π the raven cycle (series) β maggie stiefvater: 4β
the raven boys | the dream thieves | blue lily, lily blue | the raven king | opal (a raven cycle story)
first review on this account, and it's the raven cycle by maggie stiefvater! i read the first book about 2 months ago and got to catch up with the rest of the series over this past week.
plot: 3Β½β starting with good things :') overall, i found the plot pretty solid and steady. i love love looooved the multiple povs across the cast and think it added to its characters + worldbuilding excellently. so many good subplots and unexpected dynamics (persephone and adam's mentorship was a definite fave). i wish i could rate it higher but gyahhhh it was kind of just... anticlimactic. as much as i enjoyed the buildup within the past four books, i felt that the raven king swept itself under the rug, and left me hanging. the moment of glendower's discovery and gansey's disappointment, while intentional (gansey was meant to wake himself up the entire time... actually really loved this), felt insignificant next to the whole oh-god-ronan-and-adam-are-dying-blue-you-have-to-kiss-me right after. like, he couldn't have moped for at least an extra day? in fact, things like adam's vision (blue's was true but his wasn't???), noah's impact on the cast post-canon (though i'm pretty sure they forgot about him), and the treatment of its own antagonists (whelk especially, greenmantle does nothing, neeve who is not an antagonist but returns after a long time also ends up doing about nothing) all felt swept under the rug, even if explained.
final unsatisfactions aside, plenty of things did satisfy me along the way β ronan's rivalry (and one-sided situationship... jk) with kavinsky was plenty entertaining and faintly bittersweet. pynch and bluesey unfold beautifully and aghhh the kisses in the barns were SOOO GOOD kicking my feet... ronan's dreamthings and dream people... and so much more. despite the fumbles i can still say i think of this story much positively. :)
characters: 4Β½β sorta already touched upon but if i have any qualms about this series just know that its characters make up for it like crazy. stiefvater excels in making people, people β quirks, flaws, and all. we see how each character sets themselves apart intentionally and unintentionally, how they break in half only to glue themselves back together. adam's pride is frustrating to the reader, but comes from a place of hurt that heals when given time (the court scene + his final visit to the trailer before he leaves for college... i love you adam parrish!!!). gansey is wealthy in more ways than money, but can't seem to share that wealth with the people he loves the most. his arguments with adam, ronan, and blue tell so much and move the story forward, i actually have a lot of fun reading them! even when characters grow while the story progresses, they also remain consistent in ways that matter. and can we talk about the dynamics?: the women of 300 fox way bounce off of each other naturally, sisters of a home well inhabited. as for the raven boys + blue, see: blue lily, lily blue chapter 13 :). hesitant in giving 5 stars cause i'm picky but for me these characters come really, really close.
worldbuilding: 4β psychics, dreams, cabeswater: mystical from start to finish, finish to start (cause time is circular, get it?). henrietta feels exactly as it's described: a close-knit town, a place with more than what meets the eye, a home, an escape. cabeswater still leaves us with questions even when explained (which hurts its rating a little), but questions are part of it's charm, too. i think there's potential to explore this world's magic system a little more and rely a little less on ronan lol. but for being such a focused story in this little town i can mostly shrug it off. well that's what the dreamer trilogy is for... i think...
overall: 4β beautiful world and characters, enticing story with some bumps plot wise. also GORGEOUS prose with so much feeling poured into each and every word!! didn't know where to include it here but i can't fawn over stiefvater's use of language enough. will be checking out her other works when i have the time.
other ramblings:
remind me to talk about ronan favoritism though. big one
speaking of ronan keep in mind i have yet to read the dreamer trilogy!!
speaking of ronan i'm glad we have opal but where are the bluesey spinoffs!!
they seriously replaced noah with henry man. what the hell
i have more to say about adam trust me. that's my goat
