It is no secret that The Raven Cycle is one of my all time favorite young adult series. It’s my favorite on-going series right now by a landslide, and I’ve waited patiently (okay, maybe not so patiently) every year since 2012 for a new Raven Boys novel to be released. This year I was so pleased to learn that I would get the chance to read Blue Lily, Lily Blue a little bit early, and as soon as I was given access to the galley, I started reading feverishly (it took me less than 24 hours to read it, which in my opinion is always a sign of a great book).
Now here were the initial thoughts that went through my head before reading this book:
1. I know we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but SERIOUSLY, THIS COVER IS SO BEAUTIFUL!
2. Blue Lily, Lily Blue… according to this title, I believe Blue is going to get center stage in this book (kind of like how Ronan took the center stage in The Dream Thieves), and I like this.
3. Will there be Gansey x Blue??? Please let there be Gansey x Blue!!!
When I started reading Blue Lily, Lily Blue, the first thing that I noticed, which I also noticed when reading The Dream Thieves last year, was that it was pretty tough to remember what had happened in the previous books. It didn’t affect my reading as much this time as it did with The Dream Thieves, but I spent the first 50 pages or so trying to remember things that were being referred to from the past two books. It’s important to push through if you are having trouble getting past the beginning though, because it’s definitely worth it once you start to remember more of what had happened in the past books.
Here is the Goodreads summary:
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There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.
The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.
Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.Advertisement
The Raven Cycle series is a very intricately woven story, one that at first glance would never have caught my eye. It encompasses a very realistic world and gives us a very extraordinary story full of psychics, assassins, ghosts, and a quest to find a long-dead Welsh King. This series is so different from anything else in the Young Adult fantasy genre. The first two books were both refreshing and mesmerizing and Blue Lily, Lily Blue continues this trend.
Stiefvater is a brilliant storyteller, but going even beyond her storytelling is her ability to write characters who are at once both flawed and lovable.
For the third time in a row, my favorite part of this Raven Cycle book was the characters. I absolutely LOVE the characters in this series. I could read infinite novels written by Maggie Stiefvater about these five main characters. Her development of all of the characters in this novel, including the secondary characters, makes them feel so real that it’s like I actually know them. Like they are real people who are a part of my life. There are Colin Greenmantle and his wife Piper, who I thought were some of the most well written villains I’d ever read. Seriously, if Colin is bad, Piper is just downright evil. Jesse Dittley is quite a boisterous and interesting character, and The Grey Man was again one of my favorite characters. The Psychics of 300 Fox Way were entertaining as always, but in the wake of Maura, Blue’s Mom, going missing there was also a lot more than humor that we saw in these women. Of course, the best parts of these books are the Raven Boys and Blue. I was wrong earlier when I assumed this novel was going to focus mostly on Blue. There is a lot of focus on her, but there is more focus on Adam. He’s got Cabeswater within him, he’s trying to work things out with Blue and Gansey, and he’s getting closer to Ronan (something I bet he probably never would have thought would happen). In the last Raven Cycle novel, Ronan became one of my favorite characters in the series, and with this novel the same thing happened with Adam. In the first novel I didn’t like him at all. His stubborn personality was mostly just irritating to me. In the second novel I began to like him more because we were able to see a bit more of the vulnerability that he always tries to hide. This time around, we were able to see even more of Adam than we had before, especially with his friendship with Ronan. Adam has become a much more likable character, and I can’t wait to see what happens next with him and the rest of the characters from this series.
I enjoyed the story and I was yet again left with a burning need to get my hands on the fourth and final Raven Cycle novel. I’m not sure what will happen after I finish the final installment in the series next year, but if I had to guess, I would say that a long and painful book hangover will follow.
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If you haven’t read the Raven Cycle, I would highly suggest you go out and buy it now, and if you have read the series, I assure you the third installment is just as good, if not better, than the first two books!
Keep an eye out tomorrow for a magical Blue Lily, Lily Blue post that may or may not include a really awesome giveaway!
Rating: 10/10
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater is now available.
Book Info:
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (October 21, 2014)
• Length: 416, Hardcover
• Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fantasy
• Source: Netgalley
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