27th out of 328 books
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496 voters
Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie (Books of Faerie #2)
by
Maggie Stiefvater (Goodreads Author)
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 t...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
October 1st 2009
by Flux
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oliviasbooks
rated it
4,5 stars!! I am quite overwelmed by how much I liked Ballad, since after reading Lament I expected a sequel that would also barely make it into the "It-was-enjoyable-but-didn't-touch-me" category. In most cases sequels even take a slight - or not so slight - drop for me. Surprisingly Ballad turned out to be what I wished Lament had been: A beautiful but eerie story in which humans meet dangerous, but alluring and likable faeries. Both worlds are shaken up. Both main characters change ...more
Ballad is the sequel to Lament, which I reviewed earlier. It’s got a bit of everything; romance, devious faeries, magic, and teen drama.
Maggie Stiefvater’s writing is much the same as in the previous book; pretty descriptions and a definite knowledge of mythology. There were a whole lot of new characters too and I just did not connect to any of them. Nuala while intriguing on her own with a spitfire personality, inner turmoil, and her own conflict with the fey, just did not grab me. ...more
Maggie Stiefvater’s writing is much the same as in the previous book; pretty descriptions and a definite knowledge of mythology. There were a whole lot of new characters too and I just did not connect to any of them. Nuala while intriguing on her own with a spitfire personality, inner turmoil, and her own conflict with the fey, just did not grab me. ...more
Maggie Stiefvater ranks as one of my best newly discovered authors of 2009 (right up there with Patrick Ness). And it's saying something, for me, that I read two books about faeries -- never my favorite topic, especially after my Melissa Marr experience gone bad -- just to read more of her stuff, even though Lament, and Ballad are not, in some ways, as tightly written as Shiver, my hands-down favorite of hers.
But Ballad still contains her lyric prose, and better yet, a truly unique n...more
But Ballad still contains her lyric prose, and better yet, a truly unique n...more
Originally posted at Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me
Ballad exceeded my expectations and managed to surprise me at every turn. No longer are we focused on Dee, but on her best friend James. When he begins attending Thornking-Ash, a school for the gifted and talented, he finds himself mystified by a faerie named Nuala who just can't seem to leave him alone, and not for evil reasons either. Soon, James finds himself torn between right and wrong, friendship and love, and life and death.
...more
Ballad exceeded my expectations and managed to surprise me at every turn. No longer are we focused on Dee, but on her best friend James. When he begins attending Thornking-Ash, a school for the gifted and talented, he finds himself mystified by a faerie named Nuala who just can't seem to leave him alone, and not for evil reasons either. Soon, James finds himself torn between right and wrong, friendship and love, and life and death.
...more
Wow, I really liked this book. I wasn't sure what to expect at first. I was really hoping it was going to truly continue from where Lament left off and finished the story or at least answer some of my questions..... It did continue, but from James point of view. I really like James in Lament and loved him in Ballad. I got sucked into this story really wanting to find out what happens.
At this point I feel like I'm holding my breath with the anticipation of hearing if there will be more book...more
At this point I feel like I'm holding my breath with the anticipation of hearing if there will be more book...more
I think that the more I read by Maggie Stiefvater the more I love her books. I have found so much to appreciate about her writing. This book does not disappoint.
Be forewarned that if you read this book right after Lament you might have unfulfilled expectations. There is very little Dee and what you get of her is a very different side than in the first book. More about that in a sec. Also there is no Luke. This book if from James' perspective and takes off on a different but r...more
Be forewarned that if you read this book right after Lament you might have unfulfilled expectations. There is very little Dee and what you get of her is a very different side than in the first book. More about that in a sec. Also there is no Luke. This book if from James' perspective and takes off on a different but r...more
Nobody writes longing like Maggie Stiefvater. It clings to every page, wraps itself around your heart. Trust me. When you're done reading one of her books, you are ready to make the person laying next to you happy. Very happy.
I read Shiver last fall after Myra McEntire raved about it repeatedly. I was not disappointed. I liked it so much I bought more copies and gave them away for Christmas gifts. I told everyone I knew to read the book. Then hubby brought me Lament as a souvenir from ...more
I read Shiver last fall after Myra McEntire raved about it repeatedly. I was not disappointed. I liked it so much I bought more copies and gave them away for Christmas gifts. I told everyone I knew to read the book. Then hubby brought me Lament as a souvenir from ...more
See, I have this strange thing about me. When I read a book I put myself entirely into it. So when I read the Wicked Lovely books I was fully warped into Keenan/Seth and Ash lives. When I read Ink Exchange however, I felt lost cause it wasn't there story.
When I read Lament, again, I connected with the characters Luke and Dee.
So now comes BALLAD and again, I felt the lost of the characters that I wanted to read about.
This is only because with the Wicked Lovely books and now Lame...more
When I read Lament, again, I connected with the characters Luke and Dee.
So now comes BALLAD and again, I felt the lost of the characters that I wanted to read about.
This is only because with the Wicked Lovely books and now Lame...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Maggie' Stiefvater’s writing really is so addictive. It hooks you right from the start and seems to flow with a lyric all of its own. When I first read Lament, I was left wanting to learn more about one character in particular- James. There were quick little glimpses into his character, but not enough to satisfy my curiosity about him. I hoped that in the sequel we'd get to learn more about him. Let me just say, if you felt the same way- then Ballad will not disappoint you. Right from page one I...more
Ballad starts with James and Dee at the private school for musicians. Jame's talent attracts Nuala, who just happens to be a soul snatcher (who's also a faerie muse) who finds and feeds off of those with exceptional gifts. Everyone she's been attracted to dies after she feeds on them. What neither of them excepts is to develop a relationship. I have to say that they both dish up a healthy dose of snarkiness and I love it.
James still has feelings for Dee, who's still grieving over Lu...more
James still has feelings for Dee, who's still grieving over Lu...more
Three words; addictive, magical, & wicked.
I've been eagerly awaiting this novel since the last pages of Lament. Eagerly awaiting to fulfill my craving of James, I mean! Ballad, although could be considered a sequel to Lament, is more of a companion novel. Let me just say that Ballad finally (finally!) satisfies that insatiable hunger for James, after that enticing, all to short, glimpse during Lament. And can I say, that I only love him more. His witty retorts, his one line smart ass...more
I've been eagerly awaiting this novel since the last pages of Lament. Eagerly awaiting to fulfill my craving of James, I mean! Ballad, although could be considered a sequel to Lament, is more of a companion novel. Let me just say that Ballad finally (finally!) satisfies that insatiable hunger for James, after that enticing, all to short, glimpse during Lament. And can I say, that I only love him more. His witty retorts, his one line smart ass...more
I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. As mentioned in my Lament review, I loved James' character and was excited to see a book written from his point of view. I still enjoyed reading from James' perspective and we got a much deeper characterization of him than what we saw from Dierdre's viewpoint, which was just a carefree, funny guy. In this book, he is still funny, but there's a lot more going on inside his head than we ever thought. I really enjoyed seeing that shift between t...more
La Stiefvater mi aveva trascinata senza troppi ma e troppi se con Shiver, mi aveva incuriosita con Whisper - anche se la mia curiosità ne era uscita un po' delusa perché non avevo ritrovato lo stesso potere di Shiver - e ora con Destiny, seguito di Whisper, speravo di trovare o ritrovare un po' del fascino della scrittrice.
Tentativo fallito su ogni fronte.
Mi trascino questa lettura da giorni, senza aver il coraggio di abbandonare precipitosamente il libro, ma senza avere la voglia e ...more
Tentativo fallito su ogni fronte.
Mi trascino questa lettura da giorni, senza aver il coraggio di abbandonare precipitosamente il libro, ma senza avere la voglia e ...more
I was very sad when I finished this story. Not that I didn't love it - because I did - but Ballad was the last remaining Maggie Stiefvater novel that I hadn't read, which means no more until next year probably.
I don't think I need to tell you again how much I love Maggie Stiefvater's writing. It is absolutely magical and beautiful and lyrical and whatever other wonderful adjectives you can think of to describe wordsmiths. It gives me that warm, fuzzy good book feeling and at the same t...more
I don't think I need to tell you again how much I love Maggie Stiefvater's writing. It is absolutely magical and beautiful and lyrical and whatever other wonderful adjectives you can think of to describe wordsmiths. It gives me that warm, fuzzy good book feeling and at the same t...more
BALLAD is the companion novel to Maggie Stiefvater's novel Lament. Except where Lament mostly followed mostly Dee's story, Ballad follows James. Both James and Dee have just started at their new music school. Although their relationship has become strained so we rarely see Dee in this novel. James' gift for music has attracted Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and then feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. The story switches between both James and Nua...more
Ballad
Maggie Stiefvater
Flux, 2009
ISBN 0738714844
Trade Paperback
James, a teen with a remarkable gift for music, is surrounded by other students with artistic talents at Thornking-Ash School of Music, a boarding school in the mountains of Virginia. His long-time best friend, Dee, is also a student there but they are estranged, torn apart by earlier events involving the faerie world and a text message James sent to Dee that changed everything between them.
...more
Maggie Stiefvater
Flux, 2009
ISBN 0738714844
Trade Paperback
James, a teen with a remarkable gift for music, is surrounded by other students with artistic talents at Thornking-Ash School of Music, a boarding school in the mountains of Virginia. His long-time best friend, Dee, is also a student there but they are estranged, torn apart by earlier events involving the faerie world and a text message James sent to Dee that changed everything between them.
...more
Destiny costituisce il secondo e ultimo volume della saga Books of faerie di Maggie Stiefvater, serie di esordio della scrittrice che si è poi conquistata la fama con la trilogia The Wolves of Mercy Falls (Shiver, Deeper, Forever).
La storia riprende più o meno da dove l’avevamo lasciata solo che il pov slitta, passando da Dee a James: è proprio questo cambiamento, secondo me, a far decollare il romanzo molto di più del volume precedente, Whisper.
James è intelligente, iro...more
La storia riprende più o meno da dove l’avevamo lasciata solo che il pov slitta, passando da Dee a James: è proprio questo cambiamento, secondo me, a far decollare il romanzo molto di più del volume precedente, Whisper.
James è intelligente, iro...more
I read Ballad without reading the first book in the series, and I must say....I LOVE JAMES! I mean, he's witty, artistic, sarcastic, and honorable. I'm not swoony over him, but I just like him so much. I'd have wanted him as my best guy friend in high school, and I'm super glad that he has Nuala when Dee is so selfish and stand offish for the whole book. I really disliked her intensely (she pulls some pretty selfish and immature crap) until the end when James (and thus the reader) realize that s...more
The highest compliment that I can pay this book is that Maggie Stiefvater does what I didn't think was possible: write a book with clear shades of Charles deLint while still making it her own. There is a celtic music backdrop, and a faerie world just beyond the borders of our seen world, and a number of people with the gift of seeing or hearing the calls of the unseen faeries. But, throughout BALLAD I felt Stiefvater was, at most, only sharing many of the same props while making them entirely h...more
After I read this I found I no longer liked Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception as much. James and Nuala are both stronger characters and more alive than Deidre was. And James and Nuala together came across as more realistic.
James was snarky and glib and totally unrepentant, and I loved it. He was a much stronger character as shown by the fact he lost Deidre and he didn't fall apart, he was sad and missed his best friend but he moved on. He was hilarious and a great friend to Peter ...more
James was snarky and glib and totally unrepentant, and I loved it. He was a much stronger character as shown by the fact he lost Deidre and he didn't fall apart, he was sad and missed his best friend but he moved on. He was hilarious and a great friend to Peter ...more
Beautifully crafted magic, brimming with life and discovery. Ballad’s plot is not all too predictable, yet not all too solid. Much is left unexplained; the details I needed can only be found in Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception, which is the first book. Unfortunately for me, I’ve yet to read Lament – which most explains my utter confusion concerning Deirdre “Dee” Monaghan.
What is her deal? and Why is she so important to James? are only two of the many, many questions that fluttere...more
What is her deal? and Why is she so important to James? are only two of the many, many questions that fluttere...more
STOP! Before you read this review, I have to tell you that it’s a sequel. A really, really good sequel.
Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception is the book that came before, and it was reasonably good. It featured the classic “girl with nice guy best friend meets magical hot guy and finds her helpless-in-a-supposed-to-be-endearing-way self in the middle of a” love triangle. (Disclaimer: I nearly always go for the best friend instead of the magical hottie. I hold a grudge against liter...more
Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception is the book that came before, and it was reasonably good. It featured the classic “girl with nice guy best friend meets magical hot guy and finds her helpless-in-a-supposed-to-be-endearing-way self in the middle of a” love triangle. (Disclaimer: I nearly always go for the best friend instead of the magical hottie. I hold a grudge against liter...more
Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids
rated it
Ballad starts with James and Dee at the private school for musicians. Jame's talent attracts Nuala, who just happens to be a soul snatcher (who's also a faerie muse) who finds and feeds off of those with exceptional gifts. Everyone she's been attracted to dies after she feeds on them. What neither of them excepts is to develop a relationship. I have to say that they both dish up a healthy dose of snarkiness and I love it.
James still has feelings for Dee, who's still grieving over Luke...more
James still has feelings for Dee, who's still grieving over Luke...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. I thought this was a really good book by itself, but it was terrible as a sequel, especially as an ending to a series. I had several problems with this one. I hated the ending, but I did like James as a character (he was quirky enough to be interesting), even Nuala. I thought she was good for him. However, I still skimmed most of it, even with two funny, very likeable main characters. And I hated Dee in this book. She did a complete 180 from...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
As far as books go as a stand alone this one would have been okay. It's not a page turner like Lament and it's not poetic like Shiver, but still it was a decent story.
My frustration comes in with it being marketed as a sequel to Lament, which ends sadly with James apparently being dead, Luke Dillon's soul being returned but him having to go live with a group of faeries to avoid dieing once his soul is returned. But apparently I seriously misread that last chapter because James is al...more
My frustration comes in with it being marketed as a sequel to Lament, which ends sadly with James apparently being dead, Luke Dillon's soul being returned but him having to go live with a group of faeries to avoid dieing once his soul is returned. But apparently I seriously misread that last chapter because James is al...more
by amy
Nuala is part muse, part psychic vampire. While the freedom to sing or write or create is denied her, her mark across history is unmistakable; a trail of brilliant poets, musicians, and artists who have died tragically young. She had no sympathy for their abbreviated life spans; every thirteen Halloweens she burns in a bonfire and rises from her ashes with no memories of what has come before other than the knowledge of how her end will come.
James is the best bagpiper in t...more
Nuala is part muse, part psychic vampire. While the freedom to sing or write or create is denied her, her mark across history is unmistakable; a trail of brilliant poets, musicians, and artists who have died tragically young. She had no sympathy for their abbreviated life spans; every thirteen Halloweens she burns in a bonfire and rises from her ashes with no memories of what has come before other than the knowledge of how her end will come.
James is the best bagpiper in t...more
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All of Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she's tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She's made her living as one or the other since she...more
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“Death smells like birthday cake.”
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“I tried to picture her in a class, any class, anywhere on campus, and failed miserably. I pictured her frolicking in a forest glade around some guy she'd just sacrificed to a heathen god. That image worked way better.”
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Dec 12, 2010 02:55pm
Dec 12, 2010 04:56pm