{Audiobook} Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Cycle #1
Narrator: Will Patton
Publisher: Scholastic Audio
Publication Date: September 18th, 2012
Source: Borrowed Audio from Library
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

“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.

I have been putting this one off for a long time now. I'm weird when it comes to Maggie Stiefvater's books. I kind of have to be in the mood to read them. I always end up loving them though, and The Raven Boys did not disappoint. 

I decided to go with the Audio version from my library. I ended up reading the last 20 percent on my kindle because it was late and I just wanted to know what happened! The Audio was tough at first. Will Patton has an old man voice. I didn't think it would work for me, but Jen assured me that as strange as it is in the beginning, he grows on you. And he did. I especially loved the voice he gave Persephone. I really loved her as a character and he brought her to life. 

There are so many layers to this story. Well, to all of her books honestly. I think that's why I end up loving her stuff. You get a lot for your buck. No half full bags of chips here. The Raven Boys had me confused. It took me a while to really get it.. and I'm not sure I understand it all yet, but a lot of things came together for me in the end. I was in my car wagging my finger... "I knew it!!" 

I think it was last week, we did a TTT on character driven books. Had I read this before hand, I would have surely added it right along with Jen. The Raven Boys are so colorful. I mean that in the sense that each one is different. You are really pulled into their lives and as mysterious as they all are, I felt such a connection to them. 

Blue, she's the daughter of a psychic. She's just awesome. I loved her character, but I felt for her as well. She's been told all her life that she will in some way do her true love in. That's a lot of pressure for a young girl. I really liked how she interacted with all the boys. Especially with Noah, and there is something special and non romantic about that. 

I'm really curious to see where they story will go from here. I really enjoyed The Raven Boys. It's not my favorite by her but it's still pretty fantastic. Nothing can really beat The Scorpio Races for me. :) 

About the author:

All of Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she's tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She's made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.

Find Maggie:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Labels: Audiobook, maggie stiefvater, reviews, scholastic, the raven boys, the raven cycle