Book Review: The Defiant by Lesley Livingston

The Defiant (The Valiant #2) by Lesley Livingston
Genre: Young Adult Fiction (Historical Fiction)
Date Published: January 23, 2018
Publisher: Razorbill

Gladiator Fallon and her warrior sisters must face off against a rival gladiator academy in this lush sequel to the highly anticipated historical fantasy The Valiant.

They call her "Victrix" now. Victory.

But winning the highest honor ever bestowed upon a gladiatrix in Rome has earned Fallon more deadly enemies outside the arena than she ever faced within it. And it is those dearest to Fallon who will pay the price for her success.

Now, Fallon and her warrior sisters are thrust into a vicious conflict with a rival gladiator academy, one that will threaten not only Fallon's heart - and her love for Roman soldier Cai - but the very heart of the Roman Empire.

The Defiant is the second book in the Valiant Trilogy by Lesley Livingston. I loved Valiant! So, I went into this one with some pretty high expectations. But, for some reason I just couldn’t stay focused. The pacing was a bit slow. I didn’t feel the chemistry in the romance. And, it just didn’t grab me like the first book. There was still a whole lotta girl power, which was fun, and the action scenes are pretty entertaining. I was just waiting for it too pull me in like the first book, and that never happened. Maybe it was just me, as I just couldn’t stay focused this time around.

Check out my review of the first book!

Check out my review of another book by this author!

Lesley Livingston  is the author of Once Every Never, winner of the inaugural Copper Cylinder Award and shortlisted for the CLA Young Adult Book Award and the BC Stellar Book Award. She is also the author of the Wondrous Strange and Starling trilogies. She lives in Toronto.

To learn more about Lesley Livingston and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads and Twitter.

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Top 10 Week! My Favorite Book Covers of 2017

Book covers are like crack to me! I love looking a them! So, picking my favorite covers each year is tough, but fun. The following covers are from books released in 2017. I've read them all. You can click on the images to read my reviews. All these covers pretty much speak for themselves. They are in no particular order.

Top Ten Week!!!

My Favorite Books of 2017

My Favorite Quotes of 2017

My Favorite Book Covers of 2017

My Favorite Book Boyfriends of 2017

Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2018

Top 10 Week! My Favorite Books of 2017

Happy New Year!!

The cold weather stinks! But, when it comes to my blog, I love this time of year, because I get to remember and pick out all of my favorite bookish things that I've read over the past year! 

Let's start the week off with my Top 10 Favorite books of the year!

(I couldn't begin to decide which I liked better than the other. It was hard enough to only pick 10. So, here they are, in no particular order)

Body Parts by Jessica Kapp 
Genre: Young Adult (Science Fiction)
Date Published: August 15,  2017
Publisher: Diversion Publishing

Why did I love this book?
People are scary. Many don't look farther than themselves, so I could see something similar happening in real life. That made for a very interesting reading experience.

Click here for the blurb and my full review!

How to Hang a Witch (How to Hang a Witch #1) 
by Adriana Mather 
Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal)
Date Published: July 26, 2016
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Why did I love this book?

This story shows how, as a society, we really haven't changed much since the Salem Witch Trials. It was very well told, and allows you to think for yourself while still getting the full experience of what's going on. The author's personal history added a little fun too.

Click here for the blurb and my full review!

Beauty of the Beast (Fairy Tale Retellings #1) 
by Rachel L. Demeter
Genre: Adult Fiction (Fractured Fairy Tale/Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: March 15, 2017
Publisher: Self

Why did I love this book?

Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale. Hands down! This retelling stayed true to the Beauty and the Beast feel, but told it's own darker story. This is the Beauty and the Beast that should have been made into a movie in 2017.

Click here for the blurb and my full review!

The Ghost of You and Me by Kelly Oram
Genre: Young Adult (Contemporary/Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: June 20, 2017
Publisher: Bluefields

Why did I love this book?

There are so many levels of emotions I went through while reading this book, it's hard to explain and still give it the justice it deserves.

Click here for the blurb and my full review!

Love Me Never (Lovely Vicious #1) by Sara Wolf
Genre: New Adult (Contemporary Romance)
Date Published: April 5, 2016 (first published April 5th 2015)
Publisher: Entangled Teen

Why did I love this book?

I absolutely love the sarcasm and bantering! Love it! That alone was enough to entertain me, but it has a darker side too.

Click here for the blurb and my full review!

Hunted by Meagan Spooner
Genre: Young Adult (Fractured Fairy Tale)
Date Published: March 14, 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen

Why did I love this book?

Like I said earlier, I love Beauty and the Beast. Clearly, I can't get enough B & B retellings either. Here's another one for you. This one brings something new to the table. It intertwines with Russian fairy tales. I'm not familiar with these stories, so it was a pretty unique spin. I really enjoyed the brief perspectives from the Beast too.

Click here for the blurb and my full review!

Caraval (Caraval #1) by Stephanie Garber
Genre: Young Adult (Fantasy/Romance)
Date Published: January 31, 2017
Publisher: Flatiron Books

Why did I love this book?

There aren't words for this one. Seriously, if you can only read one book from my list, this is the one. It's completely intoxicating.

Click here for the blurb and my full review!

The Valiant (Valiant #1) by Lesley Livingston

Genre: Young Adult (Historical Fiction)
Date Published: February 14, 2017
Publisher: Penguin Razorbill

Why did I love this book?

Gladiators and the whole mindset of their time fascinates me. This book fed that fascination. It's got a healthy does of girl power too!

Click here for the blurb and my full review!

Twisted: The Girl Who Uncovered Rumplestilskin's Name by Bonnie M. Hennessy

Genre: Young Adult (Fractured Fairy Tale/Fantasy)
Date Published: November 11th 2016
Publisher: Self

Why did I love this book?

Twisted was a dark and creative re-telling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale. It was unique, haunting, dark, and brilliantly written.

Click here for the blurb and my full review!

To All the Boys I've Loved Before 

(To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1) by Jenny Han

Genre: Young Adult (Contemporary Romance)

Date Published: April 15, 2014

Publisher: Simon Schuster & Books for Young Readers

Why did I love this book?

This book brought me right back to high school. Lara Jean reminded me so much of myself, it's embarrassing, but I enjoyed her story all the same.

Click here for the blurb and my full review!

The Honorable Mention goes to...

Why? Because I've gotten way too much enjoyment out of this series this year, for it not to be on this list. I'm addicted! I can't pick just one book from the series. This series, as a whole, has everything I love about romance and just enough of it! Sweet with Heat describes it perfectly!

Top Ten Week!!!

My Favorite Books of 2017

My Favorite Quotes of 2017

My Favorite Book Covers of 2017

My Favorite Book Boyfriends of 2017

Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2018

Release Day Review! The Valiant by Lesley Livingston

The Valiant (Valiant #1) by Lesley Livingston
Genre: Young Adult (Historical Fiction)
Date Published: February 14, 2017
Publisher: Penguin Razorbill

The youngest daughter of a proud Celtic king, Fallon has always lived in the shadow of her older sister Sorcha's legendary reputation as a warrior. But when Fallon was a young child, the armies of Julius Caesar invaded the island of Britain and her beloved older sister was killed in battle.

On the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Fallon is excited to follow in her sister's footsteps and earn her rightful place in her father's royal war band. But she never gets the chance. Instead, Fallon is captured by a band of ruthless brigands who sell her to an exclusive training school for female gladiators—and its most influential patron is none other than Julius Caesar himself. In a cruel twist of fate, Fallon's worst enemy, the man who destroyed her family, might be her only hope of survival.

Now, Fallon must overcome vicious rivalries, chilling threats and the dangerous attention of Caesar himself to survive the deadly fights that take place both in and out of the arena—and claim her place in history among the Valiant.

My favorite movie is Gladiator, so when I found out about this book, I was beyond thrilled. The Valiant by Lesley Livingston was a well told story of a girl who's not your typical princess from the beginning. This girl is tough. She's confident. And, she might very well be one of the strongest female characters I've ever read about. She doesn't need someone to save her. Through Fallon's point of view, the author captured the feel of this time period while still keeping her relatable. Fallon does have moments of insecurity, but she fights through them, literally and figuratively. She goes through many phases as she grows as a character including figuring out what freedom really means to her, and how it doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. I found those parts of her experiences to be almost as interesting as the actual fighting and romance. Actually, the other women in her "sisterhood" were all quite interesting in their own ways. We know very little about the real life female Gladiators, and the way this author fills in those blanks with her imagination was very believable. Reading The Valiant gives you an intoxicating feeling of girl power without being obnoxious and annoying! There's definite potential for a sequel, and it looks like there will be one! I will definitely be reading it.

The ARC of The Valiant by Lesley Livingston was kindly provided to me by the publisher through Edelweiss for review. The opinions are my own.

Have you read the next book yet?

Check out my review of another book by this author!

Lesley Livingston  is the author of Once Every Never, winner of the inaugural Copper Cylinder Award and shortlisted for the CLA Young Adult Book Award and the BC Stellar Book Award. She is also the author of the Wondrous Strange and Starling trilogies. She lives in Toronto.

To learn more about Lesley Livingston and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads and Twitter.