From Z to A: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

Dear Aly,

It has been pretty well established that I love Maggie Stiefvater. She creates lush storylines and amazing characters, and with each new book I read of hers I fall a little bit more in love. For having picked up The Raven Cycle series on a whim, I sure am deep in.

I had the opportunity to preorder The Raven King from Fountain Bookstore and got my hands on a doodled copy with the special bookplate Maggie created for the book. Maggie’s art is beautiful and it was definitely worth the wait. I was also grateful that the shipping and receiving process went off without a hitch (if you remember, there was a certain incident with some trucks with the preorders having tipped over in a snowstorm… the horror!).

Again not spoiling anything since this is the last book in the series, The Raven King picks up where Blue Lily, Lily Blue left off. The gang is all there: Gansey, Blue, Ronan, Adam, Noah. Gansey’s search for the dead Welsh king Glendower continues, as it always does, and he’s closer than he’s ever been, and yet somehow kinda far too. There’s something stirring in a magical forest, something certain people want to get their hands on, and as per usual, there’s some pretty shady people hanging around creating chaos.

With The Raven King we see the rise in importance of Henry Cheng. He had a minor part in Blue Lilybut he really becomes an intrinsic part of the story in this last installment. I really loved getting to know him and seeing how he interacted with the rest of the characters and I felt he was a cool addition to the team.

I am very happy with this ending Maggie has written. Of course I’m sad that it’s officially Over but I feel complete. It’s a really amazing series and I think Maggie gave the characters the ending they deserved.

(Oh and the thing you think happens…. it may or may not have happened. Wink wink)

Happy reading,

Zoe

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From Z to A: Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Dear Aly,

After all of the drama of trying to acquire Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater, I’ve finally finished it and am ready to review!! My beautiful copy was doodled in by Maggie and came with a signed bookplate that depicts some of the characters from the book! I ordered mine from Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia; they have signed copies of all Maggie’s books!

Blue Lily, Lily Blue is a continuation of the Raven Cycle story. I won’t spoil the story for anyone, since it is the third book, but it does continue Gansey’s search for the Welsh king, Glendower, who is supposedly buried somewhere in Henrietta, Virginia (where the story takes place). After The Dream Thieves focused on Ronan’s story and struggles, Blue Lily, Lily Blue refocuses on Gansey’s search. Of course Ronan is still a big part of the story, but the narration is less about him. Blue is still as strong-willed as ever, Adam is still troubled, and Noah is still dead.

I absolutely loved Blue Lily, Lily Blue. Maggie’s writing still is incredible! There’s such vivid language and such character complexity, that it’s a magical experience reading one of her books. In this installment of her story, things are beginning to come together and there’s a lot of foreshadowing. I understood some of it and some of it I know is going to be explained in the next book. Ronan is still probably my favorite character, and the little bit we get of him is so wonderful, and even though he probably thinks he’s not changing, he totally is.

If you loved the first two books in the Raven Cycle series, you need Blue Lily, Lily Blue in your life!!! I was skeptical about the title; it seemed a little long-winded and complicated, but of course, it actually fits right in with the story and the themes Maggie brings up. I can’t wait for the next book but I’m so sad it’s ending!!

Happy holiday reading,

Zoe

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From Z to A: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Dear Aly,

Let me just bask in the afterglow of The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater!!!!!

I’ve mentioned before how innovative I think this series is, but I’ll say it again. There’s so much going on in this installment, and it’s really hard to pick a favorite part because all of it is good!!!

Basically this is a continuation of the first book, The Raven Boys, but focuses more on Ronan Lynch, Gansey’s best friend. Ronan’s family history is a little crazy; his dad was brutally murdered and now he is estranged from his older brother, his mother is in what seems like an eternal coma. And he begins to realize he can take things from his dreams into real life. It began with Chainsaw, his raven, and escalated very quickly. When he realizes he may not be the only one who can do this, things start to get very interesting.

While the book still features the five main characters from The Raven Boys (Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, Noah), we get a new character to play with, Joseph Kavinsky. Oh Kavinsky. He’s bad, really bad. Mostly everything he does is highly illegal, he antagonizes Ronan to absolutely no end, he’s abusively self-destructive, he drives a kickass Mitsubishi Evo with a knife painted on the side. Oh, I love Kavinsky almost too much for words. He’s the perfect tragic character. He ropes Ronan into some very interesting situations, but through those, Ronan actually learns about his dream ability. Kavinsky’s probably one of the most complex characters I’ve read in a while. I love him so much but at the same time, he’s absolutely a sociopath.

Maggie Stiefvater is so brilliant. I don’t know how she did it, but the book seems to focus evenly on each character. They’re all important to furthering the plot, and I’m so excited to find out what happens next to all of them!!! She’s also the master at subtlety. She reveals things about her characters in a way that is almost subliminal.

If you can’t tell, I’m obsessed with this series, I dare say it’s my favorite of the year. It’s complicated, dark, weird, adorable, sexy all in one!

Happy reading,

Zoe

From Z to A: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Dear Aly,

Sometimes I’m so impressed by the scope of ideas that authors come up with! The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater is such an innovative and surprising book!

Blue Sargent’s whole family are psychics, real ones. They can predict the future, do accurate card readings, etc. They also go down to the corpse road every year to gather the names of everyone who’s going to die in the upcoming year. Usually Blue can never see them, she’s only there because her presence makes her family’s abilities more powerful. She’s always been told that if she kisses her true love, he will die. Then one year, Blue sees one of the souls. And the only way a non-psychic would see a soul on the corpse road is if they’re their true love, or if they killed them.

Blue sees Gansey, a student at Aglionby, the private prep school for the well-to-do. And as hard as she tries, obviously, she becomes involved with him and his friends, and Gansey’s obsessive search for the king Glendower.

I really like how Maggie Stiefvater brought in Scottish, Irish, and Welsh culture and history. I know little to nothing about the three, so it was cool to see someone who was really excited about it! And her characters were really cool; Gansey is very much the politician’s son, calm and collected at every turn. Ronan is hot-headed, volatile, angry, but loyal to a fault to Gansey. Adam is so sweet, so flawed and so unfortunate that you can’t help but root for him. Blue is so different from all the female protagonists I’ve read, she’s strong-willed and brave, but at the same time, she doesn’t take up the whole story, a lot of the time she takes a backseat to the boys. And Noah is… dead? All together, the group is this giant ball of opposites and I loved every minute of it.

I have a special place for books with characters in prep schools. The uniforms, the atmosphere, the attitude. I grew up going to prep school, so I can relate really well, and I think Maggie did a great job portraying Gansey and his friends.

There are some awesome, totally unexpected plot twists in the book that left my jaw hanging. The Raven Boys definitely wasn’t what I was expecting, in a good way!! I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequal, The Dream Thieves!

Happy reading,

Zoe