The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2)
By Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Recommended Ages: 15+

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

The Gist

This sequel really hooked me and got me into the series. As we delve deeper in the mystery of the legend of Glendower we discover the magic lurking in the world we know and also see the dangers hidden in plain sight. This book gives us insight into some of the other characters, which only enriches the story in my opinion. The action is amped up and the tension pulled tighter.  

What I Liked:

I love Ronan even more now. We got to hear more from him and man does he have some cool/scary stuff going on! He’s such a little enigma wrapped in fiery rage and I love it. I want more of it. Other new characters I loved were Blue’s family.  Getting to know them more meant I got to learn about some of their gifts and the mystical psychic universe.

We get to learn a lot more about Gansey’s dedication (dare I say obsession) with Glendower and as a result, the magic surrounding it. That part intrigued me so much and was so well written and believable I was ready to go search for it myself! And it’s such a unique way these 5 very different people came together.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but there was a Blue and Gansey scene that made my heart race which was weird considering Blue can’t kiss anyone.

I just love how invested I am in the characters now. I know each of their personalities, their struggles, their desires and their goals. They feel like mine now. It added an extra element to the story.   

The other big selling point of this book/series is the world building. I know it’s set on Earth, but the way Maggie describes Cabeswater is other-worldly. I wish so badly it was real cause I’d build a cute little cottage there. It sounds beautiful and dark and mysterious and all the things I love in fantasy worlds.

What I Didn’t Like:

There were still some slow parts, especially in the beginning. But a lot of books nowadays suffer from that. It wasn’t as bad as the first book though, so kudos on that Maggie.

I want to start this next point by saying I appreciate and understand Adam’s struggle. He wants to prove he can do things on his own, and that he’s better than his father. But gosh dang it I got annoyed with him. There were times I wanted to scream at him on the pages because he was just being a little diva and hyper dramatic. So I wish that could have been dialed down a bit.

LunasLuckyRating: 4/5 Lunas