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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Stiefvater's books always make me ache at the end. Both delicious and sad. I love this book, as usual, and I love her work, as always.
To Read my full review take a look here at Mom-Musings
My Letter to Ballad
Dear Ballad,
Oh Ballad, Ballad, Ballad. You have woven me around your finger even when I was unsettled and not sure I wanted to like you as much as I do.
From your first lines, your creator's magical prose spun around in my head, weaved and sung so that I could not put you down.
I found myself flipping though your pages wanting to know what will come of James, Dee and Nuala. I found myself caught up in the life of James and the magical world of the Fae. My dear Ballad, you sister-book Lament sung to me, captured me and held me and you have done the same.
In case you did not know, I adored James in Lament but with you I found that I cared for him far greater. Dear sweet and conniving Ballad you have forever endeared James to my heart. You endeared him with his sharp wit, vulnerability, compassion and loyalty.
You showed me James for the cool teenager that he is. You showed me his smarts, talent and courage.
Dear Ballad, I am going to tell you, James is a boy that would make a fabulous friend/boyfriend. He has a great sense of self even when he has his moments of feeling out of place. James, simply put, is amazing. I thank you, Ballad, for bringing James into my fictional world.
Yes Ballad, I was riveted to your pages and I am satisfied.
My Letter to Ballad
Dear Ballad,
Oh Ballad, Ballad, Ballad. You have woven me around your finger even when I was unsettled and not sure I wanted to like you as much as I do.
From your first lines, your creator's magical prose spun around in my head, weaved and sung so that I could not put you down.
I found myself flipping though your pages wanting to know what will come of James, Dee and Nuala. I found myself caught up in the life of James and the magical world of the Fae. My dear Ballad, you sister-book Lament sung to me, captured me and held me and you have done the same.
In case you did not know, I adored James in Lament but with you I found that I cared for him far greater. Dear sweet and conniving Ballad you have forever endeared James to my heart. You endeared him with his sharp wit, vulnerability, compassion and loyalty.
You showed me James for the cool teenager that he is. You showed me his smarts, talent and courage.
Dear Ballad, I am going to tell you, James is a boy that would make a fabulous friend/boyfriend. He has a great sense of self even when he has his moments of feeling out of place. James, simply put, is amazing. I thank you, Ballad, for bringing James into my fictional world.
Yes Ballad, I was riveted to your pages and I am satisfied.
Maggie Stiefvater is definitely one of my top 10 favorite authors. This book was captivating, and kept me guessing as to the outcome for 3/4 of the book, which is unusual for romances. Her main character was complex, and you couldn't help but love him. I feel like her characters were more fleshed out and idiosyncratic in this book than in her last. However, the end left me somewhat dissatisfied- I felt like Dee was a major part of this story, but her side of the story was only hinted at and I wanted to know more. Adding a third book to this series would answer a lot of questions, but I'm not sure this author plans to do that. On one hand, she answers all the questions, but not everything is tied up in a neat little bow, which I respect, but I also feel like there is more story left to tell for all these characters. Keep writing Maggie!
I'm giving this two stars solely for the last like 30 pages, the rest of the book was just one giant No from me.
My biggest gripe was that this book completely ruined everything that happened in the first one. Like I get that we were supposed to see characters in a different light but this book just completely did a 180 on certain characters.
Also, there was basically no plot until the last 150ish pages.
So yeah I didn't like this book until the very end. Overall, 2 stars
My biggest gripe was that this book completely ruined everything that happened in the first one. Like I get that we were supposed to see characters in a different light but this book just completely did a 180 on certain characters.
Also, there was basically no plot until the last 150ish pages.
So yeah I didn't like this book until the very end. Overall, 2 stars
Besides the similar concept of homicidal fey and a couple of reoccurring characters, this book has absolutely nothing in common with Lament, it's preceding novel.
But that's okay. I enjoyed it just as much. And many people enjoyed it a ton more.
In the second novel of Maggie Stiefvater's Books of Faerie, the story is told from James Morgan's perspective. That's right, the wise-cracking, sarcastic, smart-aleck that we all loved in Lament. His voice replaces Deirdre Monaghan's more dreamy, ethereal kind of narrating. And you can't help but love it.
Seriously, James' snark and wit is some of the best I've ever read. (It even rivals Jace's from Mortal Instruments. That's how great it is). He does use quite a bit of crude language though, sometimes there's quite a bit, and I cringe. That's the reason why a star is knocked off in the rating.
But along comes Nuala, a "leanan sidhe", or solitary fey that feeds off of talented humans. In return, they get inspiration, fame, and basically everything they want.
Until they die.
And Nuala can only live 16 years before burning to ashes, and then rising again with absolutely no recollection of her past lives.
Maggie has done it again, by bringing in a mixture of Celtic folklore and unforgettable characters.
I won't say anymore, besides that if you loved Lament, I suggest that you be prepared for something totally different, yet at the same time, Maggie-esque in Ballad.
But that's okay. I enjoyed it just as much. And many people enjoyed it a ton more.
In the second novel of Maggie Stiefvater's Books of Faerie, the story is told from James Morgan's perspective. That's right, the wise-cracking, sarcastic, smart-aleck that we all loved in Lament. His voice replaces Deirdre Monaghan's more dreamy, ethereal kind of narrating. And you can't help but love it.
Seriously, James' snark and wit is some of the best I've ever read. (It even rivals Jace's from Mortal Instruments. That's how great it is). He does use quite a bit of crude language though, sometimes there's quite a bit, and I cringe. That's the reason why a star is knocked off in the rating.
But along comes Nuala, a "leanan sidhe", or solitary fey that feeds off of talented humans. In return, they get inspiration, fame, and basically everything they want.
Until they die.
And Nuala can only live 16 years before burning to ashes, and then rising again with absolutely no recollection of her past lives.
Maggie has done it again, by bringing in a mixture of Celtic folklore and unforgettable characters.
I won't say anymore, besides that if you loved Lament, I suggest that you be prepared for something totally different, yet at the same time, Maggie-esque in Ballad.
for full review check out http://katesbooklife.blogspot.com/2011/09/ballad-gathering-faerie-books-of-faerie.html
3.5
So...I'm a little disappointed, I guess. I liked Lament so much more than this, probably because I love Dee and Luke and in this one Dee was just broken and Luke wasn't even there. Bah. But, hey, Maggie is still Maggie and I just love her writing style too much, soooo...can I read her grocery list?
I hope Requiem will be out at some point, because they deserve a happy ending.
It isn't that I didn't like Ballad, because I did, it's just that the characters frustrated me to no end. James, was really funny, but in spite of that I didn't like him, I mean, I get it, he is hurting because Dee ignores him and she is in love with Luke, but after all, she saved his life, and when he said that she owed him I couldn't help but think that he was an ass. And then we have Nuala. Oh God, she was terrible, I disliked her so much and she was freaking creepy.
So, I had a problem with James as a narrator, but I enjoyed this anyway just because of the way the faeries were portrayed.
Now I just have to wait for Requiem.
So...I'm a little disappointed, I guess. I liked Lament so much more than this, probably because I love Dee and Luke and in this one Dee was just broken and Luke wasn't even there. Bah. But, hey, Maggie is still Maggie and I just love her writing style too much, soooo...can I read her grocery list?
I hope Requiem will be out at some point, because they deserve a happy ending.
It isn't that I didn't like Ballad, because I did, it's just that the characters frustrated me to no end. James, was really funny, but in spite of that I didn't like him, I mean, I get it, he is hurting because Dee ignores him and she is in love with Luke, but after all, she saved his life, and when he said that she owed him I couldn't help but think that he was an ass. And then we have Nuala. Oh God, she was terrible, I disliked her so much and she was freaking creepy.
So, I had a problem with James as a narrator, but I enjoyed this anyway just because of the way the faeries were portrayed.
Now I just have to wait for Requiem.
WILL THERE BE A THIRD ONEEEE :D
I loved this book, I actually liked it better than the first one. I think I related to James better, and he was more interesting to read about.
I loved this book, I actually liked it better than the first one. I think I related to James better, and he was more interesting to read about.
This isn’t really a 5 star book, but it’s one of my favorites still so it gets 5 stars anyway.
This time around, I can see that some parts haven’t aged well (the texts from Dee), and I’m so disappointed that Requiem will probably never happen, because Dee deserves better than what she got in this book. And I would love to have more Luke!
But the reasons I loved this book the first times I read it are still the reasons I love it now. The prose is beautiful. James and Nuala are absolutely brilliant. I love their story. And Sullivan! What a guy! I would gladly read hundreds of pages about Sullivan, but as this is all we get, I’ll take it.
This time around, I can see that some parts haven’t aged well (the texts from Dee), and I’m so disappointed that Requiem will probably never happen, because Dee deserves better than what she got in this book. And I would love to have more Luke!
But the reasons I loved this book the first times I read it are still the reasons I love it now. The prose is beautiful. James and Nuala are absolutely brilliant. I love their story. And Sullivan! What a guy! I would gladly read hundreds of pages about Sullivan, but as this is all we get, I’ll take it.
So, i wasn't expecting this book to be so important to me. I read the first installment, and i enjoyed it, but it definitely showed that it was a debut work. This one, however, was a complete upgrade. You can most definitely see how much Maggie's writing and sense of character improved. And speaking of characters, oh my god, i adore James. James was an absolute gift to me! He reminded me SO FREAKING MUCH of myself. His smartass-ness, his pessimism, his slowness to trust, his blind loyalty to his friends, his sharp insecurity and self-criticism, but mostly, his anxiety and compulsions. While his anxiety and OCD are different from mine, it is still the closest i've ever felt to seeing myself, and my mental illness, represented in a novel. Then of course there was the AMAZING, slow-build romance, which was just perfection. And Maggie's absolutely stunning prose! I consider this to be one of my all-time favorite novels of hers now. It was just, everything i needed right now.