Customer Reviews

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception (Gathering of Faerie)

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(48)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As a rule, I generally find the fiction directed at young women frustrating. So often, it's populated by Kicky Young Heroines with *just enough* strength and self-reliance to be bothered when they ultimately have to be rescued by the male love interest, but not quite enough to get out of trouble without his help. Too many authors lack the skill to create dramatic tension without placing the main character in a danger she just can't escape on her own, and the most dramatically convenient means of rescue is usually her love interest. The underlying message of, "no matter how strong you are, you're still a girl and girls get rescued by men who think they're pretty," is pervasive.

So, it was with certain reservations that I picked up Maggie Stiefvater's "Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception" on the recommendation of a friend. In my head I was already trying to think of diplomatic ways to compliment a Young Adult Faerie Book without having to point out Kicky Ineffectual Heroines and overly perky and harmless (or unreasonably malicious and evil) fae.

"Lament" blew all that right out of the water.

First, the core of the story is about women. Deirdre's relationship with her mother and grandmother, her relationship with her aunt, her relationship with the Faerie Queen, all played out across the story of a young woman making the choices that will determine the course of her life. The love story, though woven through the tale, supports the focus on Deirdre instead of overwhelming it; this is a refreshing change from the languishing heroine waiting for life to start for her and bemoaning her singlehood (usually because 'normal guys' can't handle her Special Uniqueness) until magically the perfect guy comes along who just happens to be [insert dramatic and predictable otherworldly cliche].

Part of this comes from the fact that Stiefvater balances the love interest with a strong core friendship that it can't replace, and part of it comes from the fact that like many of us, Deirdre has to make most of her really hard decisions alone, and she's faced with a lot of very realistic complication in the way she has to balance the relationships in her life. Stiefvater places her protagonist in situations where she has to acknowledge and consider the very different sorts of love and relationships in her life, and can't simply let fear or infatuation guide her choices. It creates a much better dramatic tension and a much better read than simply placing her in an inescapable danger.

Stiefvater's fae were another pleasant surprise. Instead of the benign, ethereal beauties or the deliberately evil monsters I've come to expect from popular fiction (not to mention the giggly little winged flower sprites), the fae in "Lament" are complex and subtle. The word most appropriate to the faeries of the older tales is 'perilous', and these fae most certainly are. Are they good guys? Are they bad guys? Neither, really; they're somewhere outside of morality and bound to older, simpler, more brutal laws than human perception of right and wrong. Stiefvater *nails* the notion of the faerie bargain and the faerie favor perfectly, capturing the layers of gift, threat, and obligation. She manages to make them alien and familiar enough to be completely unsettling.

The book is a satisfying and well-crafted read. I finished it in a single sitting, and have read it again since. And having done so, I can recommend it without reservation or hesitiation. Read this book. Seriously.

It's About: Deirdre Monaghan, a sheltered teen and gifted harpist, who slowly discovers that she is strangely exceptional. Unfortunately for Dee, she's not the only one who's noticed she's strangely exceptional- the fey have taken notice, and they want to play with her. The problem is, fey playthings rarely survive the attention.

As a rule, I'm not real big on faerie stories. They just don't ring my bell on a visceral level, but Lament cuts down deep. Stiefvater is a gifted author who weaves a dangerous world, and sensual characters with ease, and balances the entire package with a wonderfully wry sense of humor. The strong voice and appealing characters are easy to love, and just like the fey's playthings that fall sway to their magic, you kind of- no, I found myself- completely entranced by the villains, as well.

Would I Give This Book To a Teen: Yes, absolutely. The impossible love that's impossible to deny is potent, and Dee is a fierce protagonist who refuses to be a victim to glamoured circumstances.

Would I Give This Book To an Adult: Oh, I am so giving this book to adults. I'm giving this book to my best friend so she can read it and squee with me; I'm going to tell my librarian friend Kyle to get this book, and hand it to kids who are on The Endless Breaking Dawn waiting list. I'm getting another copy and sending it to my bff's sisters- there is, in fact, an extraordinarily good chance I am going to get yet another copy so my husband can read it. This is an awesome book, for serious.

My 14 Year Old Son Says: Nothing, because I'm reading it again and won't give it to him. (I think he'll like it though- the action and humor will appeal to him, and as a musician himself, I'm pretty sure he'll love how important music is in this story.)

I was highly anticipating this novel from before it was even released. Then, once the reviews started coming out, I was even more excited. After reading this book, however, I did not feel it was entirely worth the hype.

The cover is beautiful, the title grabs my attention, too, and the description piqued my interest, but the book itself falls short. While the story is fairly original and very unique in parts, the main characters bring down the story. From the first moment when the two characters meet, the motivation behind the main protagonist's actions does not make sense. Later, when her character is explained a bit more, her actions still do not make sense. She is quite temperamental, which she explains by having a short temper. Having a short temper does not readily explain why she would act the way she does with a stranger, even one she saw in a dream. If it did, then her other actions of getting mad at him do not make sense, for she already "knows" him.

While the male main character is supposed to be mysterious, he does not really have too much else going for him. There is no depth to him, unless you lend your own imagination to the book.

The side characters, including her best friend (who I really enjoyed, though he was simply her funny, unique friend, and not really a fully developed person), were also flat.

The story was also burdened with random bits that were left unexplained and brought up to further the plot, and then dropped. If such an event caused the plot to move forward, wouldn't the characters even think about why or what happened instead of simply going with the flow? Much of the story seemed to count on the reader going with the flow, as well.

The thing about this book though, is that I WANTED to know more about the whole thing, characters and story. I wanted to know about the friend, and why things were happening. When events and actions were left unexplained, I would simply move on in the hope of discovering more of this world/story created by the author. I went along with it.

Another redeeming part of the novel is the writing style (which is quite lovely and easy to follow). Also, descriptions of the fairy world and two fairies in particular were marvelous. I loved them. The intertwining music and folklore was enjoyable, too.

So, while this book is flawed, I know I am eagerly looking forward to the author's next novel. I hope not only to get another taste of her delicious descriptions, but a chance to see her redeem the errors made in this one. If you are interested in reading a unique story with fairies mixing with the contemporary world, I would recommend it, but with the warning it is no where near as perfect as other novels out there. Then, again, there is nothing exactly like this book I have seen either.

This book was a really great read. I enjoy the fantasy type books and the tangled love stories and this book fits the bill!

However there are two things you should know before you start reading it: 1) This was the authors first "series" and it is not actually finished. I read on her site that she got the idea for her second series and was really excited about it and started it right away. She still has ideas of where this story line is going, but she hasn't actually written it (last time I checked). So it is a very good read, but there are a few unresolved parts of the story and it may be a long wait. AND 2) The second book is actually a compilation novel. It is still a good story and I enjoyed it as well, but don't be confused or disappointed because it follows a different main character. I don't want to say more and spoil it, so I'll just leave it at that. Just a little heads up for ya!

So if you like YA fantasy love stories you will very much enjoy this book! Great characters, the plot is good and her writing style makes this book a page turner that is hard to put down!

I really must agree with the points made by "Tiffany, 'book lover'" - for me, the characters were undeveloped, and their actions, at times, unbelievable and confusing. The meeting between the main character and her love interest in the beginning and their subsequent pursuit of each other, for instance, confounded me; it felt like the two of them had just been thrown together - their relationship did not have a certain richness. The other characters - Deirdre's mother, grandmother, aunt Delia, and best friend James - lacked depth as well, while Deirdre's father is so invisible and unimportant that you wonder why he's in the book at all. Several plot points also remained unresolved by the story's end (though perhaps they'll be addressed in the sequel). The only thing that kept me going was the sometimes beautiful prose and descriptions, and the burning question of what exactly the faerie queen's machinations were.

The author wields folklore well, incorporating the importance of music, bargains, and the hunt so that the story was occasionally very intriguing. The ending was satisfying, even though most of the rest of the book left me disappointed, because it could have been so much better with better characterization (and less annoying slang peppered in the heroine's dialogue). Despite the disappointment, I think that the author has a lot of potential, so I will read the sequel in the fall; maybe she'll have gotten better then, and we will find out about the unresolved issues left by the time "Lament" ends.

Deirdre Monaghan is a very gifted harp player, one of the best in the nation. But she is much more than an exceptional harp player, she is also a cloverhand- one who can see faeries. The realization of this unlikely talent all happens when she meets the mysterious and dreamy Luke Dillon.

They-they fey, have noticed Diedre as well and their attention can only spell out disaster. The Faerie Queen has sent an assassin to kill Deirdre and it's only a matter of time before They succeed. Unsure what exactly Luke is, could he be one of Them, Diedre battles with her desire to find the truth and her desire of Luke.

Lament is Maggie Stiefvater's debut novel. The characters are exceptional! Deirdre's character develops throughout the story and she is the embodiment of the perfect female heroine, unsure, imperfect, smart and real. Luke's role as the tragic hero is perfectly written. I relished in the satire and witty comments of Deirdre's best friend James, he may just be my favorite character along with Deirdre's tell it like it is grandmother. The villains, while were not prominent in the entire novel still stood out within the story.

While the fey are common in literature, I loved Stiefvater's take! I also enjoyed the musical element that was displayed throughout the novel, it added so much to the novel and the plot. The plot itself was paced well and was thoroughly engaging! I had a very hard time putting this book down, even when I really needed to!! Lament has a little bit of everything; suspense, romance, intrigue, and action. The bittersweet ending will leave you yearning for more.

Ballad the sequel to Lament will be available this fall! I can't wait!

Stiefvater's debut hopefully won't get lost among the scads of YA fantasy on the shelves. Like Kristopher Reisz, she writes literary fantasy that hits hard, both in suspense, drama, laughs and in leaving the reader thinking even after the book is read.

Things I loved:
This book has a guy/girl best friend pairing. EXCELLENT. Just like me in real life.
Also, this book was hilarious AND scary. Not like, "OMG A MONSTER" scary, but "OMG WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN, I CAN'T PUT THIS DOWN OR I'LL DIE BECAUSE THIS IS SO DRAMATIC AND I GOTTA KNOW" scary.
I also loved that Maggie reserved most naughty language for the most epic parts of the book, 'cause that was awesome and made them have more impact.
Descriptions of faeries ROCKED. Doesn't make them sound like little chicks with leaf-dresses frolicking in your birdbath behind your house. GOOD. They're scary little buggers.
Another great thing, not everything is happy ever after. Great writers are never afraid to push their characters into danger. (In my opinion) 'Cause you've gotta keep your readers on their toes. AND I WAS ON THEM. Like a ballet dancer.
I'm having a love/hate relationship with the cliffie (not exactly a cliffie, but it does leave you wanting more) at the end, but that's how you sell books, right? I can totally understand. And Maggie picked the PERFECT place to stop. Seriously. Perfect.
Romantic scenes weren't cheesy, or at least cheesy enough for you to be like, "Oh, that's cheesy."

Things I Hated:

... I can't really think of anything other than the fact that the sequel isn't out yet.

If you like Young Adult Urban Fantasies, this is amazing for you.

This book, Lament, has been recommended to me by Amazon I don't know how many times. I was still skeptic of actually buying it, so I decided to check and see if the library had it so I could just borrow it. That idea was a lot better then actually spending money on it.

The story follows a young harpist who is very talented and starts to see the fey. She also meets a guy while throwing up in the girl's bathroom who helps out along the way. Or is the reason for all these strange things. She's not sure, but she doesn't care. She's in love.

I've seen a lot more four and five star reviews for this story, so I was assuming this was going to be good. After all, only six total reviews rated this a two or one star. However, it's not. It's just weird.

The story dragged on and on. So many things were not explained and just mentioned that it wasn't needed to know then or something like that. As many times as it was mentioned, it made me think that the author just didn't know anything and was just BSing it along the way, hoping to get somewhere. Because there were so many things left unexplained, there were so many plot holes. None of it made much sense. I found myself becoming more and more confused. And dreading reading it more and more.

The end, there was supposed to be this huge fight or something and it was just dull and stupid. It's leading up to something big and eventful, but it was just a huge disappointment. There was no fight. It was "Ah, you are me!" and "Ah, I am loved and you are not!" and end fight. Yep, that was pretty much it. Okay, so a few faeries came by and ended the Queen somehow... Which I'm still wondering why it took them so long to actually do something if they hated this Queen for so long.

Of course, like all clichéd teen stories, there was a triangle love story. The best friend is in love with the main character-big shocker there since that's all best friends are there for-and the new guy, who comes in to save the day while entering a girl's bathroom to help the main character throw up. Am I the only one who thought that was just plain weird and creepy? A guy goes in to a girl's bathroom is enough reason to think the guy is strange. Maybe I'm just the odd one here...

It was just all kinds of clichéd mess, the main character was spitting out Mary Sue fumes like crazy, and it was just a dull, confusing, incomplete story. I hated this story and I don't recommend it to anyone. And I will NOT be reading any more of this series.

However, I will say I did like the fact that it stayed more true to real faeries, that they're evil and not all pleasant folk that should be loved and adored. They can be scary. This was shown. But the thing is, I have read plenty of better faerie stories. I love faeries and faerie stories. There was nothing to make this stand out differently.

After seeing so many high reviews, for this and Stiefvater's other books, I picked this book up with high expectations and was ultimately disappointed.

Like many of the other's who have not given this book high ratings, I felt the characters were flat and that the main character and her love interest where thrown together, the relationship was built on next to nothing and it really was unconvincing for me, which is part of why this book took me a while to get into. My other problem with this book, was there was just too much lengthy unnecessary description. the descriptions were beautiful and well written, but they messed with the flow of the book and slowed it down. I didn't dislike all of them, there were just too many.

Now, to what I really did like. I really liked some of the side characters in this book and found them to be well written and interesting, it made me want to know more about them which is part of why I did not give this book two stars, however, I never got that more,which brings me back to another reason I wasn't crazy about this book.

One of the biggest disappointments was with Deirdre's aunt... I don't want to spoil anything, but there is a whole story line with her that starts to get explained, and I was like "wow this is great" but then it was never completely explained and again I was back to being disappointed.

I did really enjoy the end of the book. It definitely picked up speed and some interesting things occurred, but overall, I was left wanting more, but not in a good way. I didn't want the story to keep going, I wanted more of an explanation for what happened. I'm not sure if the author just didn't have that explanation, or was just trying to cut the book short, but again it was disappointing.

So basically, to sum up, it's your basic girl meets mysterious boy, likes him, but can't decide if he's bad or good. If you like this kind of story line (which I actually really do) then you will probably like this book, a lot of other people did, I just wasn't crazy about it.