Book Review - The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

I have done it. I have finally done it.

I have read the entire Raven Cycle by the Writing Queen, Maggie Stiefvater.

And now I don't know what to do with myself *melts into a puddle*

Overall Series Rating: 4 Stars

The rundown:

The Raven Boys: 4.5 Stars
The Dream Thieves: 4 Stars
Blue Lily, Lily Blue: 4 Stars
The Raven King: 3.5 Stars

My good gracious, you guys - when I said I didn't know what to do with myself, I meant it. I just finished this series last night and I HAS FEELS. Lots of feels. Very confused feels. My feels are slain. JUST FEELS. Okay, we better get onto the review before I pass out right here and now. 

From The Back Cover

“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.

View The Raven Boys on Goodreads   ---   View The Raven Boys on Amazon

- The Raven Boys and Blue. Basically all the characters. ALWAYS THE CHARACTERS. But seriously - the characters in The Raven Cycle are some of the best I've ever read. I love them so much I CAN'T *flailing*. I loved the characters in The Scorpio Races (you guys have probably heard me scream about that before) but the Raven Boys and Blue are on a whole different level. I could probably write any entire post JUST SCREAMING about my love for these characters. They just felt so REAL and I loved them all so much! I can't, you guys, I can't <3 <3 <3.

- Henrietta and 300 Fox Way. Because I simply ADORED the setting for this story (honestly I could have mentioned a lot more places than just Fox Way and Henrietta but #spoilers and we'd be here all day), it was absolutely perfect and I would die to spend a day at 300 Fox Way. The feel of it was PERFECT and the characters fit into it so well, and I haven't seen a setting this unique that felt so REAL for some time. Many many points to The Raven Cycle for this <3. 

- The emotions. The Raven Cycle definitely packed a massive punch in this area. Like, I literally LAUGHED OUT LOUD at a few parts (murder squash song and 'He threw me out the window!' for those of you who've read the series - among other parts xD), and I just don't normally do that with books? And then in the next chapter I'd be curled in a smol ball of sobs and melting-ness. MY HEART. IS JUST. I don't know you guys I don't know what to do *flees*.

- THE PROSE. But it's a Stiefvater book so #EXPECTED. But my gracious, Maggie Stiefvater absolutely outdid herself. She does things with words that make the story a whole different animal from what it would have been had someone else written it. It's incredible. It's like magic. <3 <3 <3   

- The pure genius of it all. This series blew my mind. That is all, the end.

*mic drop before I ramble for another three days, because I REALLY, REALLY COULD*

- So. Much. Language. My word, you guys, out of all the books I've read in all my life, this book has the worst language. And there's a lot of it. F-bombs make multiple appearances. But I kinda-sorta trained my brain to either replace or skip straight over the swear words, which made it less terrible, but I could have done without it.

- A certain development in book four. I am not one to completely skip over pages in books - but I completely skipped over a few pages in The Raven King. The fact that Adam and Ronan got into a gay relationship in the fourth book was...awkward...and extremely annoying. It wasn't a massive part of the story, but it was still there, which resulted in me skipping straight over a few uncomfortable pages. Flat-out didn't read them at all. Which made it easier to pretend that it had never happened xD. If not for this, the fourth book in this series probably would have snagged four stars, but alas I had to knock it down *smol tears*.

Oh, gracious. My feels are still spinning, how on EARTH am I supposed to give any 'final thoughts?' (they would mostly sound like "AJSGLJAGSLJG *dies*"). Guess I should try though, huh...

The Raven Cycle was a mystical, beautiful series (albeit with some issues that messed up the final book for me), with some of the most real characters and the most real settings and the most real emotions that I've ever read. I don't know how much I would actually recommend it, mostly just for stuff in the fourth book and swearing (and the fact that this series isn't the cleanest), but if I was to recommend it, it would be for ages 16+ who don't mind taking bad with the good. THE CHARACTERS ARE JUST THE BEST. I've already got book hangover, and I probably will for some time ;D.

Excelsior.

~ Savannah Grace 

have you ever read The Raven Cycle? or any Steifvater books in general?

chat with me, friends! <3 (and happy 4th to my American readers!)