SUMMARY (from Goodreads): In this mesmerizing sequel to Lament, 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 OPINION:
Ballad is not the usual type of a sequel. Though
connected to Lament and Dee’s story,
it does not continue it in a straightforward manner, but rather focuses on
Dee’s friend James and his story, which is a refreshing approach.
In Ballad, Stiefvater continues to rely
upon the faerie mythology, which is pretty new and intriguing to me. The
student life and dealing with supernatural occurrences are well balanced and
the book is beautifully written. James’s and Nuala’s relationship is more
down-to-earth than Dee’s and Luke’s in Lament
– it is a beauty-in-sadness kind of story. I was a little surprised by the
ending which seems, though I like it, somewhat artificial.
Still, I
enjoyed Ballad very much and I am
looking forward to the third part of the trilogy, as I expect there is still
something left to be revealed about James and Nuala, and also Sullivan. In
addition, I hope the last book in the series tells a few more things about Dee
and brings her storyline to some sort of a conclusion.
RECOMMENDATION: Any YA reader would enjoy this story of love
and magic. Its beautiful language makes the book an easy and fast read.
I had to go back and read your review of Lament, but these books sounds really good! I may give them a try... I didn't like Shiver by this author, so maybe I'll like this series instead.
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