Summary:
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 . . .
Lament is a dark faerie fantasy that features authentic Celtic faerie lore, plus cover art and interior illustrations by acclaimed faerie artist Julia Jeffrey. (from fluxnow.com)
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I heard about this lovely book a couple weeks ago, read some reviews and an excerpt, and was sold. I decided I needed to read this book, pronto, but alas! The library did not have it, and it was not in stock at my local gigantic chain bookstore. So I ordered it online and waited, very impatiently. I was tickled pink when it arrived, especially since I was finally home for Christmas break!!!
I wasn't sure how I felt about Lament at first; I wasn't connecting with the characters right away, and I was letting very minor details bother me.
*SPOILER ALERT*
Apparently, it is Deirdre's birthday when the book opens, but the reader is not informed until the day after her birthday that it was her birthday. Because, you know, Deirdre's mother doesn't say, "Happy birthday, dear daughter!" to her, and Deirdre never thinks, "I just met a reallyreally hot, mysterious boy, made musical amazingness with him, and won a contest. This is the best birthday present ever!!!" But then, as I got to know the characters, I realized that Deirdre's mother really isn't the type to get too mushy about her daughter's b-day, especially when an important harp event takes place upon it. And Deirdre? She's too busy not puking to think about her Birthday Girl Status. But it still bothers me. Just a little. I mean, her best friend who happens to be in love with her--James--doesn't even say, "Happy Birthday, Deirdre! I hope you're done puking soon, but just so you know, that's special Birthday puke. I'll give you a Birthday Hug later!" Although it's entirely possible that he did, but it wasn't deemed necessary for the reader to see this. I don't really know. But I'll get over it.
If I missed anything that would make the above minor complaints unnecessary, please, let me know.
*END OF SPOILER ALERT*
But once I got settled in, the plot kept me turning the pages, probably more than I should have. This is one of those books that will keep people away from important things like sleep, errands, and chores. Possibly food, too.
I'm afraid to say too much about this book, because I don't want to spoil it for anyone that might read it. But I can say that the plot is beautifully put together; it just gets better as the pages keep turning. The musical elements and the visual design of the book are enchanting. The last approximately 150 pages of the book had my eyes glued to the pages, and I finished it all in one breathless rush. And was promptly very sad and annoyed when I turned a page to discover that the book was over. The ending was very abrupt, and I checked a few times to make sure that there weren't any pages sticking together. When I say that it was abrupt, I mean that in the good way, as in it was a great place to end the book, and I am now veryvery excited for the sequel, Ballad, which is due in Fall 2009.
Lament is a gripping story, and is definitely worth whatever legal means it takes to get one's hands on a copy.
Book source: Bought.
