I love this series and this book is no exception! The characters are so well done and this was certainly a satisfying conclusion to the series!

Update: As much as I love this series and these characters, I prefer the audiobook to reading the text. So, despite having an ARC, I pre-ordered the audio and picked up with that. So far, definitely the right choice for me!

The King of Crows:

After the events of the previous book, Mabel tried to stop the explosion that claimed her life. Many people were lost that day due to the explosion but in the aftermath, Evie has to decide whether to keep her friends memory pure in her heart or disregard her in order to keep her fame. She of course chooses the former but finds that nonetheless, the diviners are blamed for the explosion that happened at Jake Marlow’s exhibition.

Jake Marlow decides to hold a vigil for those who lost their life that day including Sara Snow who has now become a martyr in everybody’s eyes apart from Evie’s. Having found out what Jake Marlow is up to with the Eye, the diviners decide to confront him at the vigil but find themselves being enemy number one as he places a bounty on their heads. They make a hasty plan to meet up in Bountiful Nebraska where Isaiah has been having dreams of with a girl that speaks to him of the King of Crow and how to defeat him.

Forced to split up, the gang head each on their individual ways leading to adventures and mystery a long the way in their journey to defeat the King of Crows. Ling and Jericho join a band on their tour of the country where Jericho and Ling pretend that they are related in order to disguise themselves. Theta, Sam and Isaiah join the circus that Sam grew up in. Isaiah is of course taken with the animals and everything that happens within the travelling circus. Henry and Memphis find themselves getting stuck in a flood along the Mississippi river but due to the fact that they are of colour, find themselves facing many difficulties in order to get where they are going, especially since they have a bounty on their head and they are black. Considering the time that this book is set in, this would have made their journey incredibly difficult in comparison to the others.

But always on their heels in the army of the dead that the King of Crows wields. The gang hears rumours a long the way of the number of towns becoming ghost towns and the dead coming to life again. The dead seem to be growing in power and every time they encounter them, they are getting harder to beat and hopes are being drowned. They eventually all meet up in Nebraska but find themselves feeling like something isn’t right, like something is a miss. Unfortunately, for them that seems to be the case as the young girl Isaiah was talking to, Sarah Beth, seems to be working with the king of crows who wants them to work together and grow their powers to ultimately he can take them for his own. In the process of them finding out about Sarah Beth working with the King of Crows, Isaiah dies. Memphis being heartbroken trades his healing power for Isaiah’s life to the King of Crows. He agrees but finds himself hallucinating Isaiah. Jake Marlow takes them back to his manor to be apart of his spectacular show. In order to stop the eye, Memphis must heal the breach but having given his power away, finds himself in a bit of trouble. No matter what the cost is, Memphis will do what is right and so the gang help him by joining together to give him more power. He thankfully destroys the eye and end up stopping Marlow’s plan to open the Eye so that the King of Crows cannot cross into our world.

In the epilogue, we see the diviners chilling out in a café whilst watching the sidewalk and talking about their adventures and getting their lives back to normal. They are just naturally nattering about their lives and getting married. They look to the sidewalk and see crowds gathering and hear the words ‘heil Hitler.’ Honestly, this epilogue was so chilling as we obviously know what happens in life but I often wonder about what the diviners would do if they’d have encountered Hitler and the Nazi’s and I now seriously want a spin off series following this.

This series is seriously amazing. Though I can understand people’s reactions and grievances to the publishers changing the book covers so often, I’m glad that they didn’t do this for the last book. I seriously do hate cover changes hence why when I series does this, I either read the audiobook or e-book, as I hate physical books not matching. This last book truly rounded up the series in such a way that was astonishing and as always Libba Bray’s writing was incredible and easy to read. It honestly, makes it easy to read when writing flows and that’s what Libba Bray does really well. One thing to also note is how Libba Bray handles the harder subjects that comes a long with writing historical pieces and that is racism and sexism. Though these periods were rife with people being racist, she makes it seem that the world shouldn’t be like that with characters constantly pointing out such things. The way that she handled the flood and black people being segregated made it hard to read but really gave context to the setting and what truly happened. Overall this book was absolutely stunning and wish Libba Bray wrote more on these characters.

5 out 5 stars.

I can't believe this series is finally over, but it definitely was worth the wait. It had the creepiness and underlying sadness throughout that the previous books had, mixed with parts that made me laugh out loud. The characters all have such great chemistry, and Henry is possibly one of my favourite fictional characters of all time.

I really enjoyed this conclusion to the series, which has become one of my favourite series of all time! Libba Bray has crafted such an interesting setting with a brilliant cast of characters that I care about deeply. I loved the road trip element of this book and seeing the different combination of characters. This was so creepy and the way Libba Bray has weaved in the atrocities of US history into this story is remarkable and so interesting. Some of the ways this tied up felt a little bit rushed to me which is why it wasn't quite a five star read but this definitely is one of my favourite series!

The King of Crows was one of my most anticipated reads after loving the previous three books in the series and it did not disappoint as a finale to one of my favourite series. Being back in the world of the Diviners with my favourite characters was just the time I needed.

4.5 Stars

This is the fourth book in the series but I will still try to write this review as spoiler free for the whole series.

For me this really was a fitting ending for a series have have thoroughly enjoyed. Libba Bray does an amazing job of combining the historical with the fantastical. Her writing is lyrical and atmospheric, it really immerses you in the world with these characters. While it had been a good time since I had picked up a diviners book it really didn't take me long to fall back into that world. She has a great way of combining the lighter and darker moments moving between humour and horror with ease.

In fact looking back on how I felt about Before the Devil breaks you I actually much prefer the way this story is told. Our Diviners came together in the third book but circumstances have forced them apart as they travel cross country in their battle against the King of Crows and this give us as a reader a chance to get to know them all even better. The pairings are all somewhat unlikely so we get a little glimpse into each of them and I and how they are coping with both the supernatural and the real world issues of the time.

We get a real sense of the dark and grimy underbelly of 1920s USA, in this series and this instalment is no different. We also get to experience how different things were away from the bright lights of New York. And the reality is dark in its own right so when combined with the supernatural elements highlights it even more. We cover issues such as Jim Crow laws, Sunset towns, and the KKK, anti-antisemitism. Bray also parallels more middle american modern attitudes to issues such as immigration to the middle American's of the 1920s and highlights that not much has really changed. I appreciate that in the authors note Bray also acknowledges the privilege she is writing from and discusses the topics she addressed further. At points I found the Historical elements more interesting and grounding when the supernatural elements became a little cartoonish.

These have always been more character driven books than plot driven and while the plot is ok and the ending is good it is really the thoughts, feelings and motivations of the characters that are the best part. There were moments in the end that had me shocked, others where I had predicted the outcome and others that made me smile and all considered I was happy with the ending. It had a rather nice bittersweet with a slight chilling feeling right to the very last line and that just perfectly surmised these books. It left me feeling satisfied with how the characters tales concluded but highlighted that the world is not a happy place all the time and that happy endings rarely last.

If you are looking for a series jam packed with diversity, found families, great friendships with a hint of creepy and a good dash of fun this is a good series to try.

I don't want to say too much because obviously this is the final book in the series, but I really really enjoyed the final book in the series!

Libba Bray never fails to dazzle me! I loved this book as much as I did the others! She knows how to make you stay invested, and though this is so different from her other series and books, The Diviners is a series that keeps you coming back for more. Another strong novel added to an amazing series.

I have loved this series since first reading an ARC of The Diviners. This final volume has been a long time coming (almost ten years), but it was worth the wait. I liked everything about this book. My only problem was that I wanted to make it last, knowing that it is the last one, but the pace of the story meant I kept wanting to read 'just one more chapter'. Brilliant!

Unfortunately, I was not able to get this book read and will update when I get a copy of it and am able to read and review. 3 for neutral.

Honestly from the first few books in this series I had such high hopes for where this series would end up, but those expectations were dashed when I read book three. I feel this series had lost its way at points of the last two books, and although Libba has created such a diverse cast of characters, I can’t help but feel that the number of storylines these books follow make the story seem disjointed and lacking flow. This is still a series I somewhat enjoy, however I did find myself skim reading through large chunks of the text, and I think my eARC’s formatting was incorrect, which made it hard to follow.

The King of Crows is an explosive conclusion to the last ten years of Diviners stories. Evie and her band of diviners now face a an enemy threatening the world as they know it: the King of Crows. Having lost the goodwill of the people thanks to events earlier in the series, they undergo one last mission to try and repair the rift between worlds. Featuring a diverse cast addressing many of the issues present in early twentieth-century America, the characters evolve and grow into their own in order to defeat the King of Crows. My one gripe with the book was that, as the group was split into several smaller parties, the narrative was too split up, leading to a lack of depth in the individual plots. I would have preferred a tighter book at times. But then, that is personal preference, and I still very much enjoyed my read!

Content Warnings

Homophobia, suicide, sacrifice, violence, murder, eugenics, conspiracy, racism

Although this was a wonderful end to the series, my whole experience of reading this series has unfortunately been shaped by my negative experience with Lair of Dreams.

Plot

The King of Crows sees our diviners splitting up to escape persecution in New York while trying to find a way to stop Jake Marlowe and The King of Crows.

Seeing the group of Diviners together was my favorite part of Before the Devil Breaks You, so I was disappointed to find them split up here. Though the stories were interesting along the way, and helped bring closure to certain elements like Evie’s family, it really made the story drag. Once they were together, the story picked up but the conflict they find was a let down. It felt like it was supposed to be this big, shocking reveal, but it was obvious all along.

I was happy with the resolution of the story, and how everything was explained. The very last page leaves a little open, and makes me think that this may not be the end of this story-world.

Characters

I felt all of the characters really grew up in this book. There was love, loss, growth and all of it felt realistic and unforced. I was happy with the resolution of all of the relationships. I will say, the character deaths fell a little flat for me. It feels like the author deliberately chose the characters who were least liked, and least important to the story and relationships, though I appreciate the fact that the resolution could only be achieved with sacrifice. It felt very realistic to the war that the characters were fighting


Writing Style

I’m so impressed, as always, with the amount of research Libba Bray puts into these books. I really enjoy the notes at the end. Although this book did drag at the beginning, it did pick up and the story was woven together well. I do still feel that, in general, these books are all too long. There are many chapters that add nothing to the story and could easily be removed. The atmosphere is always tense and creepy and Libba Bray’s writing really does keep you on the edge of your seat.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, this was not a bad book by any means, but my experience with Lair of Dreams really did ruin my entire reading experience with this series. I found myself struggling to care for the character like I did in The Diviners, and even though I loved Before The Devil Breaks you, it could not redeem this series for me.

I think this series shows an important side of American history that many authors neglect to mention when romanticizing this time period, and I think Libba Bray handles it incredibly well. There are important lessons about history in this series that are very applicable to our current political climate and, for that alone, I recommend this series to everyone.

There's no such thing as a perfect ending to a series but i feel like this one definitely did the diviners series justice.
I can't talk too much about the plot of this book as it is the 4th in the series but just know that i enjoyed it immensely and would encourage you to start this series if you haven't already.

After the explosion that killed one of their own, the Diviners find themselves wanted and on the run from the Shadow Men, while also being on the brink of war with The King of Crows, and also having to steer clear of the KKK, the Pinkerton’s, and everyone else wanting a to claim the reward money. Isaiah receives a vision from Sarah Beth Olsen who believes she knows how to defeat the King of Crows-but she needs the Diviner’s help to do it. The Diviners must now travel to Bountiful, Nebraska and join forces with Sarah Beth Olsen to put a stop to the King of Crows and his army of dead.

I don’t often complete series, purely because there is always another story to dive into and I often end up forgetting about the next book in ther series and then the next, and so on. But, there is something so enticing and alluring about The Diviners series that has kept bringing me back despite the years long wait. I read the first novel, The Diviners back in 2016 and absolutely loved it. The glamour, the romance, the horror. It was just so atmospheric and captivating. But it isn’t just the plot that brings me back, it is all the wonderful and bold characters that are the real gem of this series.

Evie. Evie. Evie. Not a easy character to like, she is so flawed. She is pos-i-tute-ly tiring – enthusiastic, energetic, thoughtless, a liar, a dreamer, a partier and an attention seeker but she had a kindness and a sincerity to her that I really did love. But really it isn’t just Evie’s story, there is Memphis, Theta, Sam, Henry, Ling, Jericho, and so many more brilliantly developed and fleshed out characters. In The King of Crows, we see them a little differently – in seperate groups. While escaping New York they all get seperated and try and make their way to Bountiful, Nebraska. Sam, Evie, Isaiah, and Theta joining the circus and I loved Evie and Theta getting closer. Memphis, Bill, and Henry catch a train only to have to jump from it in order to escape the Pinkertons and end up in Mississippi during a terrible flood. Ling and Jericho, a pair we haven’t really seen interact much, join Alma’s all girl orchesta group on the road. The King of Crows, for me, was a less of a story about defeating the King of Crows, and more about their own personal journeys. Discovering themselves, and confronting their own personal ghosts.

Libba Bray has a actual gift in creating her worlds and the atmosphere. The 1920s ‘glamourous’ American atmosphere perfectly blended with the supernatural and eerie atmosphere. She really delves deep into the racism, Jim Crow laws, segregation, xenophobia, homophobia, anti-Semitism, poverty, misogyny, and other prejudices and bigotry of 1920s America.

The reason it is only getting four stars is purely because of it’s kind of lackluster ending. That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy how and who defeated the King of Crows because I really loved that. As the book had a slow but steady pace throughout most of the novel, the last couple of chapters was kind of a whirlwind but also still didn’t really leave me satisfied. A personal opinion, but still didn’t really affect the quality of the novel much – it just meant it hasn’t been my favourite novel of the series.

The Diviners series in a genuine work of art and after all these years, it is a little sad the it has come to an end BUT it is a series I couldn’t recommend enough. Please, do yourself a favour and READ THIS SERIES.

I really was not ready for this series to end at all, and whilst this isn’t my favourite book of the series it’s definitely cemented it as one of my favourites of all time. I honestly love every single one of these characters so much I’d read 4 more books of them all just chilling and eating pastrami sandwiches.

Idk if it’s Cos I couldn’t put it down and it was 2am but the Big Final Battle Moment wasn’t really as climactic as I wanted and one particular characters death felt a bit too.. easy? Like it was done to avoid some hard conversations when every other part of this book dives headfirst into difficult conversations.

Other than that I loved every minute reading this book and I’m probably gonna reread the whole series again real soon

Back for the fourth and final book of The Diviners series by Libba Bray. I have only reviewed the even number of the series, it was not a conscious decision, just happens to be the ones I have received e-arcs of. I have given each book in the series 4/5 stars, so the average is pretty easy to figure out. In summary, I have liked all the books but had minor issues with them and was excited to see how this series finished. I'm gonna write this review on the basis that you have read the last three books, so expect spoilers for those but as always I will avoid spoilers for the actual book I'm reviewing.

They are a lot of major characters in this series, and Bray does handle the challenge well. This time the characters are forced to split up meaning that we get a lot of new interactions between characters that have not spent a lot of alone time with each other through the series.

Ling is the character I relate to the most being an asexual Disabled character, having a disabled character in a world where she could have been healed, has always been a little weird, but I have always been glad she wasn't magically clued as that is a hurtful trope when comes to disability. I mean I guess if she had been born with a disability instead of gaining one from illness, then she could not have been healed. For some reason, I felt more for her in this book, and I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm just feeling more sensitive than a few months ago when I read the third book. This book series continues to be Diverse and I think done well. I wish more books were like this, a Diverse group of people fighting ghosts; or more likely trying to save the day.

I ended up listening to the audiobook of this book like I consumed the last book in the series. I'm not been doing a lot of physical reading lately (finally getting back to reading my e-arcs) and being really excited for this book I ended up getting the audiobook once I had been missed the released date. The audiobook as read by January LaVoy is great and a good way to consume this book.

My only complaint is that pacing in the middle was a bit slow, but I also understand why it ended up that way. It just seemed very slow re-pacing to the main action.

Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars for Black Feathers. A satisfying end for this story and characters. They were things I wish we knew more about but I get that realistically not everything can be explored especially when we have so many major characters. This is a great series about ghosts literal and historical. Honestly, I'm not sure how to review the last book in series.

*3.75 stars
I cannot believe the series is over now?!! :O

It took me more than a month to read this book, and that was mostly because I really had some trouble getting into it. The start was very interesting but after a while I just got distracted a lot. I wasn't really interested in all the places the characters went and all the new people they met on the way. I just wanted to get to the action! And action I got, but only in the second half or so (a bit late in my opinion for a finale). For me the book could have been shorter, but to be honest I still enjoyed every moment with these amazing characters! The ending got me so emotional, but I'm also confused what happened in the last pages?!

Now what do I do with my life?

Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

I’ve been awaiting the finale of The Diviners series for a few months and suddenly it appeared at my door, when I’d quite forgotten about it. And suddenly I was sucked straight back down the rabbit hole into Bray’s supernatural, ghostly 1920s New York adventure, even on crowded commuter trains in the gloom of British winter. It barely took me three days, and I absolutely loved it.

Okay, yeah, the final resolution was actually quite easily solved, but it was emotionally satisfying and at the end of the day that’s more important for me. I’ll admit that the way characters’ emotions were generally put at a level that was convenient for the plot rather than their arcs annoyed me a little (Sam should be more worried about his mother, surely? Evie should be more upset about Will? Why has everyone forgotten about Woody?!). But it’s also the kind of thing that you get used to with this series; with a cast of characters so big it’s likely that some of their side-plots are going to fall through the cracks.

To the book’s credits, all of the characters do still sustain a full arc, finishing neatly in this final novel. I thought it was slightly obsessed with the romances, a little more than was necessary, but nevertheless allowed the protagonists to grow within themselves. I don’t have the time to single every person out, so I’ll just say this about Evie, arguably the main protagonist but my personal favourite either way. Evie is a very flawed character, who I root for ceaselessly. And everyone knows I’m a fan of Evie and Sam, but I loved that this also felt like the platonic love story of Evie and Theta, and Evie finally coming to terms with having balanced friendships with what I can only see as depression and possibly PTSD. That in itself means a lot to me.

All round, Bray allows her characters to have conditions, histories or general struggles that they suffer from, but can live through – as well as defeating the king of an undead army while they’re at it. You have a disabled character, characters with mental health difficulties, characters of African, Chinese, Irish heritage, characters of varying sexualities (including asexual!). I have never read another book that has that much representation. And none of their stories – none of them – are solely about these parts of their character.

One of the things that has always been strong with this series is its portrayal of 1920s America – a fair amount of which is based off of fact which might surprise some readers. And while the last instalment does feel less political than the rest of the series it was, after all, tying up the ends of the story with its political points already made many times. And the representation truly is gold, all the way through. The cast is so diverse, their identities normalised but acknowledged with all the societal prejudices they come with. But Bray represents it proudly, which makes it empowering.

This series has been an absolute joy to read from start to finish. It’s entertaining to read, indulgently romantic without being sickly. It knows when to make a scene exciting or scary, heartfelt or cold, and its representation is one of the best examples of diversity in YA out there at the moment. The King of Crows was a fitting end to the series, and for once I’m actually excited about the potential for a sequel series that’s sort of (?) hinted at in the epilogue.

It's not long since I discovered this series and I fell in love at once reading all the instalment in a short time.
This is the great, breathtaking and action packed end of the series.
The mix of historical facts, fantasy and horro makes this book an unputdownable and gripping read that keeps you hooked.
Libba Bray is a talented storyteller that writes stories that flows, great characters and describes a fascinating world building.
It was an enthralling and exciting read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine