The world that Maggie Stiefvater creates is beautiful, eerie and original. The prose matches the atmosphere perfectly and sets a dreamy, magical tone. 
 The characters are one of the best that I've come across in a long time, all of them with good and bad sides, with their own troubles and quirks. They felt like long lost friends and I enjoyed every second spent in their company. 
 Blue Sargent is an unusual YA heroine with her spiky hair, tough and yet at times gentle attitude and colorful clothes. She befriends the four raven boys and joins them on a quest to find the sleeping king. Needles to say I loved their interactions, especially the banter between Blue and Gansey. 
 Gansey is another great character, who suffers from rich people problems and yet he is still relatable, sweet, funny and driven. His obsession with finding the king was endearing, as well as his unwavering loyalty to his friends. 
 Adam is the only one of the raven boys who grew up poor in an abusive home. That boy broke my heart so many times, I love his pride, dedication and resilience. If I could, I'd make sure he's forever surrounded by hugs, puppies, chocolate and everything else good in the world because he truly needs it. 
 Ronan is a mysterious and at first unlikable figure, but as the story progressed he quickly became my favorite. His care for the little raven Chainsaw is endearing and shows his softer side, and his loyalty and protectiveness of his friends is another feature that I appreciated. 
 Noah remains a cryptic and slightly distant figure throughout the novel, but later on I cheered for him and hope to see more of him in the next books! 
 As for Blue's family, I greatly enjoyed their interactions, it felt like I've known them forever. These women are strong, quirky, warm and fierce at the same time and Blue is lucky to have them. 
 The search for ley lines and The Raven King hooked me completely, despite the fact that I'm a huge skeptic when it comes to anything supernatural. It was at times scary and intense, and the writing set the perfect mysterious and creepy feel to the story. The combination of foundling ravens, speaking trees, enchanted forests along with orange cars, family life and school has worked extremely well, kudos to Stiefvater for pulling it off. 
 There isn't a single thing I didn't love about this story and I can't wait to read the sequels. Reading it felt like walking through a vivid dream and I'm not yet ready to wake up and say goodbye.