Random Readalongs discussion

Discuss chapters 41-48 and your feelings on the book as a whole!

I didn't really enjoy the first 250 or 300 pages of the book tbh. I was just confused and I didn't like the writing-style very much. The end however changed EVERYTHING for me. I really loved the characters by the end of this book, especially the Raven Boys. The end was really great as well. I am so glad that Noah is kind of alroght now, but I think that Ronan is my fav out of all of them. I am glad I read this book and now that I am kind of used to the writing as well I am so excited to pick up the next books in the series.

BUT guys, the last sentence literally introduced the second book, didn't it? I haven't read it yet, but it's called the Dream Thieves, and Ronan literally took Chainsaw out of his dreams! I am so excited to see what Maggie makes out of that, because the one thing that I have learned from this book is that Maggie is a master in hiding things and just giving small clues until everything makes sense ;)

I am excited to hear what you guys thoughz of the book! :)

Anna, thank you! You give me hope!
Most people loves this book so much, I don't want to give up. Hearing how much you have struggled but loved the last 100 pages or so will keep me going.

Oh shoot!! I totally wasn't paying close attention to the chapter numbers. Yea, it seems to introduce the next book, which is why I want to get started on it now. Though I enjoyed the story, I didn't like the ending. It wrapped up too quickly. Since we spent this whole time searching for Glendower, I expected it to end with harder evidence that he's real and they found him, like descriptions of his resting place or something. But maybe that's in the next book.

Though I loved this book, I do think the series has a lot of room to grow. I agree with Zezee that the ending felt a little rushed, and I also think that it was a wierd ending for the Whelk story. I felt strange about the who,e Adam thing, and think it was a device to open the door to a Blue-Gansey romance in the future...

But it does introduce the second book beautifully!

I'm glad I liked the ending to this. It was very action packed and by the end of the book I definitely started to enjoy the characters and the world. And there was a clear distinction between each of the Raven boys and their personalities. Blue is definitely my favorite character in this whole story. I'm actually looking forward to the next book at this point.

Did anyone else grow weary of Adam and Blue criticizing Gansey because of his wealth and pomposity? It didn't bother me much at first but later in the story it became annoying, especially since they know Gansey means well (though I do agree that Gansey could take a care and not throw his money around so carelessly) and know his pomposity is a trait he seems unable stifle.

The Raven Boys is a peculiar book I'm glad I ended up reading.
First, I'd like to apologize, sort of, for not posting in the previous discussions while I read. I was preoccupied with family matters and didn't have the means to devote to participation. Note that this will somewhat be structured like a review, but I do want to continue the current discussions. These are just my thoughts on The Raven Boys.

I echo what I have said in my previous discussion post back on the Chapters 9-16 thread in that I very much enjoyed what I read. This is a type of story I've been longing to read. I'm always interested in diving into books that I have no idea where they'll go because it's fascinating to see how the author thinks and understand why the presented the story the way they did. In that, I can confidently say I was satisfied with the plot as a whole now that reflect over the whole novel. From what I can tell, all that was needed to addressed in the first book was addressed, while still having enough room to expand and do more things for the later, all of which I'm excited to know about once I start The Dream Thieves. I was always intrigued while reading because I never knew exactly what to expect. I was actually surprised on how character focused the story was for the first half. It was almost a concern, I have to admit, until the story gave more a focus on the actual paranormal elements of the story, especially when Cabswater entered the picture. There was a good balance between the story that focused on the ley lines and the other paranormal stuff with the more character focused segments.

Speaking of which, I ended up absolutely loving the majority of the characters, my favorite being Ronan. While I found Gansey the most complex and Adam the most consistent, I simply enjoyed reading parts of the story with Ronan involved or having the focus, from being the translator in Cabeswater to even teaching Adam how to drive, albeit a short scene. I also empathize with his situation, what wish his crude brother and the misfortune involving his father. He's just a fascinating character, though he is a bit crude and vile himself at some points. I don't know why, but I seem to have an affinity towards the "bad boy with a soft side" kind of trope is fiction, and Ronan is a good example of this. But I still very much enjoyed the characters in the novel, and I feel this aspect was the strongest part of the story. Each character had their own voice and they all worked off each other greatly. Gansey's different facets of his character, Blue's refreshing sense of sensibility, Adam's overall realism, Blue's eclectic family; everything blended well and was very enjoyable to experience the story with them.

The book is not without fault, I will have to say. While I felt the middle was the best part, the beginning was very strong yet slow because it tried to introduce everything and everyone all it once it seems, and I felt that the ended chapters were a bit rushed, not spending enough time presenting a satisfactory climax and resolution for me. Furthermore, the sparse romance that was included in the book was a contrast to the situation at hand, making it a bit distracting. In fact, the major premise of Blue's problem is a little off for me, with a romance having this inevitable focus is certainly something I hope is handled tastefully. Also, I feel the characterization could have been a little better. While it wasn't a major issues, there were just times were the character felt very bland and plastic during certain interactions, but this wasn't overly prevalent and I feel it'll be resolved by the next book.

From what I hear, The Dream Thieves only improves upon what The Raven Boys sets up. Plus, there seems to be a large focus on Ronan, so I'm very eager to pick up the next book. I'm glad I joined in this readalong! This is the first time I've actually done anything like this outside of my book club, so it was really neat to get to do something of the like.

Also, going into detail about something I mentioned in my previous post, can I just say that the general premise of the book was a little off-putting for me? The concept of Blue's true love will die if she kisses them was already a little much for me. Plus, consider the p fact that Blue saw Gansey's spirit on St. Mark's Eve, which foreshadows that either Gansey is Blue's true love or that Blue killed Gansey. Given Blue's very unique situation, it's most likely both.

I'd be fine with it if it was just Blue will be responsible for her true love's death, thus leaving it more vague and mysterious, but making it center around a kiss of all things is a little silly to me. While I'm glad this was only brought up a couple times in the first book, all that I hope for is that the execution of the topic is done better and that the inevitable romance between Blue and Gansey is handled tastefully.

I can't be the only one who had a bit of an issue with this type of premise, right?

Mac wrote: "Also, going into detail about something I mentioned in my previous post, can I just say that the general premise of the book was a little off-putting for me? The concept of Blue's true love will di..."

I agree, but then again.. heres to hoping it is done tastefully and makes sense!