The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

Summary from Goodreads:

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.

Review:

This is definitely one of my most anticipated books of the year. And it did not disappoint. Stiefvater is the queen of YA character development. This book (along with the rest in the series) is a book that makes me feel like I’m reconnecting with old friends. Seriously, I feel like I know these characters. They can make me laugh, tear up, and roll my eyes. And I love them no matter what. So few books do this for me any more. It’s so wonderfully charming that I can’t help but smile just thinking about it.

Also, Stiefvater knows how to write well. Her metaphors, her magical realism, and her creepy setting all kind weave together in this style that both reads like a mixture of Margaret Atwood, Alice Hoffman, and Libba Bray and like something completely, uniquely its own. This is no linear story. It’s a story that starts in a lot of different places and centers around a lot of different characters. It’s a story that means something different to each of the players. This makes it read like a classic piece of literature to me.

Also, its plot has a little bit of everything in it. There’s horror (crazy, bloody demons taking over the world horror), suspense (one of the major characters is a hit man), magic (there’s a house full of psychics, but also there’s this much realer/almost nature like magic as well), romance (that is doomed from book 1), so many ships, a quest for a fantastical king, private school parties, political functions, family dinners, senioritis, the stealing of things from dreams, and plenty of surprises and twists. The question should be what does this book not have?

Also, there were some seriously interesting things learned about Blue! This book gave me a lot to think about. And it had a few little twists that genuinely surprised me. I love being surprised.

I love how things got wrapped up in this one. I loved getting to know Ronan’s family a bit more. Also, it was awesome getting to know Gansey’s family a bit more too. I already knew Blue’s family, but they were much appreciated as well. Adam had his moment with his family too. The new friends and side characters were ever amazing too. Really, this is a book (and a series) for those who love character development and character driven stories. But, it’s also a book (and a series) for anyone who just really loves a good book, period.

I was on edge in this book for a lot of reasons. Stiefvater couldn’t say it better herself, “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 could have read this book much faster than I did. Part of me was afraid of the ending. And a bigger part of me just wasn’t read to part ways yet. I savored this book for as long as I could. It was hard not to read at my normal speed because so much went down in this last installment.

The ending was powerful and beautiful like all endings should aspire to be. I give it a 10/10.