The Raven King
Ratings217
Average rating4.2
Lots of loose ends Maggie seemed to have forgotten about lol. Owens daughter? What happened to her? The twins? Noah? Like what happened after lol
4.0 ★
it took me so long to finish this because it meant i was finishing this whole saga, and i really didn't want to. but this was very good, it made me very happy and very sad. adam and ronan's relationship development, oh my god, no one understands me. also would love to refer that the ronan ftm trans pipeline is VERY REAL, especially because of orphan girl, and i'm in this until i die.
henry was such an amazing addition to the group, and i'm glad he joined them. unfortunately, i'm still very sad about noah, and i wish he could've come back, but i understand how that wouldn't make sense.
the ending scene and gansey's death felt a bit underwhelming after everything, but, again, i understand that that's the point
27 Sep 2021
Oh, fuck me, this was amazing. I don't even know what to say. There were so many things I had forgotten. Noah?????? omg. I have no words.
1st read
The amount of times I said oh my god during this book is literally ridiculous.
It was fucking amazing.
possibly the best trc book ??? i love it. it's a story of family, friendship, love, and magic and it's beautiful. the couples in this are amazing i love them so much :( and HENRY ??? I LOVE HIM
A satisfying conclusion to the series. It was interesting to get a different perspective in the narrators.
i liked this better than 3, but not quite as much as 2 - i think. i need some time to ponder on this one. but I'm going with 3.5 for now
against all expectation i really enjoyed Henry as a character so i thought he was a nice addition and was satisfied with the epilogue. though there were a lot of characters in this book (and the last) that just kind of felt like... thrown in there, and i wanted so much to have them be more fleshed out
throughout the series we've had about 9 antagonists and it was a bit jarring to keep switching bad guys.
The series was really running out of steam at this point. I feel like the entire series could've been condensed into one - maybe two - books.
I've finally finished this series...
I hated the first book, hated the second book, loved the third book and this book was... a little less than alright.
I just love ronan and he saved this entire series for me
welp.
maybe i would've enjoyed this more if:
- it wasn't so overhyped by almost everyone
- more noah czerny
- the series in general was better plotted and didn't have pacing issues like it does
- i could've actually developed an emotional connection to the overall plot/characters
idk i know i'm in the minority but the entire series was just okay as a whole
The Raven Boys ???????????????The Dream Thieves ???????????????Blue Lily, Lily Blue ???????????????The Raven King ???????????????
What a fantastic conclusion to the series. I am genuinely so excited for the sequel trilogy and all that is left in this universe.
I need to re-read the series before going into Call Down the Hawk as I don't feel like I fully grasped the ending. It all feels like a blur.
I didn't really understand a lot of what was going on but that was most likely because I listened to the audiobook. Definitely gonna have to give this series a reread.
That took me long. I was almost DNFing this series, but fortunately, I decided to finish it. The ending was overall satisfying, even if leaves some unsolved questions and unfinished scenes. The reason why I would recommend this series to readers because it is really low fantasy and has a unique atmosphere that may appeal to both male and female readers. So if you want something a bit magical but still deeply rooted into our world/time than that's a book for you.
This review can also be found on my blog.
cw: racism
While I'm bummed to see this series come to an end (although I believe there is an additional novella out and potentially a new series coming out?), I thought this was a really nice way to wrap things up. I've been working my way pretty slowly through the books and left a lot of time between reading each so I wouldn't binge them and get sick of it (as I've been known to do). It's hard for me to write a traditional review of this, because all I want to do is gush about it. I care so, so deeply about all of these characters and can envision all of their mannerisms and I think Maggie is such a talented writer. She's definitely going on my must-read list and I'm excited to see what kind of work she has in store for us in the future.
4.5 stars for the book, 5 stars for the series. A wonderful but sometimes messy series. I love Maggie Stiefvater's writing but sometimes the whole is less than the sum of its parts, i.e. her plot can't quite keep up with her characters and dialogue. She seems to have realized at some point that Blue and Gansey weren't half as interesting as Adam and Ronan (no argument there) but that means the climactic scene of Blue kissing her true love who is fated to die is a bit of a let down, while the Adam/Ronan scenes just about self-combust.
There are a fair number of loose ends left and characters whose fates are unknown, so I wouldn't mind a return visit to Henrietta and the rest of this crazy, magical world. Thank you Ms. Stiefvater for so many hours of fully engaged reading; this series was truly a gift.
What can I say about these books that I haven't already tried to say? Maggie Stiefvater makes poetry out of boys and kings and ravens.
And I mean that rather literally. The Raven King reads a bit like a very long poem. Stiefvater is big on threes - if she starts repeating something, there's a good chance she's going to do it at least three times. While every book in this series has been otherworldly, magical and strange here Stiefvater fully commits to the untameable nature of the story and her own writing. In doing so she tests the limits of what a believable story is, what a novel is as opposed to an epic poem or a fairy tale, and whether any of that even matters.
When I write reviews, I like to give some kind of summary of the story's premise, at least for a frame of reference. I don't know if that's possible with The Raven King. Gansey's long search for the King Glendower finally comes to a head at the same time someone tries to harness the power of a demon that wants to unmake Cabeswater, its dreamer and everything that has become a part of it. Doesn't tell you much, does it? If you've gotten this far in the Raven Cycle, you're probably pretty close to in love with these characters, as I have been, and they're probably what got you here. Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Blue (also Noah, who is in a much diminished capacity here) are as they have always been - passionate, significant, bigger than their bodies. They have this magical way of being exactly who you believe them to be without giving you exactly what you want. They are as flawed as they are distinct. If you want them to touch the sky, they'll crash to earth. If you want them to fight a monster, they'll make a sacrifice instead. Either way, every second of it will be beautiful. Their endings have been foretold multiple times in the series - some of those come to pass, some of them don't. If you're trying to anticipate anything, I suggest not. That's not the point of this kind of story.
I was expecting more of a resolution, something tying each of them off. A last kiss, a celebration, a promise. There was little of that. The story is clearly not done. These are not knights with an epic quest, a dragon to vanquish and then a little cottage to live out the rest of their days in. These are magicians - they will make their own quests, their own journeys. Which is good because I don't like finishing series. It's hard to figure out what to say when there's so much more left to tell.
This is really a 4.5/5 because I didn't actually care for how some of the plot threads were resolved and I thought that Henry, though a fun character, was a bit shoehorned in, but goodness Stiefvater is so talented at making characters complex and wonderful. All the characters are fantastic, both as individuals and in relation to one another. Ronan and Adam are my favorites (and have been since book 1) so naturally I always cared more about their storylines and POV chapters, but pretty much everyone was great. Blue and Gansey are adorable and heartbreaking. Maura and Gray Man are adorable and heartbreaking. Just about everything in this book is equal turns adorable and heartbreaking.
I'm so happy there is going to be a sequel trilogy but it is unfair that they aren't all out right now and in front of me? Rude.
I wanted to finish this series that I started in my young adult phase, and Maggie Stiefvater still managed to convince me. This was a lovely book, carried by its characters and atmosphere. It doesn't really stand out otherwise, and I unfortunately feel like it wasn't a fulfilling ending to the series. Also, I'm rarely into romances but I was really curious about a certain one and Stiefvater didn't wrap it up at all. It's like she forgot :c Sad, and kind of an amateurish move.
Overall it's nice and funny and light and quite YA. Good job Miss!