BEA Book Review #2--The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater

It's Wednesday! Wow, week, where did you go?

Well, as promised, this month is all about reviews (and, of course, that amazing GUTGAA event going on, courtesy of Deana Barnhart). And today, I picked a good one. Oooooh, I'm so excited to share this one with you. *shivers in anticipation*

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that 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 has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. 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.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

*Sigh* What do I say? First off, I'll let you know I waited a long time before picking up this book. It sat there on my bookshelf out of fear. Fear because I loved Shiver and I really didn't want to risk reading a book I might not like by an author I loved. 

And the summary didn't do it for me. At all.

As wonderfully written as all these YA books coming out are, I'm getting a little bored with romance. Not that I don't like romance, it's just things have felt...similar. And I was afraid that a really cool story would eventually morph into chapters upon chapters of two people falling in love instead of two people working together to get through the obstacles the story has presented.

But a fellow SHP author posted about her love for the book on Facebook and I really liked what she had to say, so I decided I needed to give it a go.

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

Brilliance! So much brilliance.

This is NOT just about two teens finding love and the ensuing chapters of kissy-kissy. Not that many chapters of kissy-kissy is bad, it's just been done and I wanted something new.

In typical Maggie Stiefvater fashion, the story has a very contemporary feel. It's both dark and vivid. And though I'm not usually into stories about mediums/clairvoyants, I really loved Blue's story and her family. Every character came to life and each one was brilliant in a different way.

And is also typical of Stiefvater, each character was so detailed, so fleshed out, any one of them could have been the MC. But Blue is the heroine here and she is amazing. First off, I love the name. And I love how she's kind of the opposite of special. Surrounded by very talented women, she's pretty normal. And she does not want to be normal.

If you love kick-butt female MCs (who show you rather than tell you how kick-butt they are), very real, very sympathetic characters, and unique story lines, you'll like this book.

Though there aren't long, drawn-out kissy-kissy bits, there are very sweet, wonderful moments that should please any romance lover.

Preorder now! Do it. *waves jedi hand*