Review of ‘Blue Lily, Lily Blue’ (The Raven Cycle Series #3) by Maggie Stiefvater. Discover the poetic power of friendship, magic, and mystery in the third installment of The Raven Cycle. Blue Lily, Lily Blue deepens the eerie charm and emotional complexity that Maggie Stiefvater is known for. With its lyrical prose, character-driven storytelling, and delicious layers of secrets, this novel will sweep you back into Henrietta alongside Blue and her Raven Boys. If you’ve been craving a story that feels both intimate and mythical, Blue Lily, Lily Blue is the one to pick up next.
The magic of friendship and mystery in Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
Synopsis
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.
Review
I honestly liked this book more than The Dream Thieves, and that surprised me. There’s something about how all the characters come together again in this one that just felt right. Everyone was truly present. Blue, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, even Noah in his ghostly, fleeting way. It made the book feel emotionally richer. I loved having the gang fully back together, and the dynamic between them has never felt more genuine.
This series continues to feel strangely poetic. I don’t know how else to describe it. There’s a rhythm to the way Stiefvater tells stories, like you’re reading a spell as much as a book. The dialogue, the internal monologues, the strange pacing. It’s all so atmospheric. And somehow, even when the plot gets tangled in visions and Welsh kings and magical caves, I never feel lost. I just flow right through it. It’s a fast read, but one that lingers.
Ronan really shone in this book for me. I liked him well enough in book two, but here? He felt more grounded, more connected to the rest of the group again, and I loved that. Mr. Gray also grew on me in such a surprising way. And of course, Gansey and Blue continue to tug at all my emotions. Their chemistry is so full of longing and quiet intensity that I could read pages of them just talking and be perfectly content. Adam, too, has some really powerful moments of growth. His arc is slow and complicated, but so worth following.
As for the audiobook, I listened to parts of it while driving, and while I had to get used to the narrator at first, I think he did a great job portraying such a wide range of voices. It really brought the characters to life in a different way and added something special to the experience.
Final thoughts? I’m really excited for the next one. There’s such an ominous sense of build-up happening now, like all the threads are finally pulling tight. I can’t wait to see where it goes. If you’ve made it this far in the series, you’re in for something magical with Blue Lily, Lily Blue.
Rating
8/10
Details
- Trigger warnings: Disappearance of a parent, violence, references to death, emotional manipulation, mild language, themes of grief and trauma
- Themes: Found family, the weight of destiny, the cost of magic, friendship and loyalty, identity, and sacrifice
- Representation: Some socioeconomic diversity (Adam’s background), subtle queer-coded relationships (though not explicit in this installment), a focus on non-traditional family dynamics
- Genre: Paranormal fantasy (young adult)
- Pages: 391
- Publication date: October 21, 2014
- Publisher: Scholastic Press
- About the author:
New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.
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