Why is cutie speaking of herself in third person!?
Trouble times, my friends.
Troubled times indeed.
But before we get to all that melodrama,
let me tell you about a few books I just finished reading.
1. When I read Twilight I fell in love with Edward. Bella was alright but Edward… well he stole the show. When I read hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick I completely fell head over heels in lust with Patch. I liked Nora but she was overshadowed. When I read Fallen by Lauren Kate it was Luce whom I adored (don’t get me wrong Daniel is all sorts of wonderful, but my heart belongs to Luce). Do ya see a trend? However, with Lament, I fell for both Dee and Luke. I not only love them as a couple, but I connect with them each as characters and long for them to grow and gain their happily ever afters (be damned the emo Irish fates!!).2. The setting is fantastic, mythical, and surreal, but totally relate-able and realistic. Ms. Stiefvater makes you believe that there is something more to this world than beyond what the naked eyes can see.3. The supporting cast in this books is wonderful! Una the devilishly delightful faerie, James the heartwarming smart ass best friend (more on him soon), and even Sara the clueless ditz all make the story colorful and fun.4. The whole book has a musical feel to it. I often found myself reading to the sound of a lyrical tune playing in my head. My Irish blood was sing with joy! I really don’t know what to say, I was spellbound by the sounds of this resplendent novel.5. The love story won me over hook, line, and sinker. And let’s be frank, that’s the key. We have to want the star-crossed lovers to defy the odds and claim their forbidden happily ever after. I wanted all of that for Dee and Luke. And when the book was through with me, my heart was pounding and I was tied up in knots from the not knowing what would happen to them next…
Lament is not your boy meets girl and everything turns out perfect in the end. It lives up to it’s name: to express grief, pain, or regret – to mourn. It will make you cry, it will break your heart, but the characters are so worth the pain. If I had one complaint about this book it’s the sudden and abrupt ending that is slightly confusing. However, all that aside, the book’s not all pain, there is plenty of magic, heart stopping romance, and humor to make it all worthwhile. This is cutie here tell you to read angst. Need I say more?
I have read reviews where people have dubbed this book a stand alone or companion to Lament. I would like to adamantly (nevertheless humbly) disagree with these claims. Yes, Ballad is James story, told from his point of view. However, James story begins in Lament. Without knowledge of his relationship with Dee and what he went through, his story in Ballad is completely hollow. Not to mention, the struggles Dee is going through are empty, as well. And, if you read Ballad without reading Lament first, you will view Dee the way Naula does and that is just a travesty. This book is a sequel. The end.
1. The third wheel gets his day! What I adore about Ballad is that James gets to share his side of the story, and, not only that, but we get to fall in love with him instead of merely looking at him as the unwanted side of a love triangle. I admire the risk Ms. Stiefvater took in telling the second novel in this series from James point of view. It was the right move, even though it was maddening not knowing what was going on with Dee and never hearing a word from Luke. I thought I would hate it, but I was completely wrong.2. Again Ms. Stiefvater is a master when it comes to intertwining her novels with interesting characters. And not only did she match Lament with its color, but she surpassed it! I adore Paul, Sullivan, and, yes, even the snarky Naula.3. While I didn’t fall in love with Naula and James the same way I did with Luke and Dee, I was still rooting for them! And let me just say, all the finger brushing, couples bag pipe playing, and near miss kissing had me swooning.4. While this is James story, Dee’s presence is felt. It is heartbreaking to watch her slowly spiral into depression. I loved how simply Ms. Stiefvater kept her fresh in our minds, yet didn’t steal the show away from over-the-top, adorably outspoken James.5. The book is uniquely written. Going back and forth between James and Naula’s point of views. There are no chapters, just simply sections with names. I enjoyed the flow of their thoughts. It wasn’t choppy or hard to follow, but a smooth and effortless transition from one to the other. It made the story more well rounded and helped us understand how a heathen, who is seemingly unfeeling like Naula, was truly as adorable and lovable as James comes to find.
While I liked Lament more, Ballad was a great sequel to the first book. It expanded the world, foreshadowed more madness to come, annnnnnd deepened my love for all things faerie. Where it beat Lament was it’s new set of characters. Not to mention more of James snark and wit.
Those books mean business.
*dramatic pause*
Here’s where I make a complete ass of myself…
HI!ummmm…*bites lip*You don’t know me.As you can see, I’m a HUGE fan of the Faerie series.It’s really great…So um…I was looking online for information on the next book when I saw that you weren’t planning on writing it any time soon…*heart aches*In fact, I might have read you don’t even mean to finish it after writing forever the third book in the shiver series??*crack deepens in heart*I can’t stop thinking about Luke and Dee….*laments* And now James and Naula. Not to mention Mr. Sullivan?! And what’s up with Paul!?*verklempt*But I guess my thoughts just keep going back to Dee, the very last impression I have of her- depressed, broken, alone… And Luke just … well *whispers* gone…. *gulps dramatically* I ache for them. I feel no resolution. I feel haunted by the whole damn thing! Annnd maybe… just maybe I feel a little *whispers* wronged… *blushes* I know how the writing muse works, how different it can be for each person. How sometimes, even though we might know the story we don’t know the story… However, I was just wondering if you could prod her, maybe just a little bit, see if she could write the third book now? Or at least sooner rather than later…. For the sake of Dee, of course! I mean, I’m not just think of myself here! *scoffs and blushes* Anyway… I would, you know, really appreciate it if you could give it a try, or maybe give the story a little bump in the schedule… no pressure, *throw up hands innocently* just a simple request…. so you know we the readers wheren’t just left hanging indefinitely… errrr… yeah… Sooooo…
Thanks for reading this (*thinks to self you’re a dork of course she’s not reading this duh?!*) and thank you so much for Luke, Dee, James, Naula, and their beautiful world! My whole life I’ve been looking for faeries, who knew all I needed was a little clover.
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Cutie, Love, you own me *sniffles* This post really is *sniffles more* heartbreaking. How can I now read those books??? I don't know what to do … I mean you obviously (….) love them, like a lot, like a whole freaking much, so I really can't avoid them.. Then, I now the story doesn't go on so my little heart will also break like yours… *ramblingrambling*What shall I do now?? I hope the lovely MStiefvater has a heart for those characters and writes their story to an end.. Heartbreaking and loveliest post ever *sniffles*
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Cutie, add my name to your letter to Ms. Stiefvater!!! I'm still reading them (I got sidetracked) but I know if you love them I will too and you know I like to read the WHOLE story. Great post, babe!
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LOL! *grin*
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@ Mrs. V – Me too. You should read them. They are excellent and really beautifully written. I'll hold you hand, promise!@ Pushy – *hugs* Thank you!@ Maggie Stiefvater – Soooo does that mean yes? *blushes*LOL Thank you for the comment, you just made my freaking day I'm grinning so big!
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Seriously it doesn't get much better than having Maggie Stiefvater comment on your blog! Awesome review I also love Luke and can't wait for more stories about him. Great review!
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@Cari – You can say that again!!!I'm glad you liked the review. I wrote it in a moment of passion. Luke is pretty fan-freaking-tastic… *sighs*Thank you so much for the comment!
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This book is totally awesome! (Lament) I just finished reading it last night, (stayed up till 3am and mom wasn't so happy). But whats a girl to do, I absolutely fell in love with Dee, James, and Luke. (Even had a little crushy thing goin for Freckle Freak. 😉 Loveable bad guy.)I can't wait to read Ballad!
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