Blue Lily, Lily Blue - Review

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

By: Maggie Stiefvater

Published: October 28th 2014 by Scholastic Press

416 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--The third installment in the mesmerizing series from the irrepressible, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater.

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.

The Raven Cycle series is very different from The Wolves of Mercy Falls. If you go into this series expecting the same Maggie Stiefvater from The Wolves of Mercy Falls then I think you’re going to be disappointed. It’s not that The Raven Cycle isn’t as good. It’s just different. I said in my review of The Dream Thieves that her writing is still lyrical and poetic, but in a way that you have to think about more than the previous series. On top of that, any romance in this series takes a back seat to the adventure that these characters are on.

As a matter of fact, let me just take a minute to say that I actually like how slowly the relationship has been building and how things are still in a very early stage. Blue’s been told that she’ll kill her true love if she kisses him, and that’s kept things on a very PG level for her on all relationship fronts. Yet, we know that Gansey’s on the list from The Raven Boys which means he’ll be dead before the year is over. Blue started off the series having a short relationship with Adam, but in the second book, things started transitioning from Adam to Gansey. And I’m much more excited about that. But because Blue and Adam had a short “thing,” Blue and Gansey have been keeping whatever is building between them on the DL. All of this is really just background stuff. Like I said, the adventure takes more of a center stage—at least so far. I’m hoping the next book (and last?) will really amp up the relationship.

Speaking of the adventure, we know that Gansey and his crew have been searching for Glendower for a long time. And well, they’re really close. Adam’s all connected to Cabeswater now. He made a deal at the end of The Dream Thieves to be the eyes, ears, and hands for Cabeswater. He’s been working with Persephone to restore the ley lines that have been disconnected in some places. Maura, Blue’s mom, has gone missing. She’s searching the undergrown caves. Truthfully, I kind of forgot what she was searching for. Whoops! This is definitely one of those series that I have a hard time remember everything that happened from book to book. I mean there is an entire year in between each release. Mr. Gray (The Gray Man) lied to his employer about the object he was hunting which turns out to be a person and not an object at all (Ronan), but his employer doesn’t believe him. So that amps up the risk for the entire group. Oh and we finally find out what Blue is. We know that she’s not a psychic like every other woman in her family, but we know that she amplifies power as well. I really liked the explanation for what she is.

A lot happens, but yet I also felt like the story wasn’t moved along all that much at the same time from where things ended with The Dream Thieves. I can see why some Maggie Stiefvater fans don’t connect to this series as much as her other books. While I’ve enjoyed the series, I have found that each book in this series has taken me longer to read than I would like. And I think because the relationship progresses so slowly and takes a backseat to the rest of the events, some readers might not be connecting.

My favorite quotes:

-“Maybe I dreamt you,” [Ronan] said. “Thanks for the straight teeth, then,” Adam replied.

-Casually, out of view of Ronan, making sure Adam was still sleeping, Gansey dangeled his hand between the driver’s seat and the door. Palm up, fingers stretched back to Blue. This was not allowed. …

-The only casualty was his pulse.

-Ronan was always saying that he never lied, but he wore a liar’s face.

-The phone went quiet. It was never enough, but it was something.

-What a lie unknowable was. The only person who didn’t know Adam was himself.

-He who does a thing by the agency of another does it himself.

-But it felt real to her heart, even if her head knew better.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue gets 4 Stars from me. I can’t wait to see how everything finishes. I believe the next book is the last planned in the series. I feel like there’s still a lot that has to happen in that book. Have you read Blue Lily, Lily Blue? What did you think? Let me know!