Eh I am disappointed. I had very high expectations for this last installment of the Raven Cycle and ultimately, the book didn't meet those. I honestly thought the way the story ended was such a bummer (Glendower being dead? What was the point of everything then? I know: finding friendship and shit, but still: I read 3 other books for this?) Also, the story became way too confusing at times, even for someone who read the other books. I am still not entirely sure what went down in the end with Cabeswater dying and Gansey being reborn? There are also so many loose ends: What happened to the Gray Man (and Maura)? That exactly happened to Persephone? Did the wasp demon just die? What happened to Laumonier? What the fuck went down with Noah this whole book? All that being said, I still really enjoyed this book for the most part. I still think Maggie Stiefvater created some of the best characters in YA. (There weren't enough interactions between them in this book though.) It still was a fairly captivating read. I still liked the writing style. Finally, I am happy to have read The Raven Cycle. Now I finally know what everyone has been talking / are talking about. I'm also looking forward to Call Down The Hawk, Ronan remains my favorite character.

I was very invested in this book but the ending just kind of failed it for me. I have so many questions and no answers. Yeah, I feel like it was building up to such a great story and fell a bit short, or maybe Im missing something? I dont know. But yeah I gave it three stars because I loved the characters and how the story was going.

"The Raven King" is overall a good conclusion to the Raven Cycle. There's all the things we've been waiting for: Glendower, Gansey's death, explanation of Blue's powers, more on her father, more about Ronan's relationship to his brothers. But there's also a lot of things that were left not quite satisfyingly finished that I wish had gotten a slightly longer or in depth conclusion. Many of the smaller arcs, like Neeve and Piper got a short, swift resolution that still left me feeling like there should have been more to the resolution of that arc. Nevertheless, all of the arcs, even the smallest, did get a resolution (however dissatisfying they were to me personally) which cancelled out to make the overall conclusion to the story satisfying enough. During all four of the Raven Cycle books, my favourite parts were the portrayal of the interpersonal relationships of the four protagonists and the way Maggie Stiefvater chooses her words. The first continues to be a focal selling point of this book, with the exception that I wished we had gotten a hint of Ronan's crush on Adam in an earlier book. I still liked the development of their relationship and I did see it coming since book two, where it became clear to me that this was where the narrative was headed, but the mention of Ronan's apparently months-long crush on Adam made me sad that we didn't actually see any of that before the Raven King. Otherwise, I continued to love the portrayal of all of their dynamics and am surprisingly especially fond of the addition of Henry. Similarly, I continued to love the latter (the way the author chooses her words) for most of the book, only I got quickly disenchanted with the repetition of "Depending on where you began the story, it was a story about" at the chapter beginnings. I loved this the first few times until I no longer did. All in all, this book lines up really well with the ones before and besides the small criticisms I mentioned before it still reads as well as them and I still liked it just as much, hence I still give it four stars.

<spoiler> I loved how Ronan and Adams relationship evolved, and that Glendower was not sleeping but dead in the end. The bitter taste of the pointless journey was unexpected. I didn’t find the ending as satisfying as I thought, and maybe Gansey staying dead would improve my rating cause it does seem a bit unrealistic that none of them died after all the dangers they faced.

Meinung Der Schreibstil von Maggie Stiefvater ist unglaublich besonders und fesselnd. Sobald ich in der Geschichte angekommen war, konnte und wollte ich das Buch nicht mehr aus der Hand legen. Bereits im Vorhinein war mir bewusst, dass ich auf eine Achterbahnfahrt der Gefühle geschickt werden würde und ich sollte recht behalten. Jeder einzelne Charakter hat es in dieser Reihe geschafft, mich von vorne bis hinten zu überzeugen. In diesem Band hat es mir jedoch Gansey besonders angetan ~ ich habe sehr viel gelacht, gelitten und geliebt. Die Charaktere haben sich einen Platz in meinem Herzen erschlichen und die Entwicklungen, die jeder von ihnen durchmacht, sind unglaublich schön mitzuverfolgen. Diese Reise war unglaublich besonders und am liebsten würde ich die Reihe direkt noch einmal lesen, um all die kleinen Hinweise aufzugreifen. Die Handlung an sich hat nicht nur Begeisterung in mir hervorgerufen, sondern auch Verwirrung ~ ich mochte sie, aber vor allem der große Showdown war irgendwie etwas "zu wenig". An sich gab es jedoch unglaublich viele Wendungen, mit denen ich niemals gerechnet hätte und die mich sprachlos gemacht haben. Ich saß weinend auf meinem Bett und wusste nicht, wie alles wieder gut werden sollte. Das Ende hat mich leider ein wenig enttäuscht, auch wenn es irgendwie wieder auch sehr stimmig war. Ich hätte mir dennoch ein paar mehr Szenen mit allen zusammen gewünscht und vor allem hoffe ich, dass nach diesem letzten Abschnitt irgendwann noch einmal etwas kommen wird. Fazit Somit komme ich auf 4 von 5 Sterne. Ich habe die Bücher innerhalb von kürzester Zeit verschlungen und habe in ihr eine neue Lieblingsreihe gefunden. Blue, Gansey, Adam und Ronan werden mich noch sehr lange begleiten und es werden nicht die letzten Bücher gewesen sein, die ich von Maggie Stiefvater gelesen habe. Sie alle haben mein Herz höher schlagen lassen und mich auf eine Reise entführt, die mit keinen Worten der Welt zu beschreiben ist.

UTTERLY DISAPPOINTING... The whole book was a mess and a struggle to get through. I hated pretty much everything except a couple of scenes with Adam and Ronan. (But even their relationship wasn’t resolved in any satisfying way. I feel like there was just a lot to assume because she didn’t give us anything concrete in the end.) A lot of things didn’t make sense, there were plot holes, useless new characters thrown in, very unrealistic and stilted dialogue and loose ends. All in all, the whole ending was very anticlimactic and very disappointing. The whole series was a very exhausting read for me because plot is obviously not one of her strengths as an author. I gave the rest of the books 3/5 stars solely because I liked the characters (and out of all of them, only the three main raven boys tbh). I would have rated them all a 2/5 otherwise. What probably bothered me the most though, above everything, was the shitty ending that Adam got. WTF?! No, he sure as heck would not go to his parents and forgive them for their abuse. Are you kidding me???????????

some tumblr post i read recently talked about how stories that mean a lot to you may not always be well crafted stories. and that's okay! however, the raven cycle has it all; it's a comfort book, i connect with it, it's brilliantly written! this last one is no exception; i think that maggie stiefvater did a great job connecting all the loose threads and wrapping up all of the complex story lines. her magic doesn't always make sense but as a whole, the story really does, and it's satisfying. each of the characters' arcs comes to an end beautifully (although adam's character arc is probably the best i've ever read) and that's what matters with a series ending!! still, the raven king has some elements i didn't 100% enjoy - more so than the previous books. for example, i still don't know what to think about henry. his friendship with gansey/the group is believable but i don't know whether he really was that necessary for the story at this very late point in the series! and like, robobee. idk. there's much cooler magic. and also!! THE ENDING. CAME WAY TOO FAST. i would've liked one more chapter in between "the world is ending and everyone's dying" and "fast forward a few months everything's fine"!!!! i didn't think about this as much when i read it for the first time but now it really bothered me. it's the one thing i wish i could change. also, the whole magical items business could have been explored more as well but i guess maggie has plans for that so let's see what happens! also, pynch. otp forever etc.

This ending was a bit rushed, or was it just me? Three books to build up the showdown and then it is over in an eyeblink? I expected to have a great, epic showdown with the demon, who had such a huge and dark presence throughout The Raven King. But then everything happens while the reader (or more like Adam) is blind-folded?? Are you kidding me? There was no proper time to process it all. All in all, it was a nicely rounded final book, which ties everything together. Was it a bit messy? In my opinion yes, there were a few things that ended too open, but whatever. I think I need to think a bit more about this book because my excitement from book 3 is clearly missing. It had its dramatic scenes and its dark scenes, but I don't know…I'm probably disappointed by that fast ending and I need some time to adjust to that. On the other hand, I finished a 4 part book series! I haven't done that in a while.

3,5 stars. Ok I have some things to say. I loved the first 80 % of the book. It was interesting, weird (the good kind) and captivating. But then it went downhill: I don't see why this is a so "awesome" ending. This was weak, too nice, too frustrating..... I would have liked some deaths for different characters since I either didn't care for the dead or it was obvious that they would die at some point. The epilogue was also frustrating and too focused on a small amount of the beloved cast of the book. That made the book quiet unsatisfied for me till the point that it bugs me even days after I finished reading this book. I felt empty.... and betrayed by an bad ending.

Leider verstehe ich den Hype um diese Buchreihe überhaupt nicht. Für mich sind die Charaktere farblos und beliebig, die Handlung springt von einer Situation in die nächste ohne sinnvolle und nachvollziehbare Übergänge. Von einem roten Faden kann man nur träumen (vielleicht hat Ronan den irgendwo verloren). Diverse Charaktere werden eingeführt, die entweder überhaupt keine Bedeutung für die ganze Handlung haben oder einfach wieder verschwinden, obwohl sie vorher sehr wichtig waren und lang und breit vorgestellt wurden. Über weite Teile hinweg passiert einfach überhaupt nichts und dann wiederum überschlagen sich die Ereignisse und man fragt sich, was man verpasst hat. Die gebundenen Cover der deutschen Ausgabe haben mich fast dazu verleitet, mir alle Bände blind zu kaufen. Zum Glück habe ich das nicht gemacht sondern mir vorher alles aus der Bibliothek geliehen. Reihe abgeschlossen. War leider nicht meins.

So here we are, the last volume. Well, there was certainly a lot happening. I liked that many chapters started with a different perspective of the story, like "Depending on where you began the story, it was a story about..." (the woman of 300 Fox Way, for example). That again showed that there wasn't just one or a few main characters and not just one thing the story was about. It's actually pretty hard to say what exactly it was about because the first blurb made it seem more romantic with the foretold kiss and all, but I don't think romance was a main focus. It was part of it, sure, but not in a big way, not for me. Then, there was the mystery aspect with the search for Glendower, which ended differently than one might suspect. I actually wasn't sure what to make of that, but then again, I wasn't particularly interested in that storyline anyway. Still weird. The whole end was a bit weird, unspectacular, one might say (and too quick). But the whole series had that vibe. There were thrilling scenes, but they were rather short, and it never went over a certain intensity and then back to how it was before. So I'd say it's more of a Slice of Life Fantasy, parts Mystery with a bit of romance and a focus on the people, on friendship and family. All in all, I liked it. It was easy to read, I grew to love their friend group, and the magic was enthralling. But it wasn't a highlight. The pacing was sometimes really slow, there were storylines that didn't seem that important or interesting to me, and there weren't thaat many moments where I was really, really excited. Most of that was in volume two, so I guess the Dreamer Trilogy might be more to my liking cause I loved everything about dreams (and Ronan). Also, the end didn't really feel like a complete end, so I guess it kinda continues there? I mean, a certain couple didn't get much "page time" at the end, so I hope their story is more important in that one 👀 (I also have to read that short story too).

I finished this book crying. Over the last 2 months trc were my comfort books and I'm so sad that I've finished them now. The books are really extraordinary, the hype and high rating more than deserved!! They are beautifully written and the characters, I just love them. Also Ronan as a gay character without it being a stereotype when the books are from 2012 - 2016??? Wowowo. I have to admit that some plotlines abruptly ended without a satisfying explanation <spoiler> e.g. piper?? how is it that glendower is dead?? what about gansey, what is it that cabbeswater had to make "different" about him so he can live again??</spoiler> and that's the reason I'm rating it 4,5 instead of 5 stars. All in all it was really gut wrenching and heart warming and I'm so glad that I've finally read them! They really have a special place in my heart from now on!Update: I recently discovered Maggie Stiefvaters past racist and problematic comments and also learned about the racist joke(s) in this book, e.g.:“Principles? Henry Cheng’s principles are all about getting larger font in the school newsletter,” Ronan said. He did a vaguely offensive version of Henry’s voice: “Serif? Sans serif? More bold, less italics.”Blue saw Adam both smirk and turn his face away in a hurry so that Gansey wouldn’t see, but it was too late.“Et tu, Brute?” Gansey asked Adam. “Disappointing.”“I didn’t say anything,” Adam replied.Adam made puerile jokes at Henry’s expense (He’s half Chinese? “Which half?”) and sniggered clannishly; Blue called them on it (“Jealous, much?”): Gansey told them to put aside their preconceptions and think about him.Because of my point of view as a white reader I didn't saw them when I first read the books, but I want to acknowledge them now and encourage you to inform yourself about these issues, even if trc is one of your favorites.

Okay guys, I'm really conflicted. I LOVE the book series. Love the characters, the fantasy elements; the intertwining of all the stuff. It's original. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the ending - it's a great resolution. But ... it actually went off too vaguely for me? It happened too quickly and with too little description of what exactly happened with the demon and the grey man, for example. I really like the fact that Maggie doesn't always explain everything in detail, because somehow that's what makes this universe so charming... but at the end ... somehow something was missing ...

"The head is too wise. The heart is all fire." How I supposed to just carry on with my life after basically living in Henrietta for the past few weeks?! I'm already missing Gansey and Blue and Ronan and Adam and Noah, who grew so dear to my heart ❤ This is hands down one of my favourite series ever and The Raven King is hands down my favourite book out of it. Again the poetic language left me breathless and the story that finally untangled kept me on the edge of my seat. What a worthy completion of a magical story, I literally can't even...😭❤

Re-read Mai 2021: Auch beim zweiten Lesen noch toll, ich werde diese Figuren einfach immer lieben. 4.5* Wie schon die anderen Teile der Raven Cycle Reihe hat mir dieses Buch wieder unglaublich gut gefallen. Ich habe eher so meine Probleme damit Reihen die ich mag zu beenden, da ich befürchte dass meine hohen Erwartungen nicht erfüllt werden, doch diese Sorge war hier komplett unbegründet. Ich kann eigentlich fast nur wiederholen was ich schon zu den anderen Teilen fand, denn auch hier waren die Figuren einfach wieder mein absolutes Highlight, ich kann fast nicht beschreiben wie sehr mir Blue und ihre Raven Boys ans Herz gewachsen sind. Die Bücher haben eine absolut magische Atmosphäre und die Geschichte ist unglaublich fesselnd. Daher habe ich jede Seite dieses Buches genossen und hätte mir nur gewünscht, dass damit die Reihe nun nicht schon zu Ende ist. Ein wirklich gelungener Abschluss zu einer meiner absoluten Lieblingsreihen. Ich kann die Bücher echt nur empfehlen.