I liked this more than Lament. James is a more sympathetic and fleshed out character than Diedre was in Lament. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the various types of Sidhe and of Cernunnos. It's still definitely a supernatural teen romance novel but it's probably the closest I've come to enjoying one as I did Tithe.

Ahh, back to the wit and style I expect from a Stiefvater novel. I found Dee so incredibly annoying in this book and she's the reason I didn't like Lament as much

So many Y.A. books are aimed at girls these days, it is easy to forget that teenage boys can be witty and smart and sensitive. James is a character you just want to read and read.

These books. It's embarrassing how much I loved them. This is every terrible comfort food. Faerie folklore and teen romance. Its full of rebellious teen angst, negligent adults, toxic relationships, and bad bad bad decisions. But it gave me nostalgia for being an angry emo in the late 90s. But mixing Irish reels with Audio Slave references

Absolutely loved this book!

This was a sensational book. Honestly, I loved it. I sort of forgot the exact details of what happened in the first book, but it didn't really matter because Ballad was told from James's point of view. His humor and cockiness is hilarious. Nuala is a great character too. Ballad has a great love story that keeps you reading and leaves you wanting more.

In Ballad the companion novel to Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception we get a bit more acquainted with James Morgan. We first met him in Lament where he was hopelessly in love with with his best friend Dee. Now he and Dee are at Thornking-Ash a prestigious school for the musically inclined. And the faeries seem to have followed them. Can he get over his feelings for Dee and ward off the impending Faerie attack too?

I was a big fan of James in Lament. Sometimes the underdog stills my heart. Plus I seem to have a thing for red-heads and he plays the bagpipes! So I was excited that Ballad was narrated by James. We get to learn much more about him and all his troubles. He has plenty of them.
I really liked Nuala and all the new characters that were introduced. I was able to completely go from disliking Nuala to loving her by the end. Maggie also has a great sense of humor that she instills in her characters.

I honestly think that Maggie Stiefvater can do no wrong. Lament was great, Shiver was Amazing and now Ballad. How does she do it? O don't know but I hope she keeps it up. I can't wait for more books by her.

http://www.pureimaginationblog.com/

So I was dissapointed with this book. At first I thought it was going to be an actual sequel from Dee's pov but it wasnt. Not that I didnt like James but i felt like it could of been so much better. The thing that had me the most frustrated was that crazy things were going on and no one was questioning it or talking about. Especially Dee with the whole not sending the text messages to James; and him not tellin her what was going on.

I kinds of liked James but I didnt like how he was made out to be this person that everyone liked and wanted to be. I just felt he really wasnt that fully developed or special. I didnt care for how little explanations there really was in this world of fey. Or even the climax when everything was going down how everyone was just waiting around. I mean really Nuala could of burned as soon as the bonfires were lit to save time. Dee could of been saved so much easily but evryone was just standing around. Even sullivan I felt since he lived with the faires for seven years he would give more insight on there world but he really didnt.

Even when they went to meet the Thornking it was just wierd how Nuala was suposably his daughter but that wasnt explained to much either. Or even James being a seer suposably and being able to see past and present. It was like a lot of thing were thrown into to the book to make it more interesting but all the kinks werent worked out. Half way through the book i really wanted to give up because of the pace and lack of plot really, but i pulled through that way i can finish the book.

It wasnt extremely horrible but it wasn't good. I did like Nualas character she was intersteing but besides that the book could have been so much better.