*REVIEW* Lament

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. Deirdre finds herself infatuated with a mysterious boy who enters her ordinary suburban life, seemingly out of thin air. Trouble is, the enigmatic and gorgeous Luke turns out to be a gallowglass—a soulless faerie assassin. An equally hunky—and equally dangerous—dark faerie soldier named Aodhan is also stalking Deirdre. Sworn enemies, Luke and Aodhan each have a deadly assignment from the Faerie Queen. Namely, kill Deirdre before her music captures the attention of the Fae and threatens the Queen's sovereignty. Caught in the crossfire with Deirdre is James, her wisecracking but loyal best friend. Deirdre had been wishing her life weren't so dull, but getting trapped in the middle of a centuries-old faerie war isn't exactly what she had in mind . . .

It's no secret that Maggie Stiefvater is a beautiful writer. There's truly something magical about the way she puts a story together. While I did enjoy Lament, I have to say that it didn't have the same effect on me that Shiver did. I was greatly surprised by this as I am a HUGE fan of faery books.

Lament begins by introducing us to Deirdre, an extremely gifted harpist who is performing at a musical competition. Just as she is struck with her usual stage fright induced vomiting, she encounters a beautiful and otherworldly boy, a boy she thought only belonged in her dreams. From this moment on, Deirdre is thrust into a world full of strange beings, mysteries, and assassins determined to end her very existence.

See, Deirdre is a cloverhand--a person who has the ability to see faeries. And Luke is no ordinary boy. He's a gallowglass, a soulless assassin sent by the Faerie Queen herself to kill her. The Faerie Queen is convinced that Deirdre's talents will lure the loyalty of the fey away from her. Instead of committing the murder he was sent to do, Luke finds himself infatuated with Deirdre. As they form deeper and deeper feelings for one another, one thing becomes clear... everything is about to change.

We're introduced to a host of supporting characters throughout the adventure, one of the most lovable being James, Deirdre's best friend who also happens to be in love with her. James is involved each step of the way, and finds himself in a precarious situation which results in Deirdre having to make a tough choice, a choice with consequences she could have to deal with forever.

There were things I really liked about this book, and then there were some things that really didn't work for me. I loved the writing... as I said before, Maggie Stiefvater has a way with words. I really liked Deirdre as a female antagonist. I felt she was very relatable. I liked the overall story and am interested to see where the sequel, Ballad, takes the characters.

I guess the things I didn't like about the book are mostly about the connection I felt to it. In the beginning, I didn't understand why Deirdre was so interested in Luke because he really didn't do all that much for me. Usually I am ALL about that type of male character, but I got nothing from him really. I didn't feel the passion between the characters and I frankly wanted Deirdre to just stay the heck away from him! I warmed to him a little as the story went along, but I never fell for their romance. Even at the last page, I couldn't seem to care much about their fate. I much preferred the character of James. I could see something in him worth reading about and he was funny! I usually don't root for the best friend, but I was definitely in his corner.

That's probably the biggest let down for me in this book... the male romantic lead fell flat for me. Maybe I was feeling cynical when I read it, I don't know. I'm hoping I enjoy Ballad more. I've started it and after a couple chapters of a certain POV, I'm thinking I may like this one a bit more. Only time will tell.