TITLE: Ballad
Book 2 in the Gathering of Faerie series
AUTHOR: Maggie Stiefvater
PUBLISHED: 2009
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: fantasy, faeries, romance
PREMISE: James and his friend Dee are still reeling from the consequences in Lament when a new faerie shows up as well as a new plot by the faerie queen...
MY REVIEW: While I liked Lament it was not my favorite. I think Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls series is much better. But I wanted to read the next book in this because it was from the point of view of my favorite character in Lament: James. Having it in James's point of view made for much more enjoyable reading I must say. He's not as whiny as Dee and this had less of the lovey dovey romance then Lament did (I actually think this one was far better developed then Dee and Luke).
Speaking of Dee may I just say how much I wanted to smack her in this book? Don't get me wrong, I understood where she was coming from but that does not in any way excuse the way she treated James in this book. To top it off, when her guy turns out to be an ass, she's suddenly all "oh no, you're the one I love!"? I don't think so honey. One of my major complaints is that James never looked at her in face and told her to go to hell like I kept wishing he would.
From the looks of things, this is going to be the last book in this series. Ah well. It's just as well, I don't think I (or other readers) would really be interested after this. I mean, James gets over Dee and all and after this book I am not interested at all in what happens to her because I now detest her. Now if there were a book about Paul, James's roommate I wouldn't really complain...but I don't think it'll happen. So probably best to just leave it at this.
WHO SHOULD READ: Those who have read Lament, faerie book fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five worry stones
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Great review! I wanted to smack Dee throughout much of Lament. I enjoyed Lament but thought it had flaws that Stiefvater's later books do not. I still haven't read Ballad, but have heard that a lot of people like it as much as you.
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