The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
Release Date - September 17, 2013
Publisher Website - Scholastic
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 448 pages
My Rating - 5/5
**obtained for review from publisher via BEA**
**SPOILERS FOR THE RAVEN BOYS**
**POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR THE DREAM THIEVES**
Here is the Goodreads synopsis
Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...Maggie Stiefvater has created a magical world that drew me in completely while reading The Raven Boys. The Dream Thieves takes the world she's created and adds to it, but also turns it upside down. She adeptly avoids the dreaded "second book syndrome" and leaves you spellbound, and breathless.
The writing in this novel is some of the best I've read this year. Maggie Stiefvater ignites feelings with ease, and brings forth her character's personalities effortlessly. She manages to up the ante from The Raven Boys by creating dangers that are not just outside influences, but personal demons as well. Each of our beloved characters is grappling with something, and Maggie never lets you forget that a ticking clock around them is pressing as well. This novel is an unraveling of sorts. The characters are becoming increasingly unstable, just like the ley line. More and more power is coursing through the town, and the inevitability of something big happening is suffocating not just the reader, but the characters as well.
The characters have fully worked their way into my heart, so much in fact that this book left me a mess of feelings. The connection as a reader is effortless. You naturally want to embrace these characters, flaws and all. You want to protect them from themselves, and most importantly, you want to join them. You want to take this journey with them, regardless of how much it hurts sometimes.
Ronan is the primary focus in this novel. I knew his tough exterior hid a much more broken center. We learn a lot about him, his family, and what is hidden underneath his bravado. After Ronan's admission about Chainsaw at the end of The Raven Boys, he was the one I was most interested in getting to know more about. The Dream Thieves does not disappoint. I finished with a deeper understanding of Ronan's motivations, and secrets.
Allowing us to see a different side to these characters is something Maggie Stiefvater does extremely well. In this novel, Gansey especially shows different sides to himself. The complexity of all the characters is stunning. The attention to detail, the research, the plotting, and the way everything weaves together is mind blowing. The foreshadowing that allows clues, but still manages to keep the novel's secrets until the author is ready for you to know them is another testament to Maggie Stiefvater's talent.
Blue grapples with her curse. She doesn't want to fall in love. Doesn't want to be responsible for the kiss that would kill her true love. She grapples with the secret she has - that Gansey will be dead before the next St. Mark's Eve. The ways in which this impacts her are heartfelt and authentic. She is quickly becoming one of my favourite female characters.
The romance in this is not what I anticipated at all. Maggie Stiefvater throws what could be a possible romance triangle and shows us why she doesn't need them to create drama. She uses other means to rip her reader's hearts out. Kisses (and almost kisses) have never been more devastatingly heart crushing than in this novel. Each kiss, and almost kiss is destroying for different reasons.
A stunning series filled with magic, heartbreaking kisses, and more danger than anticipated. Finding Glendower will not be without sacrifice, and I for one can't wait to join Blue, and her Raven Boys on the rest of this twisted journey.
