When I was a teenager, I fell in love with Maggie Stiefvater‘s writing style. I cannot pinpoint exactly what it is, but something about her books makes you believe in magic again and makes you become a dreamer. I was therefore very glad to discover that The Raven Boys, book one of The Raven Cycle, was one of the books on my reading challenge list for 2022.

Attention: I will be reviewing all four books in this post as well as the novella and the short stories, but everything apart from the first book will be hidden so that you do not read any spoilers unless you want to.

Book 1: The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys introduces us to Blue, who is the only one without paranormal gifts in her family. Or should I say, without standard paranormal gifts. Because Blue has the ability to make the supernatural clearer and louder for her family to interpret. Each year, she visits the corpse road to help note down the names of the people who will die in the coming year. She never sees any of the ghosts though. Until this year, when she interacts with the ghost of a boy called Gansey.

Gansey is a rich boy who attends an elite school in the neighbourhood and who is very much attracted to the supernatural himself. He’s on a quest to wake an ancient Welsh king and he has involved his three closest friends: Noah, a quiet boy who tends to disappear in the background; Ronan, a quite aggressive boy trying to deal with the death of his father; and Adam, an intelligent boy who is trying to fit in, even though his family isn’t rich.

Blue soon finds herself fascinated with their quest and befriends them, against the warnings of her family. Whatever she does, it’s imperative that she doesn’t fall in love. Because it has been foretold that if she kisses her true love, he will die.

A dark, magical tale of friendship and curiosity

I truly loved this book. Once again, Maggie Stiefvater made me believe in magic. It took me a while to get into the story, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down anymore.

I really liked all the main characters, but I loved Gansey and Adam the most. The Raven Boys reminded me a lot of the Marauders from Harry Potter. Gansey was inspiring, a true dreamer and amateur scholar (why aren’t more book characters scholars in their free time??) and he reminded me somewhat of James Potter: handsome, rich, kind, intelligent, and the “glue” keeping his group of friends together. Adam was very real, very kind and intelligent, reminding me a lot of Remus Lupin. At this point in time, I was not sure who I wanted to end up with Blue…Ideally, they both would, but I am quite sure that this is not that kind of book :p

I also appreciated that the book was told from different points of view. If I recall correctly, the main narrators are Gansey, Blue and Adam, but there are also chapters that follow their Latin teacher.

I was fascinated as of the start by Gansey’s quest to wake up an ancient king. I’m personally a bit obsessed with the Arthur legends and with Ludwig II of Bavaria, so I completely get what he’s trying to do. Can I please join the quest??? *puppy eyes* I’ve even dug through my book boxes to find my text book on ley lines.

I have to admit though, I thought this was going to be a quite lighthearted read. It was not. It was waaaaaay darker and heavier than I expected. Best to check out the trigger warnings!

I’m writing this section of the review after having read the first book, and desperately waiting for book two to be delivered. I can honestly say that I feel a small obsession coming up 😉 The first book gave me such intense satisfaction, like a puzzle coming together nicely, so I didn’t hesitate long about the rating I would give it: five out of five gemstones!

Book 2: The Dream Thieves

Summary & Evaluation Attention: Spoilers! (click here)

In The Dream Thieves the narration shifts to include more characters, with Ronan being the main one on which this second novel is focused. As we learned at the very end of book one, Ronan has the special ability to pull things from his dreams, which is the major plot line of book two.

Once again, I was blown away by this book. I loved the prologue, the epilogue, and everything in between. And what can I say: Gansey. So strange that a character destined to die makes me want to live. He has something inspiring that truly motivates me. The story in general does, really. After my excursion into ley line theory upon finishing the first book, I have now started an online course in tarot reading :p I also very much appreciate how the writing shows the different “faces” of a person. To put it like Blue did:

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

I’m definitely over my conundrum related to whom I wanted to end up with Blue though. And I have secret hopes for the one that doesn’t. Fingers crossed that I’m right.

Like with book one, please don’t think you’ll be reading a light YA fantasy book. It gets pretty dark, with elaborate themes of generational trauma and substance abuse.

Last but not least, I would like to highlight one of my favourite quotations from the end of the novel:

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

Without a doubt, once again 5 gemstones out of 5.

Book 3: Blue Lily, Lily Blue

Summary & Evaluation Attention: Spoilers! (click here)

In Blue Lily, Lily Blue the narration shifts once again to include more characters, among which some of the psychics and the new villain. At the end of book two, the Gray Man chooses to defy his employer by not telling him where to find Ronan; and Blue’s mother disappeared. Adam in turn is coming to terms with the deal he struck with Cabeswater. With magic rising all around her, can Blue figure out who she is, how to save Gansey, and how to get her mother back?

It’s clear now, this series will become one of my all-time favourites. I truly love these characters (although I frequently want to slap most of them). I even like reading about the villains. To be honest, though, the villain in this book came across as a Team Rocket boss from Pokemon…very strange guy. The only character which I really don’t like is Orla.

I am also really enjoying watching Blue and Gansey grow towards each other, and I adored how they held hands in the car. Please, Maggie Stiefvater, don’t let him die? This series is going to break my heart…Talking about romance: I WAS RIGHT! I WAS RIGHT! Or I think I was anyway :p book four will be deciding.

Book three remains a dark tale, with serious topics interwoven. I really appreciated that one of the characters has an anxiety support dog. I think too many people still believe that support dogs are only for the blind, but their role can be so much bigger.

I read a review saying that this series was one big will-they-won’t-they story. I’m not sure what that person read to be honest, but I doubt it’s this series. That is, of course, one of the themes, but it’s rather minor. To me, this is a – quite dark, quite adult – story about friendship, finding your place in the world, and finding magic in your everyday life.

Last but not least, I would like to highlight one of my favourite quotations from this novel (and possibly one of my favourite quotations of all time):

“‘You can be just friends with people, you know,’ Orla said. ‘I think it’s crazy how you’re in love with all of those raven boys.’ Orla wasn’t wrong, of course. But what she didn’t realize about Blue and her boys was that they were all in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her, or one another, analyzing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running gag, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when next they would be with one another. Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn’t all-encompassing, that wasn’t blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she’d had this kind, she didn’t want the other.””

Once again 5 gemstones out of 5.

Book 4: The Raven King

Summary & Evaluation Attention: Spoilers! (click here)

Make way for The Raven King !

When I read the prologue to this book, I only had one thought in my mind: “how stupid am I????”. I have to admit I did not see the reveal coming, which is true for most reveals in this series. The only thing that I actually got correct was Adam’s love interest <3 If you are reading this, I hope you’ve read the previous novels, so no harm in adding this gem of a quote:

Adam smiled cheerily. Ronan would start wars and burn cities for that true smile, elastic and amiable.

Upon starting this book, I was totally surprised by the reappearance of one of the villains of the last book. I don’t know how, but somehow, I had totally forgotten she existed :p I also loved the concept of the triple villain. It was bizarre, unexpected and totally new. Loved it!

This final novel continued the puzzle-like feeling of the other three and while I’ll definitely have to reread the entire series one day to make sure I understood everything correctly, I simply loved it in all its complexity. I’m a puzzle fanatic at heart and this series pushed all the right buttons for me.

I am also truly a child of the Romantic era, so you can imagine that the overarching theme of looking for “something more” in this series sounded like music to my ears. I also really like the Korean concept of “jeong” that was explained in this part. It’s the idea of being a we instead of a you and a me. Blue summarized it beautifully at the start of this novel:

“It was just that there was something newly powerful about this assembled family in this car. They were all growing up and into each other like trees striving together for the sun.”

And one more, for good measure:

“She knew, in a broad way, that there was nothing wrong with their topic, but she also knew in a more specific way that there was no way she could talk about the movie without sounding like a condescending brat. She felt one thousand years old. She also felt like maybe she was a condescending brat. She wanted her bike. She wanted her friends, who were also one-thousand-year-old condescending brats. She wanted to live in a world where she was surrounded by one-thousand-year-old condescending brats.”

Near the end, I could barely breathe. I loved these characters intensely and until the very last chapter, I wasn’t sure whether Maggie Stiefvater was going to break my heart into a million pieces or not.

Once again 5 gemstones out of 5.

Book 4,5: Opal

Summary & Evaluation Attention: Spoilers! (click here)

To be fair, I would have loved a follow-up story focused on Gansey and Blue. I had not expected a tale told from the point of view of Orphan Girl (who is now named Opal), about Ronan and Adam. Nevertheless, I quite liked this short story. It’s a very quick read and it was interesting to get to know Opal better (and to swoon over Ronan and Adam’s relationship some more). However, please do write another one all about Gansey and Blue, please, Maggie Stiefvater!

Unfortunately, this book only exists in eBook format.

I gave this short finale 4 gemstones out of 5.

Age Category: Young Adult, but suitable for a broader audience

Representation:  Mental health, LGBTQ+ main characters

Trigger Warnings (click here, may contain spoilers)

Warnings for (parental) abuse, suicidal tendencies, substance abuse, generational trauma.

As you know, I try to learn a new word each time I read a book. This time, it’s “Pollyanna“. According to Google, this is an Americanism that refers to a blindly or foolishly optimistic person. The term derives from Eleanor H. Porter’s novel Pollyanna, which is the tale of an orphan with an unjustifiably optimistic attitude.

Do you want to discover more?

If my review inspired you to pick up the first book, don’t hesitate to check it out at Goodreads or at the below online stores.

Amazon.nl: The Raven Boys Hardcover Edition

Amazon.nl: The Dream Thieves Hardcover Edition

Amazon.nl: Blue Lily, Lily Blue Hardcover Edition

Amazon.nl: The Raven King Hardcover Edition

Amazon.nl: Opal eBook Edition

Looking for more material to fuel your addiction (I know I was)? Then definitely also check out the three short stories that can be found on the author’s website, all of which were written as holiday tales. A Very Declan Christmas is told from the point of view of Declan and takes place before book one. I rated this one 5 out of 5 gemstones because it provided interesting insights into the Lynch household. 300 Fox Way Holiday Piece gives more information about Blue’s house and family and is also set before the start of book one. I was less convinced by this one, as I didn’t feel like I gained any new knowledge to understand Blue, so I only gave it 3 out of 5 gemstones. Last but not least, my favourite of the three: A Minor Raven Boys Holiday Drabble. Like the other two, this short story is set before the events of book one, but this one focusses on Gansey and does provide more useful insights into him and his research. As you can probably already guess, I gave this one 5 out of 5 gemstones too.

Fairyloot has recently held a sale for their special edition set of this series (original price: € 102). The first book thereof has an inbound author letter. All books have ribbon bookmarks, exclusive covers with foiling, endpaper illustrations, reversible dust jackets, metallic edges, and all were digitally signed by the author.

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Something about this series keeps reminding me of an anime series I watched as a teenager, called Wolf’s Rain. There isn’t a great deal of overlap in plot, but something about the main characters was familiar. You can watch the intro song here and maybe you’ll get what I mean. If you consider watching this series, please make sure to have tissues nearby. It’s rather cold and it’s in no way feel-good. Wolf’s Rain tells the story of four wolves who are looking for paradise. Wolves are thought to have been hunted to extinction centuries ago, but some survived, hiding in human disguises. The end of the world is nearing, and according to legend, only wolves will be able to find the paradise that will emerge.

When I was younger, I fell in love with Maggie Stiefvater’s work when I read her Books of Faerie Series that starts off with Lament. Without a doubt, this book is what started my love for what I used to call “gothic romance” and “impossible romances”. It’ tells the story of a young musician who falls hopelessly in love with a boy who turns out not to be human…

I’m looking forward to start another famous story by Stiefvater, namely The Wolves of Mercy Falls. This series starts with Shiver and as you can imagine from the title, deals with shape shifters. This one sounds so good, I really should make haste and read it!

When I started reading the first book of The Raven Cycle, I was also somewhat reminded of Crave by Tracy Wolff. I think it was due to the interactions between some of the characters, the mysterious events, and the rich-school setting. This series is often labeled “the new Twilight” and tells the story of a girl who starts to attend a strange school with even stranger students. It’s a bit of a mix between Twilight and Harry Potter, really. I’ve read part one but I haven’t gotten round to reviewing it yet. Once I do, I’ll add the link here.

Lasts but not least, for those who despair after having finished this amazing series, there’s some good news. Maggie Stiefvater is currently writing a spin-off trilogy called The Dreamer Trilogy. Book one, Call Down the Hawk is already available, and part three, Greywaren, will be published in 2022 still!