Author: Maggie Stiefvater
First book published: 2012
Synopsis (book 1): ‘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.
The Short Version
WOW.
Just WOW.
The long version may contain spoilers for the entire series. You have been warned.
The Long Version
Everything about this series is just so amazing. Every time I read it, I love it more.
Seriously, there are no words.
Book 1: The Raven Boys
I remember first reading this book. Well, listening, since it was on audio (the audio books for this series are great, guys, I would definitely recommend them).
So, the story starts with Blue seeing the spirit of Gansey, which means that at some point in the book we are going to meet a person called Gansey and at some point in the series this person is going to die.
Which was fine…until Gansey actually showed up.
Book 2: The Dream Thieves
I have to admit, the first time I read this I wasn’t the biggest fan of this particular book in the series.
But as I said earlier, the more times I read these books the more I love them.
This book was mostly dramatic car racing and Adam being weird after the whole Cabeswater thing. And of course, ends with Maura disappearing.
Book 3: Blue Lily, Lily Blue
This book is probably my favourite of the series.
I don’t even know why, I JUST LOVE THESE BOOKS SO MUCH!
And the whole book I was just
Book 4: The Raven King
The build up to this book can be literally summed up in one tweet:
The Raven King was definitely the most intense of the four books. With book 1 being more of an exciting magical adventure, book 2 being all weird with car racing and dreaming, and book 3 was just full of shippy feels, but book 4 was INTENSE.
After waking the demon in Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Piper Greenmantle is basically ruining everything, and people are dying and time is going wibbly and we know it’s only a matter of time before Gansey dies…
And then it was over.
Conclusion
An amazing series by amazing author, I will throw this series at everyone I meet.
I DO LIKE THIS SERIES. But I was let down by The Raven King, sadly 😦 😦 And I almost wish Gansey had actually died? It seemed a bit cheap. Anyway. I’m glad you loved them 🙂 🙂
Overall I really like this series, but there are some aspects that leave me with mixed feelings. The Raven Boys is my favorite book in the series though! The Raven King leaves just too many loose ends in my opinion, but I still like it. Glad you enjoyed it!