DISCLAIMER: This review has slight spoilers!
I've come back to the world of The Raven Cycle and the only thing that I've become is:
- Incredibly protective of the Raven Boys and Blue
- More in love with Noah (such an adorable cinnamon roll)
- Excited for Ronan because character development and SUPER GAY
- Still side eyeing Adam but Ronan likes him so I can't really be too mad.
- An advocate for the Gansey x Blue ship. I just want them happy.
Dream Thieves follows The Raven Boys Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah and Blue on their adventure to continue looking for Glendower. While The Raven Boys was really focused on Blue and her introduction to the Raven Boys, Dream Thieves definitely follows closer on the boys themselves. Specifically this book focuses a lot on Ronan and Adam. For a large part of the novel Blue and Gansey felt a bit off on the sidelines (which I was completely okay with).
This novel gave a lot of room to grow for Ronan and Adam. They both came to terms with who they were and what their abilities were and in the end I felt like there was a lot of growth from them. There was so much angst in this novel with Ronan and Adam. They were already angsty, but man were they hecka angsty in this novel. Ronan is of course playing his harsh and aggressive attitude but he really just has a heart of gold inside (I mean he has a little raven baby he raised in The Raven Boys, how can he not???). He connected more with his father and his family and it was such a nice thing to see from Ronan. We definitely get more of a human feeling from him and I'm v. much enjoying it. Adam has to grow from his own number of troubles. He's still battling his conflict with accepting help from Gansey and Ronan while also not feeling like he's being given handouts. I feel but also you don't have to be so extra about it Adam. I still side eye him for what he did in TRB so. It was really interesting to see his dynamic with Gansey in this novel, for sure though. It was something that was brewing from TRB, so really I expected it.
Also Ronan is gay as hell. Like... super gay. I had a sneaking suspicion in The Raven Boys, but I'm super glad that it was solidified in this novel. He's also super gay for Adam. I'm totally okay with that.
We've also got a new cast of characters. Kavinsky and The Gray Man (or Mr. Gray) become key players in Dream Thieves. Kavinsky was a really interesting character because he was obviously very troubled, but we never really get a good glimpse of his character until the end which is a shame. It makes me want to know a little bit more of Kavinsky, but alas. Mr. Gray was...well he was definitely a character. It's really hard to describe him, but he's like... a good guy bad guy? Not in the Deadpool way, but.... I don't know man. I liked him in the end though. He was very interesting and he was another character we got a little peak behind the curtain to. It's also very funny seeing him interact with a house of psychics. He had really... nothing to hide from them and it was amazing to see how nonchalant they were about it, but then again... after everything that happened in TRB I'd be pretty accepting of the craziest of circumstances too.
Now while all of this development is going on with Ronan and Adam we get a small, but large glimpse of the Gansey Blue situation which I loved and hated.
Loved because I ship them and I really need them to be together and happy.
Hated because it made me REALLY SAD. I just. WE SIGNED UP FOR THIS, BUT IT STILL HURTS. I just want to hug them all and say that everything is going to be okay. It was such a small moment in the whole novel, but that moment still lingers with me and it makes me have a lot of emotions okay. I'm thinking a lot of what Blue is keeping away will come to light in Blue Lily, Lily Blue with more tension. I can't wait, but also I don't want to go through this emotional rollercoaster.
Once again, Maggie Stiefvater has created such a world with great characters and has seamlessly combined plot and character interaction. I love books where I can say that I was intrigued by both the plot and the characters equally. I'm not well versed in Welsh history or legends, but this makes me very interested and I'm loving how well the characters fit into it.
I'll definitely get to Blue Lily, Lily Blue. I'm going to go through this series as quick and as slow as possible because I need to know what happens in the end, but I don't want to leave my Raven Boys and Blue so quickly.
