The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater Review

Title: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Age Group: Teen/Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Series: The Raven Cycle, book one
Star Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
The bottom line: Despite the hype of this novel and its interesting premise, something about it just fell flat for me.

Blue Sargent, a normal girl in a family of powerful psychics, has been told for as long as she can remember that if she kisses her true love, he dies. She doesn't ever worry about it, until one Saint Mark's eve, she hears a boy's voice rising out of the mist. She meets Gansey, Roran, Adam, and Noah, and is soon drawn into their mysterious quest to find the remains of an ancient Welsh king.

What I liked:
-Blue and her sassy way of speaking
-Gansey
-Roran and his fierce attitude
-Adam and his determination to be independent and make his own way in life
-Maura
-Noah
-the mystery that the Welsh King presented

What I didn't like:
-the pacing--it seemed like it took forever to get to the real bones of the story, so I'm hoping that cleared up in The Dream Thieves
-Whelk
-Neeve
-Declan
-the ending-I felt like the buildup to it was barely there, and that it fell flat
-Calla
-Roran's secret
-the severe lack of romance

Overall, I think this book was just okay, despite raves from reviewers about it and her previous books. I'm hoping The Dream Thieves turns out better. I think the plot was interesting, but something just got lost in the constant melodrama with Blue and the others.