Title: The Dream Thieves [Goodreads Link]
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Rating: 4/5 stars
Goodreads Synopsis: 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.
Review:
(NOTE: This review doesn't contain any spoilers for The Dream Thieves but might have some for The Raven Boys as it is the second novel in The Raven Cycle)
Last week, I posted my review of The Raven Boys so if you haven't checked that out yet, you should do so here. But from that review, you'll know that I was pleasantly surprised by book 1 of this series and thought it was good but The Dream Thieves definitely kicks the series up a notch and makes it great! Stiefvater smooths out some of the pacing issues I found with the first one and keeps the novel engaging despite it's relative lack of plot. It also does a good job of not falling into the common "filler" slot that second or middle novels tend to get in series.
As with The Raven Boys, this series succeeds most prominently through its characters. I've said it before but I'll say it again: the characters in the story are so well-written and they all feel so genuine and real and reading the novels feel somewhat like hanging out with friends. All their decisions and development feel very natural. Ronan definitely stands out in this instalment though, with the main story centring around him. At this point, I'm basically attached to the entire main cast of characters but I felt like The Dream Thieves shed much more light on Ronan and I felt a stronger connection to him and that I could better empathise with his character. I still can't pick a favourite, though.
Something I felt was significantly stronger in this book were the relationships. I think a certain relationship (I'm going to avoid saying character names because possible spoiler) really blossomed in the background of this novel. Stiefvater excels at subtle development. The narrative also delves into the relationships between the different Aglionby boys and gives them substance in a way that I don't think was done enough in the first book. (Not a spoiler, but I am also definitely on the Ronan/Adam ship, shh).
I mentioned before that the plot was lacking in this one but I'm beginning to think that this might be a theme of this series. While I would have enjoyed more development on the general over-arching series plot, it didn't affect my enjoyment too much that it wasn't given. Stiefvater is unravelling this story at a slow pace but I'm honestly enjoying the ride enough that I can't really complain. This series feels like one that I could read 10 books on and not mind that the plot is developing at a snail pace because I just enjoy the writing and atmosphere so much and I'm so emotionally invested in the characters.
So, there's my review of The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater. I was trying to avoid spoiler talk so I think half of this ended up being me gushing about the series and possibly repeating stuff I'd already said but oh well. If you would like to hear me get into all the nuts and bolts of this novel and discuss some spoilers, let me know and I'll consider putting up a book discussion. But anyway, I'm hoping by the time this is posted (I've got a few posts on schedule at the moment because I'm busy at uni), I'll have at least started Blue Lily, Lily Blue since I just got it from the library :)
Let me know down below if you've read The Dream Thieves and if so, who's your favourite character of the series and why?
Until next time!
J, xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment