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A review by keysmashhh
The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Relationships: 4.25/5
World-Building: 3.5/5
Genre: 4/5
Plot: OMG I CANT BELIEVE I'VE FINISHED THIS SERIES!!!!! the final book's plot was off the wall - so many crazy weird bits I could never have predicted. in some ways this was amazing and I loved the chaos as the book got closer to the end. On the other hand, this chaos made this book probably the hardest of all the series to understand what was going on. Retrospectively, I don't think I could recite the exact plot of this book because it was just so chaotic. Then again Adam's eyes and hands getting like taken over by the demon - AMAZING plot choice!!!! But like also so many plot holes - why is Glendower dead, like no one bothers to talk about anything, the whole three sleepers, piper demons and the other villains - it's all just a bit too well tied up without any explanation
Characters: every. single. character. was. perfect. there have been moments where I have been a bit anti-Adam, anti-Blue, or anti-Ronan but all of the main characters were so good in this book and I genuinely loved every single one of them. Henry was a great addition - he might not be everyone's favourite but I really liked the balance he provided - but why couldn't he have been added earlier. The main "villains" of this book were a bit meh, I can't really remember them and honestly, they pale in comparison to the other books (Kavinsky is still the best villain!) and the demon - meh - like it was cool as it "unmade" everything but I didn't really feel the threat for some reason. All the excess characters kind of faded away like the Grey Man and Blue's mum by the end until really only the core characters were left which I really liked (although the lack of Noah was a crime) Blue's dad and the whole tree thing went right over my head tbh - yeah his character just like wasn't important and I felt like they could have dealt with it wayyyyy earlier in the series.
Relationships: Ugh finally we get the culmination of the two main relationships. Gansey and Blue - we finally got the kiss - rip Gansey though - they were nice and cute and happy in the Epilogue though so it's all good. ADAM AND RONAN FINALLY!!!!!!! cute, adorable, lovely (notwithstanding Adam nearly killing Ronan) but WHY OH WHY WERE THEY NOT IN THE EPILOGUE TOGETHER like really we don't see a lot of their relationship in the books when you look back which is kind of annoying and the epilogue could have been the perfect place to explore their new relationship - idk I just felt they were a bit neglected on that front. But let's talk about the friendships - the soulmates - that the four of them are - like Ronan, Blue and Adam's grief at Gansey's death being so big and painful, really sold me on the love they all have for Gansey (just like I have)
World-Building: once again, wayyyy too complicated for my brain to handle - people who love fantasy probably love it though - I just got lost in all the lore (especially the whole tree stuff - yeah my brain was empty whilst reading that)
Genre: for the finale of a fantasy series I thought it did the characters justice - it made them all likeable - it tied up most of the loose ends and I felt a genuine sense of closure (other than the lack of Adam + Ronan as a couple and Noah in the epilogue) but most of all I'm just glad to be done with these characters and this world - they are lovely but it's time to move on. :)
Characters: 4.5/5
Relationships: 4.25/5
World-Building: 3.5/5
Genre: 4/5
Plot: OMG I CANT BELIEVE I'VE FINISHED THIS SERIES!!!!! the final book's plot was off the wall - so many crazy weird bits I could never have predicted. in some ways this was amazing and I loved the chaos as the book got closer to the end. On the other hand, this chaos made this book probably the hardest of all the series to understand what was going on. Retrospectively, I don't think I could recite the exact plot of this book because it was just so chaotic. Then again Adam's eyes and hands getting like taken over by the demon - AMAZING plot choice!!!! But like also so many plot holes - why is Glendower dead, like no one bothers to talk about anything, the whole three sleepers, piper demons and the other villains - it's all just a bit too well tied up without any explanation
Characters: every. single. character. was. perfect. there have been moments where I have been a bit anti-Adam, anti-Blue, or anti-Ronan but all of the main characters were so good in this book and I genuinely loved every single one of them. Henry was a great addition - he might not be everyone's favourite but I really liked the balance he provided - but why couldn't he have been added earlier. The main "villains" of this book were a bit meh, I can't really remember them and honestly, they pale in comparison to the other books (Kavinsky is still the best villain!) and the demon - meh - like it was cool as it "unmade" everything but I didn't really feel the threat for some reason. All the excess characters kind of faded away like the Grey Man and Blue's mum by the end until really only the core characters were left which I really liked (although the lack of Noah was a crime) Blue's dad and the whole tree thing went right over my head tbh - yeah his character just like wasn't important and I felt like they could have dealt with it wayyyyy earlier in the series.
Relationships: Ugh finally we get the culmination of the two main relationships. Gansey and Blue - we finally got the kiss - rip Gansey though - they were nice and cute and happy in the Epilogue though so it's all good. ADAM AND RONAN FINALLY!!!!!!! cute, adorable, lovely (notwithstanding Adam nearly killing Ronan) but WHY OH WHY WERE THEY NOT IN THE EPILOGUE TOGETHER like really we don't see a lot of their relationship in the books when you look back which is kind of annoying and the epilogue could have been the perfect place to explore their new relationship - idk I just felt they were a bit neglected on that front. But let's talk about the friendships - the soulmates - that the four of them are - like Ronan, Blue and Adam's grief at Gansey's death being so big and painful, really sold me on the love they all have for Gansey (just like I have)
World-Building: once again, wayyyy too complicated for my brain to handle - people who love fantasy probably love it though - I just got lost in all the lore (especially the whole tree stuff - yeah my brain was empty whilst reading that)
Genre: for the finale of a fantasy series I thought it did the characters justice - it made them all likeable - it tied up most of the loose ends and I felt a genuine sense of closure (other than the lack of Adam + Ronan as a couple and Noah in the epilogue) but most of all I'm just glad to be done with these characters and this world - they are lovely but it's time to move on. :)