Ballad, Maggie Stiefvater

I finally read this book (and it was autographed to me!), and what can I say. I missed James and Dee and the all the crazy faeries that followed those too. I'm going to admit that I loved this book. The snarkiness of James is perfect and hides his inner self and the pain that he is feeling because of his feelings for Dierdre. But James goes on his own now that they're an Thornking-Ash School for gifted musicians. Everytime James plays the Bagpipes he summons a not-so-nice Faerie, Nuala. Who lives every 16 years by sucking the life out of humans who are talented. She gives them the power to be even better than imaginable, but as she does it, she drains the life force. However, snarky James is more in trouble than that. Nuala is falling in love with him and he returns the favor! Dee is very much on the outside in this story, and it works well to allow James to shine in his sarcastic goodness. You know the pain he feels and you realize that he does what he does for reasons. Shiver is a very different book, but I really think Maggie shines with James and Nuala. I cannot wait til book three! 5 Bookmarks!