They’ll tell the story of tonight

I’m rereading all of these since the final book comes out TOMORROW (EEEEEEK!). I liked this book much more this time through. I think it has something to do with having spent more time with the characters in the following two books. I’m finding myself more wrapped up in this series than I thought I would be and I’m not gonna lie…I’m a bit worried about how everything is going to shake out.

(I’m also getting closer to being able to spell Stiefvater correctly without looking it up so go me.)

This book hits on so many things that I love:

1. Characters who are more than what they initially appear to be
2. Unique, no nonsense female characters
3. Psychics
4. Holy Grail style quests
5. Magic
6. Sass (so much sass!)

There was really no way I wasn’t going to like it. I was really on board from just reading this bit of the premise on Goodreads:

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.”

Blue, our heroine, comes from a long line of female psychics, but the gift seems to have skipped her. Instead, she acts like a lightning rod for psychic energy. She makes things “louder” for other psychics. As psychic gifts go, it’s not high up there on Blue’s list. This gift, or lack thereof, has made Blue into a very grown up, sensible sort of person, not one for flights of fancy or to be easily impressed. Especially by Aglionby students, rich boys who go to the exclusive private school in her small, Southern town of Henrietta.

Enter Gansey. Blue first meets Gansey on the corpse road on St. Mark’s Eve, a special night where all who are going to die in Henrietta in the next year walk the line (not like Johnny Cash) and Maura, Blue’s mother, writes down all of their names so she can alert them, giving them time to get their affairs in order. Blue, not being gifted with psychic sight, never sees any of the ghosts, but she allows her mother to see them more clearly. This year, however, Blue sees her first ghost. Her aunt, Neeve, tells her that it’s either because he’s her true love, or she killed him.

This ghost, of course, is Gansey, one of our heroes, a rich, shining boy who is on the hunt for a long dead Welsh king named Glendower. Rumor is, the one who wakes Glendower gets one wish. He doesn’t make the greatest first/second (first for him, second for her) impression on Blue, so she’s sure she’s not going to fall in love with him. Absolutely not, Never ever.

It’s entirely possible that she could both fall in love with him and kill him, as Blue’s been told her entire life that, if she kisses her true love, he’ll die. So, being entirely pragmatic, she’s decided just not to kiss anyone. I respect this logic, even though it sucks for her.

Things get even more complicated when she meets Gansey’s friend, Adam, who is actually NOT a rich Aglionby boy, but an Aglionby boy nonetheless. He grew up in Henrietta, just like Blue, is dirt poor and his father is an abusive dick. This, of course, colors his interactions with his rich friends and also with Blue, who he has feelings for, though he’s not quite sure what to do with them. Rounding out the gang are Ronan, a volatile troublemaker who is loyal to his friends but not much else, and Noah, a quiet boy who hangs on the edges but is more than he seems.

I truly enjoyed reading this the first time and liked it even more the second time. I have high hopes for the final novel and am excited to see how it turns out. Reviews for the second and third books of the series to come whenever I get up the motivation to edit them (I’m so lazy, you guys).