BALLAD by MAGGIE STIEFVATER

BALLAD: The Gathering of Faerie (Books of Faerie, #2)
Written by: Maggie Stiefvater
Publication date: October 1, 2009
Released in Paperback

5 stars - Both books are great!

Synopsis:  In this mesmerizing sequel to Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception, music prodigy James Morgan and his best friend, Deirdre, join a private conservatory for musicians. James' musical talent attracts Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. Composing beautiful music together unexpectedly leads to mutual admiration and love. Haunted by fiery visions of death, James realizes that Deirdre and Nuala are being hunted by the Fey and plunges into a soul-scorching battle with the Queen of the Fey to save their lives.

My Review: In this sequel, I wasn't expecting a change in narrators, and it was kind of a hard transition since I read Lament and Ballad back to back. It went from Deirdre and Luke to James and his new friend Nuala. Initially, I thought I was going to be mad about the change in narrators, but it turned out much better than I could have hoped for.

I love James' sarcasm, his quick-witted quips and his unique way of viewing the world. He's wise beyond his years, which is probably why the supernatural gods chose him to be a seer! When reading James' interactions with his teachers and superiors, I always felt like they were the ones who could learn something from him.

Nuala is a fascinating creature. She has well within her full power to force James into submission, but I believe his strength, will power and courage to refuse her, draws her to him. My favorite thing about Nuala are the things she gets into when she's invisible!

For the longest time, neither of then ever see what's between them. They're little kids in the sandbox picking on each other. Translating snarky remarks as jabs instead of what they really are: flirting!

At first, the little unsent text messages from Deirdre irked me. I felt like, "Why can't we just let her narrate? A little? Once in a while?" But that was just me stuck in the way Lament was told. Ballad is James and Nuala's story and the texts turned out to be a pretty cool way f keeping tabs on Deirdre. Taking a peek at what she's up to without leaving the true narrators.

By the time I finished this book, I was in love with James and Nuala - and I felt kinda bad for Dee. She was a bit of a jerk but she was pitiful too. Without Luke she was just a mess.

The big finale was good. I read with a smile on my face the whole time. But the very end, during the play, when Sullivan and James see each other - that was the highlight of the ending for me.

Does this mean sequel?? Book Gods, I hope so!!

Who Should Read This: Any fan of Maggie Stiefvater will be able to truly appreciate this series. It was beautifully written and saddening when it ended.