The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

Possible Spoilers Ahead. proceed with caution.

The Raven King
The Raven Cycle: Book Four
Written by Maggie Stiefvater
Urban Fantasy, Magic, Young Adult
Published April 26th 2016 by Scholastic Press
Add to Goodreads
★★.5
Nothing living is safe. Nothing dead is to be trusted.

For years, Gansey has been on a quest to find a lost king. One by one, he’s drawn others into this quest: Ronan, who steals from dreams; Adam, whose life is no longer his own; Noah, whose life is no longer a lie; and Blue, who loves Gansey…and is certain she is destined to kill him.

Now the endgame has begun. Dreams and nightmares are converging. Love and loss are inseparable. And the quest refuses to be pinned to a path.

Kynndra's Thoughts

This review is going to be spackled with the good, the bad, and the so-so aspects of The Raven King. I'm going to be as thorough as I possibly can, but I'm writing this only hours after finishing the book. I'm actually having issues feeling anything for what conspired from page one through to page four hundred and thirty-eight. This factor makes me sad, as I've been a fan of The Raven Cycle for three years - my Tumblr is even 80% dedicated to the bird boys, as my dear friend Kelly likes to call them. I like to start with the bad, as it is whats at the forefront of my mind at the moment.

There are multiple character arcs featured within that are completely useless. Now, this is just my own opinion, and mine alone. I know a few folks who would argue against such a statement. But seeing as this is my review, I'll tell it how I see it. The best way I can describe this factoid, is that there is tons of filler. Chapters that ultimately offered nothing to the story other than a few extra inches to the spine. These chapter made this book drag and drag some more for me. So much so that when I was done with TRK, I was not upset that I had finished one of my most beloved series - but rather relieved I didn't have to endure it any further. Which is not how one should feel after three years of being invested in a series, its characters and its magic.

The relationships were unequal. This was one of my biggest frustrations that I felt while reading TRK. Now, I have to be very tentative in explaining myself here, as there is a huge fan base surrounding this series and I'd much rather not get mauled. The two prevalent relationships are Blue + Gansey, and Ronan + Adam. Blusey was continually shoved down our throats, they were in love and felt like they couldn't live without one another. It was wide open and colorfully shown. Which is dandy, but I painfully desired Pynch to receive the same treatment. Yes this is a fan desire and judgement. I felt that Pynch should have been solidified, treated just as her straight characters were but instead I got the sense Maggie was being too cautious just because it was a M/M relationship.

>>>>> Now before my head is on a spike, yes Maggie gives us cute little nods that Pynch is a for sure thing. Yes, I know not all people move at the same pace. Yes, I loved LOVED the scenes with my two sons, but I expected more to be completely honest. The easiest and most immature way I can explain it is that I wanted them to be facebook official. Sue me. I felt cheated after my three year journey of shipping them. It just didn't sate me having to read in-between the lines.

The plot and events were anticlimactic + it had a rushed ending. We had a huge, huge amount of buildup which initially led nowhere. Yes, twisted and dark things happen but only momentarily. This being a grand finale, I discovered that I've essentially wasted my time on such a unfulfilling ending. An ending that was not only unexciting, but incredibly rushed. I felt blindsided when I got to the epilogue, it brought a whole new meaning to "that's all there is" for me.

Okay. So. You're telling me that I endured four books of searching, and wondering about Glendower only to discover that he's dead. He's nothing but fucking bones? There's no favor. No revelation. Nada. O-FUCKING-K. It just made me feel like I'd wasted all that time just for the plot to be so vague and cut short. AND THEN Gansey dies for literally maybe six pages, (an unemotional event imo) and POOF he's alive again. The world is right and they go off and do their own things but hey lets not mention anything about our gal pal Noah the friendly ghost. He truly became invisible. My dead ghost son deserved so much better. I'm glad everyone is alive and happy, but it felt too over the rainbow for me. Plus so many loose ends.

>>>>> That being said, the epilogue was touching. I enjoyed it enough. I loved that it was simple yet had a hopeful note to it. The only complaint is that there isn't the slightest mention of Noah (a character whom was prevalent since day one). Whatever, we can't all be winners.

Character growth was A+, good job Maggie. The saving grace of this book was the characters. It's why I fell in love with the series in the first place. Adam Parrish had the biggest evolution betwixt our cast. He also happens to be my favorite. Actually the entire way our cast of characters interacted was decent. The strongest and most vibrant however had to be the scenes featuring Adam and Ronan considering they did most of the dangerous things in this segment. But in general, I think the entire gang became entirely different and improved people considering where the were at back when they started they quest to find a Welsh king.

The Adam and Ronan scenes were amazing. The best. The highlight of this book for me. Without these two lads I probably would have DNF'd because it felt like they were the only ones involved in the story/plot. Blue, Gansey and Henry were too busy at toga parties.. Or something. *shrugs* I guess you could say I distanced myself from this series.

The writing was of course vivid and brought to life a vivacious world inside the readers head. I haven't met very many people who don't praise Stiefvater's writing to the moon and back. Gods, she knows how to write that's for sure. Especially when it comes to describing settings and creatures. I loved Opal, ugh she was a delight and I wanted more of her + her two dads, Adam and Ronan xP Though it does come off a bit stiff and overdone at times. I can't write a review without muttering some form of appraisal for how well she weaves the alphabet into wicked sentences.

In conclusion

As a fan of this series I am disappointed. I think it could have been far better - or at least I imagined it would be. I finished and felt very little for what I'd just read. It's not a series I would ever desire re-reading unfortunately. I do hope that other fans were far more fulfilled than I. Nonetheless, my heart still loves Adam and Ronan. They are what kept the story and the magic alive for me. But alas, the story is over and I for one am happy to be done with The Raven Cycle series. It's been a decent three years, friends. I hope Noah found peace *grumbles and walks away*.

sigh


follow kynndra via  TWITTER   INSTAGRAM   TUMBLR   GOODREADS

24 comments

  1. I'm going to say it and I know how much you've loved the series (or books prior to this one) but I honestly don't understand the hype. I tried book one and I sound like a broken record, but it's sooooooo pretentious. Anyone who hasn't read the series and going off how it's described, a girl and a couple of guys and she'll be the cause of her true love to die. It's smart in so many ways though, because the characters each sound different from one another, so fangirls pick a favourite and KABOOM, it rains money.

    Seeing how many loose ends there are, do you think we'll see more bird boys in the future? Awesome review Kynn.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now that I've read so many better books, I can acknowledge that this series isn't as great as I once thought. It's not bad by any means, but I think I grew out of this series. You're exactly right though - there are so many different characters and it only takes one for you to cling to (Adam Parrish was mine).

      HAH I DON'T THINK SO. I sure hope not tbh, I'm done with the story so it would be more annoying than anything else. Thanks, Kelly c:

      Delete
  2. I just finished BLLB so I haven't pick this one up, but honestly, from my experience with the other 3 books, I agree that Blue/Gansey has more pages than Adam/Ronan. It's just really frustrating, especially since I don't care about Blue/Gansey. But my biggest complain is NOAH. The way Maggie treated him in the books is like he's a filler or a neon sign everytime something supernatural goes wrong, instead of treating him as one of the original member of the gang. I do like the magical vibe of this series, but sometimes it's really confusing and I can't relate with the characters. They're just so unreal. I already read some spoilers about Glendower and Gansey and it's kind of pissing me off, I mean really after 4 books of searching and 2 deaths???? *sighs*

    Tasya // The Literary Huntress

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YES. Blue and Gansey get way more pages than Adam and Ronan ever has. Lmaoo, don't feel bad - I don't like Blue or Gansey either. I don't care about them at all (whoops). YAAAS Noah omg he deserved so much better. He was discarded like trash basically and like you said, used for filler. There was no proper goodbye for him. Ugh, I'm always lost when it comes to the magic. I understand the basics of it, but half the time found myself skimming everything. The Glendower thing is complete bullshit! That's all I'll say about that.

      Delete
  3. Yes... yes... yes...

    I agree with so many points here. Although I gave the book 5 stars, I rated it highly because I was so OMGOMGOMG read-y mode to finish it because I had to know what happened and I had become so attached to all the characters.

    BUT...

    I felt the same way about Glendower. I mean, what? What a let down! I can't believe the whole journey was FOR NOTHING. I mentioned something similar in my review.

    As for Noah... I cannot BELIEVE that nobody even mentioned 'oh where's Noah' after he'd just poof-ed out of existence. And Henry just jumped in and replaced him? Many sad faces.

    TBH I loved Blue/Gansey and I didn't feel at all that it was getting shoved down our throats... I felt that we needed a little MORE actually, after all the build-up of their relationship. It was a little lacklustre when it actually came into being.

    All that being said... I love this series. And although the ending wasn't exactly what I wanted, I loved the book because it was basically more of the characters I loved <3. Yes there were so many things that were unecessary (the blackmarket artifact dealings, etc.) but I can forgive it because Maggie Stiefvater....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The whole journey was such a bloody WASTE. Like there was no point whatsoever?! The Noah bit was utter bullshit, and Henry was so random? Like okay, he was fine but I didn't care about him like noo give me back my ghost child please.

      I'm glad you were still able to enjoy it though!

      Delete
  4. i am happy to see that that's the end of this series, I amaze myself by reading this. I like it, but somehow it's hard to be excited about this

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Man, me too. I was so ready to be done with this series. It's really not all that exciting.

      Delete
  5. I was so sadly disappointed with the end as well. the kiss, the kiss was just so anti-climactic I wanted MORE from the kiss MORE from the Bluesy kiss it just wasn't enough. I love Blue and Gansey and how their relationships developed throughout the series really made me flail of happiness and adorableness.

    BuT pynCh. Definitely highlight of the book. Like you said, Maggie really developed everything well, from characters to relationships to everything, but Pynch was like the icing on the cake, or really th best part by the end.

    I was not happy with the end. iT JUST STOPPED?? What happens to all the other people, lIKE THE DEMON?? And Glendower oh Glendower, like why?? That honestly should have been the ending like okay Glendower is dead bye. Or just not kill Glendower at all?? ugh.

    Lovely review Kynndra, I 110% agree.

    ~Noor

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are not alone, Noor. The disappointment for this one is astronomical in my opinion. Mainly due to the fact that it was so bloody anticlimactic that it dragged the entire way through. Plus the Blusey kiss was so empty... I couldn't believe there was a four year buildup for that.

      PYNCH WAS THE BEST. The only thing that I loved about this book was Ronan and Adam.

      THE ENDING WAS SO abrupt. There was little to no closure. So many open plot holes. Glendower was the most useless piece of shit my god, four years for thaaaat. No thanks.

      Thanks, Noor. I'm happy you too agree.

      Delete
  6. Oh God I really want to read this series! It feels like EVERYONE's in love with them and I don't even know what they are about. Should probably start them soon. I'm sorry it was kind of a disappointment, I hate when that happens :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just be prepared for a semi-unfulfilling ending. Or maybe you'll love it. It was so disappointing for me though :c

      Delete
  7. I'm just now reading this series. I've heard good things, but I also know that not every book or series is right for everyone, so we'll see. I really did like The Raven Boys. I'm on The Dream Thieves right now.

    I skimmed the review so I didn't ruin anything for myself, but I'm sorry you didn't really like the ending for this one. I guess it's good you're okay with the series just being over. haha

    -Lauren

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No they really are pesky books in a way. They click with some people, others occasionally hate them which is definitely okay (and understandable). I can't wait to see what you think about it, Lauren!

      And no worries, it happens! It's actually more rare to find a good finale but I've seen a lot of people who loved it so I might just be super picky idk.

      Delete
  8. This is one of her books that I have marked to read. Guess I'll have to do that now to see what you mean and if I agree or disagree. I found you at Shooting Star and thought I'd stop in to see what you were doing. So glad I did. You write a darned thorough and thoughtful review.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you're able to enjoy them. I did until the fourth one! Awh, thanks so much Clee! I appreciate that c:

      Delete
  9. Ahhhhh omg Kynn. This review has me so apprehensive now. I have read and loved The Raven Boys series thus far and omg. Series enders always have a way of either solidifying my adoration for the series or the utter opposite. I've read a couple of reviews alike yours now and I have a feeling my experience reading the Raven King will elicit similar feelings just because from what you've written in the review I would find also find fault with.

    The big build-up and a lackluster ending is what I've feared most tbh. And it sounds like that is what occurred /: I know it must be difficult to have essentially 4 books of buildup to the big ending but to have it be rushed really does such a disservice. The fact you have a "that's it?!" feeling is so disappointing haha. From what I've heard of the ending (I know I should avoid spoilers having not read this one but shh I've seen a couple) I feel it'd annoy me as well. Like really...all that for nothing?

    The characters are really what have sold this series for me along with their friendships. Weirdly enough I'm not big into the romance whether it be Bluesy or Pynch. I have found personally though that the story as it's continued on as focused more and more solely on Blue/Gansey which does of course detract from the other characters and a more detailed exploration of their relationships. What you've mentioned about Noah really does disappoint me the most :( He is a prevalent part of the other installments and to reduce him to such a small role and not even explain his ending really doesn't do his character justice.

    Lovely review girl <33 It's so sad when a series ender doesn't live up to your expectations but I definitely appreciate your honest review.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Blaaah, I'm sorry I made you apprehensive, Larissa. I know a ton of people who have just adored TRK so maybe I was just harder to please? Maybe I just cooked up something better than what I got. I'm not all that sure. To each their own, though. Either way it's always going to be dissapointing when a series finale is less than stellar.

      The ending. Man, I can't even sugar coat it. It fucking sucker. It was so.. Empty? There was nothing to it. It was such a waste of buildup all for it to just plop down. "That's it?!" was basically the theme of this book for me unfortunately. I hope you experience something different though as I know others have.

      You're exactly right. The characters are what really keep this series alive, and I'm sure most of the fans would agree with that. The story in all honesty did fall upon Blue and Gansey's shoulders. It kind of threw a kink in my enjoyment tbh since I'm not a fan of the two. UGH NOAH HE DESERVED SO MUCH MORE. His ending was bullshit, I tell you. Bullshit.

      Thanks bub, again I sincerely hope you're able to enjoy it far more than I did!

      Delete
  10. Oh man, so many people have been raving about this book. I still need to start the series. Suck you didn't have a better experience with it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I tend to be the odd man out! But it is what it is. I hope you enjoy the series!

      Delete
  11. OH DEAR, this is the first lukewarm review I've read so far. All the rest have RAVED about it. But omg, it is occasionally a bit slow for me too (the series, I mean - I haven't got my hands on a copy of The Raven King yet). SUCH A SHAME THOUGH. Oh well, I hope I'll like it :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lmaoo I tried to be as pleasant as possible. This book still makes me angry though. Oh well. The series does go super slow at times (like wow, it's draining imo). I hope you like it way more than I did!

      Delete
  12. I only skimmed this one because I badly want to try this series, but I'm sorry it was so disappointing, Kynn. I would have expected more from the romances too. I can see why you were frustrated that Pynch weren't a big part of the book.
    I hope I'll like this series, but I'm only going to try book 1. If it doesn't work for me, I'm not continuing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't get me wrong, Pynch is prevalent in TRK. It's really the fact that Maggie didn't want to give them the same level of validation as Bluesy got. I'm a sissybaby about that though, I'm over it though.

      I hope you like it but tbh the ending doesn't seem worth the struggle of four books. That's just me though.

      Delete

© Diva Booknerd. Design by Fearne.