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A review by fiekesfiction
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
In the Raven Boys series the plot is not a big storm that blasts through the books and keeps you in a constant rush. It is more a light breeze gently pushing you forward. It is a river dragging you along the current, but never drowning you. It feels like you are in the magical forest with the characters, surrounded by mystery and horrible things, but you have time to look around. You don’t need to run through it, there is time to wander. It makes you want to get lost there.
"...what she didn't realize about Blue and her boys was that they were all in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her or one another, analyzing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running one, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when they could be with one another. Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn't all-encompassing, that wasn't blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she'd had this kind, she didn't want the other."
This third book keeps building onto the story that has slowly been unfolding throughout the books. Although the plot is there and it is nice, what really stands out are the characters and the bounds they have built. Stiefvater has a beautiful ability to show how everyone relates to each other. The ways in which the characters think about the others and constantly reflect their own self image to what they want their friends to think of them, was fascinating. These people know each other and care about each other so deeply it makes you ache to crawl into the book and become a part of it. This is the type of book that makes me want to hug my friends, that makes me want to tell the people in my life how much I love them, the type of book that makes me feel so loved and happy. This book has a magical forest and it does follow the adventure of a group of children trying to wake an ancient welsh king but it describes friendships as inexplicably linked to all of it. There may be talking trees and dreams becoming reality, but (and call me cheesy however if you want) friendship is magic too. And friendship is the kind of magic that we can have. Maybe we will never be able to physically crawl into a cursed cave with a possessed bird, but perhaps we will find our own magic.
(And how lovely that I read these because a friend recommended them to me!)
This was probably my favorite part in the series. I have fallen completely in love with the characters and the magic of this world.
Here is a list of things I loved to see in this book, and my favorite moments, which I guess are spoilers but I just want to talk about it.
-Adam as a character really just stood out in this one. Everyone else was great as well but him especially.
- My favorite scene was when Gansey and Ronan came to court for Adam. They knew their friend needed them. But they also knew Adam and made sure it was okay. I loved how it showed Adam's growth, I loved how much their friendship means, I loved how they talked about it, I loved how this scene was focussed on and then the rest of what happened isn't shown. It is about the characters, not about adding dramatic scenes.
-I loved the moments with Adam and Ronan together (when they go shopping!)
-I also really liked the different dynamics in scenes where characters were teaming up. We get Adam and Blue (tense), Adam and Gansey (lovely how much they don't want to fight), Adam and Ronan (aaarghhsh), Blue and Gansey (the DRAMA), Blue and Ronan (interesting and nice) etc etc etc.
- Cabeswater protecting Adam from his father !!! That whole chapter and all the descriptions!!
- When Ronan and Adam make their secret plan and all the horrors that ensue
- The fact that there are multiple reflections on how they are all entangled in this web and how much of it is 'fate' and how they are all connected
- The phone calls between Blue and Gansey
- Noah's presence in general.
- The drama of Adam finding out about Gansey and just feeling the drama build up with all these secrets
- The dynamic with Blue's household was... interesting.
ALso shout out to this quote
"As they moved through the old barn, Adam felt Ronan’s eyes glance off him and away, his disinterest practiced but incomplete. Adam wondered if anyone else noticed. Part of him wished they did and immediately felt bad, because it was vanity, really:
See, Adam Parrish is wantable, worthy of a crush, not just by anyone, someone like Ronan, who could want Gansey or anyone else and chose Adam for his hungry eyes."
Read it and tell me this doesn't make you just want to scream forever.
The plot itself is... fine. I am not thrilled about the way this one ended but I AM very interested in where it will lead. Some of the plot was really slow and although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I can completely understand this not being for everyone. I expected the end that we were building towards to be a bit more... intense? Not that there wasn't a lot going on... but... idk.
This is probably my favorite in the series so far!
I’m really having a great time reading these and I can’t wait to get to the last one soon.
"...what she didn't realize about Blue and her boys was that they were all in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her or one another, analyzing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running one, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when they could be with one another. Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn't all-encompassing, that wasn't blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she'd had this kind, she didn't want the other."
This third book keeps building onto the story that has slowly been unfolding throughout the books. Although the plot is there and it is nice, what really stands out are the characters and the bounds they have built. Stiefvater has a beautiful ability to show how everyone relates to each other. The ways in which the characters think about the others and constantly reflect their own self image to what they want their friends to think of them, was fascinating. These people know each other and care about each other so deeply it makes you ache to crawl into the book and become a part of it. This is the type of book that makes me want to hug my friends, that makes me want to tell the people in my life how much I love them, the type of book that makes me feel so loved and happy. This book has a magical forest and it does follow the adventure of a group of children trying to wake an ancient welsh king but it describes friendships as inexplicably linked to all of it. There may be talking trees and dreams becoming reality, but (and call me cheesy however if you want) friendship is magic too. And friendship is the kind of magic that we can have. Maybe we will never be able to physically crawl into a cursed cave with a possessed bird, but perhaps we will find our own magic.
(And how lovely that I read these because a friend recommended them to me!)
This was probably my favorite part in the series. I have fallen completely in love with the characters and the magic of this world.
Here is a list of things I loved to see in this book, and my favorite moments, which I guess are spoilers but I just want to talk about it.
-Adam as a character really just stood out in this one. Everyone else was great as well but him especially.
- My favorite scene was when Gansey and Ronan came to court for Adam. They knew their friend needed them. But they also knew Adam and made sure it was okay. I loved how it showed Adam's growth, I loved how much their friendship means, I loved how they talked about it, I loved how this scene was focussed on and then the rest of what happened isn't shown. It is about the characters, not about adding dramatic scenes.
-I loved the moments with Adam and Ronan together (when they go shopping!)
-I also really liked the different dynamics in scenes where characters were teaming up. We get Adam and Blue (tense), Adam and Gansey (lovely how much they don't want to fight), Adam and Ronan (aaarghhsh), Blue and Gansey (the DRAMA), Blue and Ronan (interesting and nice) etc etc etc.
- Cabeswater protecting Adam from his father !!! That whole chapter and all the descriptions!!
- When Ronan and Adam make their secret plan and all the horrors that ensue
- The fact that there are multiple reflections on how they are all entangled in this web and how much of it is 'fate' and how they are all connected
- The phone calls between Blue and Gansey
- Noah's presence in general.
- The drama of Adam finding out about Gansey and just feeling the drama build up with all these secrets
- The dynamic with Blue's household was... interesting.
ALso shout out to this quote
"As they moved through the old barn, Adam felt Ronan’s eyes glance off him and away, his disinterest practiced but incomplete. Adam wondered if anyone else noticed. Part of him wished they did and immediately felt bad, because it was vanity, really:
See, Adam Parrish is wantable, worthy of a crush, not just by anyone, someone like Ronan, who could want Gansey or anyone else and chose Adam for his hungry eyes."
Read it and tell me this doesn't make you just want to scream forever.
The plot itself is... fine. I am not thrilled about the way this one ended but I AM very interested in where it will lead. Some of the plot was really slow and although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I can completely understand this not being for everyone. I expected the end that we were building towards to be a bit more... intense? Not that there wasn't a lot going on... but... idk.
This is probably my favorite in the series so far!
I’m really having a great time reading these and I can’t wait to get to the last one soon.