Review--The King of Crows by Libba Bray

 

The finale to The Diviners from author, Libba Bray.

After the horrifying explosion that claimed one of their own, the Diviners find themselves wanted by the US government, and on the brink of war with the King of Crows.

While Memphis and Isaiah run for their lives from the mysterious Shadow Men, Isaiah receives a startling vision of a girl, Sarah Beth Olson, who could shift the balance in their struggle for peace. Sarah Beth says she knows how to stop the King of Crows-but, she will need the Diviners' help to do it.

Elsewhere, Jericho has returned after his escape from Jake Marlowe's estate, where he has learned the shocking truth behind the King of Crow's plans. Now, the Diviners must travel to Bountiful, Nebraska, in hopes of joining forces with Sarah Beth and to stop the King of Crows and his army of the dead forever.

But as rumors of towns becoming ghost towns and the dead developing unprecedented powers begin to surface, all hope seems to be lost.

In this sweeping finale, The Diviners will be forced to confront their greatest fears and learn to rely on one another if they hope to save the nation, and world from catastrophe...

The King of Crows is Libba Bray's conclusion to the ultimate Diviners series and it was quite the wild ride! Like her previous books this was packed to the brim with story, characters, and history...naturally with ghosts and utter chaos and insane danger! It was a read that kept the heart racing that's for sure.

All is not well in the US...after the death of Sarah Snow, blame is thrust upon Mabel Rose and Arthur, who were also killed in the explosion that killed Sarah and now Jake Marlowe is leading the hunt for the Diviners' heads. He has turned America and its citizens against Evie and all her friends, and all the Diviners. Now Evie and her friends are on the run, separated and must follow Isiah's visions to go to Nebraska and find the girl called Sarah Beth who might be the key to stopping the King of Crows.

But Marlowe, as we know, has a very special plan involving the Diviners and needs Evie and her friends specifically in order to gain control over the King of Crows and he will stop at nothing until he gets everything he wants.

This book...this book was packed with story! As Evie and her friends all scatter during the chaos, they are separated by the winds of time, but they all make their way to Bountiful, Nebraska where Isiah's vision pointed them to go. Much, very much, happens along the way to all of them and we see this through the various chapters. The characters are all growing, they are all realizing what they want out of life and what they will do to get it. Decisions will be made, hearts may be broken, and everything will change forever, everything.

There's so much to unload in this one. Not only is it a series finale, but it's truly the end of an era! Bray wrote this series for nearly a decade! Quite a long time to get four books, but man were these things packed with story, character, and heart. My emotions were pulled in a million directions with this one. Just when I thought I was done crying at one moment, Bray had me crying at the next. You will not leave this book unchanged, that's for sure.

Despite having such a lengthy buildup to this final battle, I can't help but feel like the actual final battle happened so quickly. Yes, it took time to get to that last stage and there were plenty of other battles to be had, but the one that mattered? The one that counted? Over in a blink. I was just like...that was it? It's over? The world is now safe? I guess I just wanted a little bit more, something explosive...like this is THE END.

The final moments of the book started to make up for it and then we are blasted by another historical event and I was just like, wait, what's going to happen next? Clearly, not a sequel or spinoff, but still. I mean I don't know. I know other series enders will tend to do something like that, give you that last little taste that something big is about to happen, but yet we will never know its details. I mean, I guess we can just say this was just a big historical moment that wasn't led by anything paranormal, but still...I'll always wonder.

The overall ending though, I was pretty satisfied with. I mean, when you think of it...all these characters, all these things that have happened...things were going to happen that would not end happily for all. I guess those few annoying little questions that about other secondary characters don't matter in the big picture, but I still wondered about them. Like what would happen to them after all that has happened to the Diviners? I guess we can just say they will try to find their own happy ending...but again, it's just a little nagging thing. I like knowing where everyone ends up in the final book a series and not getting those answers in print just aggravates me a little. Again, they weren't main characters, so I guess it really shouldn't matter, but that's just my beef. Lol.

All in all, I was still quite pleased by this one. Yes, some parts felt overly long and drawn out. I didn't feel like it was necessary to have such moments be soooooo drawn out and it take so long for the plot to get rolling again, but it is what it is. The book definitely rides a tidal wave when it comes to pacing that's for sure, but I lived for those upturn moments where things were finally picking up and came crashing down to startling revelations!  It made for one exciting and bone chilling read when you throw in the dead that stalk the night!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars