The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is 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 has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, 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 never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
For the Reading Challenge(s):
N/A
The Reason
This series has been on my TBR ever since it came out years ago but I hadn’t managed to get my hands on the books until they went on sale on Audible recently.
The Quotes
“She wasn’t interested in telling other people’s futures. She was interested in going out and finding her own.”
“She recognized the strange happiness that came from loving something without knowing why you did, that strange happiness that was sometimes so big that it felt like sadness.”
“Watch for the devil. When there’s a god, there’s always a legion of devils.”
“People shout when they don’t have the vocabulary to whisper.”
The Narrator(s)
Will Patton. I love him as a narrator for Stephen King books and having him narrate this book gives it some Stephen King vibes for me.
My Thoughts
I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while because I love ravens and there’s a tarot deck based on the books, but I don’t actually know what the book is about so I went in blind. The story is a little messy and I’m struggling to follow the characters because there are so many of them and I get them mixed up sometimes. I bought the books on audio and I feel like I need to reread on print before I continue with the next books in the series.
In general, I love the vibes, maybe because of all the magic and prophecy, and also Will Patton’s narration, but I feel like I missed certain key details and I don’t know what is actually going on with the characters, and I don’t know who to root for. I haven’t connected with any of the characters either. I want to like the book and give it the benefit of the doubt, I don’t want to blame the book if my confusion is due to my poor listening skills, so I do want to try reading this book again before continuing with the next books.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
