[Book Review] The Raven Boys

Hello sweeties <3

Today is a special day *dun dun dun* I am going to write my first book review for the "Einmal durchs Regal"-Challenge hosted by Nezumi and Sasija....also this is my first book review ever so be nice ;) This is the book I read for the main challenge:

Title: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Pages: 409
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545424933
ISBN-13: 978-0545424936

You can buy the book here!

This is what the backcover says:

"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve. Either you're his true love...or you killed him."

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them - until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey and 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 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.


What I think about it:
At first I was rather reluctant to read this book as it seemed like yet another supernatural teenage love romance but oh my god was I wrong. Of course love plays quite a role in the quest for a long lost legend. But although the destiny of one lover causing the other to die eventually looming over their heads like a damocles sword all the time the other characters, their motives, stories and relationships are as big a part of the story as the lovestory that seems to be doomed from the beginning.

The friendship between the Raven Boys, the mysteries behind them and of course the quest surrounding all of them is as important as the love story. Sometimes I even forgot that there was a love story involved. It is a great tale about friendship, the struggles of becoming your own person and of course the struggles and fears of first love.

Also the supernatural part is something really different from your usual 0815-story. Maggie Stiefvater is taking us on a journay into Welsh mysteries and the legends surrounding Ravenking Glendower. I for my part didn't know so much about either of those legends and after reading the first book of Stiefvaters Raven-Cycle really want to know more about that. The last time a book had that impression on me is a pretty long time ago. So, I will give extra points to Maggie Stiefvater to spark my curiosity again ;)

The atmosphere Stiefvater is creating is also wonderful. At times you feel like you just stumbled into another teenage story but in other parts the atmosphere is really dark and dangerous. I think in combining the lighthearted parts with the mystical, sometimes dangerous parts, Maggie Stiefvater did a great job. You never get the feeling that one scene is dragged on for too long. Also I love all the characters, which is also really rare for me. Mostly I have one favourite character and even more often I have one that I absolutely despise but here every character is well rounded and you understand their reasons even though you wouldn't handle things the way they do.

Do I have to say something bad about the book? Well, I regret that it was over so fast and I have to wait for the 2nd book in the series to arrive at my place x"D Other than that I don't have any negative points which is pretty rare as I have to criticize everything ^^"

★★★★★

Did you already dive into the mysteries about the Raven Boys? What did you think?

If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it :)

Have a nice day~

xoxo