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A review by girlgetsbook
The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Let's try to form correct sentences about this book shall we? First of all the pacing in this is insane, it read like a thriller, probably because the first two books were about subtext, slow reveals and subtle hints, this one and the other before this were the opposite, super fast-paced with every chapter being from a different character's point of view with absolute chaos happening in each of them, no dull moments for sure.
Now let's talk about the whole series. Maggie, you asshole! (Ronan's voice). Such beautiful writing with so much nuance so much lyricism and so funny at the same time, it had the kind of observational humor that Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and other british authors have but also embedded with beautiful descriptions and full of mysteries, foreshadowing, subtext, metaphors, everything weaved together in a complicated but amazing web that made my jaw drop every time, thanks for the ride, Maggie.
Now to the characters, I was recommended this book because someone said I was similar to Blue, we both come from a big family of mostly women (witches), I love tarot and candle magic and I too am a firecracker, but I was surprised to find myself identifying with most of them and empathizing with all, Adam, the magician, who has to stop looking at himself and face his demons, Ronan, maybe my biggest surprised of all them (AAAAAAAA - my thoughts when I think about him), chaos impersonated but such a loyal friend, Noah, everything about him (I wish I could protect him from all evil) and Gansey, such a lovely human being. I also loved most side characters, The Gray Man was a surprise hit with me (get it?), all the women in 300 Fox Way, I would read a book just about them, honestly.
Now to this particular book, technically there were things that wore unsatisfying about it but I love the series so much that I will just mentioned it here and it won't affect my rating. I would've liked to have a better conclusion on the Noah situation, he is one if not my favorite character and I wished that at least we had a resolution, or that he'd come along for the final act (more than how he did it). Henry was a nice add-on but way too late to be in the main action, maybe in re-reads I'll understand it better, or maybe not.
I just want to thank Maggie for creating the perfect YA series for me, if I was anywhere near the ley line I'd say that there were some kind of circular event linking my young self, obsessed with stories about witches, psychics, ghosts, curses, curses that involved true loves and this peculiar masterpieces of a series that now is a part of me like it's always supposed to.
Now let's talk about the whole series. Maggie, you asshole! (Ronan's voice). Such beautiful writing with so much nuance so much lyricism and so funny at the same time, it had the kind of observational humor that Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and other british authors have but also embedded with beautiful descriptions and full of mysteries, foreshadowing, subtext, metaphors, everything weaved together in a complicated but amazing web that made my jaw drop every time, thanks for the ride, Maggie.
Now to the characters, I was recommended this book because someone said I was similar to Blue, we both come from a big family of mostly women (witches), I love tarot and candle magic and I too am a firecracker, but I was surprised to find myself identifying with most of them and empathizing with all, Adam, the magician, who has to stop looking at himself and face his demons, Ronan, maybe my biggest surprised of all them (AAAAAAAA - my thoughts when I think about him), chaos impersonated but such a loyal friend, Noah, everything about him (I wish I could protect him from all evil) and Gansey, such a lovely human being. I also loved most side characters, The Gray Man was a surprise hit with me (get it?), all the women in 300 Fox Way, I would read a book just about them, honestly.
Now to this particular book, technically there were things that wore unsatisfying about it but I love the series so much that I will just mentioned it here and it won't affect my rating. I would've liked to have a better conclusion on the Noah situation, he is one if not my favorite character and I wished that at least we had a resolution, or that he'd come along for the final act (more than how he did it). Henry was a nice add-on but way too late to be in the main action, maybe in re-reads I'll understand it better, or maybe not.
I just want to thank Maggie for creating the perfect YA series for me, if I was anywhere near the ley line I'd say that there were some kind of circular event linking my young self, obsessed with stories about witches, psychics, ghosts, curses, curses that involved true loves and this peculiar masterpieces of a series that now is a part of me like it's always supposed to.