The Raven King (The Raven Cycle, #4)

by Maggie Stiefvater

[ladygrey]

I reread the first three books in the series leading up to The Raven King. The story seemed so layered, so interconnected, that I thought I'd discover new things in the earlier books from having read through Blue Lily, Lily Blue and also that I'd have the best context to see what was in The Raven King.

So, I was a bit surprised that The Raven King is so stand alone. I mean, it made sense because you don't want a book that everyone has to have read the earlier books. But the overall story felt so threaded together that I expected to see things in The Raven King that revealed some moment in the earlier books that I hadn't fully realized yet. But in the end, I felt like the reread wasn't necessary (not that I didn't enjoy it.).

And more than that, I wanted more from the earlier books - more layers revealed or more threads or more pieces of the narrative that fell into place. Especially the main characters. There were so many new elements, new characters and not nearly enough of the four main characters and not nearly enough of them being them like they were in the earlier books.

I mean, I understood the purpose the "Depending on when..." chapters served but it just meant a whole chapter not with the characters I wanted. The one chapter I did like of that was Declan's. He's been at the fringes of this group throughout the series and I liked getting to understand him a little more and I really liked the reconciliation with him and Ronan.

The one piece that was exactly more than I wanted or could have expected was the prologue. As soon as I read it I thought, "of course he knew. how could I have missed it!" and reread it a few times. It was a beautiful mirror to Blue's prologue in the first book which I did appreciate after Blue Lily being all about mirrors.

And I pretty much loved Gansey as far as the characters go. I loved Gansey's death. I loved so much the moment when he was so ready and so accepting and so just wonderfully Gansey about the whole thing.
But then I was disappointed that the aftermath was told from Cabeswater's pov. I had to read it several times because I mostly thought I knew what was going on but wasn't sure. I was looking forward to the next chapter to clarify it a bit for me. And then it was all the Adam pages and I thought maybe that was all we were going to get. So difficult. I wanted so much more of Gansey and so much more of him and Blue and so much more of the four of them and... it wasn't enough. I think it's interesting that Maggie had a blog post that she wanted to leave her readers wanting and I get that - I can see her wanting her readers to want for something bigger and something more but that's different than being given two or three pages to the characters we've been on such a long journey with and wanting more of them in the end. kind of... boo.

I loved that Adam already saw what was going on with Blue and Gansey. I liked that it worked itself out but I wanted more of Blue and Gansey after, not just before when it was a secret.

I liked what we learned about Cabeswater and the vision tree.

And I loved when Adam took himself back because his deal was with Cabeswater.

I was very glad that Piper died and that Neeve redeemed herself. I felt like Maggie had so many pieces going at one point I wondered how it would all work out.

I was sad that Mr. Gray left.

I did reread Noah's final death a few times because I felt like I hadn't quite grasped it but it was one example of how the threads of the earlier books played out in TRK. I thought Noah was holding on in order to sacrifice himself on the line for Gansey in his second death. But I kind of liked how he was what pulled Gansey into the whole thing. The part that confused me the most was why he said it was because of Glendower, but then I decided it was because that's what Gansey needed to hear in order to move in the right direction; to bring him to Henrietta and everyone. And I liked how it explained where Noah was going all those times he disappeared and they asked him where he went.

Totally didn't see Glendower being dead!
But I loved the moment when Gansey understood Adam when he couldn't bear their kindness.

Even though I wanted more of the main four characters, I did really enjoy Henry. At first I wasn't sure but then he won me over, probably in the hole with Gansey when he was trusting him with the truth, encouraging him to either be unafraid or be afraid and happy. And I liked how he encouraged Blue to see beyond where she was and to dream well of "after." I loved the scene with Blue and Henry and Gansey outside her school with everyone seeing that she was hanging out with Raven Boys!

Overall, I liked it and it was good and I know there's no way she could make everyone happy or meet every expectations at the end of a series that deep and interesting. But having read the whole series in a few days I realized... it's well written. I like the characters a lot. There's complicated and interesting and dynamic characters and moments. But I don't love it the way I love some books. I wouldn't reread the series for fun. It'd never be the sort of thing I pull up on my phone at an airport when I'm bored. It's something I'm glad I've read and I've made friends through this series and it's been a good experience. But that might be all.