The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: September 7th, 2014
Pages: 437
Song I Played While Reading: Faith and How Deep Is Your Love by Calvin Harris
Rating: 4.5 stars

If you could steal things from your dreams, what would you take?

Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.
One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.
Ronan is one of the raven boys- a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan's secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface- changing everything in its wake. 

The day I come up with enough words to form a coherent sentence on why I love Maggie Stiefvater's writing is the day pigs fly. I'm a loss for words. I will ALWAYS be at a loss for words. Luckily, Stiefvater is not and uses them to make amazing books.
And this book just so happened to center around my favorite person: Ronan Lynch. He took the spotlight. Glendower? Who? It was almost hysterical how shoved aside this infamous king was. It was like Stiefavter gave us a little insight to what this series was going to be about in The Raven Boys, and then slammed on the breaks and threw us for a loop and made the entire second book about Ronan and his power. Gift? Whatever you want to call it. I'm so not complaining, though!
Ronan is a hard, hard character to connect with. I know loads of people had issues with this book solely cause of that. For me, I try and not worry over that because I read specifically sometimes NOT to read about someone like me. Does that make sense? Ronan is the blunt, I-dont-give-a-shit-about-anything type of character that I admire. I'm nice and polite. Ronan is the opposite. So I think he's the most fascinating creature ever and I loved being in his head. He's raw and honest and dangerous and scary and angry and JUST SO COMPLEX. And also possibly gay. I guess if he can't be my fictional boyfriend he can be my fictional bff... just kidding, he'll always be my fictional boyfriend.

Ronan is so the opposite of pure, but nonetheless, I find myself thinking of him whenever I see this. HE'S TOO GOOD FOR THIS WORLD, DAMNIT. 

Okay, so the only reason why this wasn't a 5 star book was because of Adam. Good 'ol (sexually confused) Adam. (Maybe thats pushing it but I don't give no frick fracks.) His condition and what his ties were to Cabeswater confused that absolute poo out of me. I couldn't connect what the apparitions had to do with Cabeswater. Are they people who died on the ley line? Does Noah know them? I actually still don't have an answer to that first question, but I at least know they have ties to that magical forest. I just think his situation could have been better written out, in a way where we could 100% say, "Yes, all this is happening because of Cabeswater." I mean, we obviously knew it was, but... also didn't. At least I didn't. This is confusing me too. Let's just say his chapters were a blur and could have been written better. 

I LOOOOOOOOVED the pace of the romance in here. It's so natural. Theres no insta-love, no, "Oh, theres a prophecy saying I'll fall in love with this guy, LETS DO IT." Blue takes her sweet time and I'm damn proud of her. She's just such a great over-all character. I have zero complaints with her. Or anyone else for that matter. Noah? Sweetest little munchkin ever. Gansey? Only my dream guy. Blue's crazy family? Hilarious and crazy and absolutely perfect. THE GRAY MAN? Amazing. I 100% adored him. He had that perfect sense of dry humor going on, with a brutal honesty that had me laughing my ass off because what hitman says he's a hitman during polite conversation? 

Though Kavinsky was a total ass, he electrified this book. I liked him in a sense where I knew he wouldn't be a problem after the final page, so I enjoyed the chaos he caused. Those last 40 pages? Holy cow. Thats really what synched the deal for me. I can't even describe the level of amazingness that ensued during it. IT WAS JUST SO GOOD AND IT LEFT ME TOTALLY BREATHLESS. 

I already can feel the deep hole these characters have burrowed into my chest and the book hangover looming, even though I still have Blue Lily, Lily Blue to read. Pray I live through the wait. PRAY.

Quotes

"In that moment, Blue was a little in love with all of them. Their magic. Their quest. Their awfulness and strangeness. Her raven boys." 

"From the deck of the boat, Orla said, "I'm having a physic moment. It involves you and me."

Distracted, Gansey glanced up from the computer screen. "Were you talking to me or Ronan?"

"Either. I'm flexible."

Blue made a small, terrible noise."

"Orla tossed her head, her magnificently large nose describing a circle in the air. Then she tore off her bell-bottoms so fast that all the boys in the boat just stared at her, dazzled and stunned. Gansey couldn't understand the speed of it. One moment, she was wearing clothing, and the next moment, she was wearing a bikini. Fifty percent of the world was browned skin and fifty percent was orange nylon. From the Mona Lisa smile on Orla's lips, it was clear she was pleased to finally be allowed to demonstrate her true talents. 

A tiny part of Gansey's brain said: You have been staring for too long.

The larger part of his brain said: ORANGE.

"Oh, for the love of God," Blue said, and jumped out of the boat. 

Ronan began to laugh, and it was so unexpected that the spell was broken. He laughed as Chainsaw hurled herself into the air where Blue had gone, and he laughed as Orla let out a honking sound and cannonballed into the water. He laughed as the image on the laptop distorted with the rollicking water. He laughed as he stretched out his arm for Chainsaw to return to him, and then he sealed his lips with an expression that indicted he still found them all hilarious on the inside.

The boat, previously stuffed to capacity, now contained only three boys and a small, discard pile of girls' shoes and clothing. Adam looked at Gansey, expression dazed. "Is this really happening?" 

It was really happening, because the side-scan sonar showed two forms below the surface. One of them was nowhere near the objects and seemed to be moving in rather aimless circles. The other shot purposefully toward the vicinity of the raven, moving in brief surges that suggested a breaststroke. Gansey, former captain of the Aglionby crew team and a not untalented swimmer, approved. 

"I feel rather ashamed," Gansey admitted. 

Ronan ran a hand over his shaved head. "I didn't want to mess up my hair." 

(I'm sorry, I know that was ridiculously long for a quote but that whole boat scene was GOLD. I had to include at least some part of it in here :))

""Yes," the Gray Man agreed. "I certainly am. Would you say that this thing is a box?"

"No, I wouldn't say that, because I don't know. Would you say that?"

"No. Probably not."

"Why did you ask, then?"

"If it was a box, I could stop looking at things that weren't boxes."

"If I'd thought it was a box, I would've told you to look for a box. Would I say it's a box. Why do you have to be so damn mysterious all the time? Do you get off on it? You want me thinking about boxes now? Because I am. I'll look it up. I'll see what I can do." 

"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." Ahem.

"Then Maura made something with butter and Calla made something with bacon and Blue steamed broccoli in self-defense."

Okay I'm done with the quotes. I just have so MANY FAVORITES, ITS HARD TO PICK WHICH ONE GOES IN MY REVIEW.