I was torn between crying and smiling, actually, because it was so well done. The many action packed, ruthless fight scenes in between were the perfect build up for the big finale, and guys, it's not an exaggeration to say I cried a little. An amazing, fast paced, breathtaking story! I read this in a few days and never got bored, the pacing was perfect and it was 100 % interesting and exciting. And Lesley Livingston cleverly weaves these real elements into a fictional story. I love that it's based on actual places, characters and happenings - we have Caesar, Cleopatra and gladiator fights. I love the world of ancient Rome because for once it's something different, something I didn't read about before in ya fantasy. Gladiatrices, badass, ruthless warrior women, political intrigue, love, sacrifice - this is pretty much what The Defiant is about. Unfortunately, this one felt too forced and took the plot a direction that didn't work for me. I thought this would be a great thing because the historical aspects were so fun to explore and I really loved the theme of sisterhood and honor. Sometimes a book does so well, it earns a sequel that wasn't initially planned. It really threw me off how much the Sons of Dis thing took over the plot here. The story was very slow at times, especially the beginning. The romance still felt out of place and too forced. I liked how Thalestris was involved in the betrayal and the inclusion of the actual Amazons. There were a couple things I liked, so I'll put a spoiler tag here.

The basis of the story is Fallon and her fellow gladiatrices are faced with a threat to their ludus and the freedom they desire. The Sons of Dis thing where they want to sacrifice fighters to their God Eventually something happens to jumpstart the plot of this sequel, but what's behind the plot was one of my least favorite aspects of book one. In fact.as excited as I was to dive back into this world, the excitement slowly dwindled down as I got into the story and began questioning what I loved so much about the first one. I'm beginning to think this should've been left as a standalone because The Defiant didn't do anything for me. Any predictable moments didn't bother me because the story held its own. The concept was fascinating imagining the existence of a training school devoted to making women into gladiatrices. The Valiant was one of my favorite new YA books of 2017.

The valiant by lesley livingston