Review Raven Boys

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Available Now
Book One in Raven Cycle

“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.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

I was enticed by the magic and wonder in the book. It was brought on a mysterious air of  darkness and maybe a little of the raven on the front.

You are head on thrown into the world of Henrietta, Virginia. No warning or background information, this tipped me off a little. I enjoy the bit of starter or beginning is something i value in a book. I feel as if there was no ma (Japanese for emptiness). It's the space in a book where you can recoup from dramatic phase. In this book you felt the drama take a toll.

I  liked the suspense of Blue's prophecy of killing her true love when she kisses him. First you assume it's Gansey because of the dramatic build up to him. Then just as you find him and get to know him Blue starts another relationship. The relationship is with one of the Raven Boys. He is the persona of the alternate ego of Blue. Of course, Gansey doesn't know how a seer can see someone on St. Mark's Eve. This leaves a love triangle (very mild) that only Blue knows about.

This book to be honest lost me at quite a few intervals I felt like you lost the narrative few too many times because of the randomly switch dialogue. The book is not written with YA tone it is one of those more eloquent and traditional tones you hear in slightly older books.

The climax was something that I felt was a little controversial. Only I felt the important supporting roles were heavily involved. One major character had a big showdown, but it was something that you can't feel. 

Overall I felt the book had a good story line and ideas. The mythology and random facts never miss a beat. You can feel the book is lacking something, but can't put a finger on it. This book can only be read with a clear head and attention to detail.