of Mercy Falls. I read those as they came out, became totally obsessed (I was 100% a wolf-girl in middle and high school), and proceeded to read them a few more times over the years. I didn't even know that she was popular for other books. Leave it to bookstagram to show me the error of my ways. Apparently, I've been missing out with The Raven Cycle, so I gave them a go.

I was hooked from the first line of this book. It was such a crazy intro to the story. But from there on out, I had no idea what was going on. Raising some Arthurian guy from the not-dead? Ley lines? Who even is Neeve? I'm baffled.

Basically, I'm going to continue the series for a couple of reasons: 1) I am curious to see what happens next, despite not really even knowing what happened already. 2) Bookstagram seems to be obsessed and apparently Ronan Lynch is #todiefor. 3) I loved The Wolves of Mercy Falls so I have high hopes for this series overall? Sort of?

Wish me luck.

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keen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

The Raven Boys is an enjoyable book. It's not usually the kind I'd read, as I tend to avoid Young Adult novels since the days of Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, and Legend by Marie Lu. This was not helped by the summary, with its focus on "true love's deathly kiss" and an apparently big romance aspect. It all looked so cliché. It took a friend suggesting me The Raven Boys, a praise from acquaintances, some spoilers, and, finally, the first friend wanting to read the book with me. That was when I gave in. Another friend buying me the book sure did help too.

And I was pleasantly surprised. It starts off seeming like a romantic-focused story, but while romance is a factor, it's written well and has big plot relevance other than love-triangle nonsense meant to keep people guessing who will be The One. Based on comments on other fans, they also acknowledge that the summary is misleading and doesn't give a good idea of the actual contents of the book.

As I continued reading, I had to reconcile with the fact that the book was slower than I'm used to. Most stories I read are fast-paced. Horror books are the ones I accept for being medium or slow-paced so atmosphere can be build up. I'd say this book was medium-paced, with the slow beginning used to build up characters in preparation for the later acts and future books. Aside from that, I have to take some blame in how slowly I read. The struggles of the character Adam were so relatable to me that I had moments where I wanted to drop the book. Luckily, I kept going.

By the end, I was deep into the story. Despite reading another book with this one, I had to keep myself from buying the rest of the series the moment I finished. I'm excited to see where this story goes.

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swampmonster's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Good fucking god I forgot how good this book was. Miss Stiefvater your MIND.

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triptych_turning's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read this book with my school's book club, and I really enjoyed it! I loved the characters, I enjoyed the premise, and the writing style was fun and immersive. This is a really good book, and I DEFINITELY recommend it.

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