Book Review: The Dream Thieves

The Dream Thieves (Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater

Release Date: September 17th, 2013

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Format of Novel: Hardcover

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary (from good reads): If you could steal things from dreams, what would you take?

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, Aglionby 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.

(Review contains minor spoilers due to be a continuation to a series)

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This book is the first sequel to the Raven Cycle series by the whimsical Maggie Stiefvater and it mostly focuses on Ronan, the 'bad boy' of the group and the drama between him and his family. I loved Ronan's characters in this series because we get to realize that he is a complex character with a ability we never really seen before (or at least I haven't) in books. I loved how snarky he can be towards Gansey and how independent he can be. It showed that he can pull off the anti-hero status, which I have a feeling that might be the case when they continue their search for the Raven King. Plus his talent, my word that is an amazing talent right? Adam is one of my favorites (shipping him and Rowan together..), he's so stubborn but is completely loyal like Gansey and everyone else in the group of friends.

I also enjoyed the different subplots in this book as well. We got to see the characters grow a little more and get to see Adam finally changing his life for the better and Blue coming more out of her shell and into a strong character. She's one of the top three favorites of mine for this series along with Rowan and Gansey. Speaking of their 'leader, Gansey is so sweet in this book. He's so curious and helpful and it kills me every time when people just treat him like garbage.

This book brought out a woven to Ronan's past, learning about his brothers and seeing how they might fit with everything in the next book. Especially with their special powers, it makes me want to see it first hand and maybe hint Ronan on grabbing a few things for me haha. Overall, I really need to read the next book because this series is fantastic with the wordsmith and lively characters that continue to steal my heart even to this day. What is your opinion on the Raven Boy Series? Let me know in the comments below and I'll be back soon with another book review. Happy howling! :)

Book Review: The Raven Boys

 

The Raven boys (Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Release Date: September 18th, 2012

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Format of Novel: Paperback

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary (from good reads): 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.

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At first, I didn't plan on starting this series until all of the books came out. But, I decided to give this series a chance and I'm happy that I did. This series is so much better compare to her wolf series (and yeah, this is coming from someone that loves wolves with a fiery passion). The writing style was beautiful and the cast of characters were unexpected and fresh to my crazed mind. The twists and turns between the new group of friends were never ending and that really got me to fan girl loudly while in my room. The relations between the 'raven boys' were really interesting. I loved Ronan with his tough guy act and his unique ability (which is more revealed in the sequel), Adam's yearning for independence and love, and Gansey.. Oh Gansey, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He's been trying so hard to help his friends out while looking for this mystical ruin and the Raven King.

Blue Sargent was a very nice touch as a female protagonist. I thought she was going to be a weaker character, but I was completely wrong. I like how she doesn't have a crazy ability about her, but yet she still maintain a strong will to keep going and have a stubbornness to her that literally shines like the boys do in the series. The cast of characters were a wonderful bunch all together and I wanted so much more from them.

But, what really brought my attention to this book was the word flow and the power of Maggie's writing style. It's just so freakin' beautiful and lyrical. Her writing literally pulls you right in for an all-nighter and it's so realistic that you feel like you're a character in the book. She makes her words similar to classic literature we're force to read in class, but she makes it fun.

All in all, I found this story compelling and breathtaking. Everything about this book was original and whimsical with the word flow. The series is worth reading if you enjoy the mystery and an odd bunch of people banding together to uncover those mysteries of the Raven King.

What were your thoughts about this book? Tell me in the comments below and I'll be back with another post tomorrow. Happy Howling!