Something Like A Book Review: The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Hello my friends!

This is going to be my second “Something Like A Book Review” – you can find the first here if you are interested. This time I will be covering all four of the books that make up The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater.

I read all of these books in quite quick succession (the last two taking only a day a piece) so I thought it would be easier to write my thoughts and feelings on the series as a whole, instead of breaking it up into parts.

I’m not a professional book reviewer, so I’m going to apologise now if my thoughts seem choppy or half-formed; I’ll do my best to make as much sense as I can.

As a warning, I will do my best to be vague about events, but there will probably be some spoilers in here, as I am talking about the whole series of books.

With that all being said – let’s jump right in!

I’ll be going over the books individually first, including the blurb; before going over what I thought of the story as whole, favourite characters, and things like that at the end.

Book 1: The Raven Boys

“Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them – until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.
His name is Gansey, and he’s a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from the Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way that she can’t entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher 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 doesn’t believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.”
– Blurb from the inside cover of The Raven Boys.

I’ll start by saying this, this is my least favourite book in the series. I still enjoyed it, and it did a good job of hooking me into the story enough to read the other books – so I’m not saying that it is bad; just my least favourite.

I think the introductions to these characters in this one are amazing, you automatically get the feeling for who the boys (and Blue) are, and they feel fleshed out and real, unique from one another. This also applies to the three main women living in 300 Fox Way; Maura, Calla and Persephone. Their relationship is well established right from the beginning.

One of the only real problems, and it isn’t a huge problem really, is part of the dynamic between Gansey, Adam and Blue, at least in the beginning. Gansey has a hard time understanding how certain things he might say, may offend people who don’t come from the same background as him. That’s completely fine, as he does come from a position of privilege, however, there is not really any effort on the part of Adam and Blue to help him understand – they just become offended and expect him to understand. I suppose this bothers me, just because Gansey can’t help how he was raised anymore than they can. And this is coming from someone whose social-ecomonic standing is closer to that of Blue and Adam than of Gansey.

As someone who was born in Wales, I love that a famous Welsh King is the centre of the stories lore, even if it does irk me somewhat that he is called Owen Glendower throughout the entirety instead of Owain Glyndwr, which is his proper name.

I enjoyed the twists and turns at the book’s end. The revelation regarding one of the main characters didn’t really take me by surprise, but maybe it’s because I picked up on the clues mentioned throughout.

I definitely enjoy the very end of the book and the way it leads into The Dream Thieves – it seemed very in-character for Ronan.

Book 2: The Dream Thieves

“Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.
One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.
And sometimes he’s not the only one who wants those things.
Ronan is one of the Raven Boys – a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglioby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan’s secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface – changing everything in its wake.”
– Blurb from the inside cover of The Dream Thieves.

This is my second favourite book in the series, and it is a very close second. This is also the book that introduces my favourite character from the entire series. I’ll discuss that more in my final thoughts a little bit later though.

I really enjoy the feeling of escalation in this story, even though we do get a bit de-railed from the quest to find Glyndwr, to focus on Ronan and Adam. I don’t really mind, as I am glad that we get to explore these two really complex characters – that they get the focus they deserve.

I enjoy the hints that we get that lead to the revelation about Kavinsky. I generally enjoy books that let you figure it out for yourself, it feels very rewarding when you are proven right, or even if you are wrong, those clues come together in a satisfying way. I also like the dynamic he builds with Ronan, where it’s hard to really tell what his intentions towards Ronan are.

It’s also interesting to see the tension between Adam and Gansey, as Adam tries to come to terms with the climax of The Raven Boys, and the choice he made.

Book 3: Blue Lily, Lily Blue

“Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.
The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost.
Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.”
– Blurb from the inside cover of Blue Lily, Lily Blue.

This is my favourite of the 4 books. I enjoy the further development all of the characters receive, as well as the reveal of the true main antagonist of the series as a whole.

I think the part of this book I enjoy the most, aside from my favourite character, is reading Gansey’s conflicting feelings regarding the emotions that are starting to blossom between himself and Blue. You really get a good feel through the writing of his struggle to deal with, not only the way he feels, but they way it might affect all of the people around him.

I enjoy the addition of the Greenmantles, and how Colin, the Professor mentioned in the second book, behaves against the way he was portrayed in the Dream Thieves. I just enjoy villain characters who are really good at getting things done, as long as they are telling other people to do those things for them.

This book has another amazing climax, from the culmination of a situation that is talked about throughout the book, to the reveal of the Third Sleeper, and the return of Neeve.

Book 4: The Raven King

“For years, Gansey has been on a quest to find a lost king. One by one, he’s drawn others into this quest: Ronan, who steals from dreams; Adam, whose life is no longer his own; Noah, whose life is no longer a life; and Blue, who loves Gansey… and is certain she is destined to kill him.
Now the endgame has begun. Dreams and nightmares are converging. Love and loss are inseparable. And the quest refuses to be pinned to a path.”
– Blurb from this inside cover of The Raven King.

The final book in the series is my third favourite of the four. Again, not because it is bad, I just found books 2 and 3 more enjoyable.

I like the way the introduction of Henry Cheng is handled in this one. Even though he is mentioned in Blue Lily, Lily Blue, he doesn’t really rise to prominence until this entry. I’m glad that he doesn’t feel shoe-horned in at the end, and his presence does have an impact on the story that still flows well with the events of the previous 3 novels.

I also like that this story brings the focus back onto the quest for Glyndwr, yet also discusses some of the other real world problems that characters have to deal with, such as graduation from high school, and Gansey’s mother’s political career. I also enjoy the way the story builds on the supernatural good trading business that has been present in the background since the Dream Thieves. We get to meet more of the players involved, and how they are all tied to Ronan’s father Niall Lynch.

That leads me into the ending:

Now, the climax of the quest to find Glyndwr, I thought, was pretty satisfying, it may not be the ending that everyone wanted, but to me, it made sense. It fit in with the theme of cycles present throughout the story. I also liked it because it didn’t give them an easy fix.

That being said, I didn’t care for the rest of the ending as much. It didn’t feel complete to me. The stuff with Gansey, Blue and Noah, felt complete; but everything with the demon did not. We didn’t actually see the demon be defeated by Gansey’s sacrifice, we didn’t see the aftermath of Piper’s body being overtaken by the demon after Laumonier shot her. I just feel like were were given pictures of these scenes that were then just abandoned.

Of course it is possible that this is to lead into other books, but my feelings will remain the same until those books appear.

I also like that Ronan and Adam end up together, because it felt natural.

Final Thoughts

That brings me I suppose, to my final thoughts…

I really enjoyed this book series, so much so that I got the hardcover copies because I know that I will most likely read them again in the near future.

My favourite character in the series is the Gray Man, or Mr. Gray as he comes to be known. I get a lot of enjoyment out of his character arc, and that we only get glimpses of his trauma. I’d love to see a book that focuses more on him in the future.

My favourite of the Raven Boys themselves is Gansey. I feel like I identify best with his want for people to understand him, and the joy it brings him when he feels as though he has truly been seen. I also love how he just wants the best for all of the people around him.

I think my least favourite character in the series is Artemus, Blue’s biological father. I just feel like his character was kind of pointless. He didn’t really do anything, besides one moment of exposition.

I will definitely be checking out the new series with Ronan as the main character.

And that’s it for this little ‘Something Like A Book Review’ on the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. I hope you enjoyed! If you’ve read these books yourself, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Diolch am ddarllen! Thanks for checking out my nerdy blog today! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Until next time, this is White Elorda, signing off. Stay nerdy my friends!

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