Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle, #3)

by Maggie Stiefvater

• ISBN13: 9780545424967
• Publish Date: 21 October 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 8 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Scholastic US
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 404
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amber]

Books of Amber

I have let my people down. Not only did I NOT love this book as much as I wanted to/thought that I would, I am also failing at writing a review. I’m just one big failure at this point. So here I am, trying to write a post to justify my non-feels and possibly upsetting the majority of the blogging population. I’M SORRY, FRIENDS.

Sooo, my main issue with the book was the choppy writing. Maybe this was Maggie’s intention which, to be honest, wouldn’t surprise me, but the entire thing felt very dreamlike with the jumping from point to point and the stopping and starting. You know how, in dreams, you end up in places without knowing how you get there? That’s how this book felt to me. There was no journey, there was hopping. But considering this whole series is weird and dreamy and one of the characters is a freakin’ Dream God and another is trying to find a sleeping king in a sleepy Virginian town, perhaps this was intentional.

RONAN THOUGH. RONAN. Okay so I have previously said that he wasn’t my favourite character because in The Raven Boys I loved Adam the most, and then in The Dream Thieves I was Team Gansey, but now I have switched again and teamed up with Ronan. I don’t even know how it happened, you guys. I just liked his scenes with Blue and also with Adam and his awesomeness. If I switch again in book four then it will be the most brilliant thing because normally I find a person in the first book in a series and stick with them until death do us part. MAGGIE WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME.

Can we also talk about my entirely ridiculous Ronan x Blue crack!ship because that’s a thing. Why does chemistry happen to characters who aren’t going to be together *weeps*. I am cursed. (He held her. Twice. Guys. GUYS.) (Yes, I know he’s gay. Hence the crack! before my ship.)

I think I’ve mostly switched teams (again) because Gansey wasn’t featured in this book enough for my liking. The dude is probably about to die and he needs alllll the page-time. We didn’t get many scenes from his point of view, although the Bluesey stuff was enough to make me sob into my pillow. PHONE CALLS.

In addition to lacking Gansey, Blue Lily had entirely too much Adam. I know that this book managed to sway people back onto Team Adam, or at least have them forgive him for his arsehole ways in The Dream Thieves, but this was lost on me. I can hold major grudges, I guess.

BEST BITS

* I have resorted to bullet points, lawl
* RONAN AND BLUE IN THE CAVE ERMEHGERD JUST EVERYTHING ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS FABULOUS
* The church scene. “It was possible that there were two gods in this church.” * This might be the moment I fell in love with Ronan because GOD. Is anyone else sensing Gannicus connections because ha, I am.
* Jesse and Blue’s scenes were the best thing. BEST. THING.
* Bits at the end that included a new character who was just useless and Blue was all MATE WE HAVE THINGS TO DO PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER *hits with a flip flop*
*Court scene. That is all.

So, er… Yeah. That’s it, that’s my review.

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[e_rodz_leb]

The five star rating should be of no surprise to anyone given by undying love for Stiefvater’s writing. This is the third book of the Raven Cycle series and it is no less amazing that their predecessors, The Raven Boys and The Dream Thief. In most series there are usually some books that are better than others (second book syndrome?), but I think that these books share the same amazingness.

“She was weirdly lovely, even though she had unevenly clipped her dark hair all over her head and wore a shirt she’d attacked with a rototiller. Or perhaps because of these things. When had she gotten so pretty and so grown-up?”

These characters! They are all outstanding: good or bad, imperfect, afraid, brave, right or wrong. All absolutely amazing. Blue is dealing with the aftermath of Maura’s disappearance and working with her Raven boys to find her. Things at 300 Fox Way are hectic and enveloped in tragedy. Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Noah are back in school while trying to move forward with their discoveries of Cabeswater and Glendower. How I love these characters! I think all of them are endearing in their own way, they have grown so much since they started their journey together and I can’t wait to see who they will become by the end. I’m so happy to see how Adam understands now that accepting help is not a weakness, that most of the prejudice is in his own mind.

I think Gansey will forever hold a special part of my heart. He’s the glue that holds this group together and I cringe to think on what has been foretold will happen to him and how the rest would be able to keep going without him. The feelings between Gansey and Blue are so tremulous, so hesitant; they are so afraid to let anything become more, because they’re afraid of the consequences to the rest of the group and because of Blue’s curse. I so wish for a happy ending for these two.

“There were two sorts of people: The ones who could see Noah, and the ones who couldn’t. Blue generally only got along with the former.”

Even the “bad” guys are so interesting and easy to identify with. It takes true talent to do something like that. Not to be mean, but Mr. Gray, Piper and Greenmantel for instance, are not stand up citizens. Don’t get me wrong, I quite like Mr. Gray and his unpredictable ways. We also get to meet Mallory in Blue Lily. He’s the professor that helped Gansey before and come once more to his aid, but this time in person. Jesse Dittley is a gentle giant that helped them despite everything.

“She thought-wished-longed-dreamt of leaves rustling. Overhead, the trees shushed their leaves, forming a vague, whispered words, Avide audimus. She thought of a spring flower. A lily, blue, like her name. A blue petal fell aimlessly into her hair. Another dropped onto the back of her hand, slipping down her wrist like a kiss.”

I adore Stiefvater’s writing. There is something so lyrical, unpredictable delightful, and insightful about it. I will honestly read anything she writes, even her blog is a pleasure to follow. The plot is convoluted in its intricacies, but at the same time understandable. As with previous books in the series, the story is told in the third person and from multiples points of view, which works perfectly well here.

“Adam Parrish was lonesome… Lonesome means a state of being apart. Of being other. Alone-some.”

Overall, Blue Lily, Lily Blue is a great addition to a series that keeps getting better and better. The ending was quite cliffhanger-like and I dying to get the last (yet-to-be-titled) book. I just have a burning plea for you, dear author, to please find a loophole that will allow Gansey to live. Pretty please!!!

About the cover: Beautiful, right? These covers are whimsical, artsy, symbolic, a great reflection of the awesomeness housed within its pages.

[lizarodz]

The five star rating should be of no surprise to anyone given by undying love for Stiefvater’s writing. This is the third book of the Raven Cycle series and it is no less amazing that their predecessors, The Raven Boys and The Dream Thief. In most series there are usually some books that are better than others (second book syndrome?), but I think that these books share the same amazingness.

“She was weirdly lovely, even though she had unevenly clipped her dark hair all over her head and wore a shirt she’d attacked with a rototiller. Or perhaps because of these things. When had she gotten so pretty and so grown-up?”

These characters! They are all outstanding: good or bad, imperfect, afraid, brave, right or wrong. All absolutely amazing. Blue is dealing with the aftermath of Maura’s disappearance and working with her Raven boys to find her. Things at 300 Fox Way are hectic and enveloped in tragedy. Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Noah are back in school while trying to move forward with their discoveries of Cabeswater and Glendower. How I love these characters! I think all of them are endearing in their own way, they have grown so much since they started their journey together and I can’t wait to see who they will become by the end. I’m so happy to see how Adam understands now that accepting help is not a weakness, that most of the prejudice is in his own mind.

I think Gansey will forever hold a special part of my heart. He’s the glue that holds this group together and I cringe to think on what has been foretold will happen to him and how the rest would be able to keep going without him. The feelings between Gansey and Blue are so tremulous, so hesitant; they are so afraid to let anything become more, because they’re afraid of the consequences to the rest of the group and because of Blue’s curse. I so wish for a happy ending for these two.

“There were two sorts of people: The ones who could see Noah, and the ones who couldn’t. Blue generally only got along with the former.”

Even the “bad” guys are so interesting and easy to identify with. It takes true talent to do something like that. Not to be mean, but Mr. Gray, Piper and Greenmantel for instance, are not stand up citizens. Don’t get me wrong, I quite like Mr. Gray and his unpredictable ways. We also get to meet Mallory in Blue Lily. He’s the professor that helped Gansey before and come once more to his aid, but this time in person. Jesse Dittley is a gentle giant that helped them despite everything.

“She thought-wished-longed-dreamt of leaves rustling. Overhead, the trees shushed their leaves, forming a vague, whispered words, Avide audimus. She thought of a spring flower. A lily, blue, like her name. A blue petal fell aimlessly into her hair. Another dropped onto the back of her hand, slipping down her wrist like a kiss.”

I adore Stiefvater’s writing. There is something so lyrical, unpredictable delightful, and insightful about it. I will honestly read anything she writes, even her blog is a pleasure to follow. The plot is convoluted in its intricacies, but at the same time understandable. As with previous books in the series, the story is told in the third person and from multiples points of view, which works perfectly well here.

“Adam Parrish was lonesome… Lonesome means a state of being apart. Of being other. Alone-some.”

Overall, Blue Lily, Lily Blue is a great addition to a series that keeps getting better and better. The ending was quite cliffhanger-like and I dying to get the last (yet-to-be-titled) book. I just have a burning plea for you, dear author, to please find a loophole that will allow Gansey to live. Pretty please!!!

About the cover: Beautiful, right? These covers are whimsical, artsy, symbolic, a great reflection of the awesomeness housed within its pages.