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booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE finds Blue with her world in turmoil after her mother's disappearance. The closer she and the Raven Boys become, the more they realize they don't know each other at all.
This is a point of inflection. As the teenagers finally pause a little to process the changes and revelations from the first two books they start to understand the assumptions they've been making until now, and even question them. It feels like they've grown so much since the first book, in a bunch of ways, but they're also a bit scattered as they needed to do things more on their own for a while. Large portions of the book feel like the calm before a storm, and the leading edge of it finally hits at the end of the book in some pretty devastating ways. I feel strange about it because I'm excited more for how this moves various pieces and plot points into place rather than being happy about anything in particular that happened. There's a lot of little moments I loved (Adam shines especially here, this portion of his arc is so good), but it's definitely getting ready for big things rather than actually doing many of them.
The best part of the book for me is definitely the moments when the characters pause to reflect on their inner worlds and their relationships with each other. This book is filled with those moments, sometimes because they're stressed and sometimes because they have a moment of calm, but they make their character growth evident in a bunch of little ways. I love how each of them keep thinking of themselves in relation to each other, and how their perceptions of each other have changed so much since the start of the series. I'm so happy for Adam, in particular, that he's figuring out when and whether he wants help rather than constantly refusing it or feeling like it's giving up to accept it.
The ableist language surrounding a particular new character was disappointing. Yes, the circumstances in which they found her would be hell on anyone’s mental health, but having her most frequent descriptor be variations on the same derogatory language about mental health over and over was very frustrating to read. Additionally, one of the antagonists seemed as though her main trait was finding ways to casually drop ableist slurs into every conversation. I do recommend this as part of the quartet, but it was frustrating enough that I don't know if I would recommend it if it were stand-alone.
This moves the plot forward on some things from the second book, but I can't think of anything that it wraps up completely. It doesn't really have its own storyline, there's a pair of antagonists who weren't physically present previously but at least one of whom was introduced in the second book. The biggest plot point in this book began in the last one and plays out here, but there is a pretty major thing which has its biggest moments in this book (even then it was technically teased in the first book, looked for in the second, then found here). This left a bunch of things to be resolved in the final book, some of which have been hanging since the start of the series. There's a mix of new and returning narrators, and all of their voices are distinct. This is very much a step on the way to the final volume, so it's not a problem that it couldn't stand on its own very well as its book three of a quartet. There's too much history needed for someone to understand most of the plot and its importance, and I don't think it would make sense if someone picked it up at random. That being said, it's good enough about naturally recapping important stuff that if it had been a while since reading the first two books it would probably be pretty easy to follow.
Overall it works as the third entry in the quartet but it has some frustrating ableism that makes me like it less than the first two books.
This is a point of inflection. As the teenagers finally pause a little to process the changes and revelations from the first two books they start to understand the assumptions they've been making until now, and even question them. It feels like they've grown so much since the first book, in a bunch of ways, but they're also a bit scattered as they needed to do things more on their own for a while. Large portions of the book feel like the calm before a storm, and the leading edge of it finally hits at the end of the book in some pretty devastating ways. I feel strange about it because I'm excited more for how this moves various pieces and plot points into place rather than being happy about anything in particular that happened. There's a lot of little moments I loved (Adam shines especially here, this portion of his arc is so good), but it's definitely getting ready for big things rather than actually doing many of them.
The best part of the book for me is definitely the moments when the characters pause to reflect on their inner worlds and their relationships with each other. This book is filled with those moments, sometimes because they're stressed and sometimes because they have a moment of calm, but they make their character growth evident in a bunch of little ways. I love how each of them keep thinking of themselves in relation to each other, and how their perceptions of each other have changed so much since the start of the series. I'm so happy for Adam, in particular, that he's figuring out when and whether he wants help rather than constantly refusing it or feeling like it's giving up to accept it.
The ableist language surrounding a particular new character was disappointing. Yes, the circumstances in which they found her would be hell on anyone’s mental health, but having her most frequent descriptor be variations on the same derogatory language about mental health over and over was very frustrating to read. Additionally, one of the antagonists seemed as though her main trait was finding ways to casually drop ableist slurs into every conversation. I do recommend this as part of the quartet, but it was frustrating enough that I don't know if I would recommend it if it were stand-alone.
This moves the plot forward on some things from the second book, but I can't think of anything that it wraps up completely. It doesn't really have its own storyline, there's a pair of antagonists who weren't physically present previously but at least one of whom was introduced in the second book. The biggest plot point in this book began in the last one and plays out here, but there is a pretty major thing which has its biggest moments in this book (even then it was technically teased in the first book, looked for in the second, then found here). This left a bunch of things to be resolved in the final book, some of which have been hanging since the start of the series. There's a mix of new and returning narrators, and all of their voices are distinct. This is very much a step on the way to the final volume, so it's not a problem that it couldn't stand on its own very well as its book three of a quartet. There's too much history needed for someone to understand most of the plot and its importance, and I don't think it would make sense if someone picked it up at random. That being said, it's good enough about naturally recapping important stuff that if it had been a while since reading the first two books it would probably be pretty easy to follow.
Overall it works as the third entry in the quartet but it has some frustrating ableism that makes me like it less than the first two books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Ableism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, and Domestic abuse
CW for major character death (graphic).chaotic_abi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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? It's complicated
4.0
Part 3 of is this a very confusing series or am I just dumb. Featuring every new book feeling more like a fever dream than the last
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gun violence
Moderate: Blood and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse and Pedophilia
gothicmoon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
no thoughts head empty except adam parrish adam parrish adam parrish
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, and Murder
beth_s98's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Blood
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
3.5
It's fall and school is starting again, but for Blue and the Raven Boys nothing normal. Blue's mother is still missing, the new Aglionby Latin teacher is Mr. Gray's old boss (and the man who ordered Niall Lynch's death), and the search for Glendower continues.
I was so excited to read this book after finishing the first two in The Raven Cycle series, and while I enjoyed it, in my opinion it wasn't as good as The Raven Boys or The Dream Thieves. While the other two books were dark, this one felt darker, and I didn't like the additions of Colin and Piper Greenmantle. On the other hand, I loved getting to meet Professor Malory and Jesse Dittley. I loved the tension and yearning between Blue and Gansey in this book, and there were several other scenes I liked (Adam's court scene!!), but overall I was a bit disappointed and I really hope The Raven King is better!
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just my judgement of how happy the ending is because I always wish someone would tell me that before I read books):Generally happy, but also a bit of a cliffhanger. Good thing I already got the next book from the library!
I was so excited to read this book after finishing the first two in The Raven Cycle series, and while I enjoyed it, in my opinion it wasn't as good as The Raven Boys or The Dream Thieves. While the other two books were dark, this one felt darker, and I didn't like the additions of Colin and Piper Greenmantle. On the other hand, I loved getting to meet Professor Malory and Jesse Dittley. I loved the tension and yearning between Blue and Gansey in this book, and there were several other scenes I liked (Adam's court scene!!), but overall I was a bit disappointed and I really hope The Raven King is better!
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just my judgement of how happy the ending is because I always wish someone would tell me that before I read books):
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Murder
camillou's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Grief
a_robin_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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Information:
- Spotify audiobook
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Review:
Another solid part in The raven cycle. I still need some more from the story.
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Review previously placed on my blog:
Review previously placed on my blog:
I'm currently reading Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater. This is the third book in The raven cycle. I'm listening to the audiobook that I got for free from Spotify.
Really liking this so far. Maybe more then the other books, but I think it will be the same rating as the other two, which was 4 stars.
Yes, it was the same rating. 4 stars again. I'm sort of disappointed that it has the same mystery in every book if you get what I mean. That will be solved in the last one of course, but I don't really like that. Was a good book, the creepy factor was up there, which was nice as well.
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Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Grief