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Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie
Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie
Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie
Audiobook9 hours

Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING NOVEL SHIVER

"Ballad is giddy, intoxicating, and threatening all at once. ―Tamora Pierce

Remember us, so sing the dead, lest we remember you

James Morgan has an almost unearthly gift for music. And it has attracted Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and then feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. James has plenty of reasons to fear the faeries, but as he and Nuala collaborate on an achingly beautiful musical composition, James finds his feelings towards Nuala deepening. But the rest of the fairies are not as harmless. As Halloween―the day of the dead―draws near, James will have to battle the Faerie Queen and the horned king of the dead to save Nuala's life and his soul.

Praise for Ballad:

"Readers of Holly Black's Tithe (2002) or Charles de Lint's The Blue Girl (2004) will enjoy this rich foray into faerie. The book's backdrop, so firmly rooted in Celtic myth, is scary, mysterious, magical, and horrifying."―Booklist

LanguageEnglish
Release dateAug 28, 2018
ISBN9781978616851
Author

Maggie Stiefvater

After a tumultuous past as a history major, calligraphy instructor, wedding musician, technical editor, and equestrian artist, Maggie Stiefvater is now a full-time writer and New York Times bestselling author of the Shiver trilogy, The Scorpio Races, and The Raven Boys. Her debut series, the Books of Faerie, is published by Flux. Maggie lives in the middle of nowhere, Virginia, with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, four neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki. Follow her on Twitter at @mstiefvater, and visit her online at www.maggiestiefvater.com.

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Reviews for Ballad

Rating: 3.9038461686390535 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I read this without reading book one, and it was great, all by itself! The ending was both excellent, and unpredictable.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It was a song of the dead and for the dead; a lament played over and over again calling to the damned. While on the breeze a slow ballad played of dancing, belonging and the end of a life. This ballad was hers, but to him she gave the sounds of golden music to fill his dreams and the promise of greatness whispered in his ears. It was intoxicating the way the notes filled him yet still left him unfulfilled with a longing that tormented him.For James music is his life, but for Nuala music is life. A leanan sidhe is a muse living on the years of those she inspires and no one has ever said no to a muse. James however is determined to have nothing to do with the leanan sidhe haunting him, despite the wanting and the anguish it is causing him. But it is not possible to accept a deal with a faerie without selling a piece of yourself.Ballad is a tale of death shaped by moments of tenderness, enchantment and song, a sweet yet humorous poetic romance that is sentimental and at the same time perilous. This urban story of music, magic and mayhem is threaded through with the traditionalism and timelessness of faeries creating a world that is wondrous, dark and truly a delight to read. A stunning squeal to the beautiful Lament.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The lead male character was pretty good. The dynamics between him and the lead female were good as well. The ending seemed very forced with all the revelations and the female character, who was the lead character in the first book of the series, was horrible. She was a ball of tears and bad decisions. It really sucks that nothing is shown of what happened with her at all. There could have been so much more story here.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    James and Dee go to boarding school for gifted musicians. There he is haunted by a female fairly that offers music for years of his life. He has to struggle with his lust for the fairy and the gift she offers. Dee and him are distant from each other their friendship is struggling. Fairy's are still drawn to Dee and this cause's many problems for the unusual staff at the school. There is some history here, that slowly leaks out. This was an interesting book although it was not nearly as good as the first one. It was mesmerizing. I'll read the next one.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is the follow up to Lament: The Faerie Queens Deception. James, Dee's best friend from the previous book, meets Nuala, a fairy who usually survives by feeding off of artistic types in exchange for making them better at what they are. James knows better then to strike a deal with Nuala, but that doesn't stop him from falling in love with her. Throughout the book Dee's unsent text messages are interspersed between chapters told by James and Nuala. These texts drove me nuts, while James and Nuala's story was great, I wanted to know what was happening to Dee as well. I hope at some point Stiefvater plans on telling Dee's story in another book. The book was well written and I love the characters, I just wish I knew what was happening in the rest of the story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie is the sequel to Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception; together these books fit perfectly into the increasingly popular young adult genre but, unlike most of the other books sprouting up everywhere, these books don't contain fangs, they contain Fey. Ballad picks up a couple of months after the events of Lament, placing James, the unrequited best friend, as the main character.

    The depth of research Stiefvater attained is increasingly obvious with the turn of each page. Ballad is chock full of amazing traditional Celtic faerie folklore and even a thoroughly researched Deity. "The Good Folk" have been an inspiration to thousands of writers throughout history; much of the folklore and faerie tales have remained consistent with each passing decade, and Stiefvater remains true to that tradition while adding her own flavor by revealing some folklore that is not popularly known. Her addition of Cernunnos, a traditional Celtic Deity usually depicted as representing for the dead, is what in my opinion pulled Stiefvater from researched well, to absolutely amazing. The plot was fast paced, action packed, and perfectly braided with the folklore and the characters.

    The characters in this book were also, in my opinion, spot on. It has long been a belief from children's fables that faeries are a benevolent race of magical beings, but in this book, they are depicted as they originally were written, as a warning against the evils of magic. James is a typical teenage guy, with the addition of a genius musical talent and a smattering of psychic ability. Nuala is a not so typical faerie who trades musical inspiration in exchange for years of one's life. James's ability to recognize the faerie is the only thing that saved his life and brought these two characters together. The relationship that forms between Nuala is completely honest from the beginning and so different from the love that Dee and Luke shares in Lament. It was amazing that James could fall in love with Nuala even after everything that happens to him Lament; his ability to forgive and adapt is hopefully what will save the friendship that was destroyed by Dee being a selfish idiot.

    At some points throughout the book Stiefvater could have let the reader into some of the secrets she was harboring earlier, it got a bit confusing in some areas due to what the reader is unaware of. Things of course become clearer at the end but, for a little while in the middle, the reader spends time trying to figure out the reasons for some of the inserted passages when there really is no need. It is suspect that they were written in an effort to foreshadow but as a young adult reader, it may have been too much. Overall this book was enjoyable, not as imaginatively pleasing as Lament but definitely not bad at all.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    So, i would have had this read and reviewed a good... umm... three weeks earlier if my mom hadn't snatched it and read it herself.... ^_^
    [She's reading Lament next, then Shiver:]
    Anyway, i was excepting nothing less than awesomeness in this sequel to Lament, and nothing less than awesomeness is what i got!!
    I am obviously a huge fan of all the Maggie Stiefvater has written thus far [and i enjoy spelling her last name. it gives me pleasure. Stievfater. Stiefvater. it's fun:] and i was excited when i realised that this book was about characters in the previous book [James & Deirdre:]
    Now, i have this lovehate relationship with when authors write sequels in a new point of view but include the past main character. Love because i always find it awesome to get a different take on the character. Hate because... there's a different take on the character.
    See, because you're seeing Deirdre from James' point of view, you're seeing a girl that's rather different than the one you got in your head from Lament.
    Not that that's bad. I quite liked that in this context because it enhanced the story.
    So, with that said, this one was in James & Nuala's point of view [Nuala being a faerie muse who imparts her inspiration on her chosen... and then proceeds to steal years of their lives away to keep herself alive. and yes. that is totally awesome.:]
    What progresses is a story full of faerie brutality, music, ingenuity, wit, sarcasm, and over all, well, awesomeness. In the words of my mom, "These fairy's are me-e-a-an."
    lol.
    There was not a single thing i can find that was wrong with this. [y-a-a-a-a-y ^_^:] It was fresh, dark, romantic, poetic and all the things i've come to expect, look forward to, and overall enjoy in Maggie Stiefvater's books.
    Wait.. no.... i miss Luke *sad face* I was kind of hoping he'd make a small appearance *sigh* that was the one little thing that depressed me.
    At first i wasn't a huge fan of James. He irritated me at first [though... i think he was kind of supposed to...:] but after a few chapters he grew on me and i loved him more. I really liked all the chapters in Nuala's point of view [absolutely AMAZING name ^_^:] I don't think i've read many books where there are chapters in the fey's point of view. Though, her slight humanity made her less wild and unruly, but dangerous none the less.
    The duel chapters & text messages from Dee scattered throughout the book really made this one spectacular. Truly it was. The way music is incorporated and used is phenomenal as well. I love it.
    I now greatly look forward to Linger. ^_^ *greatly* look forward.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    First I would like to mention that I would not recommend reading Ballad without reading Lament first. I read Lament and liked it. So, naturally I wanted to read this book as well. Unfortunately, the marketing department behind this book was the source of my first disappointment. I was under the impression that this was book No. 2 of a series in progress. Nope. This is a companion novel. Companion novels are fine, in fact some of them are great, but I think there is an extremely important distinction to be made between a "sequel" and a "companion." Honestly, the expectation that Ballad would be a traditional sequel to Lament kind of ruined the first half of the book for me. I was fully prepared for more Deirdre and Luke. Again, nope. This book is told from the point of view of James (Deirdre's best friend in the first book) and a new character. It focuses on James so much that half of the time I forgot that Deirdre was even a character. Deep breath. Ok, I'm over the shock. Let us soldier on.

    I felt like James was an archetypical character in Lament. Maybe that was just because we did not get to see enough of him though because I loved him and did not find him to be archetypical in Ballad. Once I realized he was to remain the main character of Ballad throughout its duration and that this was not just some sneaky trick, I really fell in love with James' character. He is quirky and fairly well developed. I am not so sure about the rest of the characters though. James is definitely the "glue" of this story. Some of the other characters come alive for me at points, but they lose their luster quickly.

    I also very much liked the idea of musical savants being supernaturally connected to another world. I think the plot of the story is quite creative. The problem I have with the plot has to do with the fairy part. If you don't like fairy's don't read this book. I don't mind fairy's at all. In fact, I like quite a few of them. However, I do not exclusively read fairy books. I understand there are come common elements of fairy's that seem universally known, i.e., they are allergic to iron among other things. With that said, Stiefvater does what I find that a lot of writers tackling the fairy genre do: assume the reader already knows tons about fairy's and therefore fails to develop certain plot points for those of us who are not down with the fairy rules. For instance, it seems to be a big deal to tell someone your "true name." Ok, but why and where did that come from? Maybe I just missed the fairy bus or something. I have a feeling I may have missed out on some of the better aspects of the story due to a lack of explanation.

    There is one more point of major irritation in this book for me. I understand that this book is a companion to Lament, but I do feel like Deirdre's character got lost in the translation. In Lament, I felt like Deirdre was a strong female heroine-type of character. In Ballad, she is not even a shadow of what she was before. This may have been the most disappointing aspect of this book for me because I felt like the essence of Deirdre 's character was abandoned for the sake of a new plot. Many of her actions seemed random, almost as though she was being used as a plot function more than a character. I felt like Ballad-Deirdre did a lot of things that Lament-Deirdre would not have done. This would of course be fine if Lament-Deirdre's character had been given the chance to develop into Ballad-Deirdre's character, but she was not.

    Ok, so obviously I was disappointed. But I think if you go into this book fully understanding that it is not a sequel, are open to new main characters, and know enough about fairy's to get by, then you will likely have a much better time with it than I did.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love these books! Ballad was the second in this series and loved it just as much as the first. The characters are so rich and believable. When is the third book coming out? I think I'm addicted. :)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I devoured this book--started last night and finished it today. I love the way Stiefvater grabs you and keeps you by the throat to the very end.

    Things I liked: Stiefvater really knows how to work edgy characters and still make you like them. I fell in love with Nuala from the very beginning. For me the book was about her, not James, although he was my second favorite. She also knows how to keep the tension at just the right level. Tight. Close to snapping, but not quite. Her descriptions of settings enhance the emotions.

    Only beef I have is that I kept thinking I missed a book in the series. Stiefvater kept referring to the happenings of the summer. I probably did. Does anyone know?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I didn't enjoy this one as much as Lament, but it was still pretty good. It really didn't get interesting till the end. What I really didn't get was the love story between the James and Nuala. It just didn't add up for me. But overall a very interesting story, and the ending left room for another one. I also thought that Dee played too little a part of the story. I wish there had been more of her and of Paul.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I didn't like this one as much as Lament, and I guess the reason would be Nuala's character. I just didn't like her, and I didn't like James falling for her, and seeing as she's one of two (well, three, if you count Dee's text messages) narrators in the book, then I couldn't really like the book. It's too bad, because I LOVE James, he's exactly the type of guy I'd want to hang out with if I was sixteen again. He brings my rating up from 2.5 to a 3.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Sequel to Lament. James knows that Dee's heart belongs to Faerie and this upsets him but he still loves her and wants to help her find a way to live well. The two of them are now boarders at the Thornking-Ash School of music and while there's little the school can offer James in the way of music education he's still finding things to be interesting. There's a lot of faerie around and he's not sure who to trust, but he knows that he can't trust the woman who calls herself Nuala. By the end of the story he will have to make some hard decisions and these will have repercussions.Oh wow, I was a little reluctant to read this as I really enjoyed Lament. Sequels often don't work as well as the original story. Maggie Stiefvater really gets the musicians in this, I played music when I was younger and while I wasn't at this level I did meet some who were. Almost consumed by the music and needing to play as often as possible. James wasn't as prominent in the previous story but this is his story, and it's a good one, he's interesting, and shows that he's learned from the past and will continue to learn. I want to read more by this author.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ballad is not a sequel to Lament but a companion piece. It would not be impossible to follow this story without having read Lament, but I think it is a much smoother read if you read Lament before Ballad.Lament tells a story of the interaction of humans and faeries from 16-year-old Deirdre’s point of view, and I liked her so much that I was disappointed at first to discover that Ballad is written from the point of view of Dee’s best friend James. I needn’t have doubted Stiefvater’s art, however; from this book I came to love James even more than Dee, and I delighted in his story.James and Dee are now at the Thornking-Ash Conservatory, a special high school for the musically-gifted. It happens that those who are musically gifted are more naturally predisposed to sense faeries. [No wonder I can't sense anything!] Dee plays the harp and sings like an angel, and James plays the bagpipes so well he can’t be taught anything by the instructors at school. Dee and James don’t realize at first how much faeries love music, or that faeries seek out cloverhands; i.e., humans who can see them. Dee found out (in Lament) that she is one of the cloverhands, and James can not only sense faeries but he also is able to foresee certain things, albeit without always understanding what they mean. Thus, Thornking-Ash is pretty much crawling with The Fey and their human fellow travelers.James, with his soulful piping, draws the attention of a leanan sidhe, one of the most human of the faeries, who thrives by tempting musicians to be even better in return for “feeding” her with their souls. But Nuala, as she calls herself, never counted on actually falling in love with one of her intended victims as she does with James, and this creates an unprecedented situation and confrontation between humans and Fey.Evaluation: It’s hard not to adore both James and Nuala, and to sympathize with their struggle to form a relationship between a human and a fairy creature. I was tremendously impressed by how well Stiefvater was able to get inside the mind of a teenage boy, and make his thoughts sound appropriately different from those of a teenage girl. And Nuala does some of the best snark ever! The ending is lovely, but plot elements linger…. Yes, Stiefvater moves away from faeries and on to the wolves of Shiver and Linger and Forever… and they are even better books. But I would love to see a return by Stiefvater to the world of Lament and Ballad.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    BALLAD, by Maggie Stiefvater, was an energetic and captivating thrill ride from the first page. Now that I have read 'Lament', the back-story between Dee and James was established and I could explore the next step in their relationship, a very rocky one.The differing relationships throughout the book were interesting to read. I have not been exposed to Nuala's powers before in a faerie story and that was intriguing in itself. Then James not giving into Nuala because of his knowledge created another surprising dynamic. Also, the fact that James was still trying to be with Dee while she was still in love with Luke, but held secret feelings for James! It was frustrating at times, but in a good way.This book went to a darker and scarier side of the Fey. The anticipation of Halloween and the growing power of the faeries was hanging in the background, while James was trying to lead a semi-normal life and Nuala was trying to quench her hunger. The faeries that confronted James and Nuala were testing their potential powers over humans and human-like fey without any awareness of consequence.Both James and Nuala underwent significant character progressions. James wanted everything to go back to normal with Dee and possibly take it to the next step, but her downward depression and obsession with Luke made that almost impossible. Nuala was faced with rejection and neglect that she never felt before from a man, which completely changed her perspective on her short life. There was a remarkable battle between self-preservation and sacrifice within both of these characters. Nuala needed to take years from James to survive but she fought against her instincts to have an emotion that she never remembers feeling. And James had to make the ultimate decision between saving his unhinged best friend and his new-found love.I really liked the character of Nuala. She was definitely something new for James which made them a perfect pair. She was strong, independent, and confident. She lived her life repeatedly without a second thought until James completely threw her off course and made her question her very existence and potential. Even in her last days she did not want saving from anyone, and that puts her in my top heroic female characters list.I absolutely fell head over heels with this cover before reading the book. And after knowing the significance of the burning leaf, I love it even more! Fall is my favorite season so the color and feeling the cover encompassed remains on my mind.This was an exceptional and romantic book that completely holds it own against it's counterpart, 'Lament'. They are both magnificent stories which makes another home run for Maggie Stiefvater.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Let me start out by saying that I loved the format of this....telling it in James' point of view was genius. I love the story line, and Maggie Stiefvater has amazing lyrical writing that draws me in and makes me savor every word.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book was okay. One of those books that you don't realise that you lie until you're halfway through. It was frustrating after the brilliance of the first book, from Dee's perspective, whereas this book is from James' and Nula's perspectives. The only input Dee has are stupid text talks that makes it difficult to understand what is happening to her throughout the book. I found that I would have enjoyed it a lot more if there were some more Luke and Dee.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is James side of the story after the summer is over. James and Dee are attending Thornking Ash a school for musically gifted. James is still hurt over Dee being in love with Luke so their relationship isn't the best. He finds out that the past isn't the past and that the Fairies are still around. A fairy named Nuala starts following James around trying to make a deal with him. But James is too smart to trust a fairy. Then as time goes on the relationship between him and Nuala changes. He still hasn't made a deal with her and she no longer wants to. Even though she needs the deal to stay alive she doesn't want to hurt him. To make a deal with her will cost him something great.James also finds out that this school isn't just for the musically talented. The teachers themselves seem to know about the fairies.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I didn't love it like I did Lament. I still enjoyed the writing and the characters, but it just didn't have fast paced love story like the first one did. I was looking forward to hearing a little bit more about Luke and Dee, so that was a little disappointing. Then on top of that I wasn't too thrilled with Nuala. I just didn't like her as James' love interest....I honestly think he could do a lot better. She's an interesting character buttt I just didn't really enjoy her as much as the others. Also, the story seemed a little TOO slow at parts. I kinda had to fight with myself to keep reading. But the ending was good, for once there was a happy ending.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved this sequel to Lament. Alternating between James’ and Nuala’s point of views Ballad is a glimpse into life after Lament. Luke is gone and now Dee and James are awkward around each other at their new private school. In steps Nuala, an eerily human-like faerie who survives off of human souls and James is her next target. Ballad is filled with faerie intrigue, longing and heartache. I have to say that James made this book. From the first page you are sucked into his psyche; where music is a living, breathing thing and faeries are not our friends. I loved James’ obsessive-compulsive, smart-alecky personality. His confidence and quirkiness were excellently written. As for the romantic twists, I felt the prickly relationship that slowly built between James and Nuala was natural and didn’t feel forced or rushed. As the story builds to a crescendo you never know what to expect, even to the last page. Maggie Stiefvater has once again written a fabulous novel of love, loss and all of the stages in between.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This story picks right back up where Lament left off, with James and Deidre(Dee) attending Thornking-Ash music school. At first, everything seems normal, but then James and Deidre, once again, attract the attention of the Fey. The students (mostly James) begin to hear the music from The King of the Dead, and rush out to meet him in the night. James also discovers a frightening new friend, Nuala, who needs his soul to live.I loved the characters of this book so much better than Lament. I have not felt so strongly for characters in a long time. James, is snarky, sarcastic and slightly neurotic, but I fell in love with him right from the start. Reading the story from his point of view, shows how vulnerable he is underneath all the attitude, and he captures your heart. James is so cleverly portrayed and because we love him so much, suddenly Deidre becomes, such a bitch. The unrequited love that James feels for her breaks my heart and I hate Dee for not loving him as much as I do.Nuala, hmmm, what can I say? She is such a kick ass character. The story is partially told from her point of view, and because of that, we see that she is not as evil as one might think. She is sexy, smoldering, and I cheered when James began to fall in love with her (take that Dee).The lesser characters are also pretty awesome. We have roommate Paul, who is so innocent and goofy, you can't help but laugh at him and love him, all at the same time. Also, mentor and teacher, Sullivan is a strong and likable character. Stiefvater did a wonderful job and I enjoyed Ballad very much. The plot is compelling and the writing is lyrical and descriptive, without being annoying. Ballad is an intriguing and dark world, with lots of adventure and excitement. I am definitely looking forward to the next installment in this series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    My Review:Ballad was James' story. Since he shadowed Deirdre (Dee) is Lament it was time for him to shine, or be tested by "Them" so in walks Nuala into James' life. Unlike Dee he learned to NOT TRUST the faeries because of the Summer before showing up at Thornking-Ash (the conservatory school, for musical geniuses) It is apparent that Dee and James have a strained friendship. It also bugs me that Dee never sends her texts. Without James in Dee's life, she of course gets herself in trouble. On the other hand though James is learning about "Them" through is up close and personal encounter with Nuala, that wants him to make a deal with her so she can stay alive. James is not falling for Nuala's charm but Nuala is falling for his. :) Nuala, I enjoyed her character how she fought with being more human than faerie and how deep down she wanted to be more to James than just an evil faerie with a ploy to kill him. Once she got to choose her fate she chose wisely I think. I also loved how she found out she had family when she always thought she was alone.James, was more sarcastic in Ballad than Lament and I loved it. I am sarcastic by nature so I laughed at his sarcasm towards his classmates and teachers. I love that he was not persuaded by most, and had charisma that people wanted to follow and be a part of.Dee, sort of annoyed me. It was as if she did not learn anything from her experience the Summer before. The pitiful act got old.Other characters that I enjoyed were Sullivan and Paul. They gave a great balance to the storyline and I am glad they were introduced. I do hope there will be more in this series and that I read more about Nuala, Sullivan, and Paul.The only reason the rating was 3.5 of 5 was I sort of already new the plot and the ultimate outcome of the story even though I didn't know all the intricate pieces and how they were to be played out.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Summer & the events with the faeries have ended. James & Deirdre are now attending the music school ThornKing-Ash, where it seems life has gone back to normal. But then James and this music catches the eye of a Soul snatching faerie named Nuala...Ballad continues the complex battle between human and faerie. It makes for one riveting tale, highly enjoyable. Filled with suspense and adventure. Ms. Stiefvater has created a dark, thrilling world that I look forward to visiting again. I was so excited to see that James was narrating this book, he kinda got pushed aside in book one, and I thought his personality too intriguing not to get his own book. If you think you'll like this book, I suggest reading Lament to see how James & Deirdre's story began.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    My thoughts...Ballad is the second book in this series and let me start by saying...read Lament first. The plot, the characters, the history of the story will make more sense if you do. I jumped right into this after finishing Lament and I was once again blow away by the incredible writing of Maggie Stiefvater. She incorporates the perfect amounts of poetry, conversation, mood, and emotion into the story to draw readers into her magical world. This book picks up several weeks after Lament ends. James and Dee are attending music school, living on the same campus, but separate lives. This story will please anyone who was a fan of James in the first book. This is his story. Readers hear very little from Dee, except from the occasional text message. We do meet a new character, a lower-level faerie named Nuala. It took me a while to warm up to her, but once I did, she became one of my favorites. We also meet several other new characters such as a quirky English teacher, and Paul, who ends up rooming with James. Like the first book, Ballad moves along at a perfect pace. This was one of those books that traveled around my house, because I did not want to put it down. James drew some attention, both good and bad, from the faeries for his musical ability. I don't want to give anything away, but readers should expect to experience heartbreak, fear, love, and friendship. I am hoping the story of these characters will continue for a long time. Stiefvater leaves us in a magical place that is full of possibilities. The ending of the story was satisfying, but left several unanswered questions. I look forward to the next installment in the Books of the Faerie series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another strong offering from Maggie Stiefvater, in her authentic and haunting faerie world.I loved James' perspective in this book, but the one thing that disappointed me was the loss of Deirdre's perspective. Where was the strong heroine of Lament The Faerie Queen's Deception? What led her so far astray? (And what happened to Luke?) I wish we had been able to see her downward spiral through her own eyes, instead of sporadically through James and her unsent text messages. The story felt incomplete without it. Then again, I have a feeling this world isn't over... maybe some things will be explained later.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I had heard a lot of great things about Maggie’s Stiefvater’s first book, Lament. Bad faeries, celtic music, romance – sounded right up my alley. But I admit it – I am a deeply shallow person. I couldn’t get past the cover. After reading and enjoying her second novel, Shiver, I heard that Lament had been reissued with a new cover – still not one that I loved, but at least I’d be willing to read it in public. So I gave it a shot, and found a beautifully written book that didn’t really do it for me. Just one of those books where I didn’t make a connection with the main characters – happens to us all. But there was this one character – James – who I couldn’t get enough of. Great snarky voice, loaded with insecurity and unrequited love, wicked sense of humor that he uses to mask his vulnerability, plays the bagpipes – admit it, you love him too. And now Maggie Stiefvater has given him a whole book of his own. Excellent choice. This is a main character who can carry a book in a way that Dee never could, and James makes Ballad shine.Dee and James are now attending Thornking-Ash, a school for students with exceptional skills in music performance - a school that has the added task of protecting especially vulnerable teenagers from the faeries who found Dee and James in Lament. Fortunately for the readers if not the students, the school does not do an especially good job at that task. James quickly attracts the attention of a leanan sidhe, a faerie who feeds on the creative energy of geniuses. A collaboration with Nuala guarantees that James will use his talent to it’s fullest – she acts as a muse, inspiring her partners to works of creative genius. On the other hand, it also guarantees his early death. Nuala and James are both characters who are working through a multitude of insecurities, vulnerabilities, and other issues, and their growing genuine care for each other is tentative and fraught.While telling the new story of James and Nuala, Ballad also shows Dee and James dealing with the repercussions of the traumatic events that they experienced in Lament. Both characters are hurting, and lingering underneath the distance between them is a strong desire to reconnect with each other. Stiefvater uses Dee’s unsent text messages to James to bring this to the surface – a device that works well here. And James still feels deeply for Dee – sometimes seemingly against his will. It’s a difficult, testy relationship, shown right at the moment when all the things that have been buried deep in the past are right on the surface. Stiefvater does not shy away from the difficulty of it, letting her characters be awkward, contrary, and downright cruel to each other. Assuming that there will be another book, I looks forward to seeing their friendship continue to grow and change.Review copy provided by publisher at BEA.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Finally, a book about faeries that has traditional faeries and an interesting story! Most books I've read with faeries either had Traditional Faeries And A Boring Standard Fantasy Story or new agey punk-type faeries, which are sometimes fun and sometimes not, but nowhere near traditional. Great writing, great characters, great story.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Nice quick read. I might have liked it better if I hadn't seen a review comparing it to a Charles de Lint book. That set the bar way too high. I also wouldn't call it a young adult book unless you are flattering Middle School or Junior High kids. Hopefully the author will work up to adult novels because we like faerie stories as well.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Well I have to say I really enjoyed both of these books. Maggie's writing is quick paced and to the point in a good way. She's descriptive in her writing but not overly so. I enjoyed seeing the character's relationship's developing and falling apart. It was a definite roller coaster of emotion through out the books. If I had to pick a favorite character....I'd say I was rooting for James all the way.So like I said short review here but, if you haven't read the books I'd say go get 'em! I enjoy books about fairies so this series is definitely a keeper for me and one to watch!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I haven't read Lament and it bothered me at first that I don't know who is Luke and what happened with him Deidre and James. (aside from the obvious broken heart, physical and emotion pain) but I am willing to find out after this.The story was narrated with James and Nuala's point of view. James Morgan a musical prodigy, cocky and uses beautiful sarcastic remarks that made me laugh. He also attends the Thornking-Ash school of music with his (supposedly) love Deidre. His choice of instrument (probably not the coolest in my book) is the Pipe. His tale in this book started when he started to hear a painfully beautiful song from an Antler King slash the Thorn King. I was intrigued on why he can hear it and what was the purpose of that music. James was also being stalked by Nuala- a leana sidhe better known as the mythological creature who gives her artist human lover his greatest dream on becoming the next Beethoven, Mozart and the likes in turn of madness that ultimately leads the to their death. But all this sounded petty when I found out that Eleanor (the Faery Queen) have more devious plan that involves all three of our main characters.This is my first Maggie Stiefvater and I am very pleased with her writing style. Epigrammatic and captivating. Though some parts are slow paced, it was well thought and penned exquisitely. The sirenic yet haunting tale helped me in finishing the book. I was defiant because I am not really into faeries, but reading this book, was a big exemption.