*This review is free from spoilers*
Most YA books follow a basic formula. Female protagonist finds herself stuck in improbable love triangle with two cute boys, set in either a bizarre dystopia or a generic high school, one girl must choose between one boring hunk and one edgy hunk, lather rinse repeat. The Raven King is not a basic YA book. You can be forgiven for thinking this was a possibility when you picked up the first book in The Raven Cycle Series, The Raven Boys. There is after all an adorable rich boy, an angsty but nice looking poor boy, and a quirky female lead. But Maggie Stiefvater has written us a series of books that defy convention.
Blue, Gansey, Rowan, Adam, and Noah are back, along with our fun supporting cast of psychics and villains (and sometimes psychic villains) as we get a mostly satisfying conclusion to the series. 
Maggie Stiefvater has a knack for writing unusual plot lines, characters, and situations in a style of prose that’s immediately identifiable as her own. It’s a beautiful blend of quasi-poetic words, fantastical elements, a smidge of horror, and some distinctly camp humor. There was more than one point while I was reading in public that I had to stifle my snickers, often when Piper was involved. The greater usage of Henry Cheng in the story was a delightful surprise. He was written with such an interesting backstory and motivation that he surged into the running for one of my favorite characters in the book out of nowhere.
One of the greatest assets Steifvater has in this series is the ability to make you care about her characters, no matter how small a part they play. I didn’t want the book to end because I didn’t want to close the pages and not know what happens after the words stopped. This is the mark of a great writer and a great book.
Would recommend this book to: Those who like decadent prose, those who enjoy fantasy, those who enjoy something a little offbeat to read.
I have edited this post to add a link to an extremely interesting blog by Maggie Stiefvater on piracy of her books. A must read!
*This post does contain an affiliate link if you are interested in buying the book.*