THE RAVEN CYCLE Comes to a Close - My Spoiler-free Lamentations

Title: The Raven King
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Narrator(s): Will Patton
Series: The Raven Cycle, book #4
Length: 11 hrs 51 mins
Publisher: Scholastic Audio
Publication Date: April 26, 2016
Source: purchased audiobook & signed HC
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

The fourth and final installment in the spellbinding series from the irrepressible, #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater.

All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

In a starred review for Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Kirkus Reviews declared: "Expect this truly one-of-a-kind series to come to a thundering close."

I don’t think there was ever any chance that I was going to be disappointed by this final book, but I am so far away from that on the spectrum that I may have just accidentally looped back around and hit it by mistake, but that’s only because I’m disappointed that it’s over and I have no more Raven Boys to look forward to. I mean, I was seriously afflicted with TEABS when I finished last night, and even my husband commented on it. And he usually doesn't notice anything about my reading except that I'm doing it and that he should steer clear until I'm not. ;0)

I loved the mix of jovial moments with the altogether creepy, that this book wasn't all doom and gloom, even though the author maintained on numerous occasions that she was going to kill off our beloved Gansey. I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud at my desk yesterday while listening or how many times I was nearly brought to tears...or even how many times I was thoroughly creeped out and ready to hide under my desk. I ran the full gamut of emotions with this book, but that should surprise no one, since every previous book caused the same reaction...at least from me.

Oh, the immaculate pain this book caused me. It's one thing to know you're reading the end of a series...it's a completely different thing to know that you're reading the final book in your favorite series. That you can never read it again for the first time. That you can't unknow what you're about to know. That you're about to see how all of those complicated threads are about to be woven together to produce the most magical of AHA moments.

Whereas the previous books introduced us to new characters who would be integral to certain aspects of the story, The Raven King was really focused on Blue and her Raven Boys. Sure, a friendly face becomes more than the bit player we supposed him to be in the last book and many of our previous acquaintances are there, but this book is the most Raven Boys book of the bunch. And just so we're clear, there is just as much death in this book as any of the books that came before it...I'm just not telling you who dies. But since we've lost some characters we've loved and some we've loathed, you should know by now that Maggie is not afraid to kill off any of our darlings.

She's also not afraid to explore what makes her characters who they are, what drives them. Some are so focused on the something more aspect, while others just want to be known. And sometimes I just wanted to hold their hands and help them through this dark time, but I also recognized that they didn't really need that because together, they were stronger than any of them knew. They were each separate characters that could hold their own, but together as a unit, they were a character in their own right, brave and strong and true.

And their complicated relationships have only grown more complicated...but also less so. You can currently find me sailing around the moon, so happy am I with my ships. But that's not to say it didn't take a lot of work for them to get where they're at. I love that this book is all about the honesty, letting go of all the secrets and seeking out the truth, regardless of the outcome. It was a hard road, but at least the previous books paved the way.

I'll probably end up listening to all four books back-to-back very soon - even though I just did a re-listen a few weeks ago - just because I'm not ready to say goodbye yet. These characters earned a spot in my heart from day one, and it won't be easy letting go. I love everything Maggie writes, but these characters and this story - this quest - have become very dear to me. And I couldn't have asked for a more perfect conclusion for Blue and her Raven Boys.

GIF it to me straight:

And for your viewing pleasure, my #feelsplosion from Goodreads:

Previous The Raven Cycle reviews:

The Raven Boys
The Dream Thieves
Blue Lily, Lily Blue

And all Maggie-related posts here on the blog can be found here.

About the author:

All of Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she's tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She's made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.

Find Maggie:

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