the raven king

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Page Count: 439
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication Date: September 17, 2013

Synopsis:
(from Goodreads)

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after

–This review contains spoilers, read at your own risk!–

“In that moment, Blue was a little in love with all of them.
Their magic. Their quest. Their awfulness and strangeness.
Her raven boys.”

*deep breath*

ohmygod this book.

I can’t even. The writing is magical, the characters are so amazing and real, and I just love Ronan fucking Lynch so much.

The Dream Thieves was definitely one hundred percent Ronan’s book.

“He was brother to a liar and brother to an angel, son of a dream and son of a dreamer.”

Ronan is crazy and hilarious and awful, and wonderful, and just so incredibly charming. His character development in this novel is achingly beautiful. It’s painful how much I love him, how much I relate to him. When he’s hurting, I am hurting. Despite how he may act, he so clearly cares so much for his friends and for his brother Matthew. We see a different side to him in the Dream Thieves and it made my heart ache. We see him question all that he was and accept all that he is.

“Ronan loved it so much. He nearly couldn’t bear it. He wanted to destroy something.”

He deserves all of the happiness in the world. Him and Chainsaw are so cute it hurts.

“She wore a dress Ronan thought looked like a lampshade. Whatever sort of lamp it belonged on, Gansey clearly wished he had one.
Ronan wasn’t a fan of lamps.”

Ronan you adorable, adorable little shit. My angry gay son, I love you.

“While I’m gone,” Gansey said, pausing, “dream me the world. Something new for every night.”

Oh my god Gansey. Do not even get me started on my love for Gansey. It physically pains me whenever freaking Richard Campbell Gansey III thinks his friends don’t care about him as much as he cares about them.

Like, why, oh why? My heart can’t handle these emotions. He is such a mom friend and it’s adorable, but it hurts. it hurts so much. He is such a fucking great friend, he cares about his friends so much. My heart breaks every time he gets hurt. He is so selfless, he loves his friends so unconditionally and wants to help them all and oh my god, he is so precious. My love for Gansey is infinite.

“What do you want, Adam?
“To feel awake when my eyes are open.”

I just want to give Adam a hug and tell him that love can be unconditional and not just manipulative. That accepting help is not a weakness.

Like Adam, my child, please you’re breaking my heart. Gansey loves you so much. Your friends love you so much. You are not broken. You are not alone. You are wonderful, you are beautiful and intelligent and brave, and you can love and be loved without it being a toxic relationship; without losing a part of yourself. It just hurts me so much when him and Gansey fight, or when he lashes out on his friends.

“Sometimes Ronan thought Adam was so used to the right way being painful that he doubted any path that didn’t come with agony.”

It physically hurts, and I hate it. YOUR FRIENDS LOVE YOU, ADAM. They love you so unconditionally.

“Noah, his voice muffled, said, “Sometimes I pretend I’m like him.”
“What part?”
He considered. “Alive.”

Also, I cannot forget my sweet child, Noah Czerny. My son, my beautiful shy son. I know he’s dead and that’s probably why he doesn’t get his own point of view, but I still love him so much. He is adorable. It’s so unfortunate how much he’s a side character, I wish he had more scenes, I constantly crave more Noah scenes.

“When he turned his head, she saw him swallow. He mumbled, “I’d ask you out, if I was alive.”
Nothing was fair.
“I’d say okay,” she replied.”

Blue and Noah have the cutest friendship ever. Their relationship is so pure and sweet, and they clearly care about each other so much, and my heart it breaks. It just breaks, and I can’t deal, and I just want to cry. Because despite everything, despite how sweet and wonderful he is–despite how much he didn’t deserve to die–Noah is dead, and nothing can change that.

But I still hate Barrington Whelk with all my being.

And of course, I cannot forget the about how absolutely hilarious and perfect Noah and Ronan are together; I just love how Noah is with everyone. And he is such a <b>good friend.</b> He is so supportive and sweet and he knows so much about the Gangsey and yet he would rather die again than to tell any of their secrets:

“Noah said to Ronan, “I know why you’re mad.”
Ronan sneered at him, but his pulse heaved. “Tell me then, prophet.”
Noah said, “It’s not my job to tell other people’s secrets.”

even if it’s to themselves. He respects their privacy and their feelings, and he knows them so well, but would never betray his friends or their trust. He would never make them do anything, or reveal anything, when they’re not ready. He loves them all despite their secrets and mistakes. Noah knows, he knows, Ronan’s secrets, the ones he hides even from himself, and he still supports and helps and loves him anyway.

Noah is just such an awkward and adorable, glitter-loving, innocent sweetheart, and I just love him. He deserves all the appreciation and so much love, and I will gladly hug him too.

“If fate thought it could tell her who to fall for, fate had another thing coming.”

And Blue freaking Sargent is so incredibly awesome and cool, I wish I were as cool as her. She is such a badass and doesn’t take shit from anyone, and I love it. The subtle romance building between her and Gansey makes me so happy. They are just so cute. Their chemistry is perfect. Overtime Gansey calls her ‘Jane’ my heart flutters in all the best ways.

“Well, I don’t want to be just someone to kiss. I want to be a real friend too.”

I love Blue’s family. Maura, Calla, and Persephone make me laugh so much, and I just love their strangeness, they’re all so cheeky and fun. I want to live with all of the ladies at 300 Fox Way and be apart of their magic. I cannot wait to see the development with the addition of the new character, The Gray Man. He’s very mysterious, but I think I like him. He will be an interesting addition to the crazy that is 300 Fox Way.

“Reality! Reality’s what other people dream for you.”

Joseph Kavinsky was also an interesting character. I really enjoyed reading about him, he is definitely an awful person and I don’t think Ronan will ever be able to forgive him. But I don’t know, a part of me kind loved how unapologetically awful he was. I am so extremely curious about him and his past. His relationship with Ronan was not healthy in any way, but I loved how Maggie wrote parallels between their characters.

“When Niall said Declan, it always sounded like he meant to say Declan.”

Oh, and can I just talk about how bad I feel for Declan Lynch? His father basically just told him he was his least favorite son, and him and Ronan have such a tense relationship. Matthew is the adorable and precious angel, Ronan is the Greywaren, and Declan seems to be just there. He wasn’t even present for when they revived Aurora in Cabeswater. One of my hopes is that the two brothers get closure before the series ends. Sure, he’s a liar and kind of a manwhore, but he protects Ronan, and clearly cares for his brothers. I am very interested to see if Maggie will develop his character.

The characters are all just so real, flawed and broken, and strong. And their relationships develop in such subtle and natural ways that I cannot get enough of them. I adore them all so, so much. I will gladly hug them all; my precious beautiful, broken children.

Maggie Stiefvater is a brilliant writer, her writing flows off the page. When she writes the world seems so filled with magic that the possibility does not seem so far away. Her characters feel so very real, and complex, and their development is so natural and does not feel forced at all. They are all so sarcastic and badass and quirky and wonderful.

They make me both laugh and cry uncontrollably and I would not have it any other way.

“All of us have secrets in our lives. We’re keepers or keptfrom, players or played. Secrets and cockroaches — that’s what will be left at the end of it all.”

5 out of 5 stars

★★★★★/5

you can read my review of the first novel in the series, The Raven Boys here.

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Buy The Dream Thieves:

Book Depository
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Start at the beginning! Buy The Raven Boys:

Book Depository
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Barnes and Noble

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The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Page Count: 409
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication Date: September 18, 2012

Synopsis:
(from Goodreads)

“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.

–Possible Spoilers! Read at your own risk!–

“She wasn’t interested in telling other people’s futures. She was interested in going out and finding her own.”

Maggie Stiefvater’s writing is so beautiful and magical and amazing and I could read her books all day long and still be completely entranced with the words that she writes.

I am so in love with her writing.

I finally see what people mean when they rave about this cast of characters because the characters are absolutely amazing. It’s definitely more of a character driven story, not much of the plot happens until like halfway through the novel, but I still had a ton of fun learning about the characters and their adventure searching for Glendower.

“They were always walking away from him. But he never seemed able to walk away from them.”

The Raven Boys are so wonderful, I am slowly falling in love with all of them. I completely adored the friendship between them and Blue. Gansey is the biggest sweetheart, he cares so much for all of his friends, and he would literally do anything for them. It hurts me so much when he thinks they don’t care for him as much as he cares for them.

“Gansey had once told Adam that he was afraid most people didn’t know how to handle Ronan. What he meant by this was that he was worried that one day someone would fall on Ronan and cut themselves.”

Ronan is amazing, all sharp edges and dark mystery, but you can tell he cares so much for his friends. It’s so adorable how takes care of and looks after Chainsaw. He’s hilarious and snarky, and there’s still so much mystery surrounding him, so much we do not know about his past and his father, but I absolutely cannot wait to learn more about him.

Noah, my sweet and adorable child, I adored him. He doesn’t really get as much time (*ahem* for obvious reasons) as the other characters, but I still love him; he’s so awkward and cute and I just want to give him the biggest hug. This boy deserves so much better.

“When Gansey was polite, it made him powerful. When Adam was polite, he was giving power away.”

Adam at times frustrated me, but I do see where he is coming from. It makes me sad how he treats Gansey sometimes (but come on Gansey can be a bit condescending), but I think his character is extremely well written, he’s hardworking and intelligent. He’s been through so much in his life, and experienced so many things that no one should have to experience. I cannot wait to see how he grows in later books.

“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.”

Blue is so lovely, I love how strong and eccentric her is. I love her crazy and weird little family at 300 Fox Way. The family dynamic between her, Maura, Calla, and Persephone is so supportive and wonderful. Plus her mom and all of her mom’s friends are literally psychics and that is so cool.

“Arbores loqui latine. The trees speak Latin.”

Overall, such a solid start to a series. Maggie’s writing is the best, and I can already tell this is going to be a new favorite series of mine. I want to be surrounded by the magic that is Cabeswater, I want to be able to speak with trees, I want to surround myself with these characters and their infinite curiosity and wonder.

But I am just so scared and confused and that ending left me with so many questions, and I have no clue how any of this is going to pan out. I feel so invested in all of these characters, and I would be forever crushed if anything bad happens to them. I just want them all to be happy, I would give them the world if I could.

I am so happy that despite all the hype surrounding the series, I still decided to pick it up because it was definitely not a disappointment at all. These wonderful, beautiful, magical, and mysterious Raven boys. I cannot wait to read the rest!