Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This e-galley was provided by NetGalley and Scholastic in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: 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.
How do I even begin with this book? Blue Lily, Lily Blue is the third book in the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. I discovered books 1 and 2 only earlier this year, and completely fell in love. Stiefvater is now one of my favorite authors. (I could hardly contain my excitement when I was approved for this ARC.)
So book 3 is very similar to books 1 and 2 in that each and every character is extremely well developed and I just couldn’t put the book down. There is such depth of character – it gets me every time. The multiple POVs were also really well done, and so the reader gets glimpses into everyone’s heads. (Including the villain!)
Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah are still on the hunt for Glendower. Of course, they’ve faced many complications preceding the beginning of book 3. (Let me jog your memory – assassin, Greywaren, Cabeswater, missing person).
Morale is low. Blue is alternately depressed and angry. Ronan and Adam are just dealing with the every-day challenges of their newfound gifts (powers? abilities?). Gansey is trying to keep the peace as usual. The search for Glendower has taken on a new level of seriousness. There is more magic in this book, more mystery. But the underlying tone of sadness persists, and is culminated toward the end of the book in a terribly tragic event that nearly brought me to tears.
Overall, I felt this was sort of a transition book. Everything has changed for Blue and the gang. And we have no idea what the outcome will be in book 4. Points for characters, story world, magic, and unpredictability!
GAH! The wait for book 4 is going to be long and difficult.
Release date: Oct. 21, 2014 (That’s TOMORROW, my friends!)
*Super excited because I preordered a signed hardcover copy of the book and it should be here SOON. And not only is it signed by Maggie Stiefvater, but she has doodled in it. You should be so jealous. 😉