Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

18 reviews

bugcollector's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-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? No

3.25

Did Lana Del Rey design the cover

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friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

3.75

This is a very good book. Especially considering that i was written 10 years ago. It was exactly my level of creepy. Not scary. I cannot tolerate scary. The characters are great, it is so very engaging, good dialogues, supernatural, witchy, dark academia, perfect for a busy fall read for people who do not want to be scared but do not want to feel left out either. Would recommand. I do not think that the ending is very strong. (But I guess it’s okay considering that it is a first in a series.)

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jennylarue's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

If I had to teach a writing class on how to write the perfect character, I would just give them this book. Spectacular and Will Patton’s narration of the audiobook was the best medium to digest this story :) 

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jenarae's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.5


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andromeda_1998's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The raven boys is one of those book that just checks al my boxes. I know it isn’t perfect but I enjoyed it so much that I don’t care. 

Keywords: 
Found Family, enemies to friends to lovers, supernatural, multiple POV. 

Plot 
Blue is a 16 year old girl who has been  told her whole live that when she kisses her soulmate he would die. She vowed to never kissed a boy in her life. But when she helps her clairvoyant aunt at the church on St Mark’s eve, she sees the ghost of a boy who is fated to die that year. She is told that the only reason she would be able to she him is if he’s her soulmate or if she is the person that kills him. He’s name is Gansey and she soon finds out that he’s on a mission to find the legendary king Glendower. Gansey isn’t doing this alone. He is part of a close knit group who searches for the king together. 

The plot of this book is surprising. The book has a lot of twists and turns and doesn’t shy away from the darker parts of life, so if you decide to read it check the triggerwarnings! 

Characters 
The characters are very lovable, at least they are in my opinion. They have been very well done. All the characters have flaws and good sides. They are very well rounded and believable. 

Worldbuilding 
This book is part of the fantasy realism genre. That means that the story plays out in our world. Maggie Stiefvater has created an extra layer to our own world and does this tremendously well. I really enjoyed reading this story in her world! 

Recommendations
I would for hundred procent recommend this book. I think fans of beautiful creatures and Legendborn would particularly enjoy this one!  

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myarae's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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foxgloveinspace's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5


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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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