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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Review here: http://geekyreading.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-ballad-gathering-of-faerie-by.html
I really like this series. Please tell me she is writing another one and fixing up all the loose ends. I can't sleep!
This was one unique book! At the last page I was smiling! I'm going to miss the guys from Ballad. For me this one was the better one! ♥
4 stars! I loved it, it's way better than Lament!
I didn't like Deirdre in Lament but in Ballad I really hate her. I mean what the hell is she doing. I don't understand the text messages yet and I hope I will before the ending, but anyway they annoy me. She annoys me. Really how the hell does she do that, so much!
What I think that is surprising is that Stiefvater made me love this book. I didn't really like Lament and I just read it because I wanted to read this one and halfway through Lament I wanted to finish it to know what happened or what was going to happen.
I can't stop reading this one because I love James. Thank heaven he is the main character right now. He is so sarcastic and he has an amazing style of humour and he is sassy.
Nuala is a person I have to get used to. However I can totally understand that she is not that open. Which I need to know if I like the character. She must be closed because she feeds on those humans and because she is almost dying. I like her when she finds out that she loves James but still calls him loser or whatever. She doesn't give in. (Way better than Deirdre and Luke)Though it's still the thing with killing and murder. Nuala also killed people so I think that if I know that, that would be a total no-go for me.
I also wonder what Eleanor is up to, I don't trust her and I never did. I don't understand how people could. I wonder what would happen to Paul and Sullivan. What the hell Delia is doing in there (should that woman not be killed by someone or atleast looked up in an aslym?!) and maybe also what would happen with Deirdre and her talking about Luke is here, he is not here blablabla.
So I just have to finish this as fast as I could.
[23/01/13]
so I finished the book in the middle of the night and I first want to say that I didn't totally understand the last part with Eleanor and Deirdre and the king of death bladiebla. I mean I missed it that Delia got killed by Sullivan. (in one way or another)
I think that it was very difficult for James to leave Nuala but you see his is realistic more than Deirdre who actually forgot him, he is really in a fight with himself which one to pick. He is praying that he could save both but he know he couldn't and than he is thinking me or the world and so he picks the world, which makes him in my eyes a true hero and I'm glad he got his Nuala back.
I liked Sullivan, I want to say that because I never mentioned him very much. He is just that teacher you have to love because he doesn't do things like idiot teacher will and he trust James. He is like the friend-teacher. Which is good. I'm glad he kind of survived.
And I'm thankful for Paul because: Nuala.
I would like to have a better explination though about Deirdre and Linnet because just: What the hell happened? We never had an answer about how it happened or why and is it just me but it's never mentioned that Linnet was missing, while Deirdre her text messages was sooner then Halloween..Really confusing.
I didn't like Deirdre in Lament but in Ballad I really hate her. I mean what the hell is she doing. I don't understand the text messages yet and I hope I will before the ending, but anyway they annoy me. She annoys me. Really how the hell does she do that, so much!
What I think that is surprising is that Stiefvater made me love this book. I didn't really like Lament and I just read it because I wanted to read this one and halfway through Lament I wanted to finish it to know what happened or what was going to happen.
I can't stop reading this one because I love James. Thank heaven he is the main character right now. He is so sarcastic and he has an amazing style of humour and he is sassy.
Nuala is a person I have to get used to. However I can totally understand that she is not that open. Which I need to know if I like the character. She must be closed because she feeds on those humans and because she is almost dying. I like her when she finds out that she loves James but still calls him loser or whatever. She doesn't give in. (Way better than Deirdre and Luke)Though it's still the thing with killing and murder. Nuala also killed people so I think that if I know that, that would be a total no-go for me.
I also wonder what Eleanor is up to, I don't trust her and I never did. I don't understand how people could. I wonder what would happen to Paul and Sullivan. What the hell Delia is doing in there (should that woman not be killed by someone or atleast looked up in an aslym?!) and maybe also what would happen with Deirdre and her talking about Luke is here, he is not here blablabla.
So I just have to finish this as fast as I could.
[23/01/13]
so I finished the book in the middle of the night and I first want to say that I didn't totally understand the last part with Eleanor and Deirdre and the king of death bladiebla. I mean I missed it that Delia got killed by Sullivan. (in one way or another)
I think that it was very difficult for James to leave Nuala but you see his is realistic more than Deirdre who actually forgot him, he is really in a fight with himself which one to pick. He is praying that he could save both but he know he couldn't and than he is thinking me or the world and so he picks the world, which makes him in my eyes a true hero and I'm glad he got his Nuala back.
I liked Sullivan, I want to say that because I never mentioned him very much. He is just that teacher you have to love because he doesn't do things like idiot teacher will and he trust James. He is like the friend-teacher. Which is good. I'm glad he kind of survived.
And I'm thankful for Paul because: Nuala.
I would like to have a better explination though about Deirdre and Linnet because just: What the hell happened? We never had an answer about how it happened or why and is it just me but it's never mentioned that Linnet was missing, while Deirdre her text messages was sooner then Halloween..Really confusing.
nezinu, kas mani sajūsmināja pirms daudziem gadiem tā, ka ieliku 5 zvaigznes, bet tagad tā ir tikai uzbūvēta pasaule ar neatbildētiem jautājumiem. kā arī mulsina lasīšanas kārtība, jo pieļauju, ka bija jāsāk ar Lamento, bet uz grāmatas tas nav norādīts.
i?? have definitely read this but just apparently never marked it as such? anyway iirc this one was better than lament but still not my fav stiefvater by any means
After I read the first installment of this series, I said that I was eagerly awaiting the next installment. Well my wait for volume 2 is over, and now I have to be patient about volume 3.
Ballad is told by James and Nuala. James was an important character in Lament, since he is Diedre's best friend. He has started at a new school, Thornking-Ash to be with Dee. Nuala is a Leanan Sidhe, one of the many faeries who populate this story.
It took me a little while to remember James and Diedre's story, but once I got that back, Ballad moved quickly. I am not sure how this book would read if you had not read Lament. I think it would be possible to follow the story, but having read Lament made everything clearer.
Because I had read Lament, it was obvious that this was a continuation of Dee's involvement with the faerie world and that James would be drawn in because of his involvement with Nuala.
As the story moved forward, I could hardly put the book down. What was going to happen to James and Diedre's relationship? How does Paul, Sullivan and Nuala fit into the tale? Why are the faeries so interested in Dee.
All I can say is read this book. You will find it intriguing if you have not read Lament, and if you have read the first volume, you won't be able to let go of this book until the very end.
Now, where is volume 3?
Ballad is told by James and Nuala. James was an important character in Lament, since he is Diedre's best friend. He has started at a new school, Thornking-Ash to be with Dee. Nuala is a Leanan Sidhe, one of the many faeries who populate this story.
It took me a little while to remember James and Diedre's story, but once I got that back, Ballad moved quickly. I am not sure how this book would read if you had not read Lament. I think it would be possible to follow the story, but having read Lament made everything clearer.
Because I had read Lament, it was obvious that this was a continuation of Dee's involvement with the faerie world and that James would be drawn in because of his involvement with Nuala.
As the story moved forward, I could hardly put the book down. What was going to happen to James and Diedre's relationship? How does Paul, Sullivan and Nuala fit into the tale? Why are the faeries so interested in Dee.
All I can say is read this book. You will find it intriguing if you have not read Lament, and if you have read the first volume, you won't be able to let go of this book until the very end.
Now, where is volume 3?
This book was MUCH better than the first as far as making sure all the plot lines the book has are tied up. Good read. A bit strange with the text message conversations at first. Overall good story.
You may remember from my review of Lament that I'd talked to the author on Twitter, and I'd had to ask which book came first in the series, and she's said that the second book was better. I said that it would remain to be seen if that was the case until I'd read Ballad, and now I have. So, was it better? Um, no. I mean, from an objective point of view, the writing is improved, yes. But ultimately I liked the first book more for a couple of reasons, and I'll get to them in a bit.
I read this book in one night, so obviously I liked the story. I mostly liked James Morgan and his story of getting over his unrequited loved for his best friend Deirdre Monaghan. I liked his budding romance with a fae muse who chooses the name Nuala (not her true name), and I like the back story that makes Nuala an outsider to her own people. I liked the fae being a wicked and fickle race with their evil plans, and I liked seeing the return of Deirdre's aunt Delia, the villain I love to hate.
But, there were two major issues I had with the story, and the biggest is that James is a world-class, grade A dumb ass. Seriously, there's a point in the story where he overhears the bad guy's whole evil plan, and there's absolutely no chance he could have misunderstood the stakes involved or who their key target was, and he...decides to work on his play. I kind of lost it and had to go on a Twitter rant because of how stupid he is not to piece together the clues and want to do something about it. It can't be blamed on him being self-centered, even though he is. No, he's just a total moron who lets the plot unfold because he's not all that concerned about a plot to kill everyone at his school.
And the other problem is a YA trope that always rubs me the wrong way, and that is, nobody talks to anybody else. About anything. I suppose I could understand why Deirdre doesn't talk to James, because after James almost died in the first book, she wants to protect him from the fae. And I can understand Nuala forgetting a few important details because almost dying distracted her from the big picture. But James doesn't talk to Deirdre, or to the teachers and school staff who clearly know something about the fae, or to Nuala. He just doesn't talk about anything important. Maybe it's part of his character to always be cracking jokes, but he certainly didn't come across as being this dense in the first book, and he's the first to confess to Deirdre about having psychic powers in Lament. Here, the stakes are so much higher, and after going through a monumental life changing event, I really expected him to grow up. Instead, he turns into a stupid little kid, and the whole plot unfolds because he never says anything until it's too late.
The final 25% of the book is easy to predict because it mirrors the events in the first story. So it isn't hard to tell that James will be forced to make the exact same choice that Deirdre did in the first book, and it's not hard to predict where the final confrontation will take place because it again mirrors the finale of the first book. And I think that annoyed me because James has seen all this before, and he's been told twice what the bad guy's plot is, and he's still too stupid to do anything about it until the final chapters. And even then, its not his choices that save the day. It's other people who save his dumb ass from certain doom.
So, with these complaints, it might be surprising that I'm giving Ballad 4 stars. But my score isn't so much about James and his flaws as all the other elements in the story being so interesting. And James does have his moments, like when he agrees to get his roommate Paul drunk, and then gives him non-alcoholic beer and lets Paul get crazy on a placebo effect. He has his moments when he tries to make Nuala's dreams about being a director come true. And the ending here is more upbeat than the first book, granting James a happier story than Deirdre had. It's still no happily ever after, just more positive, and I liked that.
But like I said, I don't think Ballad was the better book. I enjoyed Lament much more, and I think Deirdre flies mental circles around James. I didn't dislike the story, and I could still heartily recommend it to fans of dark faerie tales. The ending implies that there's at least one more book in the Gathering of Faeries series coming, and yeah, I'll be looking forward to it regardless of whether the story is told from James' or Deirdre's point of view.
But there's a point very late in the story before James finally talks to the right people (far too late to stop the plot) that the school president says, "Look. You're not an idiot," and my immediate reaction was, "Oh yes he most certainly fucking is."
And I might not have as much of a problem with this if James had been presented from the start as a moron. But instead, he came across as a smart guy in the first book, and this second book constantly tells me he's a gifted guy. But what his actions show me is a dumb ass who's almost too stupid to live.
Even so, yes, I'm giving Ballad 4 stars, and I look forward to the next book in this series, and to more books from Maggie Stiefvater in her other series. I really like her dialogue and her take on different mythologies. I just don't always understand or agree with the directions she takes with her characters. But hey, they're her stories, and she's free to write them however she likes.
I read this book in one night, so obviously I liked the story. I mostly liked James Morgan and his story of getting over his unrequited loved for his best friend Deirdre Monaghan. I liked his budding romance with a fae muse who chooses the name Nuala (not her true name), and I like the back story that makes Nuala an outsider to her own people. I liked the fae being a wicked and fickle race with their evil plans, and I liked seeing the return of Deirdre's aunt Delia, the villain I love to hate.
But, there were two major issues I had with the story, and the biggest is that James is a world-class, grade A dumb ass. Seriously, there's a point in the story where he overhears the bad guy's whole evil plan, and there's absolutely no chance he could have misunderstood the stakes involved or who their key target was, and he...decides to work on his play. I kind of lost it and had to go on a Twitter rant because of how stupid he is not to piece together the clues and want to do something about it. It can't be blamed on him being self-centered, even though he is. No, he's just a total moron who lets the plot unfold because he's not all that concerned about a plot to kill everyone at his school.
And the other problem is a YA trope that always rubs me the wrong way, and that is, nobody talks to anybody else. About anything. I suppose I could understand why Deirdre doesn't talk to James, because after James almost died in the first book, she wants to protect him from the fae. And I can understand Nuala forgetting a few important details because almost dying distracted her from the big picture. But James doesn't talk to Deirdre, or to the teachers and school staff who clearly know something about the fae, or to Nuala. He just doesn't talk about anything important. Maybe it's part of his character to always be cracking jokes, but he certainly didn't come across as being this dense in the first book, and he's the first to confess to Deirdre about having psychic powers in Lament. Here, the stakes are so much higher, and after going through a monumental life changing event, I really expected him to grow up. Instead, he turns into a stupid little kid, and the whole plot unfolds because he never says anything until it's too late.
The final 25% of the book is easy to predict because it mirrors the events in the first story. So it isn't hard to tell that James will be forced to make the exact same choice that Deirdre did in the first book, and it's not hard to predict where the final confrontation will take place because it again mirrors the finale of the first book. And I think that annoyed me because James has seen all this before, and he's been told twice what the bad guy's plot is, and he's still too stupid to do anything about it until the final chapters. And even then, its not his choices that save the day. It's other people who save his dumb ass from certain doom.
So, with these complaints, it might be surprising that I'm giving Ballad 4 stars. But my score isn't so much about James and his flaws as all the other elements in the story being so interesting. And James does have his moments, like when he agrees to get his roommate Paul drunk, and then gives him non-alcoholic beer and lets Paul get crazy on a placebo effect. He has his moments when he tries to make Nuala's dreams about being a director come true. And the ending here is more upbeat than the first book, granting James a happier story than Deirdre had. It's still no happily ever after, just more positive, and I liked that.
But like I said, I don't think Ballad was the better book. I enjoyed Lament much more, and I think Deirdre flies mental circles around James. I didn't dislike the story, and I could still heartily recommend it to fans of dark faerie tales. The ending implies that there's at least one more book in the Gathering of Faeries series coming, and yeah, I'll be looking forward to it regardless of whether the story is told from James' or Deirdre's point of view.
But there's a point very late in the story before James finally talks to the right people (far too late to stop the plot) that the school president says, "Look. You're not an idiot," and my immediate reaction was, "Oh yes he most certainly fucking is."
And I might not have as much of a problem with this if James had been presented from the start as a moron. But instead, he came across as a smart guy in the first book, and this second book constantly tells me he's a gifted guy. But what his actions show me is a dumb ass who's almost too stupid to live.
Even so, yes, I'm giving Ballad 4 stars, and I look forward to the next book in this series, and to more books from Maggie Stiefvater in her other series. I really like her dialogue and her take on different mythologies. I just don't always understand or agree with the directions she takes with her characters. But hey, they're her stories, and she's free to write them however she likes.