“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love… or you killed him.”
THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I happened to have the urge to reread The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater (an urge that strikes once every oh, three weeks or so) but my colossal TBR pile made me think… hmm better not. So I decided to google St. Mark’s Eve, thinking that starting a reread on the day the whole story kicks off on would be fun and auspicious.
IT. IS. TODAY. St. Mark’s Eve. April 24th. Coincidence, as Gansey would say, because it is not. It is fate. The weather is moody and gray and perfect. I’m diving back in.
What’s so great about this series anyway?
Take a complete host of three dimensional, vibrant characters. Throw in themes of family, economy, sexuality, isolation, feminism, death, love, belonging. Mix in a spooky supernatural storyline that is part coming-of-age and part historical fantasy. What you get as a result might have been a mess if it were written by anyone but Maggie Stiefvater. Her writing is gorgeous and atmospheric, like fog rolling over a dense green forest floor. You can hear ravens cawing in this distance as you read, that’s how good she is- her writing produces auditory hallucinations.
You need to read these books.
I’ll check back in once I’ve swallowed and digested The Raven Boys (gross but accurate metaphor). Join me for a re-read! It’s the perfect way to begin the count down to The Dreamer Trilogy, the next series coming out in the Raven Cycle universe, starring Ronan Lynch. The first book is called Call Down The Hawk and it comes out in November!
