Today I'm going to be talking about The Raven Boys, first novel in The Raven Cycle Quartet.
I'm going to start of by saying that I've had the first novel in the series laying on my shelf for years. Since the series is finished, I finally got the drive to pick up the first novel since my book club on Instagram @YADIVERSITY chose that for our book of the month for April.
Review of The Raven Boys
So here are my scattered thoughts on The Raven Boys. (Since I didn't review the book right away, I'm kinda forgetting some key points, so there's my heads up)
When going into The Raven Boys, I honestly didn't know what to expect. All I knew is that "The Raven Boys" somehow came into play, I just didn't know who they were and how they did.
Right when I opened the novel I was quite shocked, because I had for some weird reason expected the story to start off from a male's point of view. (Even though I had already read the synopsis, which is with a female's point of view) But besides that point, I really enjoyed reading from the strange character that was Blue Sargent.
Blue is one of the most strange and perplexing female characters I've ever read about, which made me instantly like her character. There's just something about her sassy attitude, crazy sense of style, and intuition that just somehow works for her.
Even though Blue has to endure living with several old crazy women, she actually is surprisingly adept when it comes to acting normal. Her character's way of thinking is quite dynamic, but not necessarily overblown. There's absolutely nothing better than to know that you have a special connection with a character, and even though Blue's personality is out there, I still feel like I have some similarities with her.
Now... I just want to put it out there that Gansey is so far my absolute favorite character. Maggie created such a beautiful character here. He's one of those uncommon main male characters that you rarely come across when reading a YA novel. His quirkiness is really what makes the book, although what truly shines is his wits. (I mean of course they would.. since he is a Raven Boy) I just love how that plays a key part in his personality throughout the novel. There's also a little humor hidden within his character, which allows the book to speed past.
And I can't forget about the side characters like Adam, Ronan, Noah, and Blue's family. They all played a major part in The Raven Boys. I found it pleasing that Maggie somehow shows equality to all the characters, allowing time and space for each to express themselves. Adam's humbleness is stunning, Noah's creepiness was sometimes a little too much for me, but you'll understand that later on when you read it. And Ronan was something else, I wasn't sure if I liked his mean sides or not. It may have a love/hate relationship with his character's personality down the road.
I had some minor problems with the story, namely that at first, I found the entry to be somewhat confusing. Maggie basically just throws you in the pit, but thats no biggie, as its almost expected. I also had problems with the pacing of it, as I didn't feel drawn in at the very beginning, but the middle and ending seemed almost explosive. The climax seemed to take forever, but it was indeed exciting.
So I guess that's good considering it ended on a cliffhanger, which would make you want to go grab the next book. But I didn't like the super slow burn as much as others might have liked it.
I do wish to pick up the next book very soon! I've heard fantastic things about the rest of the books, and the entire series in general. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and will continue soon. More to come!
I hope you all enjoyed my review of The Raven Boys! Tell me how you felt about it! I want to hear your opinion!
