The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
5/5 stars
409 pages
source: Goodreads

The story:

“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 any more.

The review:

Although I've heard of the Shiver books and I've seen them everywhere, I've never really wanted to read them so I was reluctant to pick this book up, them being from the same author and all. However when I read the summary I knew I was hooked, I couldn't wait for it to come out and finished it in less time than I thought possible.
This book is full of surprises, nothing ever went the way I expected it to and I liked that, it was rejuvenating not to know the ending of the book from the first few chapters. First of all Gansey isn't the "perfect boy", at least not from my POV, he doesn't have any extraordinary features like most book characters do, but he does have a winning personality and his way of talking is so quirky it makes everything he says sound cute to some extent. I liked him from the first few lines. He's devoted most of his life to searching for a long lost king, Owen Glendower,and once he becomes close to someone, that person is sucked into the search as well. Secondly Blue's character greatly surprised me, she is unique, for a lack of better word. She's the only one lacking a psychic power in her family. She's fun, crafty, manages to not fall under Gansey's charm but falls under Adam's instead. Lastly, there are no scenes that go beyond a simple caress, not even a peck on the cheek. I have to say I was rather disappointed at that, loving the usual kissing scenes and all, but I can't say it really surprised me since the plot starts by saying Blue will kill her true love with a kiss.
As Blue and Adam keep connecting, Blue is drawn into Gansey's frantic search for the Ley Lines and she seems to be the catalyst to a series of events that will lead to the ultimate sacrifice that will reveal them.

This book is one of the best I've read, from the writing style to the plot's twists and turns, and I can't wait for the second book in the Raven Cycle to come out! Who knows, I might even decide to take up Shiver, just to compare it ;)