Review: The Raven Boys - Maggie Steifvater

The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater, published by Scholastic on 19th September 2012

Goodreads synopsis:
Blue has spent the majority of her sixteen years being told that if she kisses her true love, he will die. When Blue meets Gansey’s spirit on the corpse road she knows there is only one reason why – either he is her true love or she has killed him.

Determined to find out the truth, Blue becomes involved with the Raven Boys, four boys from the local private school (lead by Gansey) who are on a quest to discover Glendower – a lost ancient Welsh King who is buried somewhere along the Virginia ley line. Whoever finds him will be granted a supernatural favour.

Never before has Blue felt such magic around her. But is Gansey her true love? She can’t imagine a time she would feel like that, and she is adamant not to be the reason for his death. Where will fate lead them?

Review:
Previous to 'The Raven Boys', I've read four of Maggie Steifvater's books and have a kind of love/hate relationship with them.  On the one hand I love the wonderful stories she conjures and the brilliant imagery she conveys in her books but I haven't always found her style of writing easy to get on with.  It's quite different to anything else which does mean she stands out from many others writers of the YA genre but I sometimes find I have to concentrate really hard when I'm reading, rather than just sitting back and enjoying the book.

Unfortunately, although I wanted to love 'The Raven Boys', I found myself facing some of the same problems.  The central idea for the story was intriguing.  Blue finds out that if she kisses her true love he will die.  What a terrible thing to face.  To know that there is someone out there who you can love heart and soul but that you can never kiss or be with properly because you could kill him - even if not by your hand.  How do you even begin to come to terms with that?

So I loved the concept but not the actual telling.  I wanted to see more of Blue and her future romance, rather than the multiple story strands which littered the first half of the book.  I'll admit that I got confused with where Maggie Steifvater was taking the story, although I could eventually see everything converging and coming together and making far more sense by the latter part of the book.

There are some great characters in the story, including the Raven Boys of the title.  I particularly loved Adam who is self-effacing and rather shy but utterly adorable.  There's also the confident and determined Gansey and their friend Roman. 

My interest picked up in the second half but overall I did struggle with this title.  I've read some five star reviews of it from my fellow bloggers and other reviewers online however, so if you're a fan of Steifvater, then I would still tell you to give it a try because even though I didn't, you might just end up loving it. 

The Scorpio Races - Maggie Steifvater giveaway winner

Thank you to everyone that entered my international giveaway to win a proof copy of 'The Scorpio Races' by Maggie Steifvater.  If you weren't successful this time then check back again soon when I'll be having another giveaway on the blog. 

 I'm pleased to announce that the winner is:

#24 Laura H

Congratulations!  I will be contacting you soon by email to confirm your details.  I hope you enjoy the book and thank you once again to everyone that entered.

Review and Giveaway: The Scorpio Races - Maggie Stiefvater

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, published by Scholastic on 18th October 2011

Goodreads synopsis:
It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

Review:
When I first heard about 'The Scorpio Races' I really loved the idea behind the story.  It's based on the myth of the capaill uisce or water horses who once captured from the sea, are believed to be the fastest creatures to run on the land.  The book is set on the small island of Thisby, where the Scorpio Races take place annually between the terrifying flesh-eating water horses, who may be fast but are also dangerous creatures who have been known to kill their human riders.  Although the premise was amazing, I found that when I started reading I didn't immediately connect with the story which was slow to get going and didn't grip me as I thought it would have.  I kept waiting for it to completely engage me and sweep me away but it never really happened.  

What I did like about the book was the beautifully lyrical descriptions of the water horses themselves.  I could sense the love which Maggie Stiefvater feels for these magical beasts in every passage written about them.  I thought she had captured perfectly the image of the thrashing horses, determined to return to their beloved ocean, the salty tang and spray of the sea, the bitter cold of the island itself and the wildness which surrounds it.  It almost felt like another world, separated from the reality of life on the mainland.   

The story itself may have fallen a little flat for me, but the characters really grew on me and I particularly liked the blossoming friendship between local girl Puck who lives on the island with her two brothers and the stoical Sean Kendrick.  Both want to win the race for their own personal reasons but there can only be one winner and as they grow closer together, it becomes harder for each of them to imagine what will happen to the one who loses.  Sean has previously won the race four times and is an expert on horses, but is determined to win this time so that he can win his freedom and that of his beloved horse Corr.  I loved the connection between Sean and Corr.  The two have an amazing and genuine bond between them and Sean is the only one who is able to calm Corr and ride him safely.  He puts the welfare of the horses he looks after before anything else and his selfless nature means that he's willing to help Puck to train for the same race he must win.

Puck is headstrong and stubborn and although she feels fear about competing in the races, she won't back down from the challenge.  I loved Puck and her brothers Finn and Gabe, especially Finn who doesn't know how to take a compliment.  Although their parents are both dead and Gabe is set on moving to the mainland, they still felt like a genuine family unit and I enjoyed reading the scenes between the siblings. 

It was refreshing to read a standalone YA story for a change, as so many books now seem to be part of a trilogy or a series.  If you love horses then you're sure to enjoy 'The Scorpio Races' or if you're a Maggie Steifvater fan then you'll definitely want to check this one out.  Although the story didn't completely win me over, I did find myself falling in love with the ruggedness of the island of Thisby itself and the ending of the book was absolutely perfectly written.

To celebrate the release of 'The Scorpio Races' I'm giving away a proof paperback copy of the book.  The giveaway is international but you must be a follower of my blog to enter.  Just fill out your details on the form below.  Good luck!    

Giveaway rules.

• There will be one winner.
• Open to International entrants.
• Please fill out the form completely - especially the required details.
• You must be a follower to enter.
• Deadline for entries will be on 31 October.
• Winner will be drawn by random.org
• Winner will be contacted via e-mail, and will be given 48 hours to response. Otherwise, a new winner will be drawn.
• Any details will be deleted after use and will not be passed on to any third party.

Review: Lament - Maggie Stiefvater

Goodreads synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. Deirdre finds herself infatuated with a mysterious boy who enters her ordinary suburban life, seemingly out of thin air. Trouble is, the enigmatic and gorgeous Luke turns out to be a gallowglass—a soulless faerie assassin. An equally hunky—and equally dangerous—dark faerie soldier named Aodhan is also stalking Deirdre. Sworn enemies, Luke and Aodhan each have a deadly assignment from the Faerie Queen. Namely, kill Deirdre before her music captures the attention of the Fae and threatens the Queen's sovereignty. Caught in the crossfire with Deirdre is James, her wisecracking but loyal best friend. Deirdre had been wishing her life weren't so dull, but getting trapped in the middle of a centuries-old faerie war isn't exactly what she had in mind . . .

Review:
I'm going to preface my review of 'Lament' by saying that overall I did thoroughly enjoy it.  I'd definitely give it four out of five stars and I'm now going to read the rest of Maggie Stiefvater's books.  But (you knew this was coming!)...although I enjoyed it, I wanted to love this book so much.  I wanted to be gripped by it and swept away by it but I found that I still had one foot on the ground the whole way through.  I wasn't completely engulfed by the story and I didn't feel like I wanted to immeditely rush out and buy a copy for my own collection.  I hate saying that because I know so many people love this book but I didn't have that total emotional connection to it.

However, even saying all that, I still think that this is a cracking addition to faerie lore and I adored the style of Maggie Stiefvater's writing - dreamy and inventive and poetic with a very magical quality to it.  I loved the main character, Deirdre and the development of her relationship with Luke, the gallowglass, although I wasn't totally satisfied with the ending.  I liked her self-effacing nature and her insecurities and the way in which she matures and grows in confidence.  I would have liked to have seen more of the background and relationship with her family developed further, particularly what happened to her mother and aunt when they were younger, but I accept that Stiefvater probably left some of that out to concentrate the story firmly on Deirdre herself.

I thought that the relationship between Deirdre and her best-friend James (who is funny and clever and witty) was well written and extremely realistic and it will be interesting to read 'Ballad' which is told from James' point-of-view. 

I'm disappointed that I didn't love it but I may well give it a few months and then read it again.  You never know, it might just win me over next time around!