Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater: Too many good things?!

Blue Lily, Lily Blue 

by 

Maggie Stiefvater

How do I even review the brilliance that is this entire series? Why do these seem less like reviews and more like incoherent gushing over these books?  

In fact I’m going to start with my dislikes of the book so that I can then gush without restraint. Also spoilers but what can you really expect from a review of the third book in the series.

Two dislikes

You guys probably guessed this already. The language. Why?! If you are as good a writer as Maggie Stiefvater then there is literally no reason you need to include that. Frankly I would have shoved this book into my little sister’s hands with a burning passion if it weren’t for the f-bombs every third page.

 Ah sisterly responsibility. Ronan I am looking at you. Though Greenmantle had his fair share of curses. Speaking of Greenmantle

Greenmantle: Frankly I’m not even sure if this was a dislike or really just vaguely unexpected.

Regardless I haven’t quite sorted out how I feel so for now it’s here. Greenmantle was . . . not what I expected. He was actually kind of wimpy. Completely hateful of course, seriously a complete and utter jerk, but not particularly scary. Maybe I just misinterpreted his build up or I’ve been ruined by Sherlock’s Moriatiy

(because of course that show I imagined him duh). But he showed up and his character was centered around his distaste for getting his hands dirty so once I met him he was as consistent and lovely as everybody else.

               I guess I sort of expected him to be a bit more of the main antagonist while he was really more like one of the several threats in the story so all in all it was kind of my fault.

Characters

Blue: Because Blue is technically the main character in this one, I mean they’re all the main characters but Blue is the most important one. She is sassy and short so I feel her pain muchly.

And can we appreciate how Gansey called her Jane basically to tick her off. Anyway Blue being the only non-psychic in a house full of psychics is hilarious. Mostly because it’s her job to remind them that normal people can’t see the future and to eat all the yogurt in the house.

Also to increase their power because Blue is apparently a mirror?! Everything about her is fabulous and amazing.

Gansey: What am I going to do with you Gansey? He’s a jerk and oblivious and yet completely caring and head over heels for Blue which is hilarious. He also manages to offend literally everyone in Blue’s house from borrowing Blue too often or bringing over an ancient witch, who is definitely not crazy, to sleep over. Gansey I do have to question your logic on that one.

Adam: I’m so proud of you Adam. Also his conversations with Cabeswater were fabulous. For those of you who didn’t read the other books but are still reading this Adam basically agreed to be the eyes and ears of the super creepy mystical forest. It sends him out on errands like fixing ley lines and even stabbed his dad with a bunch of thorns when he tried to threaten him into retracting his charges of abuse.

So yeah Cabeswater and I are good.    

Ronan: Dang Ronan your dream power is freaking brutal. Also can I have more chapters with Chainsaw because she is absolutely adorable! Anyway Ronan actually matured believe it or not! I think maybe Kavinsky served as a cautionary tale.

Noah: I love Noah. He’s such a sweet little dead boy. When he’s not reenacting his death or possessed by psychotic witches.   

Anyway onto the likes

The characters: are still so impressive. I mean there is a hit man who likes ancient poetry and is dating the main characters mom, a dead boy who really just wants everybody to stop calling him creepy, and a ‘spider in the center of his web’ whose wife is actually a lot scarier than him.

 And there is a character with anxiety, and a character who was abused, and a character who literally died from wasps and oh my gosh Gansey why are you even going outside!?

               Speaking of the abused character I swear every time Parrish’s father showed up I wanted him dead. He’s basically a second Umbrage!

I could not even deal with myself when he was talking. And they way Adam dealt with it! And how Gansey and Ronan showed up at the court case!

Character development! There was so much in this book. Ronan got his act together (which makes me love him even more)! Adam stopped being a prideful git for five whole minutes! Even Gansey admitted that he was a terrible person sometimes! Actually the only one who didn’t have a crap-ton of character development was Noah . . .  and that’s because he’s dead. Still I kind of wish that Noah was in it more.

Gansey and Blue, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

I never expected to actually like them together but I do and I am very proud of myself. But Gansey is basically guaranteed to die so color me extremely concerned.

I love this series so much. I need exactly ten more books.