Review: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
Published: April 26, 2016
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 438 (Hardcover)
Series: The Raven Cycle #4
Source: Bought
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

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.

I don't think there has ever been a series quite like this one. It always seemed so unique and I guess that's why I love it so much. This was exactly what I needed to get out of my reading slump.

I think that part of the reason why this book just works so well is because the characters are so very real and unforgettable. It's been over a year since the last book and I haven't forgotten a single thing about the characters, maybe a few minor details here and there, but honestly it didn't feel like I should have reread any of the other books before starting this one. The characters are like real people and while reading you can feel that. And the friendship that the characters share doesn't feel forced or fake, it's like real friends.

You'd think that a series that basically starts off warning that Blue would kill her true love would be all about that and feature a lot of romance, but shockingly it doesn't. This book probably has the most romance out of the four, but it doesn't take over the plot. Instead it feels natural and like it belongs. I love Blue and Gansey's relationship because it evolves from friendship and they just seem so perfect together. I've been shipping Adam and Ronan since the last book because they also just seem to be perfect for each other.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with how this book and how the story ended. It had the perfect amount of intrigue to keep me reading and it ended in a way that seems very fitting for this series. There is a fairly large cast of characters, but it wasn't hard to keep track of them all and somehow none of them were flat. They were all interesting and when it switched point of view to one of the more minor characters I wasn't hoping that it would go back to the main crew because the side characters were just as interesting.

It has been a long time since I have felt this satisfied with an entire series and I could go on and on about how much I love these characters and how much I'm going to miss them. I would say more but I don't want to spoil anything by accident, so all I have left to say is that everyone should give this series a shot.