I can see this series fast becoming one of my favourites – the books are trippy and very, very cool. You have to let go of logic a little to enjoy them.
Name: The Dream Thieves
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Published: 2013
Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Blue and Gansey will be the same. Ronan is falling more and more deeply into his dreams … and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Gansey is needed at home, and is struggling to stay in Aglionby. And Adam? He’s made some new friends. Friends that are looking for some of the same pieces of the puzzle that Gansey, Blue, and Ronan are after. Great power is at stake, and someone must be willing to wield it.
Last summer, I listened to the audiobook of the first Raven Boys book. I decided to read the second book in the series, The Dream Thieves, in physical book form and I noticed quite a few differences. I can see the series as a whole becoming one of my favourites – the books are trippy and very, very cool. They’re… a weird series. Some scenes feel like they’ve happened already or alternatively, characters will reference situations that I have no recollection of happening. I’d love to crossreference everything and work it all out but I think the confusion is purposeful. You have to let go of logic a little to fully enjoy the series. The narrator is quite unreliable (or there’s just a lot of metaphors). I’d love to explain the plot to someone because it would just sound ridiculous. Incredibly enjoyable books!
‘We know the ley line messes with time’ said Gansey immediately, but he felt undone. Not exactly undone but unmoored. Released from the ruts of logic. When the rules of time became flexible, the future seemed to hold too many possibilities to bear.
– YOU AND ME BOTH GANSEY
So here are the differences I found between reading The Raven Boys in audiobook and the sequel The Dream Theives in physical form. Which formv (or book) do you prefer? Let me know in the comments!
Accents
The audiobook narrator (Will Patton) had the most gorgoeus Southern accent that really brought the characters to life. I’ve never experienced an American West Summer but I feel like I have now. I missed the narrator doing all the speech with the physical book! However, I did think that Gansey was called Candy for half of the first book because of his accent. Some of the spellings came as a bit of a shock too – Aglionby? Cabeswater?
Time!!
You actually have time to think with a physical book! You can go back and reread sections without your finger slipping on the time bar, skipping a chapter and catching a plot twist (I thought it sounded ridiculous too…). You also have more time to enjoy the writing – I’m a sucker for poetic writing and Maggie Stiefvater has the rhythm of words down perfectly. It creates this gorgeous, emotional fantasy world. The writing is abrupt and addictive; I love it.
Characters
This is more comparing the two books rather than the media, but I think that there was more character development in this book. The group dynamic is so interesting – I genuinely ship them all. Every possible combination works! I hope that they continue to focus on one character per book – Ronan was heartbreaking. Also, I want more information on Noah. He’s such an interesting and unique character but never gets much page time. He could easily have been given some of Rich Boys TM moments from the middle, because I thought it dragged a little. That being said, the ending was electric.
This book is the culmination of The Dark Is Rising Sequence, The Power Of Five series and a black comedy romance film I can’t name. If you’re a fan of any of those, this is for you. I can’t wait to read the the third book. The cover feels very 2013 YA but I believe this series is timeless.
Hundreds & Thousands of Books 
I loved this review! I haven’t read these books but the plot being devoid of logic definitely sounds interesting to me. I’ll have to give it a go! Happy reading 😊
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Aw thank you so much!! It was pretty weird! I havent read any books before with unreliable narrators but I think I’d love to try some more after this series. Do you have any recommendations? Hope you enjoy it if you ever try the series 🙂
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It’s really funny because I’m going to do the same thing: I read The Raven Boys on audio, and will read The Dream Thieves as a physical book! I liked the narration too, but it was the first time that I couldn’t keep up with a story on audio, especially since it was the first book in the series and I was a little lost. I still very much enjoyed the book and I can’t wait to read book 2! Wonderful post as usual! 🥰
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Ah wow that’s so funny that you’re doing the same thing! I loooovveeeeddd Will Patton’s voice and I think his accents for the characters are 👌 but it was quite confusing I agree! I ended up doing the same thing, listening to book 3 and reading book 4. Book 4 is super confusing so I’d recommend going physical for that one but I liked mixing between formats for book 3! I’d never done it before and it was really interesting 🙂
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