A review by qgg
Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie by Maggie Stiefvater
3.0
In book 1 of Maggie Stiefvater's faerie series, James was a loyal, funny, psychic guy in love with Dee who we don't really get a chance to know well. In book 2, he's one of two voices and we see inside his head. It turns out that he's bitter, deeply sarcastic, bristly, neurotic and cocky. Yes, nearly dying and being stuck in the friend zone could make one bitter, but why is he an asshole to his roommate and the one teacher who cares about him? Add his intense neuroses and a peek inside his head and I really struggled to give a crap about him for the first half of the book.
The second voice of the book was Nuala, the muse. She's a part faerie, part human, ethereal mind reader and dream weaver with a gift for music. She's unable to make music herself or write it down. Also she's a killer and James can see right through her tricks. Nuala was, by far, the most interesting part of this book.
Book one Dee had all sorts of powers, but in this book she seemed to only retain the ability to write texts and not send them. Helpless Dee was no fun to read at all. Plus, it was jarring to read a new female interest while the original was still around and not acting like herself at all.
Then there is Sullivan, the language arts teacher who doesn't act like a teacher at all. He lives in the boys' dorm and seems to be on 24 hour watch over James. I found myself questioning this "school" and it's methods even more than James.
So all of this adds up to a book that I had to finish but a story that I could never sink into. I spent too much time questioning the characters and their motivations. Maggie Stiefvater's writing, mood setting and story weaving are still amazing, but the characters and their changes from book one to two didn't fully work.
The second voice of the book was Nuala, the muse. She's a part faerie, part human, ethereal mind reader and dream weaver with a gift for music. She's unable to make music herself or write it down. Also she's a killer and James can see right through her tricks. Nuala was, by far, the most interesting part of this book.
Book one Dee had all sorts of powers, but in this book she seemed to only retain the ability to write texts and not send them. Helpless Dee was no fun to read at all. Plus, it was jarring to read a new female interest while the original was still around and not acting like herself at all.
Then there is Sullivan, the language arts teacher who doesn't act like a teacher at all. He lives in the boys' dorm and seems to be on 24 hour watch over James. I found myself questioning this "school" and it's methods even more than James.
So all of this adds up to a book that I had to finish but a story that I could never sink into. I spent too much time questioning the characters and their motivations. Maggie Stiefvater's writing, mood setting and story weaving are still amazing, but the characters and their changes from book one to two didn't fully work.