Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Valiant Ladies

I liked the story well enough, but I wasn't a big fan of the writing. I would probably rate this a 4 if the writing didn't take me out of the story so often. There were a lot of repeated lines used for descriptions of what people were doing, to the point that it stood out, and the dialogue was often clunky. The humor didn't land for me, it didn't fit with the setting and was oddly placed sometimes. I would say that I recommend this to young teen/pre-teen girls who think boys are icky, but there a fair amount of violence and murder.

Content Warnings

radler's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Content Warnings

betweentheshelves's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

If you want a sapphic historical adventure, you've definitely got it in this book! I mistakenly thought this was a pirate book from the cover, but it's 100% not. It's about two girls who maybe (probably) love each other, and who want to get justice for those that might not otherwise have a voice.

There's a bit of murder mystery here, in addition to vigilantism. Kikki and Ana's voices were distinct enough, not to mention they had great chemistry. I loved them. I would definitely read more books about their adventures. And the fact that they're based on real historical figures? Even better.

Content Warnings

krysley's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

This is a fun romp of two teenage girls fighting back against the classism and sexism of 17th-century Potosí, Peru. Kiki and Ana are both strong characters in their own rights, but I thought Ana was the more interesting of the two. She faced a lot of hardship and seemed more layered than Kiki, who was young and rich though very sweet.

While I really enjoyed the setting, sometimes the author would go a little overboard with various details. For example, it was reiterated over and over again how the girls' corsets dug into their ribs within a single scene. The same could be said about the beginning of the book when we're first introduced to Kiki and Ana. The young women's feelings for each other were written in a heavy-handed way to get the point across, rather than allowing it to unfurl throughout the story. While that heavy-handedness lightens up as the story moves along, it just made the beginning of the book seem unbalanced with the rest.

As for the narration, Frankie Corzo and Almarie Guerra both perform beautifully throughout, nailing their character to perfection. My only complaint would be that when those performances are paired together, sometimes their voices were hard to distinguish between each other since they were similar in pitch.

Overall, I really enjoyed listening to Valiant Ladies and my issues were minor when compared to the story as a whole.

Content Warnings

frantically's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I know, I know, books are about more than just the romance BUT this romance — damn. While the story felt so big and monumental, the romance was so precious. It felt exactly like all my sapphic romances have been, just two best friends slowly falling for each other. It's the rec string through the book, that keeps this characters going: their love for each other. To be honest, I wasn't even the biggest fan of the plot but this romance means so much to me <3

Content Warnings

qraveline's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Content Warnings

foreverinastory's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ugh I loved this so much!!

Rep: Spanish-Peruvian sapphic female MC, biracial Dutch-Peruvian (indigenous) lesbian female MC, Spanish cishet male side character with gout who uses a walking aid, Spanish and Peruvian cast, mute Peruvian female side character who uses sign language.

CWs: Alcohol consumption, blood, body horror, colonisation, cursing, death, grief, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, lesbophobia/lesbomisia, misogyny, murder/ritualistic murder, sexism, suicide, violence. Moderate: past death of parent(s), chronic illness, fire/explosion, forced institutionalization (at a convent), gun violence, pregnancy mention, religious bigotry, sexual content (not graphic).

Content Warnings

More...