Book Shelf: The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2) by Maggie Stiefvater

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...

More info on Goodreads.....


Review:

The Dream Thieves marks the second book in Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle series and is another great instalment, continuing on in the sensational footsteps of the first book!

Continuing on, not too far after the conclusion of The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves explores the consequences of certain decisions made by the characters in the first book and the effect they have on their search for this lost Welsh king. All the characters are back, though some marginally changed. Blue, Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Noah are front and centre once more during Ganey’s search.

While Blue, Gansey and Adam continue to have voices within the series, this time Maggie Stiefvater features Ronan’s POV too. Which is very fitting considering he is more prominent this time around, and is the focus of some of the storylines within The Dream Thieves. As always I enjoyed reading about these characters. They’re not too out there, but they’re all very vibrant and unique and bring something each to the story.

In terms of plot development and continued development Stiefvater doesn’t disappoint with the expansion of certain aspects in The Dream Thieves, but I felt like the story was lacking the explanation that usually accompanies these developments. Steifvater’s use of Welsh mythology is brilliant—something I’ve never seen explored this way in a book before—but I kind of feel like we were thrown in the deep end at times and expected to understand the significance of certain aspects of the story without any explanation about this mythology we’re seeing. If that makes sense?

This didn’t bother me too much in the first book because we were still getting to know the characters, but I feel like at this point in time, this shouldn’t be an issue with the rapidly changing storyline and evolution of the story. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed this book, vastly so, but I was at times muddled, which was disappointing considering how much I was otherwise invested in the characters stories.

I find myself very invested in the budding romance between Blue and Gansey. It’s not overpowering within the story; rather a really nice undertone to everything else going on. Considering Blue’s ill-fated romance with Adam, seeing Blue and Gansey connect as friends and that attraction they have that neither is really ready to face is wonderful to read about.

Aside from some minor difficulties with the back-story and information supplied, I really enjoyed this book. Maggie Steifvater manages to weave together elements of magic, adventure and just the perfect hint of romance to make The Dream Thieves a thrilling read. I’m very much looking forward to where she takes the story next!

Rating:
Source: Sent for review by Scholastic Australia (Thank you Sarah!)
Format: Hardback
Buy it: Bookworld | The Nile | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Recommendation: If you're a fantasy lover and are looking for something out of the ordinary, or, if you're Maggie Stiefvater fans won't want to miss this!
Cover: Perfect with this series book
Will I read sequel/continue with series: Without a doubt!