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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Book Review: The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart #2) by Stephanie Garber
Genre: Young Adult Fiction (Paranormal/Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: September 13, 2022
Publisher: Flatiron Books

Not every love is meant to be.

After Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, betrays her, Evangeline Fox swears she'll never trust him again. Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.

But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.

Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can...

The Ballad of Never After is the second book in the  Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy by Stephanie Garber. This story is keeping that dark fairytale feel, and I am loving it beyond words. I don't know if this is a world I want to live in necessarily, but I sure do love reading about it. I got to know Evangeline and Jacks so much better. I'm so addicted to the banthering and chemistry between Evangeline and Jacks. It's amped up so much more this time around. Everything is pretty amped up actually. We find out so much and so much is happening, and while things are happening, other things are happening behind the scenes. It's fantastic! Now, I just need the next one to be released yesterday!!

MacmillanAudio · The Ballad Of Never After by Stephanie Garber, audiobook excerpt

Have you read the first book?

Check out my reviews of the Caraval trilogy!

My favorite place in the world is Disneyland because it’s the one place on earth where I feel as if the fantastical stories I love to write about could actually come to life.

When I’m not writing, I teach creative writing at a private college in Northern California, where I’ve been known to turn assignments into games and take students on field trips that involve book signings. I’m also a blogger on PUB(LISHING) CRAWL. But I probably spend most of my time on Twitter where I tend to overuse exclamation points and emojis.

To help pay my bills during college, grad school, and the breaks in between, I worked as a barista, a waitress, a bartender, a customer service representative for an energy consulting company, and as a sales girl at Bath and Bodyworks. I also spent years working with youth; I worked as a counselor at space themed summer camp, volunteered at a school for deaf children in Mexico, and I took multiple groups of college students overseas to spend their winter vacations serving at youth hostels in Amsterdam. But out of everything that I’ve done, writing young adult novels has been my favorite job.

My debut YA fantasy novel, Caraval will be published January 2017 (Flatiron Books/Macmillan—US and Hodder & Stoughton—UK). Caraval has sold in twenty-five foriegn territories and the movie rights were pre-empted by Twentieth Century Fox.

To learn more about Stephanie Garber  and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.

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