Audiobook Review: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

Series: The Raven Cycle #4
Ending book
Publisher: Scholastic Audio
Narrator: Will Patton
Unabridged
11 hrs. 53 min.
Source: Hoopla/Library

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.

My thoughts:

This one was surprising. All of the books did seem to lead up to this one and the writing followed through beautifully. In one way it felt like stream of consciousness writing where things seem disjointed and pulled together at once, but in a closer look, it fits the story of finding a mythical king in a mythical forest surrounded by his magicians. Did we find the king? No and then yes. Did he grant the wish. No and then yes. All things flowed in this direction gave you the answer you didn't want and then find that it was the only answer you could have gotten. Curious? I hope so.

This is a series that must be read in order. You need that order to get to know all the characters in the book. Not everyone gets an HEA but then there was no way a mythic journey could grant all HEAs in a story. Some sacrifices were made and some were taken. You also find unexpected twists that you didn't know you wanted until it happened. I loved the romantic twists in the end and it just felt right even though it took you (and the characters) by surprise. This is one dream that you weren't sure you wanted it to end even though you know how you wanted it to end.

Will Patton also does an exceptional job voicing all the characters and setting the tone of the story. I really enjoyed listening to him tell this tale. This was a good story on audio.

I give this last installment 4 stars. Despite what I said above I would have liked a bit more coherence in some of the aspects of the story. I did like the dream-like state of the characters world, but they also had to function somewhat in ours and that is where I would have liked it to come together a bit better. However, this really is a small niggle and one series I do think ended well. I highly recommend it to those that enjoy YA stories of mythic proportions.

Linger Trailer

Anyone want to see the new "Linger" trailer made by Maggie Stiefvater? Here ya go! :)

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

From Maggie Stiefvater's blog: For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human... until the cold makes him shift back again. 

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever. 

This book is more of a character study of Sam and Grace. Each has their own voice and POV. This character development is a wonderful way of telling a love story. You get to know both main characters well and feel deeply for them. To me, the werewolf part of the story was secondary to main love story, although it did enhance the love between the two. It became the reason they had to listen, learn, and find what was real and true about the other. The werewolf angle could have been replaced by some other problem that finds that Sam and Grace may never get their happily ever after. However, Maggie's angle plays very creatively and magically in the way she wrote it. In fact I'd say that the true magic was not shape-shifting into a wolf, but it was in the simple and beautiful love story Maggie tells with such poetry.

I gave this book 5 stars and recommend this book to anyone looking for a love story. There is some violence and some well some sexual content. So, bear those in mind for the very young set.

"Lament" by Maggie Stiefvater

*Warning, this is sort of a backward review. It may contain some slight spoilers for Ballad, but I promise to make those very small*

I couldn't wait to start this book and quickly started reading after I got it. I had to read this one because I was so enamored with "Ballad" which is actually the second book in this series. I had to know more about Deirdre and James. Plus, I had to find out who the heck Luke was. As I started reading, the worst thing happened to me. I got sick. Had a fever. Now, this wouldn't have been so bad but it also accompanied a bad headache. So, I couldn't read. Of course, I did read in-between headaches, but the story was so good, it was torture to have it dragged out for me!

Enough of that, and back to the book. I was thrown back into the world of James and Deirdre when they were first aware that "They" were real. I also found out who exactly Luke was and why she fell so hard for him. All characters are deliciously flawed which perfectly counters the fantastic world to which they are thrown. The secrets revealed are mixed with a good dose of faerie (oops, I mean, "Their") lore. The lore is more of what had come out after Christianity took over Ireland. Yes, it is a character driven book but there is still plenty of plot within the twists and turns thrown at Deirdre and Luke. I know that others have said that the beginning of the book is a bit slow. Perhaps I did not see this because of my special circumstance in reading the book, but it did not seem slow at all to me.

For those that have read this series backwards like me might be disappointed that there is very little of James in this story. However, you will be satisfied that you have a better picture of Deirdre perhaps forgive her a bit more for her role in "Ballad". Unfortunately, I was left with more questions than answers. I would love to know what happened specifically to Deirdre in "Ballad" and I also want to know more of the story as it continues. I want to know what happened to Luke. I want to know more!

I gave this story 5 stars. The biggest flaw in this series is that there are so many loose ends and not all are tied up in the next book. However, that in itself is more likely intentional and one can hope that as the series continues you aren't left totally hanging and questions formed are answered. Yes, I do recommend this book.

Mary, Young and Fair (traditional tune, arranged by Maggie Stiefvater) Thought I'd include this since so much of the book talked about traditional folk music.

"Ballad" by Maggie Stiefvater

From the book: In this mesmerizing sequel to Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception, music prodigy James Morgan and his best friend, Deirdre, join a private conservatory for musicians. James' musical talent attracts Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. Composing beautiful music together unexpectedly leads to mutual admiration and love. Haunted by fiery visions of death, James realizes that Deirdre and Nuala are being hunted by the Fey and plunges into a soul-scorching battle with the Queen of the Fey to save their lives.

Sarcastic, slightly OCD James in this story really captured my heart. I loved his take on everything and the view into his world. If it wasn't for James being portrayed this way, I don't think I would have found the farie, Nuala's sarcasm and passage into compassion quite as interesting since they played off of one another so well.

Maggie Stiefvater's characters were well developed. Even those you consider side characters were developed to the point you also cared or hated them. Paul, his roomate and comic relief and Sullivan, his teacher and mentor were fleshed out that you really wanted them to be a part of James's life. Elenor, the Farie Queen, which it was told you were introducted into the last book was less fleshed out in this book, but you still didn't want to see her win.

My only criticism is with the character Dee. I know her story was in the first book, Lament, however, I would have liked to see more of here character dealing with the overwhelming circumstances within this story. Perhaps it could have been unsent e-mails instead of text messages. Just a bit more of what was going on with her side, her "fight", but not too much that it would have interfered with James's story.

This book I'm giving 4 stars, only because I now need to read Lament. :)



Blog with Bite questions:

James is a flawed and heart broken character, do you find his mental peculiarities charming or annoying? Please do explain.


I'm not exactly sure what this question asks, but I did enjoy James's sarcasm. I , myself have been accused of speaking this way and I know several people who do this as well. If you are also speaking of his psychic abilities then I feel the author did a good job of making it believable. The only other peculiarity I can think of is the way he wrote on his skin and couldn't stand disorder. In a world he sees as uncontrollable and  dangerous, I can see developing some OCD tendencies. I think also all these peculiarities made James a lot more believeable and someone you'd really want to know.


What did you think of James and Dee's kiss? This being a pivotal moment for their relationship, how do you think it changed James?


I think he was finally able to start to let go of the fantasy of being with Dee. I think it started to open him up to other possible relationships in life as well as redefining the one he had with Dee (eventually).


Whom do you prefer Dee or Nuala?


Either? I think that to understand and like Dee, Lament must be read. Nuala had the most growth within this story so her character was more central to this story.


What's your verdict on the best way to read Ballad?  Is it a stand alone book or do you need to read Lament first?  If you read Lament, what did it add/not add to Ballad?  If you haven't read Lament, do you think it would have added to your reading of Ballad?

It's not exactly a stand alone book as it does reference what happens in Lament. I did not read Lament, however I do think it would have added to reading Ballad. In fact, I think I will get Lament so I can see what happened to Dee and James before this book.

We've been reading a lot of stories with fairies as the central paranormal creatures.  What are your thoughts on the "Fair Folk".  Do you believe in faires?

How about this quote for an answer: "I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?" — John Lennon