Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

60 reviews

ghostofthegallows's review

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Words can't discribe how much I love this book. From the way the characters interact, to the way it uses magic and the way the characters struggle with internal pains. So many of the themes can be used as metaphors for other things and I love that so much

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, and Car accident

menagerie_of's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Death of parent and Alcohol

uselesspirateraven's review

adventurous challenging informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Alcohol

mickraine's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Abandonment

piperplanes's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

mariskyjy's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Suicide attempt

anaheeta's review

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Ok so this was a reread [march 2024]. I first read this book in July 2016.

This will always be my favorite. My favorite EVERY thing. Series, fantasy, characters, settings, writing style. Maggie Stiefvater you brilliant brilliant woman, you have written me (yes, me specifically!) the perfect characters to love. 

This is the perfect mix of whimsical and twisted magic, ghosts and ley lines, murderous professors, emotional things happening (you will cry multiple times by the time you finish the series). 

It reads like a magical realism set in West Virginia, but it’s much more than any one sentence can describe. The first book is an introduction into the characters and their beautiful found family. There’s incredible amounts of references and foreshadowing implemented throughout the books. The pacing is a bit slow, but this is the only time I didn’t mind that, it matches everything perfectly. There are so many beautiful descriptions, heartbreaking lines, funny comments, and heartbreaking character backstories that will make you fall in love with the series. The series has such a huge emotional and mental hold on me, that it can wreck me for days or weeks, so read if you are a fan of pain like I am. 



(I shall soon create a great playlist for this book)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Kidnapping, and Classism

Minor: Blood, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

rookeatsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Gun violence, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

jojo_fiction_'s review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

 The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

4.5 stars 

“‘Is that all?’ she whispered. 

Gansey closed his eyes. ‘That's all there is.’” 

Blue Sargent comes from a family of psychics, but her own abilities are limited to amplifying the powers of others. On the feast of St. Mark, while helping her aunt speak to the spirits of those who are to die within the next 12 months, she sees a spirit for the first time. The spirit of a boy named Gansey. The problem is, when a non-seer sees a spirit, it means one of two things: they are either their true love, or they are the ones who kill them. 

Gansey is a student at the elite private school Aglionby. Despite the prestigious lifestyles of those around him, Gansey is only interested in one thing: finding the lost tomb of the Welsh King Glendower. He and his friends, Adam, Ronan and Noah, take their search to the local psychic’s home. There, these mysterious boys and their quest draw Blue in, and their fates become tangled together in a web full of mysteries and magic. 

————————————

This wasn't my first time reading this book. I had tried when I was younger when it was just getting popular, but I guess I was just too young to fully absorb what was happening. However, I am so glad I decided to give it another shot.

This book was really good! However, it was a bit slow plot wise at the start. Stiefvater takes her time making sure we are properly introduced to the characters, and their dynamics with each other, before really moving us along to focus more on the plot. Now, I personally love character based stories, so I didn't mind the slow start to the action. But if you are someone who likes a little more focus on plot/action as opposed to the characters, this might not be your cup of tea, or it just might be harder for you to get into.

In terms of the style, Stiefvater has such a wonderful way with words that really draws you in. I love books that make me feel enveloped by a feeling of magic and mystery and The Raven Boys makes even the more mundane aspects of the town feel like it is covered in magic. 

I also enjoy it when fantasy books have a magic system that is off putting and doesn't make logical sense all the time. It's not all sunshine and rainbows. In this case it's ghosts and spirits, stepping out of linear time, and trees that speak Latin to you. 

Stiefvater gives us characters that we can't help but love. They all have good intentions, and care deeply about each other, but are dealing with different levels of pain or toxic environments that cause them to make decisions that often clash with each other. The friendships are really what sell this story. The playful dynamics that start with the 4 boys are increased when Blue joins the mix. All of these characters are closed off in one way or another, and I can't wait to see how they slowly open up to each other and further flesh out these already amazing characters. My only critique of the characters is that of Blue’s characterization. I'm not quite sure how I feel about her, but the way she is portrayed can sometimes come across as “not like other girls”. Which could just be due to the trends that were around when this book was released, but I'm still hoping she will become more developed as the series goes on.

My only critique of the book’s writing itself would be the difference in pacing from the beginning and the end, as I mentioned before. By putting such a focus on the characters in the beginning, when the plot starts to pick up it is a noticeable change that might be jarring to readers. 

All in all, I can't wait to read the next book, especially since we get to see more of Ronan’s character (who I have a feeling will become my favourite character). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This series has been in my TBR since 2018, so I figured I should start 2024 by finally reading it and I'm so glad to say I enjoyed it a lot and finished the audiobook in one day (great narrator)!

I really liked the characters and can't wait to see more of them, I love how Blue is so independent but also relies on her family to help her and they are always there for her; I want to know more about Gansey to have him as favorite, I see the potential, but we'll see; I already love Adam and just want to protect him but also smack him for his pride lol; Ronan is starting to grow on me but is going to take time with his personality ; and for whatever little we get to see of Noah I'm liking him too I like Noah (never getting over this personal things because it's just so funny, can't believe I avoided spoilers for SIX years only to go into twitter that day, read their names and then see how Noah

is a ghost lmao I mean I wasn't sure if he wasn't joking at the beginning when he said that he had been dead for 7 years, but the biggest surprise was that he was the boy murdered by the boys's professor, that would've good to find out on my own, but no big deal)

ALSO, I know I'm not the only one who saw the connection here: The Raven Boys reminded me of The Marauders! (don't expect something exactly like them, just something similar in dynamics, personalities, role in the group, but it was nice to see)

Love all the paranormal stuff about being able to see ghosts and the souls of people who will die, this "prophecy" on Blue, Ronan's

power with dreams that made him being able to take out an animal to the real world!?

and I'm excited to see more of that in the 2nd book.

I agree with other reviews though that this has an open ending, you won't get answers here, in fact you will have more questions on how things work and what the characters are going to do about it, but you will really want to know them and continue with this story and the characters. So if you're okay with that read this book.

So happy my first book of the year was so good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Self harm, Murder, and Alcohol

If you want to know more about the Trigger Warnings I'm leaving the specifics here, but some are spoilers and be aware some might affect you. For a longer list of the Triggers look into the feature of Storygraph, but I think this are the most notable: SELF HARM (doesn't happen to any of the main characters, it just shocked me how this random character just dropped a comment about

"slitting her wrists" as if it was a joke.

) ;; MURDER / DEATH (There's 2 cases of this, both involving 17 yo kids being both the murder and the victim. They happen around these pages

Won't say names so it's not an spoiler, but you find out about one at 30% and the other one happens near the end.

) ;; GUN VIOLENCE (no names mentioned:

a guy in his 20's having a 17yo kid at gun point

, and the Murder involves a gun.) ;; KIDNAPPING (let's just say the bad guy gets kidnapped so who cares lol) ;; DOMESTIC ABUSE BOTH PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL INVOLVING A CHILD (We see just one big scene of this but that's enough, one of the boys suffers from this at home and you will hate his father. If you want to know the name, it happens to

Adam , one of Gansey's best friend

) ;; ALCOHOLISM (No one is surprised to hear that the abusive father is the one who drinks.)