Book Review: The Valiant by Lesley Livingston

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The Valiant
The Valiant #1
Author: Lesley Livingston
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction
Released: February 14th 2017
Review Source: Razorbill

Lost to history, the story of the female gladiator has never been told. Until now.

Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king and the younger sister of the legendary warrior Sorcha. When Fallon was just a child, Sorcha was killed while defending their home from the armies of Julius Caesar.

On the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Fallon is excited to follow in her sister's footsteps and earn her place in her father's war band. She never gets the chance.

Fallon is captured by ruthless brigands who sell her to an elite training school for female gladiators owned by none other than Julius Caesar himself. In a cruel twist of fate, the man who destroyed Fallon s family might be her only hope of survival. Now, Fallon must overcome vicious rivalries, deadly fights in and out of the arena, and perhaps the most dangerous threat of all: her irresistible feelings for Cai, a young Roman soldier and her sworn enemy.

A richly imagined fantasy for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Cinda Williams Chima, "The Valiant" recounts Fallon s gripping journey from fierce Celtic princess to legendary gladiator and darling of the Roman empire."

Like many of us, Fallon is determine to make her own fate. Living in the shadow of her sister Sorcha, Fallon wants her father realize she is worthy of being a warrior. Yet, things may not be as easy as she planned. Her father is determined not to lose Fallon, like he did with Sorcha and has other plans for her. However, Fallon knows in her heart she is meant for greatness and instead of facing her father's desires, she runs.

Just when Fallon thinks she is free of following her sister's steps, she becomes a slave. She is sold to a training school for female gladiator. In the process of being capture, Fallon realizes she is not as strong as she hope she would. But like few, she is determined to become the person she hope for and learns to fight, like a Valiant. She becomes the best. She becomes like Aria, unstoppable. All you can do is admire her for her strength and willingness.

The Valiant is a great story about friendship, politics, freedom and most of all self-discovery. At our moment of weakness, we learn our strength goes beyond what we think we are capable of. This is what Fallon learns. In this very journey, Fallon becomes a friend, a person to admire, and an example of to many of the girls in the training school.

There is a touch of romance but there is something greater, the bond of a sisterhood. It's a great story for our young generation to read as Fallon is an inspiration.

If you're a fan of historical fiction, this is a book not to be missed. If you love a story of friendship and sisterhood, then this is the book for you. If you're a fan of badass heroine, HELLO, pick this book up! Last but not least, if you're looking for an inspiration, then Fallon is your girl. The Valiant is a great story to read with incredible world-building, an engrossing plot, badass heroine, great supporting characters and captivating writing. Go read it!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Valiant by Lesley Livingston

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Valiant

Author: Lesley Livingston

Release Date: February 14th 2017

Publisher: Razorbill

Lost to history, the story of the female gladiator has never been told. Until now.

Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king and the younger sister of the legendary warrior Sorcha. When Fallon was just a child, Sorcha was killed while defending their home from the armies of Julius Caesar.

On the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Fallon is excited to follow in her sister's footsteps and earn her place in her father's war band. She never gets the chance.

Fallon is captured by ruthless brigands who sell her to an elite training school for female gladiators owned by none other than Julius Caesar himself. In a cruel twist of fate, the man who destroyed Fallon s family might be her only hope of survival. Now, Fallon must overcome vicious rivalries, deadly fights in and out of the arena, and perhaps the most dangerous threat of all: her irresistible feelings for Cai, a young Roman soldier and her sworn enemy.

A richly imagined fantasy for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Cinda Williams Chima, "The Valiant" recounts Fallon s gripping journey from fierce Celtic princess to legendary gladiator and darling of the Roman empire."

Audiobook Review: Starling by Lesley Livingston

Starling
Starling #1
Author: Lesley Livingston
Narrator: Lesley Livingston (author)
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Fantasy/Mythology/Paranormal
Run-time: 8 hrs, 1 min
Released: August 28th 2012
Review Source: Harper Audio
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Mason Starling is a champion fencer on the Gosforth Academy team, but she's never had to fight for her life. Not until the night a ferocious, otherworldly storm rips through Manhattan, trapping Mason and her teammates inside the school. Mason is besieged by nightmarish creatures more terrifying than the thunder and lightning as the raging tempest also brings a dangerous stranger into her life: a young man who remembers nothing but his name—the Fennrys Wolf. His arrival tears Mason's world apart, even as she feels an undeniable connection to him. Together, they seek to unravel the secrets of Fenn's identity as strange and supernatural forces gather around them. When they discover Mason's family—with its dark allegiance to ancient Norse gods—is at the heart of the mystery, Fennrys and Mason are suddenly faced with a terrifying future.

Set against the gritty, shadowed back-drop of New York City, this first novel in award-winning author Lesley Livingston's epic Starling Saga is an intoxicating blend of sweeping romance and pulse-pounding action.

WOW! I just finished listening to the audio version of this book and I am blown away. This story is not at all what I expected. When the story first started out I was a little confused because I thought Mason was a boy. Once I got past that part and realized Mason is a girl, the story flowed a lot better lol.

The story starts out with action and ends with action and a tiny spoiler here, it ends on a cliffhanger that left me sitting at my desk at work and I had to stop what I was doing with a very loud "WHAT?" and my mouth completely dropped open. The story did have some slow parts but being that this will be a series, there was just enough information in this book to get the reader, or in this case listener, familiar enough with the characters to want to come back and see what happens to them and see where this saga goes.

Narration:

To be honest I was a little skeptical when I heard that Lesley Livingston, the author was narrating this story. I thought to myself, wow this is going to be awkward. I was pleasantly surprised. From the very beginning of this story I was sucked in. The story was good but what had me was the way Lesley portrayed her characters. It was evident from the very first line that there is a special connection between Lesley and her characters. She gave them real voices unlike any other audio book I have listened to. The fear, joy, love and sadness that came through in her reading was breathtaking. If a line said "he said with a laugh", she read it that way and it was so believable I was astonished. There was once scene where Mason was talking to another character and just listening to the audio I could hear her crying like the she would have been if I was watching the scene in a movie.

A good book will take your mind away from the real world and transport you into the story itself so you can see what you are reading. With this audio book, I felt like I was listening to a movie and I had seen over and over again because it was just so REAL.

If being the creator of a story and its characters allows you to read them with such emotion then more authors should take the time to narrate their stories. It made all of the difference in the world and I look forward to hearing more of Lesley's stories if she will be narrating them. So a small shout out to Lesley Livingston...YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!

Book Review: Starling by Lesley Livingston

Starling
Starling #1
Author: Lesley Livingston
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Fantasy/mythology
Released: August 28th 2012
Review Source: Harper Teen
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Mason Starling is a champion fencer on the Gosforth Academy team, but she's never had to fight for her life. Not until the night a ferocious, otherworldly storm rips through Manhattan, trapping Mason and her teammates inside the school. Mason is besieged by nightmarish creatures more terrifying than the thunder and lightning as the raging tempest also brings a dangerous stranger into her life: a young man who remembers nothing but his name--the Fennrys Wolf. His arrival tears Mason's world apart, even as she feels an undeniable connection to him. Together, they seek to unravel the secrets of Fenn's identity as strange and supernatural forces gather around them. When they discover Mason's family--with its dark allegiance to ancient Norse gods--is at the heart of the mystery, Fennrys and Mason are suddenly faced with a terrifying future.

Set against the gritty, shadowed back-drop of New York City, this first novel in award-winning author Lesley Livingston's epic Starling Saga is an intoxicating blend of sweeping romance and pulse-pounding action.

(3.5 Trees)

School sports should be fun and competitive, a learning experience for young people. Little did Starling know that her evening of regularly scheduled fencing practice would turn into an evening that would change her for a lifetime. Coming from a family well in the upper class, Starling and her brother Rory attend a private school, where every opportunity is available to them. Even with a comfortable life, Starling is still faced with jealousy from her peers. She is even faced with first loves. Starling's encounter with a mysterious young man leads to family secrets revealed and choices and events that can effect the entire world.

Starling was a very easy read. The plot is original, however there are some moments where it felt like deja vu. Almost as if I heard that line before. But Livingston quickly grabbed my attention back with here mythical world of good vs evil. The novel opens up and ends very strongly. The body had moments where the pacing felt a bit slow, but by that time I was already attached to all of the characters and needed to know how the story would continue.

Of course there is the saying that we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. However, I feel that in this review I will address the the cover. I was reading Starling at lunch and my colleague asked me about the book. She liked the cover. I asked her, so if you were at the book store you would pick this book up and check it out. She stated "sure would." For me, I thought the cover did not truly prepare the reader for the intense content of the novel. So there are 2 different opinions for the future reader of the novel. I look forward to book number 2 in the series, as I'm sure more and more will be revealed and more and more lives will be saved.