The Valiant

By: Lesley Livingston

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's Summary

Princess. Captive. Gladiator. Always a Warrior.

Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king and the younger sister of the legendary fighter Sorcha. When Fallon was just a child, Sorcha was killed by the armies of Julius Caesar.

On the eve of her 17th 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 and sold 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.

©2017 Lesley Livingston (P)2017 Listening Library

Couldn't keep my attention

What disappointed you about The Valiant?

I honestly wanted this to be better. It just started off slow and didn't keep my attention. The story line kinda dragged on and on with nothing really happening at the beginning. I didn't really find it worth the time to listen to the rest of it. very disappointing.

What was most disappointing about Lesley Livingston’s story?

Such a slow beginning. Some things weren't explained very well. When I listen to or read a book I want to see why the character is experiencing in my head.. It was very vague explaining things.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

if she kept Falons Bf alive maybe but no.

Any additional comments?

Super disappointed. I was really looking forward to liking this book but it fell short.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Awesome story

This was my first time listening to an audiobook, and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. The story takes a while to speed up, but after that it ended up being fast paced and exciting. I ended up loving it. It took me a while to get used to listening to audio, and I wasn't a big fan of the way the reader did the voices of the characters, but the story made up for that!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Enjoyed it, but lacked depth.

My only qualm with the story is that it seemed to skip over the nitty gritty of how Fallon became “Victory. It lacked depth and real character development. The story felt like it skipped over months at a time and expected you to fill in the details yourself.
That said, I did enjoy it and absolutely love the idea (though wish it had the character and story development of say, STARZ show Spartacus), but won’t be continuing in the series.
I will say Fiona Hardingham as usual, is phenomenal!
Just go into this knowing it is very 2 dimensional and seemed to be written for Tweens.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Absolutely Amazing!

This book was just so good! I didn't want it to ever end! It was just fast-paced and action packed! So amazing!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Luv it!

Good story, exciting characters. Fallon is a strong heroine in character but she is not perfect. The story was not only her transition to Rome but her growing in the process. Cai is the man for her, strong and supportive.

Fantastically engaging.

I was blown away by this lady gladiator story. I hadn't really read anything like it. I loved the rivalries/sisterhood between the girls. The narrator was absolutely perfect! Her voice is so dreamy!! I downloaded book 2 immediately.

Utterly Amazing

I loved the story and narration both. I finished this book faster than any I've enjoyed in a long while. Absolutely exquisite work.

Great story

My favorite thing about this book is the narrator.It was amazing the voices she was able to do
The story is very interesting and you will fall in love with these female gladiators