Synopsis:
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.
The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost.
Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.
Review:
Finally this series is going somewhere!
The Raven Boys was pretty much only amazing due to the Raven boys themselves. Dream Thieves was utter garbage and I have literally no idea why anyone liked it. Where we reading the same book? I just don’t understand. Someone explain..
Blue Lily, Lily Blue was the first book in the series that was actually amazing and I didn’t even roll my eyes once! I know proud moment. The third instalment of the Raven Boys you actually saw the characters grow, felt their pain, hopes, fears and they were adorable. Can I keep the Raven Boys in a cocoon and keep them safe? Please I must!
Behind him, he heard Ronan say, “I like the way you losers thought Instagram before first aid. Fuck off.”
Though the title gave it away this book is focused around Blue more than the other characters and as much as I wanted to stab Blue with a rusty spoon repeatedly in the previous books, I actually found her bearable this time round. Crazy right? I guess she must have grown up overnight or maybe someone taught her a lesson and actually stabbed her with a rust spoon so she is normal and likeable? Maybe? One can hope…
If you weren’t aware and you haven’t read this series, you will need to know that Gansy is everything and more. My heart literally bled for Gansy in this book, with the traumatic experience he had with the hornet’s when he was younger, literally pulled my heart out of my chest and squeezed it. Not Gansy, Maggie, please keep him alive!
I find Gansy is such the mother hen of the group, he looks after all his friends and keeps them together and happy. Even providing help on the sly so Adam won’t notice. I just won’t be able to cope when he dies, who will look after them all? How will the rest of the Raven Boys survive without him?? He just can’t die in The Raven King or I’ll be writing Maggie a very disgruntled letter.
To be fair I hated Blue in the first two books, she was annoying, irritating and I just wanted to stab her with a rusty spoon. This book however, I found her bearable. Not sure if that was cause this book was based around her or she became more normal and less like an aborted alien? Blue actually made rational decisions and wasn’t a complete irritating hippie. With her mother completely missing, her feelings for Gansy and well that unexpected death(!!!!), Blue handled everything surprisingly well. Not that I am coming around to liking her, she just was more mature in this book. It’s a pity we share the same name… I am loving Blue and Gansy secret love! There were soo many sweet moments between them in this book, even though they know in the back of their mind that this will end badly. Ridiculously sweet!
Adam, Adam, Adam. I fricken love this dude, though it would be more amazing if he let his accent drop more often! Throughout this whole book you see Adam grow, become more independent, stand up for himself and his powers are getting stronger! Adam also has some darkness to him, which really adds to the overall obsession with him. The fact that Adam now knows that Gansy is on the list, his about to face the fact his mentor dies. Can he love this guy anymore? And that abusive hick that he calls a father, I was stressed out through that whole scene in the court, someone needs to help and protect Adam. And when they finally rocked up to the court room and stood up alongside him. My heart! What wonderful friendship is this and how and where do I sign up???
We should also take some time to talk about Adam and Ronan. Aren’t they just everything??! Their friendship really stood out in this book and I just loved it. Ronan even created a cassette tape for Adam’s car and it was gahh just so adorable! And when the blackmailed Greenmantle! It was perfect, such an amazing team together!
Ronan has been a character that I have liked from the get go! Tough, badass and yet with a heart of gold. This character is just too brilliant for words and his wit?! I loved it!! I loved his smart comebacks and quirky one-liners. Extremely fierce and edgy and I just can’t get enough. Can he get his own series yet? Minus the adorable brute mentality, Ronan really does have a big heart, he gave Blue a light in the dark so she could see, even though it left him completely alone in the dark. See kind heart!! And of course his love for Adam!!
The last Raven Boy hardly got any stage time, or page time rather, this seems to be a consistency throughout the series so far and well we need more Noah. Even though he is dead and a ghost, Noah is just too sweet not to care about. Noah is bright, cheerful, and wonderful and cares so much about his friends that it literally pains me that he is dead. I love how much Noah cares for Gansy, knows all his secrets, looks up to him as a leader and always says yes to any crazy idea he comes up with. I hope that in the final book they are able to bring him to life or something, I just want Noah to be happy!
In this book we get the introductions to the Greenmantle, the villain of the story and though he is dark and a little creepy, can we talk about his wife Piper? That is one bad ass chick and I lovvvvedddd her!!
Afterward, Piper said, “If we had a puppy, it could pick up those beans for us.”
Greenmantle had replied, “And then we could sacrifice it and use its blood to activate the doll.”
“Will you marry me?” she asked.
I know she is completely psychotic but I just can’t get enough, her lack of fear, impatient and well her overall lack of care for anyone is amazing. I loved how morbid and dark she is, and well, I need more.
Overall this would have to be my favourite book out of the series. There wasn’t a lot I disliked about it compared to the other books. I can’t wait to dive into the Raven King and see how this journey wraps up.
Rating: 4/5
ISBN: 9780545424974
Publisher: Scholastic