Review: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2)

Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal
Release Date: September 17, 2013
Publisher: Scholastic
Source: ARC from Publisher

Description:

The second installment in the all-new series from the masterful, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author 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...  

The Dream Thieves is the second book in The Raven Cycle series that continues following Blue and her "Raven Boys" - Adam, Ronan, Gansey, and Noah. Gansey's search for the hidden king continues on, until the day when the group discovers that Cabeswater - the magical forest they've discovered - has disappeared. On top of these problems, Ronan is going through some really hard times in his personal life - not like he'd ever admit it or talk about it with anyone. He's finding it harder to stay out of his dreams and even harder to separate his dreams from reality. While Ronan struggles to gain control of his dreams and the group is trying to figure out how to bring Cabeswater back - a stranger appears in town and just happens to be searching for the same thing as they are. Only this person will stop at nothing until he finds it.

I absolutely LOVED the first book in the series, so I was really excited when I got to read The Dream Thieves. It deals a lot more with Ronan than the rest of the gang, which I wasn't expecting. Ronan is a rough character and can definitely be a jerk most of the time, but the story lets the reader understand him a bit better and learn more about his life. If I thought Ronan was nothing but a jerk looking for a fight before - I was definitely wrong about him. I'm really glad that the author allowed us to get a better grasp of his character and what makes him tick. It certainly explains a lot about his actions in the series. The majority of the plot revolves around Ronan and his exceptional gift that he inherited from his father. This ability is slowing bringing Ronan's dreams into reality though - and that isn't a good thing. His nightmares are unleashed upon the normal world and it's up to him and the rest of the group to get them under control. Cabeswater and Gansey's quest get put on the back burner a bit with this book, along with Blue and her problems. The writing was phenomenal and I was immediately pulled back into the world that the author created within the first couple sentences of the book. The story is fast paced and has a natural flow that kept me eagerly reading to see what was going to happen next. The author uses vivid imagery and detailed descriptions of everything from the setting to the characters and the occurences in the book - so much so that I easily imagined myself alongside Blue and her boys as they tried to figure out what was happening. There's some action, mystery, adventure, and a bit of romance mixed in with the fantasy and paranormal aspects of  the book, so it will definitely appeal to fans of all genres. The only bad thing is now I have to wait (impatiently) for the next book to come out. If you haven't started this series yet, DO IT. It's not like any other series I've read before and definitely gives a fresh take on the genre. Very highly recommended!!