Lament by Maggie Stiefvater

Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand - one who can see faeries.

Unexpectedly, Deirdre finds herself infatuated with a mysterious boy named Luke, who enters her ordinary life, seemingly out of thin air. But his interest in her might be something darker than summer romance. When a sinister faerie named Aodhan shows up with deadly orders from the Faerie Queen, it forces Dee right into the midst of Faerie. Caught in the crossfire with Deirdre is James, her wisecracking but loyal best friend.

Deirdre had been wishing her summer weren't so dull, but taking on a centuries-old Faerie Queen isn't exactly what she had in mind. [borrowed from GoodReads]

I decided to pick up Lament because I am a big fan of Ms. Stiefvater's, Shiver. Not only did Lament blow me away, but it is one of the best faerie books I have had the pleasure to read.

Deirdre (a/k/a Dee) and Luke are just to die for. Although you are not really sure whether you can trust Luke for most of the story, you can't help but to yearn for him and Dee to find a way to make it work out - no matter how much her grandmother warns her away from him. I thought Deirdre was the perfect heroine. She was smart, witty, yet she had the insecurities any girl her age would have, not to mention the stress of the new world she has uncovered. Luke was the tortured, tragic hero (yummy) - who you fall in love with right along with Dee. I loved the romance and the aching passion they shared. There was this sadness undertone to the writing that pulled you in and had you with your heart in your throat the whole time.

One other thing that I absolutely loved about this novel was the musical element that was weaved throughout the story. It was mesmerizing and beautiful in its own right. There were times were I could almost hear it. It was that descriptive to read.

All in all, this was a fantastic faerie tale with loveable characters and bad guys you just love to hate. This is a definite "to-read" for lovers of anything faerie - young and old alike. Now I just have to get my hands on Ballad... I can't wait!