inish Date: 1/13/2020*
Book Details *I ended up speeding through the entire series between 1-9-21 and 1-13-21. The Raven Cycle books are "The Raven Boys", "The Dream Thieves" "Blue Lily, Lily Blue," and "The Raven King", published between 2012 and 2016. FINAL THOUGHTS ★★★★★ Probably the most telling thing about my enjoyment of this series is how fast I was able to consume it. I read all four books in about as many days, on top of ten hour shifts. They were easy to read, but not simple. I was invested in the characters and the plot, and wanted to know what was going to happen. PLOT Blue Sargent takes the lead in "The Raven Boys." She's your typical, not like other girls YA protagonist. She even comes complete with a prophecy courtesy of her psychic family. If she ever kisses her true love, he will die. She lives in a town that houses a school for wealthy boys, the prestigious Aglionby, whose students are called raven boys. Like most of the lower income students in the town, as well as almost every lower income character in the book (more on this in a moment) she looks upon the wealthy boys as snobbish pigs. And she could never, ever become friends with any of them. That is until she meets Richard Gansey III, who blunders into her life with all his insulting richness. More than that, he and his three friends from Aglionby (Adam, Ronan, and Noah) carry a sense of mystery and magic. He's obsessed with finding the Raven King of Welsh Mythology, and his passion is enough to drag even Blue into the hunt. It's said whoever finds the Raven King will be granted a "wish". Their hunt drags them through one magical incident after another. They learn how much power dreams can have, that death transcends time, how dangerous others seeking magical artifacts can be, and Blue learns exactly who she's not meant to kiss. ANALYSIS As I mentioned above, characters of average to low income all seem to have a very strong dislike for characters with money. Most the rich characters are portrayed as being unintentionally snobbish and aloof. Well-meaning enough, but oh so patronizing. Hardly a few pages goes by without someone being ticked off just because someone has money. This is particularly seen with the character of Adam. His character arc revolves around coming from a bad situation and getting into Aglionby on scholarship. He has a lot of internalized spite towards the other boys because they were able to buy their way into Aglionby with family money. While the message is important to some of the character dynamics, the way it's portrayed is a little on-the-nose, and really gets hammered home to the point where it starts to feel annoying. I would have liked to see other viewpoints than simply "I'm rich and a jerk", "I'm rich and I didn't realize I was being a jerk," and "you're rich so you must be a jerk." Many of the characters viewpoints and opinions were based on exactly the same models, and it did become a little tiresome. Blue's character also begins to take a bit of a side seat as we explore the plot arcs of the Raven Boys. In later books, she actually becomes a supporting character. This didn't bother me all that much as she was, to me, the least interesting character. As stated above, she was fairly typical for a YA female protagonist. Her entire character is wrapped up in her not having the same psychic abilities as her family, wanting to save the rainforests, and spending a lot of time on making sure her hair was intentionally messy. She did show some character growth, but her arc was relatively stable. The boys are where the characters really shine. They experienced character arcs that actually took some of them from nearly-disliked to absolute favorites. Personally, I'm not fond of Adam's character as he reminds me real people I knew who let bad things turn them angry, but that's what makes the character a good one. He's not just his anger, or the tragic backstory, he has other characteristics and actions that make him read as very human. It's refreshing to see characters who don't simply embody a couple traits, but make very human choices. The first three books were really fun to read. By the third book, the plot revolving around the hunt for the Raven King seems to have been pushed a bit to the side to deal with more immediate threats. While the "Villain of the Week" feel to each of the books did begin to feel a little tangential at times, it did give the characters new things to worry about each book. There were some things which were meant to remain mysteries, but for the close reader they weren't too hard to ferret out. Some details revealed themselves to me because I'm too trusting of a reader. When a character makes a wild, wry comment in the background, I tend to just assume they meant what they said. Others revealed themselves in all the clues peppered throughout the story. I feel this set up is good for most readers. For those who follow the breadcrumbs and draw conclusions early, they get the satisfaction of being confirmed right. For those who prefer to let mysteries sit until revealed, there are some really fun turns. The formatting of the fourth book felt like it was beginning to crumble a little bit. Throughout the whole series, there had been elements of repetition used to help structure the plot. These were obviously intentional. By book four, there is no subtlety to that repletion. I feel like it was intended to show how intertwined all the events and characters are, but it began to grate on my nerves. The action had picked up to a point where I just wanted to see what was going on, not keep bouncing back to weave in another thread. It was at this point that one of the human villains also began to feel very unnecessary. By this point, as a reader, I was ready to finally have the mystery of the Raven King unraveled. But the plot kept dancing away from it to structure a longer book. But all this eventually led to a fascinating final conflict. There was no shortage of tension here. As someone who loves European folklore, I was thrilled to see some of it included here. The myth did often seem surface level as the drive for the story was very much current world, but it helped to enrich the story nonetheless. OVERVIEW Overall, I enjoyed the series. It's one that kept me thinking about it and talking about it with my roommate for a number of days afterward. This series offers more than YA usually does, and I found that to be incredibly refreshing. The characters were genuinely interesting, as were any romantic relationships. The plot had more going for it than a simple A-Z structure, incorporating some distinctly complex points. It simply didn't feel like "every other low fantasy story ever". I plan to read it again, and recommend it again. While it might not be for everyone, it's certainly worth a look. Thanks for the recommendation, roomie :)
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My friend and I were talking the other day, and we noticed how little YA I've been exposed to. When I was young, once I had read all the children's books I was interested in, my mother trusted me to seek new books in the Adult Fantasy section (knowing I was enough of a prude to skip just about anything questionable). The YA fiction didn't speak to me at the time. There was always dumb teen romance, and flat characters, and unimaginative fantasy elements/plots.... or so I thought.
Now I realize I missed out on some real treasures when I would have been at an age for them to really speak to me. This book was recommended to me by my friend, so I'm excited to dive in! Reading Start Date: 1-9-2021 Finish Date: 1-10-2021 Title: The Raven Boys Category: YAFiction Author: Maggie Steifvater Text Copyright Date: 2012 Publisher: Schoolastic Inc. Available for Purchase on Amazon The book promises a potentially doomed romance and boys who can only mean trouble. Can't get more YA than that! I have always loved the works of Poe, and despite having owned the complete collection since I was in middle school, there are some stories I haven't gotten around to reading yet. At the moment, I'm simply going through some of the works which are new to me. Always a good read!
FINAL THOUGHTS ★★★★☆ Would have rated it 4.5 if the common romance novel descriptions weren't used. This would have made it nothing more than a medieval mystery with some romantic elements though. I have to say, for someone will little interest in the romance genre, I probably picked a good first adult romance novel to read. Firstly, this book is plot driven. This book provided a balance between actual storytelling and classic romance novel tropes (based on what I know from book discussions, movies, YA romance, and excerpts I've read). While there were plenty of sections hyper-focused on her fiery fall of hair, and his deep tawny eyes and broad back.... there was also a reason to be invested in the characters and their journey.
PLOT The main characters are Eloise, and hard-headed novice at a convent with dreams of becoming an abbess someday, and Peril (yes his name is actually Peril... because romance novel), the burly war savvy lord of Whitmore. Peril is in desperate need of a bride because everyone is convinced his lands are cursed. Only a bride "of the highest virtue" can break the curse and bring order to the land. So, he goes to the convent to bring home a woman they've raised to be his bride. What he gets instead, is Eloise. The abbess sees a way to get this anything-but-humble girl out of her hair, and solve the problem of finding a suitable bride for the equally stubborn lord. So, she sends Eloise to test him on his ability to be a good husband. She is to perform the Husband Test. Throughout the book, interactions between the two characters show their good sides, and their bad sides. Their attraction to each other grows as they navigate the problems of Whitmore's "curse". Oh, and Peril's neighbor is trying to steal all his stuff. RELATIONSHIP (SPOILERS) What I particularly liked is that the "spicy" scenes were kept to a bare minimum. While the deeds were done, the descriptions were not lavish making it more palatable for a first time reader. Far more tasteful than other scenes I've read for discussion purposes. However, I wouldn't recommend this for someone who's really hoping for some smut. I would recommend it to someone who wants an engaging story with romantic aspects. The author uses common romance novel language (except calling people's eyes orbs, huzzah!), and some common relationship tropes. Something I liked though is that while the burly, patriarchal man does end up with the strong-willed woman, there's more portrayed. The book makes a point of pointing out that physical attraction is not enough. It actually pushes the characters through physical bliss into the territory of unhappiness because they aren't communicating. Then, of course, works around to a resolution. While it might not be the least problematic portrayal of a relationship, it is better than a lot of relationships I've seen in books. OVERVIEW Once I actually got around to reading the book, it only took a couple days to polish it off. I may have procrastinated to read "Howl's Moving Castle" in the middle. Maybe. I was actually invested in seeing how the "curse" was resolved (I must point out this book is not fantasy. Read it to figure out what I mean). I was also interested in seeing how the characters would finally start communicating their needs and emotions. I wasn't too interested in the male lead, but I wasn't expecting to be. He was at least a decent bloke when it came to honor and caring about his people, so that's something. I did like Eloise enough, though her strange and blatant ambition didn't really read as natural. I would have liked a little more depth to it. But overall, I wold recommend this book to anyone who doesn't mind a bit of soft romance, and wants some plot to flesh it out. I've never read a whole, adult romance novel.... I know. Maybe I'm odd. At any rate, I suppose I'm going to have to sooner or later, and I came across on in my favorite place on Earth (the thrift store). So, I shall give it a try.
Reading Start Date: 8-16-2020 Finish Date: 9-9-2020 Title: The Husband Test Category: Adult Romance Author: Betina Krahn Text Copyright Date: 2001 Betina Krahn Publisher: Bantam Books Available for Purchase on Amazon The book promises to follow a young novice of a convent who has sworn off all physical pleasure. Of course, she'll be confronted with the one man who might get to her. And there's a dark plot. I'm not very familiar with this genre, so I'm excited to see what I think. Who knows, it might spark a new interest. That or I might run far and fast for the hills. I came across this book while volunteering to help clean up the children's section of my local used book shop. I have a signed first edition, and the premise seems like it could be promising. It promises to be an Arthurian time travel story, and the timid young protagonist must convince Merlin that together they must stop an evil plot! Reading Start Date: 6-12-2020 Finish Date: 6-16-20 Title: Aruthur Collins and the Three Wishes Category: YA Low Fantasy Author: Linda Rash Pilkington Text Copyright Date: 2002 Paperback First Edition Date: 2008 Publisher: City Castles Available for Purchase on Amazon First impressions: I would like to do a little research on the publication history of this book to see if it qualifies as an independent or self-published work, in which case I will do a full review for my Best Books Quest. The book looks self-published, as far as formatting and internal design go. It's 322 pages, but the margins are quite wide, so I imagine the read won't be too long. I'm a fan of Arthurian stories, so I hope there will be a few nerdy crumbs for me in here!
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My Reading ListWhat I'm reading right now, and a little of what I think about it! Archives
June 2021
CategoriesDisclaimerI will be linking as many books as I can to places where they can be purchased, in case anyone has an interest to do so. I will link the book regardless of any opinions I hear or form of the authors. None of the links are affiliate links, it's just a place I found to purchase the story.
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