The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
The Raven Boys is one of those books that I wish I could erase from my memory so I could read it for the first time again. I wish I hadn’t picked up this book during university as I was so busy I could only read a few pages at a time – making my reading experience extremely disjointed. Surprisingly, I still absolutely loved this book. I’d never read anything like it before and I don’t think I’ll read anything like it ever again.
Magical realism wasn’t really something I was aware of at the time so this book blew my mind. The ‘magic’ of this world feels like it’s woven into every single word. There’s something about innate magic in a world that’s familiar that feels like true escapism. This book, and the rest of the series, is so incredibly immersive. I think I may have just talked myself into a re-read.
Synopsis: It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
Does this book count as magical realism? There is magic in this world (technically) but it isn’t something commonly used. I’m not sure, but I’d say it is.
Set in, what I think is Edwardian England, Belladonna is a stunning gothic mystery that involves Death himself. Hence why I believe this is magical realism. I’m always happy when I don’t need to learn the rules of a complex magic system. You don’t fully understand the magic of this world in book one, but not in a frustrating way, more that you’re curious to know where they originate and what their full extent includes.
Synopsis: Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation, and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.
However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine.
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