Dreamers were born to dream. Ronan Lynch inherited the dreamer quality, the ability to pull objects out of dreams, from his deceased father. Now that he's dropped out of High School and the hunt for Glendower from The Raven Cycle is over, he spends his days alone tending to what his father left behind. Until another mysterious dreamer by the name of Bryde reaches out to him in his dreams, causing him to meet Jordan Hennessy in the real world, who is yet another dreamer cursed with the same nightmare every time she dreams. Meanwhile, an organization known as the Moderators has been formed to hunt and kill dreamers (also referred to as Zeds) after discovering from the Visionaries that a dreamer will be the cause of the world's end. As Ronan embarks on a new journey with stakes higher than ever before, he must use everything he's learned about being a dreamer over the years to play a so-called game with the faceless Bryde, survive the monster haunting Jordan's dreams, and run from the Moderators hunting him down. This was of course an amazing start to the sequel series of The Raven Cycle, but it definitely had a totally different vibe to it than the first series. The overall tone and mood to this first book was much darker than Raven Cycle, which is not at all a bad thing. In fact, I loved this difference. I can't wait to keep reading the series, as I really feel the stage has been set with this one for the famous Stiefvater plot twists to start coming in. ( )

4.5! Slow to start but definitely worth it in the end ( )

I admit to some scepticism upon hearing that Maggie Stiefvater was writing a whole trilogy about Ronan, probably my least favourite Raven Boy. Still, I really enjoyed [b:The Raven Boys|17675462|The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)|Maggie Stiefvater|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573508485l/17675462._SY75_.jpg|18970934] series and word on the street about ‘Call Down the Hawk’ was good, so I gave it a try. Lo and behold, it was great! The tone is a little different to the Raven Boys, as the characters are not teenagers anymore. Ronan is probably the main character, but he has a strong supporting cast of new and old faces, in addition to fascinating world-building details. As a lucid dreamer myself sometimes, I have a particular fondness for dreaming-based superpowers. In ‘Call Down the Hawk’, the impact of these powers on the Lynch family is explored in much more detail. Ronan, it turns out, is an even better character with his determinedly normal brother Declan as a foil. Adam is busy being at Harvard through most of the book, however the sequence of Ronan visiting him is poignant and beautifully observed. Of course Adam has reinvented himself as someone without a tragic family background. Their romance is extremely lovely and makes a nice counterpoint to the horror elements.

While I found the Raven Boys series involving and delightful, they were rather dominated by male characters. I mean, the clue is in the title. ‘Call Down the Hawk’ gives narrative point of view to several new female characters, one a dreamer and another a hunter. Both are distinctive, striking, and tangled up in the intriguing supernatural world-building. What I’d forgotten about the Raven Boys series, and indeed YA series in general, is that they will end on damn cliffhangers. I started reading the Raven Boys series when there were already three books to it, so didn’t experience too much of this frustration. Sadly, I must now wait to find out what happens next in the Dreamer trilogy. Outstanding questions include: how are Adam’s psychic powers linked to all this? Why is Niall’s dream-double still awake after Niall’s death? Is the double actually the original?? Who is Aurora’s original and what’s going on with her? Why is the Lace _targeting Henessy? What’s up with this fire apocalypse business? What's the deal with Bryde - is he part of the Lynch family? When is Farooq-Lane going to go (more) rogue? Will Matthew be OK? Are they all going to be OK? Yes, I’m invested. My initial doubt that Ronan and his dream shenanigans merited a trilogy has been fully assuaged. ( )

A review in bulletpoints:

THE GOOD!
*Stiefvater's writing style remains one of my favorites - it's weirdly sharp but lyrical, and very distinct. It fits the tone of this book perfectly! Along this line, I read this book partially on audiobook and partially in print, and ended up liking the print version more. I don't think the audiobook narrator does enough justice to Stiefvater's beautiful writing!
*All the Ronan & Adam moments, ESPECIALLY the motorcycle one :3
*I thought Hennessy and her girls were a fabulous addition to the story and ended up really enjoying their POVs. The girls teaming up with the Lynch brothers at different points made for some incredibly dynamic reading and I'm looking forwards to seeing more of them!
*Matthew has leapt to the top of my Favorite Stiefvater Characters list because of this book: his story is incredibly interesting to me, and since we don't have a POV of his I'm even more intrigued to learn more about him. I have the feeling Matthew has a much bigger part to play in all this' my prediction is that he will develop some powers sometime in the second Dreamer book.
*The expansion of the Dreamers & the presence of the Fairy Market. I loved seeing the Stiefvater build the lore of this world and establish a little better idea of the difference in Dreamers, how common they are, what they can do, etc. It wasn't a lot, but what we did get coupled with the Fairy Market really helped establish the world she has built and what the magic is like.

THE MEH
*I ended up hardly caring about Faroooq-Lane. The Visionaries she dealt with were more interesting than she was, but because we have to read about them from her point, I think these portions of the book dragged. I just have like, ZERO emotion towards her. She's not even interesting enough to be boring, she's just...THERE.
*Adam lying about his dad/childhood to his friends? Someone else pointed this out to me, but Adam's lie really never comes up again, and it feels wayyyyy out of character for him. It was nice to see him developing new friends, but that's kinda marred from how he lied to them.
*The ending was a little too fast for my taste. It was super fast-paced and felt rushed, especially the literal last two pages (minor spoiler) when those characters are like, "Oop, let's blind the bad guys with some light and float away downriver! Peace out!" Like I said, it felt all too sudden and was just a tad bit of a letdown.

THE BAD (PSA this has nothing to do with the book itself and doesn't affect my enjoyment of it, I just want to add my two cents lol)
*The only "bad" thing about this book is the UGLY American cover?! If I hadn't already read The Raven Cycle and gotten invested in this world, I honestly wouldn't have even wanted to pick this book up. I don't judge a book fully by its cover - I'm just saying this one isn't appealing at all. The UK cover is wayyyyyy better, and when I buy this book it's gonna be that edition that I get. ;)

However, all in all, "Call Down the Hawk" was a thoroughly entertaining read and I'm excited to be back in this world. Maggie really has a way with words; I was unsure about if I wanted to read this right away but within the first few chapters I got pulled in and was enjoying it! It's got me well and truly excited for the second book :D ( )

10/10 ( )

The Lynch brothers live across the edges of dreams, which is not only dangerous in itself but puts them in the sights of those who believe they can save the world by killing the dreamers. The pacing is uninteresting and the whole is too long for the amount of character and inventiveness delivered. Not promising for the first of a trilogy. And I dislike plots where the whole world is at stake. ( )

I love The Raven Cycle but for some reason I wasn't so sure I would love this book. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to deal with Ronan as a protagonist (nonsense, since I had no problem with The Dream Thieves) or that the other characters would be missing completely and that it would feel completely detached to the original story.

But that was not the case at all!!! All the POV characters are interesting in their own ways, but of course I love Ronan the most. And it perfectly balances being a new, unique and separate story from The Raven Cycle while building upon that world and keeping the characters and themes intact. I hope we see more of Adam in the later books, but as long as he doesn't disappear completely I'll be happy.

I liked the plot, even though I wasn't really ready for the book to end when it did, and I can't wait for the sequel. It's interesting to dig deeper into the dreaming, and see what people can and cannot do with it. It's also interesting that the character we know is actually kinda good at what he does, even though far from perfect, and gets to teach another character about what to do. I feel like a lot of times we only get to see the story from the n00bs side, but not really this time.

Yeah, no, I was into it. Great book. ( )

4.5 stars

This first installment of the Dreamer trilogy was fantastic! It makes me want to go back and read The Raven Boys again, even though there was enough recap from that series that I wasn’t lost while reading this one.
The Lynch brothers are an intriguing trio, and I especially loved the closer look at Declan in this book. I just want him to be happy! I wouldn’t have minded more Adam in the story either. The scenes between Ronan and Adam were so sweet. I liked the new characters too and hope to learn more about them in the next book. There were short chapters and a lot of jumping back and forth between characters, which made it easy to find a stopping point when I needed to, but was a little frustrating when I wanted to spend more time with a character. I don’t remember previous books shifting back and forth so often, but maybe they did.
I wasn’t thrilled with the cliffhanger ending, but it was a pretty great end to the last scene of the book.
Recommended, especially for Raven boys fans. ( )

“If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less, but to dream more.”

This book was incredible. Gripping, and thrilling, it hooked me from the beginning. I just love Maggie Stiefvater’s writing. Her style is so melodic and dreamy itself which is perfect for a story about dreamers and dreams. This may honestly be my new favorite by her. I love the Raven Cycle and thoroughly enjoyed both the Scorpio Races and the Crooked Saints but something about this one seemed to surpass all of those.
Ronan has always been my favorite character of hers so the moment I knew he was getting his own book I was ecstatic. What I didn’t expect was how much I would love the other characters as well from Declan, who was already an established character, to Hennessy and her girls. I always had sympathy for Declan as if was clear that he was the least favorite son, but I never particularly liked him until now. The way he was with Jordan both warmed and broke my heart. As for Hennessy and her girls, I just found that whole storyline so engaging and I loved the various dynamics among them. They were just all so interesting as both a collective and as individuals (even though we didn’t get to know as much about the newer girls).
And Adam. Seeing Ronan and Adam together in an established relationship just made my year. I swear every time I heard some one call them boyfriends I reached a new level of nirvana.
I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this book. My one wish is that we could have had at least one full conversation between Gansey and Blue and Ronan) I mean there were very brief texts but I didn’t find those as satisfying), but I’ll take what I can get.
Oh, wait, I do have one negative item to say. The ENDING. I HATE CLIFFHANGERS. I have questions!! Especially regarding Adam’s whereabouts!! Why wasn’t he responding??

Overall: Read this book. Read it. You have to. If you haven’t read the Raven Cycle yet then what have you been doing with your life?? Doesn’t matter go read that and catch up then come back and read this. You will have no regrets. ( )

i love this book sm do i have critiques of this book? yes. of course i do. but theyre not major enough to write about.
so excited for mister impossible next year! ( )

Dreamers, the end of the world, and a secretive government force determined to stop them. Ronan Lynch makes another appearance with a new cast of characters-Hennessy and her “sisters,” and Carmen Farooq-Lane and her fellow Zed hunters known as Moderators. Is Ronan going to bring the end of the world with his dreams? I am looking forward to the next installment. ( )

I love me some Ronan Lynch. And when I heard Maggie Stiefvater was continuing the Raven Boys, specifically with a trilogy focusing on the Lynch brothers, I fangirled all over that idea. I think this book really worked as a continuation of the series because Stiefvater allowed Gansey and Blue to have their story be finished and is moving on to tell fresh stories about a new set of characters who were formerly secondary and background players we knew only bits and pieces about so everything feels new and fascinating and fresh. Additionally, she’s populated the world with an all new cast of supporting players, so there’s A LOT going on. In short, I think this is continuing a long-standing series at its best, and Stiefvater has pulled it off well.

On to the book. Adam is off to college, as we all knew would happen. Ronan is still plagued by dreams. Where do they go from there? I love the way this natural progression feels like the next step and also, we delve deeper into Ronan’s dream world, which has always been one of the most interesting parts of Stiefvater’s worldbuilding. Declan and Matthew also become much more central characters, which was terribly interesting to read, particularly their dynamic together and Declan’s past. I found the development with the copies of various characters, the paintings, the destroyed hotel, the fate of the Dreams and those who are hunting them… everything just…. GAH!! Every time I think Stiefvater just can’t outdo herself, she does. I had to read this one in little bites, slowly absorbing it as I went. I’m sure it will be one of those where subsequent rereads show me even more details. I cannot wait for the next book!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
( )

How did Maggie get me to actually like Declan? Witchcraft probably. ( )

It took me a bit to get into it but once I did I WAS IN IT. ( )

i would die for ronan lynch!!!

ok listen. this one is much slower than anything ive read by maggie before. it took me a whole ass 10 days to finish it, and yes, some of it is me picking it up almost exclusively at night after ive already taken my melatonin and im starting to lose focus, but also, its not like i havent stayed up reading since i started taking it, so we're both going to accept our blame here.

i wasnt expecting it to be slow, which was my main issue. i thought, oh, ronan my baby, and matthew my other baby, and also declan i guess, and also, adam and maybe opal. and then there was... so little ronan consideing this is a trilogy ABOUT ronan. and this simply threw me off.

heres the thing tho: shes a complex one. i didnt feel that there was extra information we didnt need, or anything along those lines. it was just dragy bc went into it thinking i was gonna meet old friends, and instead there were so many strangers. so many. and i did end up liking all of them, even the one thats kind of morally grey. it just took some time.

i liked jordan and hennessy as characters, i actually surprisingly really like declan question mark?? i would have loved more matthew because what a lovely being. i want more opal. more chainsaw. more adam, can you believe i miss this idiot?? i also want more gansey than three five second phone calls. i want someone to mention noah just once, so that we can all collectively remember that he existed and he mattered because im still salty about this.

so. i liked it. i like where the story is going. it just felt very first book in that it felt like it took years to get all the buildup, and then the climax was and also was not, and then it was over. so the morale is high for starting mister impossible tonight, even though it has that ugly ass name (maggie, really, what the hell. you've done better on your instagram posts. youve done better in the acknowledgements. give me a juicy title for the third one im begging you im on my knees)

some highlights:
- ronan and adam going "tamquam" "alter idem" instead of just saying i love you like normal people quite literally sent me to the brink of a crying fit
-maggie remains putting ordinary things in beautiful words in a way that makes me feel like life is worth living
- "does any part of you still look at the sky and hurt?" this wasnt directed at me but why did it feel like it was
- the bit where it talks about how ronan had loved gansey more than he loved himself. i know thats not a lot but. since we didnt once hear him say i love you straight up to him i just. i need a moment.
- also the way ronan just mISSES THE SHIT OUT OF HIM gansey,,, come back jesus christ
- please read this quote about the very first time ronan caught a glimpse of adam:

"ronan hadnt known anything about adam was then and, if possible, hed known even less about who himself was, but as they drove away from the boy with the bicycle, this was how it had begun: ronan leaning back against his seat and closing his eyes and sending up a single, inexplicable, desperate prayer to God:
please."

- like. did that not just break your entire heart
- ronan, who at this point wanted literally nothing
- he simply has me wrapped in his little finger
- i really really liked the bits of discourse on visual arts that maggie gave us here. she popped off. immaculate.
- theres a bit with a description of the feeling of eating a tomato right from the plant that, for someone whos grown and harvested tomatos every summer since they were a child, was incredibly delicious to read
- the idea of gansey asking ronan to keep his mint plant alive while hes away (and ronan, who has no clue of what the fuck to do with it, dreaming up a miniature sun for it) gives me butterflies
- "philantropy is a hobby for the emotionally rich"


all in all i love maggie stiefvater and ronan lynch with my whole entire heart ( )

It was a little slower getting into this one for me, probably because although I love Ronan Lynch, I was missing all the rest of the gang from The Raven Boys. Falling for Hennessy's character took a little longer for me, mostly because the story spun out her background and motivations so slowly, but now she's mine and I would die for her. Can't wait for my turn to come up on the holds list for the next book in the series! ( )

So deep with so many moving parts, but they all come together in a magical way. ( )

I was a little bit underwhelmed with the messy ending of the last book in the Raven Cycle (even though parts of it were admittedly excellent storytelling), so I admit that I was a touch worried going into her reboot series as it could have been plagued by the same messy (if relatively satisfying) narration. Thankfully, the author has found a new center by focusing on our wayward rebel, Ronan Lynch, and I doubt that anyone who read the first series wasn’t 100% cheering for more of his sarcastic, yet heartfelt, personality! The story starts off a hop, skip, and a jump after the conclusion of highschool, with the squad all having separated ways - Gansey and Blue on a cross-country adventure, Adam successfully enrolling in Harvard, and Ronan rumbling about creating dreams on the family homestead and living a rather meaningless existence in between visits with Adam. As expected, Ronan is also running into problems with his dreaming abilities, as he has a hard time controlling them outside of the Barns, which means that he’s essentially become trapped in a dreamscape of his own creation. But, in typical fashion, Ronan doesn’t just get to deal with his own problems; he’s also a _target (along with every other Dreamer who exists) for a group who is bent on preventing the end of the world, which they have predicted will go up in flames at the hands of a Dreamer. Considering the dangerous nature of some of Ronan’s hell-dreams, we can only imagine what a less controlled mind could bring forward accidentally - or on purpose, as Dreamers may not be the sanest of individuals. By the finale, we don’t have a lot of answers to the questions that Stiefvater has proposed in this first installation in the series, but she’s written herself a marvelous cast of characters, set up some interesting quandaries to solve, and teased at a larger thematic scope that equals the mythological trappings that made the Raven Cycle so compelling. ( )

I absolutely love Maggie Stiefvater and her books! She knows how to create such a complex and beautiful story over and over again! Many would call this series a spin off from The Raven Boys Cycle, but it's not. This is it's very own story in a very different way.

The story is about Ronan who, if you've read the Raven Cycle, you know to be a Dreamer. It's about him trying to find a place for himself after high school and, in the process, he discovers a great danger to his kind.

Before picking up this series, you definitely have to read the Raven Cycle to better understand the characters personalities. Which is a great series so I would definitely carve out some time for it! Then, carve out some more time and give this wonderful series a chance as well! ( )

Story (5/5): I absolutely loved this! This is the story of Ronan and Declan, as well as some new Dreamers, hunters, and Dreams. I would recommend reading “The Raven Cycle” before this book to understand Ronan's full background, but I think this book would also stand alone okay without reading that series. I can’t even begin to explain how amazing this story is, it’s a masterpiece. The pieces are woven together so well and the concept is so creative and interesting, I could not put it down and had to know what would happen next. There are so many magical mysteries throughout.

Characters (5/5): The characters are a huge driver for this story. We learn more about Ronan, his past, and his Dreams. I loved Jordan and her complicated creation and history. I also loved Carmen as she tried to navigate the waters of hunting these Dreamers. The characters, even the side ones, are stunning, incredibly deep and just amazing.

Setting (5/5): The description in here is beautiful and the scenes really come alive. Whether we are in the city of DC, at Ronan’s farm, or journeying through a dreamscape, all the settings are just as magical and mysterious. Steifvater has a way of submerging her readers into a setting that makes it feel completely real and alive.

Writing/Drawing Style (5/5): Stiefvater is an amazing writing and I have never read any other writer with a style quite like hers, her style is unique and all her own in every way. It’s also an incredibly beautiful and compelling writing style. I always feel like I have read something really secret and special when I finish one of her books.

My Summary (5/5): This was an amazing start to another new series by Stiefvater. I absolutely adore her unique writing style; it’s beautiful, creative, and a bit dreamy. This does piggy back off of The Raven Cycle, so I would recommend reading that series first. However, aside from Ronan, Declan, and Adam most of the characters are new. If you are a fan of The Raven Cycle or a fan of Stiefvater’s writing style in general I would highly recommend this book; I think it’s one of her best books yet! ( )

I gotta come back to tell you how much I loved it but god I loved it. ( )

I devoured this book in two days. I could not get enough of it. Maggie is from what I can tell, the only author who can make every situation a slow burn feeling but not bore me to death with it. I love the way she explains what is going on, in small, slow, methodically thought out manners, it creates this burning need to know more, and she does this flawlessly.

I went into the book already hyped, as Ronan was my favorite character from the Raven Cycle (I mean I loved everyone but Ronan just hit different) I was so excited to see what else could be done with the dreamer aspect of Ronan’s story and I was not displeased.

I loved the small connections to the events in the previous series. But what I loved most was the focus on the Lynch Brothers. During the Raven Cycle I had a mild distaste for Declan but by the end of this book, My heart was shattering into pieces for him. Matthew, precious, sweet, loveable Matthew, my heart hurts so much for him, I was not expecting what he learned about himself and even if I had, definitely not the manner of how. And Ronan, my sweet rough Ronan, this boy has been through so freaking much and still he puts himself through so much more. To watch as his world, that means everything to him possibly slip away from his grasp, was painful. My heart hurts so much for each of the Lynch brothers in different ways.

The introduction of the new characters took awhile to grow on me. Hennessy’s character initially confused the fudge out me, but once it came clear, it made it easier to understand her. I like Jordan more then Hennessy but I don’t hate Hennessy either, I hope there will be growth for her, the end gives me vibes there will be, but anything is possible.

Farooq-lane didn’t really standout to me, aside from being apart of the group that killed her dreamer brother, it’s an interesting dynamic. You have Declan who does what he can to protect his Dreamer brother, and then you have Farooq-Lane who took part in taking her dreamer brothers life. I’m not writing her off or hating her, just right now her chapters were the most boring of the book.

All in all, I loved this, I loved every inch and I can’t wait for more to come! ( )

3.5 stars. ( )

Call Down the Hawk is the first book in the Dreamer Trilogy. I was drawn into the tale, as some characters are dreamers and seem to live out their dreams and some are dreamed. The dreams are so creepy and result in strange, almost real occurrences with killer crabs, laying down in the middle of a highway as cars approach, discovering yourself somewhere you do not recall going, committing thievery, hearing words from your dreams that you are forbidden to speak, but hear from another dreamer. Byrde speaks to them within their dreams and they cannot wake up, but rather try to control what is happening within their dreams. Bryde's messages are almost poetic and are thought provoking. Will they ever wake? Will the dreamers do something they will forever regret?

As you turn page after page, the readers begins to doubt where written reality begins and dreams end, or is every page but another dream of the dreamers or life of the dreamed?
Awesome read! I will definitely continue the trilogy! ( )

i...... have feelings. what is this. not allowed

anyways hi I loved this a lot

that said I wanted more Adam :( :( :(

***update***

I uhhhhhhhh.... might have bought the UK cover because it's actually pretty instead of the hideous thing that is the American cover, so now I have to lug this book around in my suitcase for two months, but worth it

****

I... sort of hate this cover? But maybe it'll grow on me?? Hopefully??? Anyways the title is cool, and we have a release date!! So I'm very pleased. But seriously this cover makes me cringe a little.