The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater | #reviewfriday

I don't do reviews often, I like to talk about them than actually write it. But, once in awhile, a book comes along that pushes you out of your shell and makes you yell to the whole world "you've got to read this. This series was one such series for me. It comprises of The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily Lily Blue and The Raven King. It isn't my favourite series, I probably wouldn't even reread it. But, this book has one specialty which makes me recommend it to everyone.

Series: The Raven Cycle

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Fantasy

Age Demography: Y.A

This series was a strong contender in our Cover Love Series. I think we have already featured the third and fourth book. They have such pretty covers. Made me want to buy the books just because of it. Okay, enough babbling about the covers, let's get right on with the review. But, first here is what goodreads says about The Raven Boy's story. 

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, 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 is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher 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 doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

I read this series after falling in love with her standalone Y.A fantasy The Scorpio Races(it's AMAZING). So, I had high expectations.While, I believe that she has delivered her promise, I am unable to fall in love with the books. It might be because I'm used to kickass Urban Fantasy, and this is comparatively slower. I also don't love the ending very much, although it was packed with drama, it fell a little flat for me. But, I still recommend this series to everyone, you know why?

It's because of the characterization. Stiefvater should be crowned the queen of writing the most life-like characters, she is that good. Even if you may not identify with all the characters, you will still be able to understand them, which I feel is a huge accomplishment. Also, none of the characters felt like they were thee just to enhance the greatness of the lead pair, Gansey and Blue. All of them had their individual aspirations, turmoils, and forbidden dreams. I ended up deeply caring for each one of them, even Noah I love it when a fantasy novel makes you believe it is true, simply because you want the characters of the novel to really exist. Stiefvater has done exactly that.

Her writing is beautiful, she manages to capture entire descriptions in a single sentence, painting the scene so vividly that it remains etched in our mind. Kudos for that.

One thing I respect about both Maggie Stiefvater and David Leviathan is that they don't classify people according to their sexuality. They just write it as if it's no big deal, which is exactly how it should be. Anyone read Everyday by David Leviathan? You should.

A complaint I have about this book is that, although it's a page turner, the pace is slow. I am a bit prejudiced here because most of the novels develop at breakneck speed. So, comparatively speaking, this one had good speed, but it's not fast enough for me.

Rating: 4/5

Which book are you reading now? I am in a reading slump currently, got any recommendations for me. I am a Ilona Andrews and Six of crows fan. Anyone here waiting for the second book of Hidden Legacy or Crooked Kingdom.

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Paper Towns by John Green || #reviewfriday

This is another one of John Green's books turned into a movie, and I wonder if I should've gone for the two hour movie rather than the two day book reading experience. This doesn't seem to bode well. However, I don't entirely regret reading the book, as I probably would have skipped right through the movie as Q and his friends went on a wild goose chase.

Title: Paper Towns

Author: John Green
Genre: Young Adult, Coming of age

Before we begin, let's take a look at where the title came from.

[Fictitious or fake entries are deliberately incorrect entries in reference works such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and directories. There are more specific terms for particular kinds of fictitious entry, such as Mountweazel, trap street, paper street, paper town, phantom settlement, phantom island, ghost word and nihilartikel. (Souce:Wikipedia)]

So,in a line, this story is about Quentin 'Q' Jacobsen trying to find his childhood crush Margo Roth Spiegelman after she runs away from home. There are intricacies and subplots in the novel, and the chase is beautifully crafted, but the book was a rather  lackluster read. And I really don't know what to point out that caused my disinterest. 

Perhaps it was the philosophic tint (more like a full blown out paint job) to the book. Margo (mostly referred to as 'Margo Roth Spiegelman' throughout the high school hallways and in Q's mind) and her word vomit (yes, word vomit) on 'paper towns' and 'paper people'-- the idea of being flimsy, weak, and one-dimensional; the way she went about escaping the 'paper'-ness of the world; all of it did  not make her a like-able character for me. I thought of her as being flighty, immature, and selfish. By the time Q's perception of her as Margo Roth Spiegelman, the most amazing being to grace the earth, toppled; I could not help but think, 'I told you so'.   

The graduation parties, the prom, the different kinds of parents, all of these were the same old ideas that did not offer anything new. Well, except the world record for hoarding the most number of black Santas,

Final words: all in all, not a satisfying read. If you are the kind of person that enjoys a lot of philosophic 'bark and no bite' (because I did not see any action to substantiate all that speech) then this book is for you, but unfortunately, not for me.

Rating: 1/5

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Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater || #reviewfriday

I have to start with a warning. I read this book after much hype, so I can't decide whether it influenced my reading in anyway. But, I will try to give you an unbiased opinion, as much as possible.

Title: The Scorpio Races
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genres: Fantasy, Y.A, Mythology

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen. 

First of all let me say I adored the relationship Puck and Sean shared. There was no Insta Love, she was no Siren that bewitched men and he was no bad boy that seduced woman. They were ordinary teenagers brought together by extraordinary circumstances. They were not made of ink and paper but was made of flesh and blood. The stakes are high, as both Puck and Sean need to win this race, but only one can. Both will lose something precious to them if they even came in second place.

I was skipping through the pages, racing to find out who won, because honestly I couldn't tell how the author was going to give them a happy ending, or if it was even possible.
So, did they get their happy ending? I am not telling you. *evil grin*

The first sentence had hooked me in, but I was underwhelmed by the first few chapters, maybe because I was expecting a more lyrical language. But, then I set aside my expectations and immersed myself in the story. There were so many times I could relate to Puck as a girl, I teared up a bit when she was humiliated but cheered even more when she stood strong. She doesn't have a flawless personality, she is a headstrong girl with short temper. But, I loved her all the more for it.

Sean's character is written so well and their romance ark was written so subtly that you didn't need a secondary character to point out that those two cannot keep their eyes off each other. But, there is no instant love, romance is developed over the entire book( 400+ pages), and blossoms after at least three quarters of it. Which made it more believable for me.

There were so many secondary characters, but they were very well written so that their personality shined at every opportunity you met them. Maggie, is an amazing author. While I prefer a bit more mystery, I think this book was worth my time.

When I finished the book, I was a bit angry, Why were there so many loose ends? But, then I thought back and discovered that there wasn't any. I just had to infer them from earlier conversations and thoughts. So, while I really like d the book, some part of me is a little underwhelmed by it. Side effect of too much hype. Nevertheless, if you are a young adult fantasy fan, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to you.

Rating: 4/5

Now tell me, which book did you read last?

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