A review by const_elle_ations
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Rating: 4.75(?) stars
I really just...love this series so freaking much? I think it might be my new favorite, and if not, definitely in the top five? I'll have to finish the series and see how it all plays out. This review won't be able to do this series justice, but I'll try lol.
So for most books I feel like the words are mostly a vehicle for a really great story, but like...in this, the writing is just so pretty and poetic and the words are a piece of art themselves. I just love her style so much. She has this amazing way of painting a picture with only a few words. Like: "Ronan Lynch lived with every sort of secret. His first secret was himself. He was brother to a liar and brother to an angel, son of a dream and son of a dreamer. He was a warring star full of endless possibilities, but in the end, as he dreamt in the backseat on the way to the Barns that night, he created only this...." Who gave her the riGHT to write so prettily??
I also really love the characters and their dynamic? The whole family/best friends thing is so great. I actually didn't care much for Adam in this one - I felt like he was pretty much non-stop sulking - and I like Ronan okay, I guess, but I really just love Gansey and Blue and Noah. Bluesey is DEFINITELY going to be up there on my OTP list. I read this thing ab how Raven Cycle is a lot like the Marauders and...that's actually so true lol. I'm willing to accept this whole series as Marauder canon lol
(Also I was reading Maggie stiefvader’s Twitter and her actually owning a 1973 Camaro is so cool - and that she originally wanted to have ganseys car break down whenever hers did but ended up not doing that bc her car broke down too much lol.)
Bluesey gets a whole paragraph. Because. Blue telling herself "having a crush and thinking someone has nice lips and eyes are two very different things"? Beautiful. Gansey lowkey thinking Blue's pretty in the boat? Wonderful. The "I have a crush on Richard Gansey" line? Splendid. Gansey calling Blue after the whole DC fiasco and calming down after hearing her talk? Lovely. Blue calling Gansey and the two of them driving up a mountain and looking at stars? Excellent. Blue insulting Gansey's boat shoes and him literally going "lately, these boat shoes are the only things right in the world"?? That's romance, baby. I feel like there's a good balance because obviously they shouldn't have fallen in love right away but also I didn't want them to start dating in the last book bc I need this content?
I think I just really love these books because they have everything I like in a book? And like this perfect balance? Like, it's a fantasy and a thriller and a romance and a contemporary and it's just got really hilarious characters. It's got trees that speak Latin, and hit men who murder people in gas stations, and staring at the stars in an old car together, and rich kids meeting in pizza shops, and boys who throw their dead roommates out of windows for fun (okay but I was actually laughing so hard when that happened). I'm going to wait to read Blue Lily, Lily Blue because I really really don't want this series to end lol.
I really just...love this series so freaking much? I think it might be my new favorite, and if not, definitely in the top five? I'll have to finish the series and see how it all plays out. This review won't be able to do this series justice, but I'll try lol.
So for most books I feel like the words are mostly a vehicle for a really great story, but like...in this, the writing is just so pretty and poetic and the words are a piece of art themselves. I just love her style so much. She has this amazing way of painting a picture with only a few words. Like: "Ronan Lynch lived with every sort of secret. His first secret was himself. He was brother to a liar and brother to an angel, son of a dream and son of a dreamer. He was a warring star full of endless possibilities, but in the end, as he dreamt in the backseat on the way to the Barns that night, he created only this...." Who gave her the riGHT to write so prettily??
I also really love the characters and their dynamic? The whole family/best friends thing is so great. I actually didn't care much for Adam in this one - I felt like he was pretty much non-stop sulking - and I like Ronan okay, I guess, but I really just love Gansey and Blue and Noah. Bluesey is DEFINITELY going to be up there on my OTP list. I read this thing ab how Raven Cycle is a lot like the Marauders and...that's actually so true lol. I'm willing to accept this whole series as Marauder canon lol
(Also I was reading Maggie stiefvader’s Twitter and her actually owning a 1973 Camaro is so cool - and that she originally wanted to have ganseys car break down whenever hers did but ended up not doing that bc her car broke down too much lol.)
Bluesey gets a whole paragraph. Because. Blue telling herself "having a crush and thinking someone has nice lips and eyes are two very different things"? Beautiful. Gansey lowkey thinking Blue's pretty in the boat? Wonderful. The "I have a crush on Richard Gansey" line? Splendid. Gansey calling Blue after the whole DC fiasco and calming down after hearing her talk? Lovely. Blue calling Gansey and the two of them driving up a mountain and looking at stars? Excellent. Blue insulting Gansey's boat shoes and him literally going "lately, these boat shoes are the only things right in the world"?? That's romance, baby. I feel like there's a good balance because obviously they shouldn't have fallen in love right away but also I didn't want them to start dating in the last book bc I need this content?
I think I just really love these books because they have everything I like in a book? And like this perfect balance? Like, it's a fantasy and a thriller and a romance and a contemporary and it's just got really hilarious characters. It's got trees that speak Latin, and hit men who murder people in gas stations, and staring at the stars in an old car together, and rich kids meeting in pizza shops, and boys who throw their dead roommates out of windows for fun (okay but I was actually laughing so hard when that happened). I'm going to wait to read Blue Lily, Lily Blue because I really really don't want this series to end lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Drug use
Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Car accident
Minor: Death of parent and Domestic abuse