The Raven King (The Raven Cycle, Book 4)

This. Book. Is. Glory. It is pure glory and gods-tier. To take the first three books and build up their undeniable amazingness and be able to bring it all home in the most incredible and epic fashion is not easy to do, but Maggie nailed it here. A ride from beginning to end, the characters perfect, the events perfect, I could wax poetic about this book forever. Maggie is absolutely masterful with her ability to evoke emotions, and the tension in this book is stunning, soaring off the pages. If you're concerned about reading the series because you need a good ending, have no fear. Knowing what I know now about this book, would I still read it if I went back in time? Always and forever. See below for the four criteria I use to decide whether and when to read a book CHARACTERS: What is there to say? The characters just keep getting better. As they learn and grow, they've come to a place where they need to tackle some final humps to truly congeal into a team and they absolutely do it here. Relationships are solidified, Blue, Gansey, Adam, and Ronan and Noah are perfect in their teenage selves simultaneously being a part of "something more." Even Henry, who we met in the previous book, is a lovely addition, although sure it would have been nice if he'd been around earlier in the series. But everyone we've come to know and love is a part of this book. PLOT: The end is nigh. With danger from the mystical and the mundane snapping at their heels, Blue and the boys need to find Glendower quickly, before it's too late. None of them wants to believe that Blue's prophecy will come true either. But truths need to come to light, trust solidified, and the four of them working together as well as with all the help they can get to protect Henrietta, the ley line, and Gansey before it's too late. EMOTIONAL INTENSITY: There is no good/bad here. Sometimes I just want a low-investment entertainment read whereas other times a high-stakes 'I need a therapist to recover' is what I need. 4:5/high. Honestly, as entertaining as it is, the tension is impeccable in this story. It's not so much triggering as it is evocative and immersive. CATHARTIC FULFILLMENT: Is the emotional journey worth it? Do I finish this book feeling that I've crested the wave of the climactic moment and everything has been settled, leaving me settled and fulfilled? 95%. I will say, I do wish always for more denouement, because I adore these characters and wanted the chance to spend time with them after their quest is finished. I also felt one thing in relation to Noah was left sadly unresolved. That being said, finishing this book is a breath of fresh air after holding it the entire book. So worth it. Glorious.

My favorite part of the experience was the thrill of reading NEW words from Maggie, new Raven Cycle words! I always love Maggie's words and characters and sense of storytelling. She has a very recognizable style. It had been so long since we've gotten a new book and the other Raven books are so familiar to me by now. For me, the thrill of holding and reading The Raven King felt similar to getting a brand new Harry Potter book in my hands, which is the highest honor I can give. And one I never expected when I began this series. I already can't wait to read it again because I know I raced through it, but how could I not? I NEEDED TO KNOW THINGS. The nuance and linguistic brilliance shines through of course, but it is a whole other animal when you have the opportunity to really sink into her words and turns of phrase. When you can see little dots connecting all over the series like its own sort of ley line. It's very rewarding. The Raven King is the best sort of series ender. It pulls together disparate plot points in a brilliant way and builds on the characterization we've come to expect from our favorite characters while allowing them to grow. Everyone was just.... more in this book. That's the best way to put it. There is a sense of urgency and dread that isn't lost on anyone and it makes the emotions stand out in technicolor. It was frightening at times, but also sad and humorous and tremendously lovely. There are lots of excellent otp and brotp moments. It's full of Maggie's wry humor; she has this magnificent way of twisting the knife in your heart while simultaneously making you grin. It's a tremendous five star book for me but I'll leave it to you to glean what you want from that. There are a lot of Moments and she is able to gather her threads and knot them together in a very satisfying manner. I was content with the book individually and the series as a whole. Can't wait to reread soon!

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater is a young adult supernatural novel entering around Blue Sargent, Gansy and their search for Welsh king Glendower. It is a quartet made up of The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily Lily Blue and The Raven King. it is told from multiple points of view. I will say that it took me some time to get into this series – at least two attempts of starting the book, and putting it down again. This is despite a kickass opening in which the whole conflict of the series is laid out; it is foretold that Blue will kill her one true love when she kisses him, and Gansy is fated to die within the year. That is the hook to lure you into this series – you can’t help but want to know if these foretellings come true. My initial struggle with this book is partly because, at first glance, the main protagonists are rather unappealing. Gansy comes across as rich, arrogant and entitled. Ronan is snarky and belligerent. Adam is stubborn and independent to a fault and Noah is insipid. It’s only when you get further into the books that the deeper layers of these characters are revealed and your understanding of them deepens. After that I was very happy to continue marathoning the series. There is a whole arc running through the series with resolutions of plot points in the first book only coming through in the final instalment. Each book has its own theme which feeds into the major series story arc. It is very well tied together if not overly complex. The Raven Boys is all about the setup; introducing the main driving plot of the series, the characters and the world. The Dream Thieves is Ronan’s story and how his ability will aid his friends in their quest. Blue Lily, Lily Blue focusses on Blue and also on deepening the relationships amongst the group and The Raven King ties everything up. What I liked The characters. The well written, nuanced and flawed characters and their relationships are the highlight of this series. Stiefvater has developed a wonderful set of characters and the relationships that develop among them are beautiful to read. They truly are stronger because they know each other. The relationships are all unique; Blue acts differently with Noah than she does with Adam, and Gansy has a different relationship to Ronan than to Noah. Additionally, the characters we meet in The Raven Boys are not the same ones we say farewell to in The Raven King – they have been changed by their experiences and each other. That is one thing that always attracts me to a book series. It is mainly for the characters and character development that I continued reading this series. I loved that each member of the group has his or her own strengths and weaknesses and each has a part to play in the story. The world. I loved the world Stiefvater created. The kind of supernaturalness – ley lines, tarot, spiritualists/mediums – is one that always gets under my skin. It’s superbly well done. What I didn’t like Not immediately likeable protagonists. Though I was fascinated by the characters and engaged in their stories, I didn’t love them the way that I have loved some other protagonists. Their stories were wonderful to read, but I’m not exactly sure I’d like to meet up with any of them for coffee. After four books, I certainly felt as if I understood Gansy, Ronan and Adam a great deal better, even if I didn’t necessarily always like them. This weakened the ending somewhat for me. The Raven Cycle is an excellent series and well worth reading for the well written, nuanced characters and worldbuilding. As a whole I gave the series four stars out of five. four-stars

10 THINGS I FELT ABOUT THE RAVEN KING TERRIFIED. Oh boy, I was just plain terrified to read this. The end of BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE left me with so much anticipation AND I hyped myself up for it so I was nervous that somehow it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. IN LOVE. I am so head over heels for this gang. I’ve never read a friendship that was so amazing and so all-encompassing like it is for Blue and her Raven Boys. Too many times, someone starts to get jealous and it ends up fracturing a friendship and while that was still present in this series (naturally. It happens to the best of us), it was taken to a level where the characters didn’t want it to affect the friendship and they did everything they could to keep the group together instead of letting jealousy take over. I love how much these characters wanted to be together and how important they were to one another. IN DENIAL. THE RAVEN BOYS starts off with the prediction of Gansey’s death so it’s no spoiler that it’s heavy in everyone’s minds during THE RAVEN KING. I was in total denial that it would even happen so I pretty much spend the entire book convincing myself otherwise even though Maggie said it was definitely happening. ACTUALLY FEARFUL. There were some ACTUAL scary moments in this book! I don’t read books about ghosts when it’s taken at a horror angle. I’m way too much of a chicken. There were some very, very creepy things that happened in this book and I will not lie to you — I cried actual tears of fear. I mean briefly, but yeah, it was scary! IMPRESSED. I know Maggie Stiefvater had this all sorted out before she even started but I’m always so impressed to see an author bring a series together for a great conclusion. It was really neat to see how all of the pieces fit together and see so many things from all of the previous book find an explanation in THE RAVEN KING. UNPREPARED. I just really, really, REALLY was not ready for this series to end. Confession? I actually felt SUPER weird once it was over. The cliffhangers from the previous books were so intense and interesting that it was really weird to leave this book with a note of finality. I mean, obviously we needed to but it didn’t leave me with that series hangover feeling because I wasn’t ready for it to end like that. SHIPPY. I won’t spoil anything but obviously in a big conclusion, we get some big ship answers and conclusions as well. I was totally feeling them. ANXIOUS. The hardest thing about reading a huge series finale is that A) everyone is so in love and B) there is no ARC so everyone reads the finished copy all at the same time. In a series like this, I was especially afraid of spoilers and they were so hard to avoid! HOPEFUL. The way the book ended, there was a whisper of hope that maybe, just maybe, we might get more words about this gang in the future. I’m hoping for an adult Raven Cycle book,. SATISFIED. This was such a satisfying conclusion. I actually was a bit — disappointed is too strong of a word but the best I can think of at the moment — at a big moment at the end because it felt too… happy? I mean happy things happen in this book but I think I was expecting a devastating moment and it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I actually somehow hoped for it a little bit but I guess things really did work out quite well and it just wouldn’t have been the ending that it was had the book not played out like it did. Cryptic, I know, but how do you talk about the ending of a book without spoiling it??

Maggie does it again. She's told us from the beginning what would happen. This is the year Gansey would die. And yet. When you reveal your cards at the beginning like that, there are two options: a muddled, almost there story that leaves its readers with a sense of discontent that they never needed to read the story in the first place. Or The Raven King. Where that kind of early reveal (in book 1 of a four book series, to boot) could have been debilitating, Maggie has used it as a promise. Everytime I have suggested to a friend to read the Raven Cycle, I start with the disclaimer that "Maggie does what she says". And it's true. Over and over again she has promised things and followed through in this series. Not only are we given what she said would happen, but the journey there has gifted us with more questions, more struggles, more triumphs and more insight into what life and relationship actually mean. My favorite thing about Maggie's writing is that she writes characters who are rooted in specifics, but still serve as flashpoints of ego identification for her readers because of the common struggles they go through. Is Ronan going to pass Latin? Can Adam actually make it out of Henrietta? Will Blue ever get her "something more?" As a writer, to dissect this piece even further, Maggie's use of repetition is magnificent. In poor writing, repetition seems sloppy, poorly edited and unintentional. In good writing, it is deliberate and prominent. This is Maggie. We are offered the "Depending on where you began the story, it was about ____". This is how you tie together the ends of a four book cycle. This is how to write with an ending in mind, but without making the journey to that end unnecessary. All in all, Maggie remains my favorite modern YA author. She knows her stuff. Her storytelling, character building and plot are poignant and real, but more that that, she writes with skill. Her natural storytelling talent is a gift, but the craft and work of her body of work is more impressive than any other YA author currently writing that I have had the pleasure to read. Here's to a hundred more of Maggie's books.

The Good My goodness this one is hard to review especially trying to avoid any spoilers so it will be very vague on purpose. OK so I didn't even want to start this series because the blurb in the first one suggests that a character will die and I'm just not alright with main characters dying so I decided not to even put myself through that. I did though. I read it. I will say that this series ended on a note that felt right. It is an amazing journey with some very well developed characters that continue to grow in each installment. This one shows different sides of characters that you think you already know by this point. You don't know though. Not until you've read this one. I loved how every thread was brought together and we got some great wrap ups. I love how there were still surprises and crazy twists to throw at us. I love how even if you went into this expecting something, it was still a little shocking when it happened. The story moves at a wonderful pace. We get a more in depth look at characters that were just briefly mentioned previously. I was a fan of the addition of Henry especially since there was a lot less of Noah. Then there's Ronan and how he is so much more open. How he's accepting Blue and they're bonding a bit. Their little moments together were some of my favorites. There's Gansey with his NEED to wake the sleeping King. He has the drive to accomplish something more and then the ability to realize his life is already something more. Adam has a huge character realization for which I was glad. I especially loved seeing him let go of his past hurts. Blue...I don't think there's any way that I would've held it together the way she did. The Bad The repetition of certain things, while they were in essence proving a point, got a little on my nerves after a while. The Romance There was some great romantic parts in this one. Again, no spoilers, but it was big on romantic love, new beginnings, and life-long friendships. Conclusion Raven King is a great conclusion to a magical series. It was full of drama, action, magic, character growth, and mystery. It was everything you expect and everything you couldn't possibly. Definitely recommended.

Let me begin by saying that I adored the first three books and thus had high hopes for the fourth and final installment. I generally like Maggie's writing style (though the POV switching gets a bit maddening at times) and I find all the Raven Cycle characters as likeable as they are incredibly complex. Their struggles are both unique and universal, and the overarching quest that binds them together is motivated by both heart AND logic. And yay for LGBT representation, even though it read more as pandering to fans instead of genuine romantic development. But hey, there was a kiss and some subtle discussion of feelings, so I'll take what I can get. Of course, cheers for incredible world-building as well. Not only can I picture Cabeswater, I can /feel/ it. So the rules of magic are a little bit wonky and appear to follow along the lines of 'whatever power or phenomenon is convenient for the plot at this point in time and will probably be forgotten later'... Well, we can't have it all can we? Anyway, on to the mainly spoiler-free criticisms. First of all, I knew deep down that Stiefvater would never really go through with it, and yet I was almost disappointed when everything turned out so pleasantly. Maybe I'm just too sadistic to enjoy this totally happy ending, but given all the darkness within this book I was expecting a gory finale as well. In other words, I was glad to see the major loose ends tied up, but I felt that so much of it was a cop-out. The suddenly MAJOR role of a minor character in this final book was a very strange choice-- even though I ended up loving the character, their role in resolving the conflict came out of left field and not in an "omg what a great plot twist!!" kind of way. Also why on earth would they need to be included in the epilogue, much less be given a better, more satisfying conclusion than important characters such as oh, I don't know... the ghost best friend that Blue supposedly cares for deeply. Nope, all he gets is a brief fade to black ending after being sad and tortured for three books. Nice. And Blue's father. He's a... well, I'll leave you to scratch your head at the "Welsh" folklore that explains away his presence. Add to this the fact that this book introduced, at seemingly the last minute, even MORE villains (or rather, morally ambiguous characters, since Stiefvater clearly wants us to deeply ponder the complexity of human nature and desire and what really is a villain anyway?? *yawn*). This was a bit overwhelming, and much of the characterization felt heavy-handed. The shape that the evil threat took on was comical instead of menacing, which I don't think was the intention... That is, unless Maggie was just being super super meta by acknowledging that the fear stemming from a very dramatic fatal experience (that she, as the author, made Gansey have) is actually kind of silly and should therefore manifest itself in a really ridiculous way. Don't get me wrong, the descriptions of the demon destroying Cabeswater were deliciously dark and graphic, but a creepier effect could have been achieved by keeping it an ambiguous spirit form instead of, you know, a football-sized insect. In conclusion, I think Maggie bit off a bit more than she could chew with the Raven Cycle. Though it was an imaginative and fresh YA series, it just had SO much detail and SO many characters that I think any ending she wrote would have felt a bit dissatisfying. There simply was too much to cover, even given the whopping 500 pages that this final book allowed for. This was an ambitious undertaking and I respect Ms. Steifvater immensely for the insane amount of work that must have gone into this series. I will certainly be recommending it to others, even despite my lukewarm feelings toward this last installment.

For more book reviews check out my blog at www.RealLifary.com So book four picks up right where book 3 left off, only a week after making it out of the collapsing cave and facing off against Piper. Piper along with Neeve, has woken the third sleeper, you know, they one they had been warned not to wake. Something is wrong with Cabeswater. It is slowly becoming dark and dangerous. Time is running out for the crew as they desperately try to find Glendower before the third woken sleeper destroys it, and them all along with it. Relationships take unexpected turns within the group, Ronan accidentally brings someone back from a dream, Blue finds out shocking information about her father (and thus herself), and the imminent predicted death of Gansey is fast approaching. Overall I would have to say I am fairly satisfied with the way the story ended. I had an idea of how the whole "true love" curse was going to play out with Blue and Gansey and I feel I was pretty right on track with that, so nothing really shocking there (other than the method in which he was resurrected, I wasn't really sure how that was going to play out). A few things that I was not expecting, however, were who (what?) the third woken sleeper would be, and it's mission to "unmake" if you will, the revelation about Blues true heritage and what her father was, and finally the relationship between Adam and Ronan. I will say I was disappointed that Glendower was long gone, no wish to be had from the lost king. It really seemed like the whole series was so fate and destiny driven, almost as if all their life's choices and circumstances brought them all together for this one thing only to have it totally not be about that one thing at all. I was slightly annoyed with the introduction of Henry into the group, but he grew on me so I got over it. I do have a couple unresolved questions though. What happened with Mr. Grey and Maura? Do they live happily ever after? Do the rare/magical artifact dealers just give up on Henrietta and leave everyone alone? Laumonier just split after killing Piper and never looked back? These are the unanswered things that drive me nuts in a book but Maggie did leave it pretty opened ended, which leads me to believe it could possibly be revisited in the future so maybe it isn't the end for the crew? Do I smell a spin off? I think I had higher hopes for the ending which may have left me a tad disappointed but not so much so that I felt like I'd wasted time reading the series. I did enjoy it overall, the characters are all great and work well together. Even the cranky, ornary ones (ahem, Ronan) are really quite endearing. There is the perfect touch of magic and mysticism in the series along with some great villains and nail biting suspense, especially at the end of the series. I would recommend it to anyone in the mood for an urban fantasy.

El libro llego en perfectas condiciones y justo me entero que no lo van a publicar en español! Así que ya lo tengo en Ingles ❤❤

I don't know what to write about this series. Just read it.

I loved the series. Magic. Dreams. Love. Stiefvater's narration is always a pleasure to read, she tells without having to use too many words and explanations. The reader simply understands every subtle unsaid word tasting its sweetness. Every fan of the Raven Cycle is gonna feel real empty without the Gangsey!

Well, this has been a ride and a half. My favourite of the four books. A really satisfying and beautiful read. It took me longer than usual to read, mainly because I had to keep putting the book down to think about other things as I was so staggered by certain moments (chapters 18,19 and 20 left me reeling for around four hours). There's so much to appreciate here about the writing. Stiefvarter does things with POV changes that are so good and effortless that you don't realise it's being done until you're right in the middle of a POV. I saw it with Greenmantle in BL,LB, and it was even more pronounced in this book when we saw something from Piper's POV. It's not just a dialogue difference, but a perspective change and a different way of thinking. It's great that you can read a section and know who the character is without seeing the names, because they are that distinctive. POSSIBLE SPOILERS HERE NOW ........ I loved the ships in this. I loved the kisses. I highlighted the frick out of everything Ronan, partly because he's my favourite character, but also MY WORD the kisses he shares are so beautiful and golden. So much love, that's all he wanted. I was aghast at all his relationships, from Gansey, to Declan, Matthew, Noah, Blue and of course Adam, I was really rooting for everything to go right for him. There was a slight niggle about the ease to which Henry slotted in, but that did dispel when the toga party happened and we saw Blue's opinion of him change. And he was very necessary to the gang at the end, very necessary, as the one on the outside. Noah ... Noah ... Noah ... Noah. My beautiful boy. I'm weeping for you. Time is a circle so maybe, maybe, maybe we can have more stories. This is rather incomprehensible. To say I loved the book would be a gross understatement. My ships came in - I'm hugely happy. Let me leave you with a Gansey quote, which sums everything up: 'He was a book, and he was holding his final pages, and he wanted to get to the end to find out how it went, and he didn't want it to be over.' I think I can breathe again, now.

the book itself was amazing. i love the raven cycle and the breathtaking conclusion to the series was just perfect, though the delivery was sort of slow — but i believe it was due to the high demand of the christmas–new year period i ordered.