Valiant

"This one was a little messier than Tithe and took a lot longer to get going, but still a fun, quick read with a compelling protagonist and love interest. I didn't care as much for the ancillary characters, some of the gritty homeless New York stuff felt edgy for the sake of being edgy and meandered enough to make my eyes glaze over, but the book mostly makes up for that with the second half and everything having to do with Ravus. Such a fun read!"

"So for me this is really 3 1/2 stars. Valiant is a little less about the faerie world and more about a girl who is pretty messed up by her mother sleeping with her boyfriend, running away and doing drugs all the while discovering faeries do exist in real life. Her new city friends show her the faerie world and the world of getting high. She must navigate both while trying to survive in a city hidden with monsters."

"I read this book for the first time shortly after reading Tithe. I remember I was surprised to find out that it doesn't focus on Kaye and Roiben, although they do make an appearance. However, I don't think the book is lacking because of it. Val is another teen with a dysfunctional past that comes to be mixed up in things she doesn't understand, falling into the world of Faerie. The concept of Never is a very intriguing one, and I like that its use does have consequences for the characters by the end. I loved Ravus's character. I never really thought I would be rooting for a troll as a romantic interest, but there you have it. If you read and liked <i>Tithe</i>, or you'd like to read a dark fantasy novel with themes of faeries, magic, betrayal and consequences, I'd recommend it!"

"http://el-extrano-gato-del-cuento.blogspot.com/<br/>"

"When it seems as though everyone in Val’s life has betrayed her, she simply walks away...to New York City, where she falls in with a gang of squatters who live in the subway system. But there’s something off about her new friends. And when she ends up breaking into the lair of a mysterious creature with whom they’re all involved, and owing him as a consequence, she finds her new-found affection for him will help her battle the true evil in town. I bought this series at a used bookstore, and it sat on my to-read shelf for god-only-knows how many years before I finally picked it up and read it. It was good, but YA; book 2 definitely took a weird spin into unrelated territory before turning back; story elements I expected never appeared. It was satisfying, but the books went back into the used bookstore bag without much regret.<br/>"

"<a href="http://laughinglistener.com/"><br/>The Laughing Listener</a><br/><b>Reread August 2018</b><br/><b>Format:</b> Audiobook<br/><b>Narrator:</b> Renee Raudman<br/><b>Length:</b> 7 hours & 4 minutes<br/><br/><b>Story Rating:</b> 4.5 Stars<br/><b>Performance Rating:</b> 5 Stars<br/><b>Overall Rating:</b> 5 Stars<br/><br/>Wow. I am… overwhelmed by how much I liked this the second time around. First of all, I must have the worst memory ever and I’m slightly concerned about my mental health??? I remembered not liking this book the first time because Roiben and Kaye are hardly in it, but for some reason I thought it was about Corny?? And now I’m realizing I must have taken my memories of the third book and put them on this one. <br/><br/>ANYWAY. The point is that this book is awesome. I don’t know what 2006 me was thinking because 2018 me absolutely LOVED this book. Me @ me:<br/><br/><img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/3ohzdQYeMrSJB9BlM4/giphy.gif" width="" height="" alt="You Buggin’"><br/><br/>I admit that the beginning is completely INSANE. Listening to the first few chapters was like listening to a narration of a Lifetime movie and I DON’T KNOW HOW I FORGOT ABOUT IT!?! Pretty sure I made this face through the first twenty minutes…<br/><br/><img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/5i7umUqAOYYEw/giphy.gif" width="" height="" alt="Oh snap"><br/><br/>Everything that comes after is creepy, gritty craziness that is so Holly Black, I loved it. Just as a trigger warning to everyone, this book deals heavily with drug addiction, but I really applaud Black for it. I really felt for Val while she was struggling with everything and her addiction to Never made the ending that much more rewarding. Plus, it felt REAL. Despite the faerie drug and fantastical circumstances, drug addiction is an actual problem teens face and it’s awesome seeing that struggle represented. <br/><br/>And I loved the characters!!! Okay well, Dave and Lolli were actually the worst. But Val was amazing! I loved that the first response to her hardship was getting ****** and chopping off all her hair. And even when she was in the throws of addiction, Val was spunky and brave. And the romance between her and Revus was so cute. It was subtle and took a backseat to Val’s character arc in a way I really appreciated <br/><br/><b>FINAL WORD</b><br/>I must have been CRAZY the first time read this because <i>Valiant</i> was completely awesome. There was a little romance, a lot of drama, and tons of faeries, so obviously this book wins.<br/><br/>#1 ↦ <i>[b:Tithe|46777|Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales, #1)|Holly Black|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1342120818s/46777.jpg|1460966]</i> ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦<br/>#2 ↦ <i>Valiant</i> ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦<br/>#3 ↦ <i>[b:Ironside|283494|Ironside (Modern Faerie Tales, #3)|Holly Black|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1354844906s/283494.jpg|275023]</i> ↦ ???"

"Damn this was unexpectedly gritty lol. I'm not mad at it, but I sure wasn't expecting it."