Review: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4) by Maggie Stiefvater
Published: April 26th 2016 by Scholastic Press
Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy.
Find: Goodreads | Amazon | Waterstones
Goodreads Summary
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.

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Where do I even begin with this book? The Raven King was everything I hoped for and so much more. As the final chapter to this series, The Raven King has a sense of urgency to it as our Raven Boys are faced with the threat of the demon awoken in Blue Lily, Lily Blue and the search for Glyndŵr reaches its end. Even though a lot of the action could be seen as separate incidents, the way Maggie connects the pieces together and entwines the various plotlines is masterful.

Even though the action is kicked up a notch in The Raven King, the characters remain to be the driving force of the book. The character growth from beginning to end has been phenomenal. Adam and I haven’t always seen eye to eye but he truly came into his own by the end and I can definitely say I respect and love that man. Gansey will always be my number one and I loved getting further insight into why he was so determined to find Glyndŵr and it only made me hope to see his dream fulfilled so he could get the answers he so desperately needed. Blue, as always was an absolute delight. She continues to hold her own but she also realises that things aren’t always as black and white as she let’s go of some of the prejudices she long believed. Out of all our main characters, Ronan is definitely the most vulnerable of them. He is fiercely devoted to those he loves and it’s this fierceness that causes him to lash out. Everything he does is driven by his emotions. Now, what about Noah? He wasn’t as physically present in this book but his story once again had my heart hurting. I am so protective of Blue and her Raven Boys and I was thrilled with the direction of their characters in this story.

What I also love about this series is that our secondary characters are equally as fascinating and fleshed out. Each character has a unique presence and their own story to tell. From the Gray man, to the ladies at 300 Fox Way, Henry Cheng – whose role in this tale had me wary at first but by the end loved. Even Declan Lynch surprised me and I was baffled when I found myself sympathised with him. These characters have layers of complexity to them and they could easily be the start of their own spin-off book.

Now, we can’t forget about the romance. As always, the romance is minimal but the moments we do get are tantalising and passionate. The chemistry between our main couples is off the chain and I also appreciated the beauty in the subtlety. Neither relationship was shoved in our faces and over the course of four books both couples have had the time to grow and come together naturally. My shippers heart was definitely happy.

However, this story is not just about the characters and the plot itself came packed with unexpected twists and a magical, chilling and at times downright creepy atmosphere. Maggie Stiefvater truly has a way with words and you can’t help but get sucked into this world of sleeping heroes, magic, death, violence, love and life. I am definitely satisfied with the ending of this series and urge you to pick up this series if you haven’t done so already.