Wednesday 27 April 2016

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater // the series that just gets better and better


Title: Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Mythology
Warnings: mentions of past child abuse, blood, death
Rating: 5 stars
Goodreads | Book Depository
The world of Henrietta and Cabeswater becomes more and more fascinating with each book. I've changed my mind: this is my favourite book in the series (although, with book 4 finally being released this is probably due to change again).

Blue Lily, Lily Blue finds Blue and her raven boys back on the hunt for Glendower, the mysterious and ancient Welsh king. This book is by far the most plot driven of the three. When before magical trees and waking dreams seemed like a beautiful idea, it finally all feels real.

The characters are faced with their own mortality throughout the book. The stakes are higher now they know who else shares their mission, but the reality of it all finally sets in. I've said it before and I'll say it again: no writer can create a fantasy series with characters quite so three dimensional and self aware as Stiefvater can.

Adam, the focal character of this book, truly flourishes in Blue Lily, Lily Blue, reaching new unimaginable potential that you would have never imagined from book 1. In each book a character undergoes a major character arc that is written so fluidly that it's almost impossible to believe that their potential wasn't seen from the beginning, and Adam has shown the greatest character development yet.

Blue also really comes into her own in this book, and I was able to connect with her character a lot more when I began to see her feisty personality rather than be told about it. For Ronan and Gansey, walls come down for both of them in different ways and I saw them in new lights, as did the other characters. I love this idea Stiefvater writes about that people are unknowable, even to those closest to them, and it is this blend of progression of character and plot development that makes the series so vivid.

I love it when a series follows a theme throughout, and The Raven Cycle does just that with several running motifs. It's a shame that this series is so near the end, because I would gladly read about the adventures Blue and the boys have forever.


Diversity Note: gay protagonist

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