THIS IS NOT A SPOILER FREE REVIEW. 
 Thoughts after hours of contemplation: 
 Okay. I love this series. I really do. It's one of my favorites. Maggie does so many things well. Her writing style is gorgeous; that woman knows how to use foreshadowing and repetition effortlessly. My love for these characters is huge and so hard to put into words. This is one of the few series where I absolutely adore every single character. She's got this talent of creating characters that are tangible and full of personality. Again, it's hard to put into words, and I think that shows how masterful she is. This story is so unique. It's unlike anything on the YA market right now. While I enjoyed this book because I love being in this world again, I'm a little disappointed. 
 I'm torn about this book now that I've finished it, and I think my problems are with one big issue: there should have been another book after this one. 
 There are an insane number of things that are introduced in this final book that are not fleshed out. Some are just left after one scene. I had so many questions and saw so many loose ends by the epilogue that I actually started a list of all the things I didn't think were concluded. 
 (A few reviewers have touched/delved on this so my list is going to be similar to a lot of those. I'll link a review at the end of mine that echoes a lot of my feelings about this conclusion.)* 
 Things/People entirely left out of the ending: 
 1. Mr. Gray 
 He's just gone. We get the vaguest idea of where he went and what he's doing. We have no idea what happens to him after "the big night." Even in the epilogue, which takes four months after that scene, there isn't any sign of if he is being successful or not. As a big Mr. Gray fan, that irks me, especially with the relationship he has developed with Maura and Blue over the past two books. 
 2. Noah 
 GONE. Not a single mention of him in the epilogue. Didn't anyone notice? He's been a big part of at least the first three books. I'm also disappointed with his presence in this book. He's lacking. He's barely present, and no one seems to give a shit. He had one interaction with the Raven crew. WTF. 
 3. Artemis 
 GONE. He's in a tree. IN BLUE'S BACKYARD. After dropping a HUGE bombshell about how Blue is part tree-light and part human. Blue has been looking for her "otherness" for the entire series. She finally finds it, and we only get two scenes about it. Her missing father has been a feature for the whole series, and he cowers in a corner the whole book and disappears into a tree. I don't care if he's going to be a shit father, but I wanted to see it affect Blue somehow. That's a big reveal with little impact. 
 4. Maura, Calla, Orla, etc. 
 NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. They aren't in the last 100 or so pages of the book. We have no idea what happens to them. We get closure with Adam's POS dad but not Blue's family? We even get Henry, a character who has only been heavily featured this book, but nothing about the Raven King's daughter or Mr. Gray? WTF. 
 5. The weird creepy magical crime families. 
 So is Henrietta safe now? No idea. Did Mr. Gray drive them all off? No idea. What about Henry's mom? NO IDEA. Did what's-his-face with the three twin/clone/doubles cut his losses and take off after executing Piper? WHO KNOWS? NOT US. 
 6. Blue 
 Why did all the imagery about Glendower have Blue's face? Why wasn't there a scene from Gansey's POV when he dies on Corpse Road? That was a seriously pivotal moment of the first book. Shouldn't we have come back to that? Is the tree-light heritage the ONLY explanation we're going to get for why Blue's face and heritage is stamped all over the Raven King mystery? I'm still so confused. 
 7. Gansey's family/Ronan's family 
 Did Gansey's mom win the election? Did he even make up with them? Is Matthew okay? Is Declan still dealing in magic arts since that was another huge bombshell for Ronan? 
 So many things. I came out of this with more questions than anything, which is why I think we needed another book. She introduced so many things in this book that were worth teasing out more or at least establishing in BLLB. Plus, I really wanted to see how the group would handle Gansey's death. She's been adamant since the beginning that she wasn't going to go back on that promise of his death. I'm not disappointed he's alive but I'm disappointed at what seemed like a wasted opportunity. Because you know what would have been great? Letting Gansey be dead for a book. Shove his body in a tree or whatever. Freeze it. Give them a book to figure out who they are without Gansey. Give them a book to grieve. Give them all time to figure out the messy things they discovered this book. Give Henry some leg room to join the group. Give them a book to bring back Gansey. THEN give me that ending where they all split off when I know where all those loose ends go. That would have been worth the wait. 
 Another thing that isn't a complaint, per say. 
 I'm on board with Adam/Ronan. I like it. I ship it. BUT. I wish it had been established more in previous books on Adam's part. I understood where this came from for Ronan. His affections for Adam (and men in general) was hinted at early on. But Adam has been BLUE BLUE BLUE for three books. It just seemed sudden for him to develop feelings for Ronan in, what felt like, a hundred pages. Feel free to point out if I'm wrong here. Maybe I missed earlier signs, in which case, I will gladly recant that opinion. Again, I like it, and I ship it. Those two need a little happiness, that's for damn sure. 
 I'm going with a three star because I'm stuck in the middle. I loved sections of it, and I was wanting in other sections. Overall, this is one of my favorite series, and I'm always going to recommend it to people. This may seem like a mostly negative review but I'm really only critical of the ending. I did enjoy it. It was unbearable slow at first but I can deal with that because I adore these characters with every fiber in my being. I just wanted more at the end. I love them all, and I didn't feel like they were given their due. 
 3/5 stars. 
 *That review I mentioned. 
 Upon the cover reveal: 
 That's it. This series wins. 
 These covers are fucking gorgeous. 
 I can't.