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afterlife's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence and Blood
Minor: Child abuse
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Violence and Blood
a_ira's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Blood and Death of parent
mengzhenreads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Gaslighting
lujisa's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Rape
jenarae's review against another edition
- 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
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
- 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
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
grimmdark's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
annalee_brant29's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Animal death and Blood
andromeda_1998's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Characters
Like the first 2 books, I love most of them! The characters are well put together and they feel very real.
Storytelling
Some chapters in bllb feel a bit sticht together. Like blue’s midday with the garden of Jesse. We hear that the boys where really worried about her but it would have been better to also read about it from there point of view. Some time we are just thrown from one chapter to the next without really getting context. Which makes the bridges between the chapters unstable but overal it’s a really good book.
Plot
The plot is good but this book suffers from the same feeling the second book has. They feel a bit as filler episode (to me) and I don’t really understand why. I’m really curious about the last book of the raven cycle, maybe it makes me understand some of the choices Maggie Stiefvater made in these books.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Abandonment