Lament and Ballad

July 9, 2015 Book Review 0

This is another case where I read companion novels back to back so I’m doing a joint review. I actually read Lament when it first came out and fell in love with it. I wasn’t blogging then so I never reviewed it. I could have sworn that I read Ballad (I bought it right when it came out!) but I had absolutely zero recollection of it. I decided to read both books since it had been so long!

About the Books:

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Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Flux
Publication Date: October 8, 2008
Pages: 325

Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She’s about to find out she’s also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. Deirdre finds herself infatuated with a mysterious boy who enters her ordinary suburban life, seemingly out of thin air. Trouble is, the enigmatic and gorgeous Luke turns out to be a gallowglass—a soulless faerie assassin. An equally hunky—and equally dangerous—dark faerie soldier named Aodhan is also stalking Deirdre. Sworn enemies, Luke and Aodhan each have a deadly assignment from the Faerie Queen. Namely, kill Deirdre before her music captures the attention of the Fae and threatens the Queen’s sovereignty. Caught in the crossfire with Deirdre is James, her wisecracking but loyal best friend. Deirdre had been wishing her life weren’t so dull, but getting trapped in the middle of a centuries-old faerie war isn’t exactly what she had in mind . . .

Lament is a dark faerie fantasy that features authentic Celtic faerie lore, plus cover art and interior illustrations by acclaimed faerie artist Julia Jeffrey.

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Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Flux
Publication Date: October 1, 2009
Pages: 352

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.

General Thoughts:

These books were my first introduction to Maggie Steifvater’s writing and they totally reminded me of why I feel in love with it in the first place! I love the way she weaves the Celtic faerie lore with a modern day story. They’re just the right amount of dark and twisted!

Lament:

Two things stuck out to me both times I read this book: the Celtic lore and the characters! I read this story when I was first getting into reading faerie stories. I was starting to get familiar with some of the basics of faerie lore but Lament took it to a whole different level and I loved that! There was way more of a focus on the Celtic aspect, which I found fascinating.

And the characters! Maggie Stiefvater writes the most intriguing characters. I loved Deirdre and James. Their friendship was dynamic and seemed so authentic to me. And then you introduce Luke and Aodhan and their rivalry!!! So great.

Ballad:

Whoa. I thought Lament took me for a ride but Ballad?!? “Soul-scorching battle” is right!!! This story focuses more on James, the best friend of the main character from Lament. I loved getting his story as well as Deirdre’s. I’m always disappointed when I fall for a character in a book but don’t get to know their story so this was perfect.

James (and Deirdre!) are now at a prestigious music school but the secrets and faery involvement from book one have not ended. In fact, they’ve escalated! James is still coming to terms with the events of Lament and isn’t really sure where he goes from there. The introduction of Nuala, a new character, changes everything. Another fascinating story steeped in faery lore.

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