I think the most interesting thing about reading Ballad and Lament is working out which threads [a:Maggie Stiefvater|1330292|Maggie Stiefvater|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1384827512p2/1330292.jpg]eventually chose to weave into her much more successful stories, especially the Raven Cycle.

Here, we experience the story through the eyes of James, a snarky, arrogant musician, but the story itself pulls from Irish myth and the combination isn't quite right. The plot doesn't allow for readers to focus on James as a character the way we can focus on and tease out the brokenness in a similarly arrogant musician like Cole in the [b:Shiver |10121801|Shiver Trilogy Boxset (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1-3)|Maggie Stiefvater|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388191675s/10121801.jpg|15019516] world. And James' voice-- one of sarcastic disinterest-- also takes away from the mystery and allure of the mythology. It blunts the idea that magic could be real, which is something you have to suspend disbelief to be swept up in as a reader. Reading the story through an inherently skeptical character's eyes doesn't allow that, but Stiefvater corrects this imbalance in The Raven Cycle by introducing Gansey and the rest of the RB crew, who know magic is real, either through experience or through steadfast belief. Even Adam, the skeptic, wants to believe.

Ballad wasn't good the way [b:The Raven Boys|17675462|The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)|Maggie Stiefvater|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415182016s/17675462.jpg|18970934] is good, which is why I gave it 2 stars, but reading it to discover why it doesn't work was incredibly instructive.

I will never ever get bored of Maggie's writing style! It's gripping, emotional and utterly addictive!

So much better than Lament. I really like James better than Dee. He was a lot more sensible than Dee, which was amazing. The dual point of view was great. I loved seeing both James' and Nuala's side of things. It was also cool to see how Stiefvater's writing has developed over the years. Even just between Lament and Ballad, there was a tremendous transformation! Definitely recommended for Stiefvater fans or anyone!!

I didn't enjoy this one as much as Lament, but it was still pretty good. It really didn't get interesting till the end. What I really didn't get was the love story between the James and Nuala. It just didn't add up for me. But overall a very interesting story, and the ending left room for another one. I also thought that Dee played too little a part of the story. I wish there had been more of her and of Paul.

2020 reread:
Hmmmm this hasn't aged exactly excellently but Sullivan is still one of the best things Stiefvater has ever done.



Original review:
James is such a fan-flipping-tastic character. As is Sullivan. I'll give a fuller review later, but I had to say that much, at least.

3.5

Not my favourite MS book, slow but I think the younger audience its potentially aimed at would appreciate the story more than I did.

"It might not be amazing, it might not be shocking, it might not be scandalizing, but I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt: it is real. For that - I am deeply sorry."

+ : Nuala is awesome. James is hysterical.
- : I missed Luke. A lot.

This has spoilers from the first book in the series and the second.

This book was frustrating. I liked the way Dee's story was semi interwoven with the texts because it let you know a little on what was going on, but on the same page, I hated it because everything is then more dramatic than it needs to be if they just had one tough conversation at the start then a lot of crap could have been avoided. People complain about their problems but some things are easily solved once you stop making a drama out of it. It peeved me off so much throughout the whole entire book and I found Dee's character becoming more un likable throughout the novel. James, was okay. That's all.

There is just something missing from these books and I can't quite put my finger on what. I'm supposed to care about these characters and I just...don't. I'm just not connecting. It's not as if it's badly written either. I find the world she has created interesting as well, so I don't know why I'm really not enjoying this series.

Nuala was interesting. Without her, this book would have been dull and I felt like I knew her more than I had ever gotten to know Luke. Which is a plus side as Luke was like a ghost in the last book, yet we were supposed to understand why the Dee falls in love with him in five minutes.

This book was a lot better than the 1st but I still feel like the ending was rushed, neverless, ill probably end up read the last one, because I like knowing the full story.