The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
Buy The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Robert James
Summary: The second in the Raven Boys series is a classy mixture of a strong plot, great characters, and Stiefvater's usual gorgeous writing. Highly recommended.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 464	Date: September 2013
Publisher: Scholastic
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1407136622
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Warning: Spoilers for The Raven Boys below, read further at your own risk!

With the ley lines waking, things are changing around Cabeswater. Ronan is getting more and more adept at bringing his dreams to life, Gansey is needed at home, and Adam has made some mysterious new friends. At the centre of it all, Blue has to try to cope with her curse and her feelings for the Raven Boys.

I enjoyed The Raven Boys, but this is even better. Blue is completely lovely, the boys are an interesting combination and all have strong characterisations, and the villains are intriguing. I also really like the relationships. Blue's confusion as she tries to deal with the different boys, and the struggle she has as the only non-psychic member of her family, are excellently portrayed, as are the complex dynamics of Ronan's family and the protectiveness Gansey feels towards Adam. It's also incredibly hot without ever being explicit. Despite not all that much happening in terms of sex, there's a couple of phenomenal scenes which capture the characters perfectly.

If there's a criticism to be made, it's arguably that it's perhaps slightly too ambitious. It cuts between so many viewpoints and following so many characters that Noah, for instance, gets slightly lost in the shuffle for much of the book - a shame after the big reveal in the last book, which took my breath away. That's a fairly minor criticism, though. With so many great characters, it's perhaps inevitable that different books will have some of them seeming to be a little underused.

Back to the positives, and another huge plus is that it's one of the most unpredictable fantasy series I've read for ages - I have no idea where the next book is going to take us, but I know that we'll have fun getting there. This focuses more on Ronan's abilities than the ley lines and the search for Glendower, although Gansey seeking the Welsh king still plays an important role. We do get a satisfying ending to this one, as well - although I'm still desperate to read the third in the series. Oh, and of course, as always with Maggie Stiefvater, it's beautifully written - her lyrical prose draws you in.

Very highly recommended.

Other books inspired by Welsh legends include The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper and the Chronicles of Prydain, which start with The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. Both are amongst my very favourite ever series.

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