Tags: YA, fantasy, faeries, love, deception, musicRating: 4 out of 5
Summary
Luke was sent to kill Deirdre, but neither of them anticipated falling in love with each other. Now, Luke is risking his life to save hers, but Deirdre is not going to let the evil faerie queen walk all over her and destroy her and her family, friends, and loves. Maybe Deirdre is more of a threat to the queen than she herself thought…
Review
Maggie Stiefvater is going to be the rising voice of YA faerie fiction, I can tell. She writes brilliantly, the story is intricate yet satisfying, and, most of all, her characters are the kind you’ll want to fall in love with or be.
We are thrown right into the story from the very beginning, which is confusing for about the first half of the book, as we do not know Luke’s unspeakable history or his connection to Deirdre and the amount of danger she is in. Fortunately, Maggie Stiefvater’s writing totally makes up for that: Deirdre’s narrative tone can be described as “irreverent:” she’s a witty and self-deprecating observer who still manages to pull kick-butt abilities out of thin air as if she’d been born to do it all along.
The characters are truly what make this book. Deirdre is your ideal female protagonist, and Luke her heartbreakingly dazzling male counterpart. Even secondary characters—such as James, Deirdre’s wisecracking best friend, and Una, a bold faerie—take on full shape and importance. It didn’t matter how confusing the beginning was, because once I really got into the book, it was impossible to put down, that’s how deep my connection to the characters was.
LAMENT leaves off on a bittersweet note, and I can’t tell you how eager I am for the release of BALLAD, a companion book. If I could devour Maggie’s writing as food all day, I would. Instead, I will be content to reread LAMENT over and over again, desperately waiting for what she has to show us next.
Similar Authors
Holly Black
Melissa Marr
Writing: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Want more? Do you even have to ask? Yes!
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
Cover discussion: 3.5 out of 5 - I love this so much more than its original cover, particularly the falling green clovers on the black background.
Flux / Oct. 2008
I was kind of on the fence with this one. I only rated it a half point lower than you did but it was one of those books that I read it once and now I'm good. I have the sequel so I'm going to read it but if I didn't, I wouldn't.
ReplyDeleteHi Steph, I'm going to have to read this one. My heart skipped a beat when you said she was a harpist. The harp plays a major role in my WIP, which you commented on (on my blog and Beth's). That's the trouble with concepts, you gotta hope yours is different from what anybody else may do.
ReplyDeleteWhy did you find this one hard to get into for half the book? Too complicated a plot? Too many characters introduced?
See, I didn't like Luke at all. But I loved Dee, James and Una! I rather agree with you about the begining of the story, though. I got the hang of it pretty quick, but it does toss you in there in the middle of things!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great book and I am so looking forward to BALLAD.
I haven't read any books by Maggie but something tells me that I'm gonna like them a lot. For some reason I'm excited about Ballad as well : )
ReplyDeleteI read the first chapter of this on her site and then forgot all about it! I'll add it to my wishlist :)
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ReplyDelete