Blue Lily, Lily Blue, by Maggie Stiefvater

The third book of the four volume Raven Cycle accelerates the downhill trend begun in the second. While the first book was tightly constructed, the third is sprawling  and unfocussed.  Again, the characters seem to act solely to move the plot in whatever direction the author wants it to move, rather than with any interior logic to their natures and development. And the "bad" characters are not only caricatures, but actually silly. Yet there are still a few interesting aspects to the story (though less here even than in book 2), and if there were more than a single final book remaining to read I'd probably give up now and cut my losses. We'll see if it's worth it.

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Okay, The Dream Thieves is the second book of the four volume Raven Cycle, of which the first, was The Raven Boys. The second continues on with the main story-line, expanding and making it all more complex. The first volume was more taut, conceptually, and the second more sprawling, and in some central ways disappointing. That is, some of the characters appear to be motivated entirely by the author's needs for the plot, and that is a failing, especially when it pulls you out of the story as a reader and makes you think what-the-fuck. Overall I still enjoyed the book, primarily because as a fantasy novel it is unusual in what it attempts to do. So I found aspects of it surprising and intriguing. But I'm beginning to think it would make a better tv series than it does as books. I'll see what happens with volume 3. 

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

This YA book is an odd volume. Slow to find its groove, and set-up from the beginning with some strange plot strictures, it nevertheless comes into its own in the second half of the book. It's set in Virginia, where a young girl (from a family of psychics), with four boys from a privileged prep school, continue an improbable quest for the burial of Welsh historical figure Owen Glendower along ley lines in America. This is the first book of a four-book cycle, and it just ends without much plot resolution. But I am interested enough to check out the next volume.