I picked up this book because I saw a lot of fan art and posts about it online, and for a while I actually confused it with the "Six of Crows" series. It is DEFINITELY not the "Six of Crows" series.
"The Dream Thieves" is the second book of "The Raven Cycle" series, the first being "The Raven Boys." Now, despite the title making it sound like a cheesy love triangle YA novel, it is most definitely not. If the book was about anyone's love, it would be about the teenage rich boy's love for a dead Welsh king (just read the book it will all make sense).
The thing I loved most about "The Dream Thieves" and the series in general is that each book seems to focus on a different character and their struggles. "The Raven Boys" was a sort of combo about Noah and Adam, "Blue Lily, Lily Blue" is about Blue (or Jane if you prefer), and "The Raven King" is about Gansey. "The Dream Thieves," however, is about Ronan.
The reason I loved this book so much is because of the character development of Ronan and how we are able to see deeper inside his character. Stiefvater starts out the book blatantly stating that Ronan has secrets, and throughout the book she gradually slips either clues or foreshadowing as to what those secrets are. Maggie Stiefvater is the queen of foreshadowing (right ahead of Sarah J. Maas). She finishes it off by revealing some pretty major details about the character that will become relevant in later books (Spoiler free environment here).
I personally LOVE Ronan and many others focused on in this book as well. I loved the complexity of Kavinsky and how he wasn't just blatantly evil, but had secrets of his own as well. I also really really enjoyed The Gray Man and his character development throughout the novel. His and Maura's relationship was one of the most comical and enjoyable things about the book. Add that to the character and relationship struggles of Adam and Gansey, the novel was one of the best I've read in a while. I have little to no complaints except that I want more.
Grade: 10 Age: 15