The Raven Boys: IS IT WORTH THE HYPE?! | Honest & Spoiler-Free Review | ivymuse

Let's take a look at one of Booktube's darlings: The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater! Is it worth the hype?
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[@tappkalina]

The Dream Thieves is my absolute favourite and Ronan is one of my all time favourite characters.

[@natalievalentin-espiet8456]

This is one of my favorite series precisely because of the main points you highlighted: the writing style and the characters. Those are two of the biggest things I read for, so I found this series really compelling. I'm not a plot-driven reader, like, at all, so I didn't mind the slow build of the series and all the "unnecessary" scenes. I do have to agree with your points about the final book! It didn't wrap-up as well as it could have, and I feel that it's a pretty popular opinion that not many people enjoyed the last book that much. Anyway! Awesome reviews! Thanks for the mini heart attacks every time you talked about this series because I love it so much but also love your videos so much. Lol.

[@ivymuse]

haha sorry for the heart attacks but glad you survived ;)

[@musicalfeet9342]

A AAA aq aww 1 saw aa we a aww aww a ww the vents in the

[@teapot984]

_maybe the real Glendower was the friends we made along the way_

[@theidiosyncraticsisters964]

We feel like you just summed up the whole ending with that sentence, something we thought was impossible. In the end it wasn't about finding glendower it was about the quest to find him and the friendships formed along the way

[@Camila-cd7xe]

The first time I read it i hated the second book, I thought it was unnecessary, but now that I've re-read the series at least 3 times I can confidently say that the second book is a master piece and the best book. Anyone who's read the raven cycle should listen to the Ravin' Girls, is a podcast that'll make you realise how smart is Maggie Stiefvater's writing is, and fall in love even more with the series.

[@Staykid92]

I love that podcast!

[@Harleyxjokerforever]

Thanks for this. I actually pick up the first book at the library but never got around to reading. Glad to hear it's not a YA romance masquerading as fantasy. I can't tell you how many times I've been doped into reading some "angsty teenage romance" when I thought I was getting a cool fantasy. Stuff like that makes me DNF a book so quick.

[@hansen7129]

Personally, this is my favorite series because the characters are so strong. Ronan is my absolute favorite character, so I didn’t mind the more meandering story in Dream Thieves. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good plot, but I mostly read for compelling characters and a interesting writing style. I do understand why someone wouldn’t enjoy these books as much as I did, and the fourth book is admittedly a bit weak.

[@ayeshas.3544]

Ronan is abso-fucking-lutely my fave character.

[@russul1732]

I like how you reviewed the book with details. The first pages were crazy! now I can continue. Thank you!

[@nocturnus009]

Great job pushing through the series.

[@sybilwilson9262]

I loved these books but do agree with most of what you said. (Except book two because I adore Ronan. I thought he was the most interesting character.) I got lost in the atmosphere and writing style and after a while I stopped caring about the main plot and just enjoyed the words. I thought the ending was rushed as well, and also fairly disappointing, predictable and rushed.

[@madisontaylor4936]

i love these books so, honest review the overall plot but i think it could have been executed better. it’s very slow and kind of confusing i LOVE the characters and the writing style is absolutely beautiful, i’m always here for a character driven book thank you for the honest review!

[@toiletteregina]

hmm interesting. I’ve been on the fence about the series for so long and if I should spend cash on it, but I think I’ll continue to hold off on it for the time being.

[@M00u0]

I think a lot of what you bring up is fair. Honestly I feel like depending on the kind of story you like reading or the genre a person prefers it really almost predicts how enjoyable this series is or not. Personally a lot of the things you mentioned as things you don't like are some of my favorite aspects (Spoilers: aka dead king turning out to just be a dead king instead of a sort of magical genie ready to solve the day vs the actual entity granting wishes being a demon whose wish granting come with a steep price). I guess because the book was so character driven and slow paced and made such a big point of developing the character dynamics rather than the plot which, agree has so many holes lol, it would almost have been way more surprising and lacking in cohesiveness for it to suddenly become a book very heavy on the fantasy. Honestly I disagree with it being considered a fantasy book in general which I think creates this kind of confusion. I think paranormal is such a better term for it considering how much magic very much is present in the book but takes a backstage to the characters and their story arcs. obviously that's just because I enjoy this type of story so I think it's 100% valid to have expected more of that fantasy and action to show through. I hardly ever disagree with people who either don't like it or have a lot of criticism about it so I ended up agreeing with everything you said only it's funny that a lot of it I have opposite feelings for haha

[@mmmmm3227]

I really don't agree with their being "fluffy" moments, or whatever term you used, in these books. TRC is very much a character-driven, atmospheric book -- I really don't think you can call for more rigorous editing for a book that does what it's meant to do, as the author meant to do it, just because it's a style that you dislike. I also don't agree with you wanting to get rid of the entire dream thieves novel because Maggie Stiefvater is currently writing another series on solely Ronan -- therefore, I feel like that book would be quite important? Also for the development of Ronan's relationship coughSPOILERcough later on, the dream thieves is extremely important and when you go back and re-read it after finishing the whole series, you'll see how a lot of things are foreshadowed there. I DO agree that the end of the series is anti-climactic, and I was disappointed upon first read, however, the things we gained along the way were worth it in my opinion -- the adventure was the story and the people we met along the way, but I do understand that not everyone enjoys endings like that!

[@ivymuse]

I don't think I said fluffy, I probably meant there's quite a few elements in the book that felt directionless to me and like they didn't add anything to the story or the main characters. For example, I don't think so much background on the Grey Man was needed and Henry imho doesn't really add much to the story. He seems somewhat forced into the friend group for no apparent reason other than "he really wanted to be their friend" and he jumps in at the right moments to save the day, but other than that? To me he served as plot convenience and never really developed into a fully formed character. If he wasn't in the books sure some things would have to be re-written, but overall nothing significant would really change. That's the type of thing i'm talking about there. It's fine to have a whole series on Ronan, I just personally didn't care that much about him as a person, I couldn't really connect or sympathize with him. His plot with Kavinsky was the only interesting bit to me in book 2, and that wasn't fleshed out enough and in my opinion only served to hint at his sexuality. On that note, I also didn't really connect with his relationship at the end of the series since it felt too much like "pairing up" to me. I know it's just me because everyone ships them to the moon and back, but I felt like they had no chemistry. (haha don't come for me please) I think it's fine to place the adventure above the goal in the plot of a book, but honestly the journey wasn't even that exciting. If they had done other things, branched off a bit more from their main goal of finding Glendower maybe I wouldn't have expected so much from the climax, but that really was their only constant goal throughout the books.

[@Kitty140291]

I miss the cereal boxes in the background 😄 other than that: a great review 😊 But based on it I'm afraid to say that I don't think I'm going to pick this series up. I need some plot if I know that I might commit to a 4-book series...

[@ivymuse]

haha really? they might be back at some point :P I can't decide where i prefer to film, I kind of don't like any place all that much^^ there is some plot there, just not a whole lot! maybe check out the first one and see how you feel then ;)

[@Kitty140291]

@@ivymuse haha yeah. I was always like "what are they eating this week?? 🤔" 😄 Jk, but the other background feels a little more personal idk Yeah, maybe once my tbr shelf is finally empty... so like... in about 2 years 😄

[@jpierce8148]

Omg! Thank you! I just finished the first one, and I love the characters, but, god, the overarching goal for the gang was so boring. The search for Glendower was just lame. I actually wanted more time with Blue and the boys, and more romantic moments with Gansey and Blue, but the ley line stuff really took away from that. I wish they a more excited mission to go on (like Lord of the Rings or something). Maybe if Maggie had written a more compelling supernatural villain, then I would have been more hooked, but Whelk is so lame and petty as a villain, I didnt care when they stopped him. Had it not been for the dynamic of Blue and her friends, I wouldnt have gotten through the whole ley line crap.

[@bookellenic1327]

I still have to read the last book, but so far I really liked the series, the first book being my favourite. However I think it's not the series to binge read, because the writing can be... draining I guess?

[@ivymuse]

agreed! i probably should have spaced it out a bit more ;)

[@katieanne5637]

This series is probably my favourite of all times (as well as the six of crows duology) I think it's amazing and have re read it several times but I'd say although the plot is intresting If you value plot over character then it's probably not the book for you but if u prefer characters then I'd say definitely read it :)

[@charlottejruthauthor]

I adored the first two books, but I'm on the third book and I'm not as big of a fan. It's written well, and it's really interesting, but I prefer the other character's perspectives over Adam's. I like Adam, but I feel like his perspective isn't that interesting. I might listen to this one on audio then physically read the raven king (Gansey is my favorite, so I know I'll love that one).

[@Leyl1nes]

U said spoiler free !! I’m mad wtf

[@SunriseFireberry]

Sounds like better 'n ave. YA. I see that u r past the 3/4 mark between 10&20K. Headed for 20K now!

[@Catherinemoodie]

Am I the only one who absolutely HATED all four of these books? What a stupid storyline, characters were super average and the ending was THE WORST

[@jimkaragkounis4750]

Why did you read all four of them?