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A review by keysmashhh
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Plot: 3.5/5
Character: 4/5
Relationships: 4/5
World-Building: 3/5
Genre: 4/5
Plot: The plot of this one was just as good at the first book but that being said it was equally as complicated as the first book. Because I was reading this whilst ill and when I was travelling I feel like I took less of the plot in/it felt more confusing to me. Dispite this I still love where the series is going, I really want to know if they're ever going to solve the mystery/what's going to happen with Gansey/will Ronan ever get any less repressed. That being said the ending to this one felt a little less than the first book, I'm not sure what it was, perhaps because all of the gang wasn't in the same place, but Adam wandering in the forest/the Grey Man vibing and killing his brother all felt quite anticlimatic compared to the rest of the book. Structurally, this book kind of followed Ronan the most, but I liked that it kept a healthy balence of all the characters still.
Characters: Ronan was definately the MC for this book and I have to say that amazingly this book converted me from being a Ronan hater to kind of liking him. I'm not going as far as to say I love him (that title is for Gansey <3) I liked the development, I liked that he got to be a person outside of just being Gansey's friend. He defiantly felt like a more defined and real character in this book. In terms of other characters, Gansey is still the love of my life, Noah felt a bit left out in this book (other than that super weird kiss with blue that I'm pretending didn't happen), Blue still got on my nerves a bit but Adam... Adam, I went from loving him to hating him in this book. He had some valid points and he had some reasonable justification for his actions but he just became so dislikable by the end :( The Grey Man was a weird addition, I'm sure plot wise he's useful but I was just bored of him. The real shining star of this book was Kavinsky, like he's a horrible person but I loved reading the chapters with him in.
Relationships: Talking of Kavinsky, the tension between him and Ronan *chefs kiss* perfection. But then nothing, like I thought they would have a will-they-wont-they kind of relationship but it was kind of overshadowed by sudden revelations about Kavinsky's dream power thingy. Which was cool because then I was expecting them to work together but Ronan just diched him for Gansey. I don't know I was kind of sad, I felt like we were robbed of the finale to the enemies to lovers I was waiting for. It also poses the question of is it good gay representation if they are horrible people? Knowing this book, Kavinsky is probably going to come back in some shape or form and haunt Ronan, I hope they sort out whatever it is they had going on because Ronan needs some love in his life. The whole Gansey-Adam-Blue drama once again, meh. Like Gansey and Blue were cute, especially their almost kiss, but I don't know, I just couldn't bring myself to care that much. probably because I know there's two more books for them to pine over each other in.
World-Building: This book felt a lot more complicated on the magic side than the first one. There were defiantly bits of the lore that I didn't understand/skim read because it didn't really make sense. The dream thing was cool (especially the whole dreamt up mum bit - didn't see that coming!) and the lay line stuff is still interesting but I don't really understand what's going on with Adam's powers and the whole bit with Penelope helping him confused me. I guess there will be more explanation in the next book.
Genre: Still good, although one small thing, I kind of miss the academic setting of the first book. Practically none of the action took place at the school this book and I missed that. It defiantly lacked something that made the first book just that little bit better but I'm looking forward to reading the 3rd one.
Character: 4/5
Relationships: 4/5
World-Building: 3/5
Genre: 4/5
Plot: The plot of this one was just as good at the first book but that being said it was equally as complicated as the first book. Because I was reading this whilst ill and when I was travelling I feel like I took less of the plot in/it felt more confusing to me. Dispite this I still love where the series is going, I really want to know if they're ever going to solve the mystery/what's going to happen with Gansey/will Ronan ever get any less repressed. That being said the ending to this one felt a little less than the first book, I'm not sure what it was, perhaps because all of the gang wasn't in the same place, but Adam wandering in the forest/the Grey Man vibing and killing his brother all felt quite anticlimatic compared to the rest of the book. Structurally, this book kind of followed Ronan the most, but I liked that it kept a healthy balence of all the characters still.
Characters: Ronan was definately the MC for this book and I have to say that amazingly this book converted me from being a Ronan hater to kind of liking him. I'm not going as far as to say I love him (that title is for Gansey <3) I liked the development, I liked that he got to be a person outside of just being Gansey's friend. He defiantly felt like a more defined and real character in this book. In terms of other characters, Gansey is still the love of my life, Noah felt a bit left out in this book (other than that super weird kiss with blue that I'm pretending didn't happen), Blue still got on my nerves a bit but Adam... Adam, I went from loving him to hating him in this book. He had some valid points and he had some reasonable justification for his actions but he just became so dislikable by the end :( The Grey Man was a weird addition, I'm sure plot wise he's useful but I was just bored of him. The real shining star of this book was Kavinsky, like he's a horrible person but I loved reading the chapters with him in.
Relationships: Talking of Kavinsky, the tension between him and Ronan *chefs kiss* perfection. But then nothing, like I thought they would have a will-they-wont-they kind of relationship but it was kind of overshadowed by sudden revelations about Kavinsky's dream power thingy. Which was cool because then I was expecting them to work together but Ronan just diched him for Gansey. I don't know I was kind of sad, I felt like we were robbed of the finale to the enemies to lovers I was waiting for. It also poses the question of is it good gay representation if they are horrible people? Knowing this book, Kavinsky is probably going to come back in some shape or form and haunt Ronan, I hope they sort out whatever it is they had going on because Ronan needs some love in his life. The whole Gansey-Adam-Blue drama once again, meh. Like Gansey and Blue were cute, especially their almost kiss, but I don't know, I just couldn't bring myself to care that much. probably because I know there's two more books for them to pine over each other in.
World-Building: This book felt a lot more complicated on the magic side than the first one. There were defiantly bits of the lore that I didn't understand/skim read because it didn't really make sense. The dream thing was cool (especially the whole dreamt up mum bit - didn't see that coming!) and the lay line stuff is still interesting but I don't really understand what's going on with Adam's powers and the whole bit with Penelope helping him confused me. I guess there will be more explanation in the next book.
Genre: Still good, although one small thing, I kind of miss the academic setting of the first book. Practically none of the action took place at the school this book and I missed that. It defiantly lacked something that made the first book just that little bit better but I'm looking forward to reading the 3rd one.