Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Dee & James are back in the dark sequel to Stiefvater's Lament.

Things are decidedly awkward between Dee and James, formerly the best of friends until a fateful text that ruined their friendship at the end of the last book. Now starting at their new art school, Thornking-Ash, they barely hang out and the air between them is heavy with the tension of words that have been left unsaid.

James is still as cocky and witty as in Lament. You often feel like either giving James a hug or a slap behind the head, depending on the situation. Nothing new there but his comical observations and one-liners are still as entertaining as ever. Dee, on the other hand... well apart from littering some of the pages of the book with unsent texts to James in lame failed attempts to bare her soul and the occasional odd Emo appearances that makes you want to slap her...really hard... or push her off a tall building, Dee barely registers in this book until the end. So without a doubt, Ballad is mostly from the view point of James, picking up where the last book left off.

Apart from the new friends James makes at Thornking-Ash, such as Sullivan a pretty cool down to earth teacher that let's kids drink coffee during lessons, my favourite character in this book is Nuala. Known as a leanan sidhe, Nuala is a solitary fey who inspires gifted humans to new creative soaring heights before feeding off their energy when they end up dying before their time. This beautiful but deadly muse has now decided to make her new mark James but he is adamant not to play her game. What follows is an entertaining & often comical battle of the wills/wits as Nuala tries to convince James to make a deal with her and James tries to lead a semi normal life. Key word - TRIES. Understandably hard when Nuala can turn into your deepest desire or worst nightmare. Still, as the story progresses you find that there maybe more to Nuala than she lets on.

Meanwhile Thornking-Ash is more than what it appears to be as well and as characters from the previous book start showing up during the course of the story you realise that there might be some unfinished business left to attend to and new dangers to face.

Overall it wasn't a bad book and it wasn't what I expected, which was surprising in a good way. As entertaining as it was to witness James finally "grow a pair" as Nuala puts it, I really hope there is a 3rd book that answers my old questions from the 1st book and the new questions from the 2nd book.






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Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Deirdre "Dee" Monaghan always thought herself a plain & ordinary, completely invisible to those around her. That is until she meets incredibly hunky & mysterious Luke Dillon. A gifted flautist with dark, dangerous secrets who has taken more than a passing interest in Dee.

After performing a completely awe inspiring duet with Luke at a local music competition, it sets off a series of strange & dangerous events that causes Dee to change her views of those around her as well as herself as she finds out she's far from ordinary... Dee is a "cloverhand"; a human with unique supernatural abilities which fairies seem to gravitate towards the closer it gets to Solstice and not all of them are... friendly...

It's a dark tale that reminiscent of the Holly Black's Tithe but is filled with Stiefvater's own brand of witty banter, which lightens the mood of the book when it gets perilously close to being too heavy. The comic relief of Dee's cute best friend James alone has had me chuckling more than once at his funny observations and lighthearted one-liners. The exchanges between Dee & Luke as she tries to figure out who or what he is exactly is also quite entertaining, especially as their little friendship becomes something more than either of them expected...

A good read, though the ending leaves things unsaid and left me wanting just a little more. I guess it's all the more reason to read the sequel Ballad. Happy reading.



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Book Review: Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

"It's beautiful." Fascination replaced fear, and I ran my fingertip along the automaton's sleeve. The velvet was nearly as soft as a rabbit's fur, and beneath it traced the line of a metallic skeleton.

We find our heroine Nimira (Nim) dancing & singing as a "trouser girl" on a dank music hall for a living in New Sweeling. Nim was once the daughter of a privileged family in the court of Tiansher but after her mother, a favourite in the Royal Court Troupe, died everything changed for the worst and Nimira set sail leaving everything behind to seek her fortune.When she catches the eye of dashing sorcerer Hollin Parry, he offers her an escape from her dreary existence but at what cost?

In return for a home, new clothes & food in her belly Nim must sing in accompaniment to an Automan, a fairy-made clockwork man who plays a pianoforte when wound up with a key.

Large brown eyes stared glassily ahead from a finely crafted face, its lips shut and perked in a smile. I nearly believed it could come to life with the slightest provocation. Soft brown hair framed its forehead and cheekbones, with delicate ears poking out, and the rest drawn back at his neck into a blue satin bow.

Sounds easy right? As the story continues you find that the Automan is infamous in the Parry household for being haunted and that previously hired female singers have often not lasted longer than a day or two in its presence. If a haunted Automan wasn't enough, she also has to contend with Miss Rashten, a keeper of dark secrets hidden in the manor that makes her disapproval of Nim very clear and Mr Smollings, the new creepy Ambassador of Magic, who has more than keen interest in the Automan & Parry household. Does Nim have the courage to discover the truth?

Once I picked up and started reading the book I got sucked right in. Lovers of enchantments, fairies & hidden secrets will love this book. You can't help but admire Nim for her determination & courage through the course of the story. I hope that there is a sequel coming out soon, as the ending left it open to the possibility of a further adventure.

P.S. The characters I imagined as I read the book looked nothing like the ones on the front cover... I guess the illustrator didn't really read the book =-p

Pages: 225 pages