Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3)

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

This thread is to discuss Blue Lily, Lily Blue, the third book in the The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater.


Pages: 391 pages


Length: 1 Month (August)


Participants: Ruthie, Eirelyn, Isabella


Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!


Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.


Happy Buddy Reading!

[Eirelyn]

Thanks, SarahKat! :D

[Ruthie]

My library app is saying I'll have it in 2 weeks

[Eirelyn]

Okay, great. I was planning to start a different book first. :D

[Ruthie]

Perfect! Which one are you starting?

[Eirelyn]

I think I'm going to start Looking for Alaska first since it's a standalone. I have been reading 3 books per month and that has been pretty good for me, but this month I have an extra book...but other than Looking for Alaska, they're all series, so I figure if I don't get one of them completely finished, rolling over into the next month won't be a big deal. :D

[Ruthie]

That sounds like a good book! You'll have to let me know how it is! Your approach makes sense! Good luck with finishing everything this month.

[Eirelyn]

Thanks! :D

[Ruthie]

Started today!

[Eirelyn]

Awesome! I'm still working on my 3rd book, but this one is next! :D I'll probably start early next week.

[Eirelyn]

Just started this today! :D I've only read the Prologue so far.

[Eirelyn]

I'm through ch. 7 now. (view spoiler)[I feel so badly for poor Noah. :( He's tired of being a ghost but also afraid of fully dying. The longer he stays a ghost, though, the more distraught he'll probably become. I imagine they will lay him to rest properly at some point. I kind of hope so because he definitely doesn't seem happy existing unnaturally between life & death.

Also, it drives me nuts every time Gansey calls Blue "Jane." I've disliked that right from the start. It was such an elitist, privileged thing to do -- "I don't like your name so I'm going to call you whatever I want." Gansey acts so much like he doesn't want to be that type of person, but every time he calls her Jane, that's exactly what he sounds like. And maybe he means it in a teasing way -- maybe he has meant it that way all along -- just to get under her skin because he likes her, but it's a weird, kind of condescending way to tease. I think this is one of the reasons why Gansey has been my least favorite character in this series all along -- he says over & over again that he doesn't want to act like the privileged private school jerk, but he has done exactly that time & time again throughout this series. (hide spoiler)]

[Ruthie]

Yes I totally agree with you about Noah and Gansey!

I finished it but haven't rated it yet. I might give it only 3 stars. Compared to the first two it was definitely meh for me. The first half I liked better but it just felt anti-climatic and at the end, my audiobook said "the end" and I thought "really?? that's it" lol

I'm not sure if the publishers wanted the author to draw it out into 4 books. I wanted more to happen so when we read the next it will be interesting to see if the two could have been combined but weren't or what we think of the conclusion.

[Eirelyn]

Ooh, interesting thoughts, Ruthie. I'll have to keep those in mind as I continue reading. :D

I read a little more after my previous post (I'm through ch. 14 now) and there was mention of possibly (view spoiler)[trying to bring Noah back to life when they find Glendower. I just...really don't see this being part of the end game though. I think it's going to be more desperate than this -- possibly saving a certain someone else from dying...?

Also, just a side note, there are too many G names in this: Gansey, Glendower, Gray Man, Graywaren, Greenmantle... lol (hide spoiler)]

[Eirelyn]

(I'm through ch. 27)

I have to say, there's something about this whole series that I just really like, lol. It's the feeling of it. The way the settings are described. It just feels comfortable to read. I don't know how else to describe it, but I've felt this way while reading each book in this series so far. :D

Also, I'm interested to find out more about all of the (view spoiler)[looks & things that Ronan has been giving Adam. This has been mentioned/hinted at numerous times throughout the series (especially in this book & the last one), but there has never been much focus or explanation for it. I've definitely been getting the feeling that Ronan maybe has a thing (whether it's a romantic thing or platonic "man-crush" thing) for Adam, and I look forward to finding out more about this. (hide spoiler)]

Plus, there are all of the things (view spoiler)[Ronan has done for Adam. Examples I can think of off the top of my head are 1) well, obviously in book 1 when Ronan saved Adam from his abusive dad, 2) in book 2, when Ronan fixed it so Adam's rent was lowered or something so he could pay for his tuition (or was it the other way around? Either way...lol) and anonymously at that -- Adam thought it was Gansey all along, and 3) in this book, when Ronan came by the shop & he & Adam fought...and then Adam found the moisturizer that Ronan had left for his hands. So thoughtful. Things like this are why I actually really like Ronan's character, despite how cold & hard he tries to act. (hide spoiler)]

[Eirelyn]

Also... lol...

(I'm having a lot of thoughts about this novel/series tonight. XD Still just through ch. 27.)

These characters feel so well developed, especially for the YA/Fantasy genre. I read a lot in this area, and I feel like the characters in this book have so much more depth than what I typically find in this genre. They each have very clear attributes, but they also have very realistic flaws as well. (view spoiler)[And while some of those flaws kind of annoy me (Ronan acting like a jerk most of the time, or Gansey being completely clueless about how not to act like a richie-rich elitist), they also make the characters feel relatable and genuine...which makes them more interesting to read about. Because I think that if Ronan didn't act like a jerk 99% of the time, his acts of kindness wouldn't seem as touching as they do. Or if Gansey didn't act cluelessly condescending a lot of the time, there wouldn't be that struggle of him wanting to be more...*normal* I guess, and less "of the 1%." (hide spoiler)] So, while some of those things irritate me, I think they work really well for the characters' depths & for the story as a whole.

[Ruthie]

I totally agree with you! I think the way the settings are described and the characters and their flaws and developments are great and have been enjoyable to read about. I just think this one fell a little flat in terms of the plot moving along. Which is ok but not what I expected for a third book.

Yes there is too many "G" names lol!

Yes I hope the next book has more of Ronan's POV so we can get to the bottom of those things

(view spoiler)[ After the cave encounter in the first half where they "rescued" that lady that was in the coffin, I thought whoa that was cool I wonder what the rest of the book has in store. But now looking back I think that was the coolest part of the book which is why I liked the first half better than the second. (hide spoiler)]

[Eirelyn]

...and yet another G: Gwenllian

lol