Title: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Audiobook Narrator: Will Patton
Series: Raven Cycle

Blue Sargent is no stranger to the paranormal. Growing up in a family of psychics, Blue may not have any powers of her own, but she can amplify the psychic abilities of others. This is why her aunt takes her to the church yard on St. Mark's Eve, the one time of the year where the spirits of the soon-to-be-dead will walk the earth. Blue, as is typical, does not see any spirits at first, but everything changes when she sees the soul of a teenage boy. He tells her that his name is Gansey. Her aunt tells her the fact that Blue can see him means one of two things: Blue is destined to fall in love with Gansey, or kill him. It's not too long before Blue finds the real Gansey, a rich boy from a local prep school. She cannot imagine falling for him, but she finds herself drawn to him, and his mysterious quest, nevertheless.

Lately, I've really learned the danger of overselling books, having picked up a few myself based on the rave reviews of others. Unfortunately, the spark that makes one reader fall in love with a book, doesn't necessarily transfer over to the next person. While I certainly enjoyed The Raven Boys, and found it to be a well put together novel, it didn't grab me as aggressively as some other readers. I think the reason behind this is because it does take a few chapters to get off of the ground, and it took a while for many of the characters to grow on me. Still, the further I got into the book, the more about it I came to enjoy.

Despite the fact that The Raven Boys has strong paranormal elements, the author never seems to loose sight of what's important, the characters. A lot of time is spent on developing the group of boys that Blue comes to spend time with, and the relationships they share. To be honest, the fact that so much time is spent on this group prep school boys and not Blue with her cool family of psychics bothered me at first, but I actually became very connected to all of them throughout the book. Another thing I liked is how the romance didn't end up being as big of a deal as beginning of the book made it seem. I enjoy a good love story as much (or more) than the next person, but when it comes to young adult paranormal books especially, it seems like it can veer into melodrama far too easily. This is not a problem The Raven Boys possesses. Another strength of The Raven Boys can be found in it's writing, which can be quite lovely. Interestingly, it also possesses an attractive dry wit that coaxed quite a few smiles out of me. Also, I must warn you that The Raven Boys, while it doesn't end of a cliffhanger, leaves several plot threads dangling. I felt like this was effectively handled, as it made me eager to see what happens next, but I know a lot of readers really prefer their books to be more self contained.

Thoughts on the Audiobook: The Raven Boys is narrated by Will Patton. Admittedly, I wasn't a big fan of his narration at first. It just sounds like he's constantly in awe of everything, which can get a little old. I ended up getting used to Patton's style, but I'll probably stick with the print version of any sequels.

Final Thoughts: Although it took me a little while to get into The Raven Boys, I found a lot to like about it. The novel is filled with intriguing characters, strong writing, and a nice paranormal setting. I am very intrigued to see where the series is set to go next and will be reading the sequel once it's published. Four Stars