Ballad

Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie (Books of Faerie, #2)by Maggie StiefvaterI feel like it took me forever to finally pick up and read Ballad after I bought it. The problem with being a mood reader is that even though I know I really, really, really want a book and then I get it and realize I'm just not in the mood for that kind of book. I find Maggie Stiefvater's writing to be very serious at times and I just wasn't in a serious writing sort of place for a long time. Sure there are some humourous moments in the story, but on the whole, this book, along with Lament are pretty heavy and serious stories.You'd think with everything going on in my life these days I'd be staying far, far away from serious books, but that's that threw me when this book called out to me. It wanted to be read finally and I listened.Two things went through my mind constantly while I read Ballad. 1) James is awesome and I love how he and his mother interact. 2) Dee is NOT awesome and she needs to just SEND THE BLOODY TEXT MESSAGES ALREADY!Every few chapters there is a page with a text message that Dee has composed to James and does not send. I have to say that after about the 4th text I was getting really tired of seeing them. I contemplated just skipping them altogether because they were making me angry but I didn't, so I'd get more annoyed at Dee and hope that her death or something would be plotted by the end of this story.I started out not like Nuala at all when she first appeared and by the end of the book I loved her. I loved her and James together as odd a pairing as it was. I loved James' roommate Paul and his teacher Mr...uh.. crap, I'm drawing a blank, Sullivan? (In my defense I finished this book over a week ago and don't have it near me right now!) I loved how the interaction between the characters all seemed normal and not dramatic and angsty.Maggie Stiefvater is great at storytelling and writing compelling characters. They always seem like they can be real people you'd meet in every day life. Even her faeries. They don't seem like characters that were written to just be in a story, you know, those perfect ones that are all perfect in every way just because they are in a story or movie? Her characters are realistic and I think that's part of why I love this series of books so much.I have never read any of her other series, the one with the werewolf. Why? Mainly because I really do not like werewolves or vampires and I tend to shy away from stories that focus on those two types of paranormal creatures. I am curious about how they are written though, so maybe one day I'll pick up the first book and give it a go. I make no promises however. Meanwhile, I cannot wait for something else to be written by Maggie Stiefvater!