Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

Remember us, so sing the dead, lest we remember you

James Morgan has an almost unearthly gift for music. And it has attracted Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and then feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. James has plenty of reasons to fear the faeries, but as he and Nuala collaborate on an achingly beautiful musical composition, James finds his feelings towards Nuala deepening. But the rest of the fairies are not as harmless. As Halloween—the day of the dead—draws near, James will have to battle the Faerie Queen and the horned king of the dead to save Nuala's life and his soul.

Review:

After my whirlwind reading of The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, I decided I might as well read Ballad, the only other book of Maggie’s I had not read, as well. To the tell truth I was blown away, as not only was it incredibly well written but it also contained an original and exciting plot.

Ballad continues the story of James and Dee but with James center stage and Dee as a secondary character. James has just arrived at Thornking-Ash, an exclusive music school, and at first, James feels relatively bored at the school. His bagpipe instructor ends up being a bust, his roommate is no better, and things between him and Dee are worse than ever. However, everything changes when Nula, a soul-snatching faerie, arrives. He knows Nula is no good, especially given what happened last year, but he cannot help but be drawn to her. Before he knows, James begins to develop a friendship with Nula and to help her overcome her past troubles. There are forces working against them, though, ones that would like nothing better than to take Nula away from him. Will Nula and James be able to save everything before it is too late? Only time and more pages call tell in this exciting novel, which is sure to entice nearly anyone.

James is one of the types of characters I adore reading about, as not only does he ooze charm but also sarcasm as well as wit that continually had me laughing aloud. I especially enjoyed seeing his relationship with Nula develop, as not only was it sweet and reasonably paced, but it also caused the type of character development I enjoy seeing. Ballad included Nula’s POV as well, which was a great addition to say the least.

The plot in this was nothing short of fabulous as well. I am not usually one for novels involving faeries, but Maggie gives them and their world such a creative twist that it is hard not to love everything involved with them. I especially enjoyed learning more about Nula and her faerie abilities, and I liked the development Maggie put into Dee’s story as well.

As mentioned before, Maggie’s writing is another high point of Ballad. As I have said numerous times before, her writing never ceases to amaze me. It is perfectly captures the character’s feelings and desires, bringing them quickly to life right in front of the reader. Seriously, the more I read her books, the more I come to appreciate and see her immense talent.

Romantic, unique, and hilarious, Maggie Stiefvater’s Ballad is a book you simply cannot miss. In addition, if you’re already missing the Wolves of Mercy Fall trilogy and haven’t read this one yet, reading this is the perfect way to feel a little less sad about that series ending.

Grade: A+

Ballad is now out!

Source: Publicist at Flux

Sidenote: If you haven't read Lament yet, I suggest you start with this one instead. You don't need to read Lament to understand what's occurring for the most part, and in a lot of ways, it's much, much better than Lament.