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queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
5 ⭐ CW: violence, gun violence, death, descriptions of blood
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater is the the third book in The Raven Cycle. I have been blowing through these since The Raven Boys Readalong last month! This one kept me on my toes and wanting more the whole time.
We continue with the Gangsey, although we primarily focus on Blue (hence the title) and Adam. We get to learn more about the search for Maura and learn more about what more Blue can do besides just being an amplifier for psychics and ghosts. Blue is actually kind of a badass in this book, chainsaw and all. Blue+Gansey= LONGING.
With Adam we get to see him struggle through figuring out how to deal with his bargain with Cabeswater. He trains with Persephone, in all her ethereal glory. Adam has a lot of good growth in this book, which is good cause he needed it.
I thought Greenmantle was a hilariously bad villain. He's the academic who feels all high and mighty on the other side of a phone making threats and hiring others to do his dirty work until he has to get his hands dirty as well. Although, I did appreciate his sociopath of a wife, Piper.
So much happens in this book, but one of the themes was about how it feels as a teen to realize you can never really truly know someone no matter how close you are. The theme of lonesomeness. Stiefvater's writing is so exquisite and precise and intentional. This series has ruined me and I'm in deep now. Must. Read. The. Next. Book.
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater is the the third book in The Raven Cycle. I have been blowing through these since The Raven Boys Readalong last month! This one kept me on my toes and wanting more the whole time.
We continue with the Gangsey, although we primarily focus on Blue (hence the title) and Adam. We get to learn more about the search for Maura and learn more about what more Blue can do besides just being an amplifier for psychics and ghosts. Blue is actually kind of a badass in this book, chainsaw and all. Blue+Gansey= LONGING.
With Adam we get to see him struggle through figuring out how to deal with his bargain with Cabeswater. He trains with Persephone, in all her ethereal glory. Adam has a lot of good growth in this book, which is good cause he needed it.
I thought Greenmantle was a hilariously bad villain. He's the academic who feels all high and mighty on the other side of a phone making threats and hiring others to do his dirty work until he has to get his hands dirty as well. Although, I did appreciate his sociopath of a wife, Piper.
So much happens in this book, but one of the themes was about how it feels as a teen to realize you can never really truly know someone no matter how close you are. The theme of lonesomeness. Stiefvater's writing is so exquisite and precise and intentional. This series has ruined me and I'm in deep now. Must. Read. The. Next. Book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Violence and Blood
a_ira's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Blood and Death of parent
mengzhenreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Just an absolute delight as usual. I'm absolutely in love with this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Gaslighting
lujisa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Rape
jenarae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual content
fanboyriot's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This series is so captivating and interesting and stunning to read. Seeing all the character development was amazing, it’s a very nice balance between characters and plot. The humor was amazing and the overall writing is so lovely to read. I really liked seeing Ronan and Blue have more of a friendship (though I don’t think either of them would admit it) seeing them be stubborn or them saying something the other’s wouldn’t dare say—very fun to read. It was also nice to see Adam working on letting people help him without him thinking it was because of where—or how—he grew up. He started to see that his friends just wanted to be there for him and it was just written so nicely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Rape, and Classism
valley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
grimmdark's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
well ok so as always with these books i enjoyed myself thoroughly because i love the world and the characters and the story, so much! and i have about 3 million quotes i loved that i've kept, because maggie stiefvater's style is so rich. besides the humor (top notch), so many times i found myself reading descriptions of feelings or small moments that my mind could barely grasp as i lived through them. but there they were, laid down so accurately on the page! this sentence barely makes sense but yeah.
THAT SAID, out of the three books in this series that i've read thus far, this is my least favorite. again, it was really good! just not my favorite. there's so much happening everywhere all the time with everyone and everything felt kind of scattered? so all the elements of the story kind of just... float aimlessly towards the ending? i don't know. i felt i was kind of grabbing at too many strings at the same time, and it made the story feel perhaps longer than it was. could be because this is also the book that's taken me by far the longest to finish cause i've been busy!
can't wait to dig into trk!i'm beyond heartbroken about persephone and jesse dittley. i loved them both so much
also, i was half expecting neeve to make a comeback sooner or later, but i wasn't expecting that ending! she knew piper's name but the latter hadn't ever told her what it was. so either she guessed it with her powers somehow, since she's such a powerful psychic, or she was there the whole time and overheard it when blue, the gray man, etc... were still there. creepy. why does she even make an appearance such a long time after they escape? like did she just stand there watching piper fading in and out of consciousness for however long that was???
i don't know how i feel about gwenllian! and i'm having trouble believing the guy blue found with maura actually is THEE artemus???? guess we'll see.
THAT SAID, out of the three books in this series that i've read thus far, this is my least favorite. again, it was really good! just not my favorite. there's so much happening everywhere all the time with everyone and everything felt kind of scattered? so all the elements of the story kind of just... float aimlessly towards the ending? i don't know. i felt i was kind of grabbing at too many strings at the same time, and it made the story feel perhaps longer than it was. could be because this is also the book that's taken me by far the longest to finish cause i've been busy!
can't wait to dig into trk!
also, i was half expecting neeve to make a comeback sooner or later, but i wasn't expecting that ending! she knew piper's name but the latter hadn't ever told her what it was. so either she guessed it with her powers somehow, since she's such a powerful psychic, or she was there the whole time and overheard it when blue, the gray man, etc... were still there. creepy. why does she even make an appearance such a long time after they escape? like did she just stand there watching piper fading in and out of consciousness for however long that was???
i don't know how i feel about gwenllian! and i'm having trouble believing the guy blue found with maura actually is THEE artemus???? guess we'll see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood
onefineelephant's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
8/10. Great addition to the series. Continues to surprise me and pull at my heartstrings. Very much would like to see both sets of potential couples get together and be relatively happy for at least a little bit in the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death
lennie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Grief