The Dream Thieves Review

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (442 pages)
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Date Read: 22 June 2016

Synopsis:

If you could steal things from dreams, what would you take?

Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.

One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.

And sometimes he's not the only one who wants those things.

Ronan is one of the raven boys—a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan's secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface—changing everything in its wake.

Of The Raven Boys, Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Maggie Stiefvater's can't-put-it-down paranormal adventure will leave you clamoring for book two." Now the second book is here, with the same wild imagination, dark romance, and heart-stopping twists that only Maggie Stiefvater can conjure.

My Review:

The Dream Thieves, the second book in The Raven Cycle series, was not what I expected. I assumed there would be a lot of romantic tensions between the characters (especially since that is so prevalent in these kinds of books) but there wasn't which was so refreshing!

I loved how the characters interacted and how their relationships evolved with the actions of the previous book. It was cool to see them all starting to grow into their own roles in their quest to find Glendower.

The first few chapters that the Grey Man narrated were jarring. I was not used to his voice, so it seemed very slow. They did become more interesting as we were given more information on him throughout the book.

One thing I wish was more obvious was the distinction between who is speaking as the narrator at any given time. They all have very similar voices, so just a bit more differentiation would make it easier to read, at least in my opinion.

I loved how we got more information about Ronan, his gift, and his background. (Spoilers ahead for the rest of the paragraph. You have been warned.) Also, I am giddy over how, though Ronan's sexuality is (finally) shown to be not straight, his entire character does not revolve around that! It is mentioned, and I assume is going to be explored more in the future books. I am so happy!

I am excited to see more of the magic and more of the background of the other characters and of Cabeswater itself. I want to see more of how Adam and Persephone will have their relationship grow and evolve with their newfound commonalities in their power.

I am super excited to be able to read the next book (but I have to buy it first, lol)!