TOP TEN TUESDAY | Whimsy and Anarchy

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme for bloggers who like books and lists. It's awesome and is graciously hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.


This week's Top Ten Tuesday is about those books you just happen upon and pick up without hearing anything about them beforehand.

Ten Books I Picked Up On A Whim (however you decide to interpret that (bought or read or something else) -- I know most people read based on recommendation but we want to know those books you picked up without really hearing about or knowing much about!)

Being led to books through recommendations is pretty reliable but while it may be more risky, picking up a book with no previous knowledge can be extra rewarding especially when the book turns out to be good!  I've actually discovered some of my favorite books this way.  Here are eight of the best books I picked up on a whim:

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1) The Game of Kings (Lymond Chronicles #1) by Dorothy Dunnett

This is my most favorite historical fiction series of all time and I don't think it will ever be eclipsed.  I picked it up while browsing at a bookstore.  It had just been re-issued and I was drawn in by the beautiful new cover.  Yup, I totally judged this book by its cover and it worked!  

2) A Game of Thrones (Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin

With these first two entries I'm wondering if I have some kind of weird fascination with games involving royalty?  As with book one above, I picked it up while browsing in a bookstore back in the heady days of the mid-1990s when this series debuted and before it became a phenomenon.  I don't think it could have been the cover that drew me in (though it's kind of nice) but I don't remember what made me grab it in the first place.  I read it and loved it and it blew my mind and now I have had almost 20 flipping,years of wearily hoping that Martin will actually finish the series.   It's been fun to see this series turn into such a sensation and really become an important contribution to the fantasy genre.

3) Crow in Stolen Colors by Marcia Simpson

I picked this mystery set in Alaska up on a whim at the library and completely loved it.  The bummer is there are only two books and the author has written nothing else :(.  

4) Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron

This is one of my very favorite mystery series!  It features Jane Austen as the detective.  I was lucky to have stumbled upon it!

5)  In the Shadow of Gotham (Simon Ziele #1) by Stefanie Pintoff

I think the awesome cover and the Edgar award made me pick this one up and it has become one of my favorite historical mystery series!

6) Mister Monday (Keys to the Kingdom #1) by Garth Nix

I picked this one up because of the Garth Nix name recognition so not completely whimsical but I had never heard of this series and hadn't read anything else by Nix except one short story.  I ended up loving the series, it turned me into a stalwart fan of Nix and sparked a still active interest in middle-grade fiction.  Pretty good for a whim read.

7) The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

Again this one wasn't an entirely whimsical choice as it was on the recommendations shelves at the library where each of the librarians pick 10-15 books to display.  It's not like  I know the librarian and their taste so I had no reason to trust the recommendation.  It just looked interesting and had a fantastic cover.  And it was one of my favorite books in the year I read it.  The follow-up gets released next month!

8) The Foundling (Monster Blood Tattoo #1) by D.M. Cornish

This was one of my very favorite series from a couple of years ago and I discovered it just browsing at my library.  It's a unique middle-grade Dickenisan fantasy tale and I think the cover drew me in.

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Looking at the list, I realize that I don't do whim very much anymore, especially with all the recommendations I get from bloggers I trust.  That's all well and good but I should do a little more browsing and picking especially when # 1 and 2 above are two of my favorite series of all time.

What's the last book you picked up on a whim?  Do you have any all time favorites that you just stumbled upon?

Saturday in the Garden | TV Hangovers Lead to Reading Challenge Success

OUTSIDE

Daucus carota sativa came up! Also, Radishes.

Also my garlic is so lush and fantastic this year.  The warm spring must have agreed with them!

An update on Ms. Turtle.  See reminder picture below.

She has enjoyed a week of lording (ladying?) over my spare room, feasting on night crawlers, bananas and strawberries but she is on the way to a new home today.  A nature center in Southern Iowa is going to take her in and she will begin a new life teaching kiddos and others about how cool turtles are.  Wish her luck!

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

Watching 
I'm in the throes of an Arrow hangover so not watching much of anything.


Reading
Caught up with my goodreads challenge!  Now to keep up with it...

Finished Last Week:

• Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey #3) by Dorothy L. Sayers: More Peter Wimsey!  Always a good thing though I could do without the healthy dose of anti-semitism.
• The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #4) by Rick Riordan: Wow, I can't believe I've almost completed this series and just how sad I am about that! 
• The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4) by Maggie Stiefvater:  I loved it but I will freely admit my love may be 100% about how much I love Ronan and Adam and have nothing to do with the story etc....

Currently Reading:

• One Magic Square by Lolo Houbein: A gardening book about maximizing food production in a small space.  An ARC from Netgalley (though I think it's an older title).   
• Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson:  A non-fiction account about the sinking of the Lusitania.  I'm all about boats.  And disasters.
• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater:  Yup. Two Stiefvaters at once.  What of it? 

Added to the TBR:

This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week.  It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!

• Starflight by Melissa Landers: Recommended to me directly by Selah from A Bibliophile's Style and it looks awesome.  She describes it as YA Sci Fi with Firefly feel and a slow burn romance.  Yes Please!

Blogging 

On the BLOG LAST WEEK:

No posting this week.  Blergh.

Well, this it's been an especially boring and thin week so I will leave you with a picture of my dog giving me the stank eye for no apparent reason.  Have a good week!

Saturday in the Garden | Nonsense Words!

OUTSIDE

It's that time of year when EVERYTHING is happening.  The first lawn mowing (I'm about 3 weeks after everyone else on this one), the tomato and pepper planting, the columbine and horseradish blooming. It's grand! Columbine by the way is one of my favorite shade loving plants:

Lettuce and radishes are also coming up but no carrots yet.  Annny day now, Daucus carota sativus, any day.  

In other news I have a guest using my spare bedroom:

It's a three toed box turtle someone found wandering the streets of the town where I live. I got called because of my day job.  It's not a native species to Iowa so it is likely someone's "pet" that they picked up out of the wild in its natural range and then either lost or deliberately released here.  Folks, don't do this.  Leave the wild critters where you found them. They can be bought in some places as well. If you do this, don't set it "free".  Three-toeds can't survive Iowa winters. Anyhoo, I will likely try to find a nature center who could use an educational animal or she may end up staying with me if I can't find a place for her because she can't be released.  

LIFE

I think I need to start calling this section "Miscellaneous".  My "life" is pretty intensely ho-hum.  Work, stressing about work, and my dogs are pretty much the only things shaking most weeks beyond the gardening, TV watching and reading...which are covered in the other sections.  Occasionally something comes up that I think folks might find interesting but it's pretty occasional (intensely ho hum) and often not really about my "life" at all. So from here on out this section will only happen when that occasional thing happens and it will be called "gak" or some similar nonsense word.

Have I mentioned before how much I love nonsense words?  Gak is a favorite (=miscellaneous sh*!,  though it is also apparently the name of the slime Nickolodeon made famous [now that I think about it Nickolodeon is a fun word and what does that even mean - nonsense word!] ), as is Hookemafaa (= stand in for any object whose name I can't come up with at the moment). Wonky is probably my favorite word that sounds like a made up word but isn't (adj. not functioning correctly; faulty).  I'd be really interested to hear what your favorite nonsense word is!  Is it blergh (a recent favorite of mine)?  Or perhaps some word known only to you?

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

Watching 
I've been a little unenthusiastically meandering through the first season of The Flash this week.  Barry Allan/Grant Gustin is totally charming but he's the only real draw for me.  Oh, and the fact that the folks from Arrow occasionally pop up.


Reading
As you will see below,  I kicked some serious booty in the reading of books this week!  That is thanks to some shorter titles, a graphic novel and two books that I'd been reading for a while that I was able to finish.  They were all pretty good to boot, with The Round House being my favorite and The Wicked and the Divine and The Colonel's Lady being tied at the bottom of the list.  I thought it was going to be enough to catch me up with my goodreads challenge but alas, I am still one book behind.  I will always be one book behind! *shakes enraged fist*

Finished Last Week:

• The Wicked and the Divine, Volume 1 by Kieron Gillen, Jame McKelvie, Matt Wilson, and Clayton Cowles - The artwork was lovely and the concept interesting but the story was a little garbled, aka a lot confusing.
• Monks Hood  (Brother Cadfael #3) by Ellis Peters:  Medieval mysteries set at a monastery. Need I say more?  I didn't think so.
• The Round House by Louise Erdrich:  It took me forever to read but it is a really lovely, amazing book.  Loved it.
• No Wind of Blame (Inspector Hemingway Mystery #1) by Georgette Heyer:  Oh Georgette Heyer, you charming minx.  You even make murder seem charming.
• The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (Flavia DeLuce #6) by Alan Bradley: This is a fun historical mystery series that I thought had a planned end but I looked and there are two more books listed.  The events of this book though may signal a pretty big shift in future books however and that makes me happy.
• The Colonel's Lady by Laura Frantz: I got this one back from the library and finished finally.  It's a christian historical romance set during the American Revolution and didn't really work for me though it is well written.

Currently Reading:

• One Magic Square by Lolo Houbein: A gardening book about maximizing food production in a small space.  An ARC from Netgalley (though I think it's an older title).   
• Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Whimsey #3) by Dorothy L. Sayers: More Peter Whimsey!  Yay!
• Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson:  A non-fiction account about the sinking of the Lusitania.  I'm all about boats.  And disasters.
• The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4) by Maggie Stiefvater:  I've been scrupulously avoiding reviews and spoilers of this one.  I have a feeling my heart's going to be broken....

Added to the TBR:

This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week.  It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!

• Nada/Zilch/Zip.

Blogging 

On the BLOG LAST WEEK:

TUESDAY: TOP TEN TUESDAY |  Fictional Character Speculations
WEDNESDAY: Review | The Last Ever After (School for Good and Evil #3) by Soman Chainani

“A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” - Roald Dahl

REVIEW | The Last Ever After by Soman Chainani

The Last Ever After by Soman Chainani

Publication Year: 2015

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Fairy Tales

Series: The School for Good and Evil, #3

Awards: NA

Format: Audio (from Library)

Narrator: Polly Lee

WHY?: This series has been consistently thought-provoking if uneven in its story telling.  I was intrigued to finish the series!  My thoughts on Book 1 and Book 2.

NOTE: There will likely be spoilers for books 1 and 2 so beware!

If you had told me while I was reading the first third (felt like half) of this book that I would give it a 4 star review I would have given you a serious raised eyebrow of derision.  I spent much of the first part of this book making disgruntled noises and wanting to reach into its pages and shake its annoying characters.  Chainani seemed to have lost any idea of who his characters were and many of the things that bothered me about book 2 (that both Sophie and Tedros are actually terrible and the logic behind character's actions was completely M.I.A.)  were on full display and it just went on and on and on.  Tedros and Agatha did not just seem like a couple who are getting on each other's nerves but two people who actually hate each other and have nothing in common.  Sophie is as shallow as ever and her thoughts run in constant repetitive circles.  Thankfully, somewhere around the time that Merlin makes his debut, the book starts to turn around and I was soon completely adoring all the characters (well, not Sophie) and the journey Chainani was taking me on.

At the third (maybe halfway) mark, the book finds its narrative stride and starts to do all the things that has made the series so interesting.  It questions.  What is a happy ending? What is love? What makes a queen?  What does evil really mean? What if in all our fairy tales, evil won? How would we then feel about good? Basically it throws all those fairy tale tropes out there, mixes 'em up, tosses them around and forces the reader to think about them.  The way the book ends will undoubtedly be conflicting for some readers and loved by others, but one thing is for sure, it is definitely worth discussing by all.

Overall, even in the first section, the storytelling is less disjointed in this book than the first two and a number of the secondary characters are brought into sharper focus and given more depth.  I hadn't really connected with many of them before but in this book I finally feel like I developed some affection for Hort, the coven, Lady Lesso, and even, after the first section, Tedros.  There are a bunch of new characters too that captured my heart - especially Merlin, Guinivere and Lancelot. And this may be the first book  that has ever convinced me to like Guinivere and Lancelot.

The story also packs a wallop of tension that had me constantly and completely on edge about how things were going to end and there are a number of interesting twists and turns along the way.  Once I got to Part II, it became a book I couldn't put down and even prompted me to go desperately looking for spoilers because I couldn't handle the tension.  So when 'The End' was finally written, I was grinning and pleased and ready to forgive earlier trespasses.

However, I can't let the book get away without pointing out those things that knocked it down.  Some of the issues are ones that were a problem for me throughout the series.  The book is making an argument for the power of friendship which is great but I have never really bought into the cosmically powerful nature of Sophie and Agatha's friendship.  This book makes it worse by throwing Tedros into the mix and having him jealousy claim that Sophie is his best friend.  First of all, WHAT? Second of all, Sophie is a legitimately horrible friend.  Seriously, horrible.  Chainani keeps her just on this side of unlikeable but there is no argument in the universe that could be made to convince me that Sophie isn't the most terrible friend in the world.  In book one, it worked okay.  The stakes weren't terribly high and Agatha had a lonely and miserable existence before Sophie fake friended her so it made sense that she would cling to Sophie.  But in book 2, Agatha made many other friends, most of which were 10,000 times better than Sophie.  I can buy Agatha still having loyalty to Sophie but her and Tedros rhapsodizing about how perfect Sophie is and fighting over who loves her best?  It's too much and is perhaps where the fairy tale nature of the tale (which embraces hyperbole) doesn't work for me.  Because this relationship is so very important to everything that happens in this book, that is a pretty serious weakness indeed.

Also the first section that I grumbled about above?  I maybe could've handled it but it goes on for WAY TOO LONG.  I think Chainani really wanted to establish that Agatha and Tedros are in a very bad place and that Sophie is really confused but I really don't think he needed the amount of time it took him.  The section became incredibly repetitive and it wasn't needed in order to sell the direction of part II.  So I would warn anyone picking up the book to hang in there - it does get better just about the time you are losing hope!

FINAL VERDICT:  Despite some missteps, particularly in the early part of the book, it ends up having a lovely and exciting tale to tell that left me smiling and thoughtful. 4 out of 5 stars.

Other Opinions Are Available: The Book Smugglers | Zach's YA Reviews

TOP TEN TUESDAY | Fictional Character Speculations

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme for bloggers who like books and lists. It's awesome and is graciously hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

The topic this week is a fun one:

Ten Childhood Characters You'd Love To Revisit As Adults (ie a novella or something to see what they grew up to be) -- you could always just pick YA characters you've read recently you wouldn't mind revisiting in 10 years or so. Or you could pick 10 characters and guess what you think they'd be doing in 10 years or 20 years. OR you could go the other way and wish for coming of age stories for adult characters you love.

It was also surprisingly difficult but this is what I've got:

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1) Philippa from Cut to the Quick by Kate Ross

This is an esoteric one but probably my most hopelessly wished for.  After reading the first book in this series I had the following thoughts:

As a fan of Dorothy Dunnett I was immediately intrigued by the precocious and practical young Philippa who declares that when she comes of age she will seek out and marry Mr. Kestrel.  I choose to think this is a tribute to DD by Kate Ross.  Sadly, I doubt I will be proven right or wrong about this (I’ve not finished the series yet) because of the very sad death of Kate Ross after publishing the 4th book.  So I’ll just continue to believe it is true and that Philippa would have appeared again in a later book all grown up.  Julian actually reminds me a bit of Lymond (if Lymond were a regency era dandy) – good at appearing indolent and useless, never ruffled, rarely revealing an exceedingly clever brain and wit as well as a talent for music and a profound interest and caring for his fellow man.  Yup, I’m convinced, Kate Ross was a big DD fan:0).

My theory was supported by the fact that Ross made a point of mentioning in at least one of the later books that Julian continued a correspondence with Philippa.  Sadly as I mention, Kate Ross died young of cancer so the series was never completed.

2) Cassandra from I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

I loved this coming of age story, especially its teenage protagonist. It has a very bittersweet but wise ending and I'd love to see how the events of the 6 months or so covered by the book influence the type of adult Cassandra becomes.

3)  Flavia DeLuce from the Flavia DeLuce series by Alan Bradley

Even though I am still in the middle of this series it has become very clear that Bradley does not intend to let Flavia age past 11 years old and I for one find that annoying.  I would be really interested to meet an 18 year old Flavia and even a 40 year old Flavia.  #LetFlaviaAge

4) Lucy Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Lucy is my favorite of the Pevensie siblings and I think she likely grew up to be a spunky and independent woman.  I would love to check in with her, see what kind of career she pursued (a groundbreaking doctor?), and her story of falling in love.  And of course how her adventures in Narnia pop up and affect her.

5) Everybody from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

I had so much fun with Stars Above, a collection of short stories that included a fun story that takes place about 2 years after the end of Winter.  I just kind of feel like these young folks still have some rollicking adventures left in them even if Levana is 86ed.

6) Veronica Mars from the Veronica Mars Series by Rob Thomas/Jennifer Graham

So maybe Veronica was a TV character first and maybe we have actually gotten to see her grow up into her 20s but I'd love to see how Veronica gracefully snarks her way into middle age.

7) Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Screw the canon Epilogue. I want a future Hermione, who has kicked Ron to the curb, become a Hogwarts professor and develops a steamy relationship with some new hot and nerdy Wizard.

8) The Avatar Gang from Avatar The Last Airbender by Gene Luen Yang

Yet again the gang originated as TV characters, so sue me.  I love these crazy kids a lot and I have appreciated the graphic novels that have continued the story.  Hopefully they keep going and tell the full life story of all of them.  I know I could get a little bit more from Legend of Korra but every time I think about watching it, I remember that the only way that show exists is that cheery, sweet, cheeky Aang is long dead and I just get too sad.

9) Augustus "Gus" McCrae from Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

My one reverse pick and actually I'm not sure a prequel doesn't exist.  All I know is that I need more Gus McCrae.  I don't think I can live without him really.

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One short I'm afraid but it was a fun list to think about.  Now I'm looking forward to seeing other people's wish lists because that's really what these are:0).  How about you?  What character would you like to know more about?

Saturday in the Garden | Planting Has Begun in Earnest!

OUTSIDE

The top photo above is this morning and the bottom photo is last Saturday.  This comparison is to convince myself that my work in the garden last week did show forward progress. Besides cleaning up and organizing, I also planted a bunch of things: radishes, carrots, lettuce as well as seedlings of kale and chard.  I'm trying a new thing with all the pots I use by filling the bottom 1/4 to 1/3 of the pot with leaves in an attempt to decrease the amount of potting soil I have to use.  We'll see how it goes.  Potting soil ain't cheap even if you assemble it your self.  I still have a bunch more yard/garden clean-up to do but it felt good to finally get out there and get something done last weekend.  Sadly this weekend is supposed to be all rain all the time.

LIFE

As the picture and my comments above indicate, it is a rainy morning and I once again have to shortly get on the road for work.  I think since early March I've had two weekends with no work and my schedule during the week has not been conducive to taking any compensatory time off.  I have to work the next two weekends as well.  I keep trying to chide myself that there are many many people around the world where "leisure" time is something they can't even fathom having and I have an awesome job and a fortunate life.  Still doesn't change the fact that I am Burnt Out with a capital B.O. and it stinks.  So that's my prevailing mood, tired and unenthusiastic about a day of driving and then teaching folks some stuff about landscaping for wildlife.  And it's raining.

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

Watching 

I've been indulging in my recent TV obsessions - The 100 and Arrow  - this week.  I re-watched the first season of The 100, taking notes with an eye to doing some future posts on the blog and the Arrow I've just been enjoying having on in the background.  Oddly, both shows have me kind of worried.  Unwisely I have looked at some reviews and spoilers for the current seasons that are close to finishing up on TV right now (season 3 of The 100 and Season 4 of Arrow) and in both cases folks are kind of hating the direction of the shows.
In Arrow, it sounds like to show runners, after getting Felicity and Oliver together in season three, have panicked and lost their ever loving minds.  Apparently at one point Felicity breaks up with Oliver because he has a secret kid and in the next episode post-break up they must pretend to go through with their wedding to stop a bad guy.  Can you feel me shaking my head and rolling my eyes.  Why can't TV show writers write romance properly??
In The 100 it sounds like the show runner has gone gaga and decided to completely change and assassinate all his characters.  Sometimes literally.  Since the show's biggest strength was its strongly well written and developed characters, this is a really big problem.
So my enthusiasm for catching up with the current seasons when they are released on Netflix later this year is....confused to say the least.  I so love the shows up to the point I have watched them and I really don't want to see them fall apart.  However, how can I resist new seasons?


Reading

Finished Last Week:

• The Last Ever After (The School for Good and Evil #3) by Soman Chainani:  Final book in this trilogy questioning Fairy Tale tropes.  
• The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3) by Rick Riordan: This series is really growing on me!

Currently Reading:

• One Magic Square by Lolo Houbein: A gardening book about maximizing food production in a small space.  An ARC from Netgalley (though I think it's an older title).   
• The Round House by Louise Erdrich:  I started this in D.C. on my kindle and it pretty immediately sucked me in despite the brutality of the subject matter (violent rape against a minority).  
• The Wicked and the Divine, Volume 1 by Kieron Gillen, Jame McKelvie, Matt Wilson, and Clayton Cowles
• The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (Flavia DeLuce #6) by Alan Bradley: This is a fun historical mystery series that I thought had a planned end but looking and there are two more books listed.  I wouldn't mind but I'd actually like Flavia DeLuce to move forward and grow up a bit.  I'd rather she not be a perpetual 11 year old.
• Monks Hood  (Brother Cadfael #3) by Ellis Peters:  Medieval mysteries set at a monastery. Need I say more?  I didn't think so.

Added to the TBR:

This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week.  It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!

• Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel:  I had been hearing a little buzz about this sci-fi novel featuring a giant buried robot and Mogsy's review on The Bibiolsanctum solidified my interest in reading it someday.

Blogging 

On the BLOG LAST WEEK:

TUESDAY: TOP TEN TUESDAY | Bookworm Delights
WEDNESDAY: Review | The Raven Cycle | Books 1-3 by Maggie Stiefvater

It's Saturday. Bring on the Parade.

REVIEW | The Raven Boys + 2 by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Awards: None

Format: Audio (CDs from Library)

Narrator: Will Patton

The Raven Boys (#1) - Publication Year: 2011 

The Dream Thieves (#2) - Publication Year: 2013

Blue Lily, Lily Blue (#3)- Publication Year: 2014

I'm timing my review of the first three books in this series to coincide with the very exciting April 26th release of the fourth and final installment of the series, Raven King!  I haven't read it yet but, as it will become apparent below, I can't wait to get my hands on it!

Last year I met and fell in love with Maggie Stiefvater.  Well, at least her books. I didn't meet her personally and am not sure whether I would have amorous feelings towards her or not though if she in anyway is the embodiment of her books...maybe. Anyhoo. I specifically started reading The Raven Cycle.  This series tells the story of four teenagers who are on a quest to find a dead (or is he just sleeping?) Welsh king and wake him up.  It is set in the fictional rural(ish) Virginia town of Henrietta where Aglionby Academy, a very exclusive boarding school for rich boys, sits uncomfortably among the blue-collar mountain-folk townies.

The cast is as follows:
First the so-called Raven Boys (the raven is the Aglionby Mascot hence the moniker)...
Richard "Dick" Gansy, III, aka Gansy, is the leader of a small band of misfits while he himself manages to be the the very epitome of an Aglionby Raven. At least on the surface.  Deep down he is a very unique soul and it is his obsession that at first that drives the search for Glyndower, a Welsh king who is said to be only sleeping. Gansy is very proper, can be patronizing but is also extremely loyal, curious and active.
Ronan Lynch is one of Gansy's first friends at Aglionby and like Gansy he comes from a rich family but we are given to understand that the recent death of his father has changed him into the very epitome of an angry young man.  Ronan is rude, crude, brash, quick-tempered, uninterested in school but he also has a surprisingly soft heart and he almost worships Gansy.
Adam Parrish is a townie who has secured himself a position at Aglionby despite being from a very poor home. He has also managed to earn Gansy's respect and friendship though the difference in their social station is a constant strain.  He is smart, driven, proud, funny and sweet but he is also very damaged by a violent and rocky home life.
Noah Czerny is a part of the group but no one is sure how.  He lives with Ronan and Gansy at a big converted warehouse called Monmouth Manufacturing and he has a huge secret.

Now for the Non-Aglionby Cast....
Blue Sargent is a non-psychic living in a chaotic house filled with psychic women including her mother Moira and Moira's two best friends Calla and Persephone. Generally she is disdainful of the boys from Aglionby Academy and avoids them like the plague.  However she strikes up a friendship/flirtation with Adam after meeting him while waiting tables at the local pizza joint. As Adam starts to invite her to hang with the four of them, she gets pulled into the quest for Glyndower as eventually do all the women in her household.

Now for the individual books:

The Raven Boys

The story kicks off with Blue.  All her life she has been told that if she kisses her true love he will die.  As a result, at 16, she has mostly avoided boys so she has not been in any danger of killing anyone.  Then one night she accompanies her Aunt to a nearby graveyard to help her record the spirits walking along a special path which represent those who will die in the year to come.  Blue can't usually see them but she serves as an amplifier of psychic power for the gifted in her family.  On this night Blue does see someone, a boy in an Aglionby uniform.  Her mother and Aunt believe she was able to see him because a) he is her true love or b) she will be responsible for his death or c) based on the prediction about her, possibly both.   It is therefore ominous when shortly thereafter she meets and begins to hang out with a group of four Aglionby boys.  It seems to be her destiny because her entry into the group is a catalyst for forward momentum in the search for the Welsh King Glyndower who is rumored to be sleeping among the hills around Henrietta.  She educates the boys about Ley Lines which are thick around Henrietta, and soon they discover an enchanted living forest that seems to blink in and out of existence and is called Cabeswater.

It is a little odd how much I love this first book because the supernatural and magical elements are actually pretty subtle so what your left with is contemporary drama amongst teenagers.  This is not usually my thing but Stiefvater's writing has a way of making everything seem somewhat magical and dreamy even if the actual occurrences of magic are rather slim.  She uses language so beautifully that it is sometime poetic but it's also really slyly humorous which keeps it from being stuffy or bloated.

I love how she depicts the teenagers even though one of the main complaints I read about the series is that the teenagers aren't very realistic.  Certainly they are pretty odd and unique and their dialogue is perhaps a little too sophisticated but their interactions and reactions felt very real to me.

This first book is probably my favorite.  It totally sucked me in and got me invested in the characters.

READ THE QUOTES!

FINAL VERDICT:  Funny, compelling, dreamy and the perfect introduction to Blue and the Raven Boys.  LOVED IT.  4 out of 5 Stars

The Dream Thieves

The drama and angst really kick into high gear in this second book of the Raven cycle and not always in a good way in my opinion.  The Raven Boys was a lightly fantastical story of Welsh myth and unlikely friends.  The Dream Thieves introduces some strong magic, some ambiguous bad guys and LOTS of CW drama between the friends.

Thankfully, Stiefvater's writing, which is unique, beautiful and so cleverly and dryly witty, somehow converts much of the drama into meaningful character and relationship development.  Adam and Blue both take it on the chin a bit which was hard to take because they are my favorites but both characters are at an interesting place by the end of the book.  I could've easily hated Blue for hurting Adam (who I just want to cuddle like a kicked puppy) but Stiefvater is mistress enough that I still love Blue and I believe in how she and Gansy are slowly drawn to each other.  She leaves me staunchly on team Adam but still loving Gansy and Blue.  How does Stiefvater do that???

This book also gives us the opportunity to get to know Ronan more intimately and it is a wild and mostly fun ride.  I enjoyed the added character of Kavinsky though the way Will Patton read him was a little ridiculous (very over-the-top New Jersey - very wise guy sounding). I felt like he gave me a look at what Ronan could be without Gansy which once again emphasizes the magic of these friendships.  I also really enjoyed the addition of the enigmatic Gray Man and even though it is a little cliched, his character arc was great.

“And Ronan was everything that was left: molten eyes and a smile made for war.”

 “She wore a dress Ronan thought looked like a lampshade. Whatever sort of lamp it belonged on, Gansey clearly wished he had one. Ronan wasn't a fan of lamps.” 

In the end the book tells a very interesting story but it did only feel only loosely connected to the first book and the quest for Glyndower.

FINAL VERDICT: While I didn't at first think I liked this book as much as book 1, by the end and upon reflection it had captured my heart maybe just a smidge less than book one.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue

I still loved this book but of the three it definitely fell down a (small) notch. I really enjoyed the ride but it did feel a teensy weensy bit unfocused and it left me with so many questions.  Questions like:

Why exactly, between The Dream Thieves and this book, did Blue's mother Moira go marching off into the caves to get lost for months?  I know she has been somewhat curious about the whereabouts of Blue's father but not rabidly enough to abandon her daughter and newly found love, and possibly kill herself looking for a man that disappeared 17 years ago.  But maybe I missed something?  Since Moira's disappearance and rescue drives a lot of the action in the book I wanted it to be a bit better explained especially since abandoning her daughter doesn't really seem like Moira's style.

Why did the kids plus Calla/Persephone take so long to find Moira (months) when Greenmantle's wife Piper finds her in a matter of days?

And what's up with Piper?  What is she even after?  Her motivations are very unclear and the fact that she, and not her husband, ended up being the real danger, just felt like a cheap misdirection.

What was the point of Mallory in the story?  Comic Relief? To offend all British citizens?

How does Ronan get out of the cave with the dead mirror lake?

Okay, I'll stop just asking questions though if you think you can answer any of them, I would love to be enlightened.  Ahem.  Despite its lack of focus the book does make some relatively significant progress in the search for Glyndower and sets up the final book really well.

I totally ship Ronan and Adam now.

“I know when I'm awake and when I'm asleep," Ronan Lynch said.Adam Parrish, curled over himself in a pair of battered, greasy coveralls, asked, "Do you?""Maybe I dreamt you," he said. "Thanks for the straight teeth, then," Adam replied.” 

I was very saddened by certain events.  Beware.

FINAL VERDICT:  Though a little unfocused I still really enjoyed the book and felt like it made some good progress towards the end game and the final book in the series.  3 out of 5 stars.

Before I wrap things up I should take a moment to speak about the narration of the audio books which is how I consumed the whole series.  I can't decide if Will Patton is the perfect narrator or an odd choice. He's definitely got a unique voice and I grew to really like it but there were times when he made some not so great choices like how he voiced Kavinsky.

I highly recommend this series. I have fallen in love with Maggie Stiefvater's writing and I will definitely be checking out everything else she has written after I have voraciously read The Raven King!