Holly Black

Seventeen-year-old Val runs away to New York City where she falls in with a gang of squatters who live in the city's subway system and consort with fairies, trolls, and other strange creatures.

a modern tale of faerie

Valiant

chloe rae

Didn't realize that this book follows an entirely different cast until I started it lol but, sadly, I did not care about the characters in this book as much as in the first. Still loved the love interest, as per usual, but we needed MORE of him. So much more! The middle section was too long and it felt like I was constantly waiting for action the entire time. The ending was good but then, again, it ended too abruptly? I still want to see what happens in the last book though. I can't quit now!

Winner of the Andre Norton Award Return to New York Times bestselling author Holly Black’s enthralling realm of faerie in the second Modern Faerie Tales novel, where danger and magic come hand-in-hand in the dark underground of New York City. When seventeen-year-old Valerie runs away to New York, she’s trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city’s labyrinthine subway system. But there’s something eerily beguiling about Val’s new friends that sets her on edge. When Val is talked into tracking down the lair of a mysterious creature, she must strike a bargain to make it out with her life intact. Now drawn into a world she never knew existed, Val finds herself torn between her affection for an honorable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming.

A Modern Faerie Tale

I can’t lie I was disappointed when I picked this up and realised it wasn’t about Kaye! This ones about a girl called Val...who honestly I thought was just...boring, I didn’t like her or really connect with any of the characters in the book.

Tbf this whole story was kind of just boring compared to the first one. It was enjoyable enough to get through but idk it was just slow and boring and not really all that exciting. The excessive drug use for most of the book wasn’t exactly great content either tbh...

Hmmm 2.5 I’d say, just cos it kept me interested just enough to read the whole thing and I do like fae so I liked those elements at least

Kerry McHugh West

(Bre)anne✨

TW: cheating, minor-adult relationship, heavy drug use, animal abuse, verge of sexual assault

Great continuation in the series/universe. Like how Holly Black subtly explores sexuality and gender expression without having the story hang on it (it just is what it is -- normalizing it!)

Miranda Mendoza

This was a fun book to read in between series, but I didn’t feel the urge to keep delving into the world.

Latitude Tamarind

This book was not appropriate for 13-year-old me. Oh well.

Allison Garrett

So I read Tithe a few weeks ago, and I was surprised by how much I loved it. I've read some of Holly Black's other books before and they were good, but I wasn't super int0 faeries. Valiant was a mix of the Holly Black writing I love and a semi-boring plot. 

Good: 
•The writing was A+
•Val was an intriguing character to follow and narrate


Bad:
•Annoying supporting characters (see Lolli for exhibit A) 
•Unnecessary love story. Like seriously, where did that even come from? They spent a week together sword fighting and Val felt bad for him because he killed his friend? I thought she was stronger than that and that she would have worked better as a character who stood on her own feet 
•Predictable “twists”-- Let's just say there were a lot of things I saw 10 years before Val 


All in all 3/5 because I will keep reading Black's books and the drug scenes were intriguing

lauren carla

Hazel Morton

The book starts out pretty slow. It didn’t pull me in from the start like so many of Holly Black’s books have in the past. After a little over halfway in the book, however, I thought it started getting much more interesting. The ending of the book was very enjoyable and interesting. The last chapter of the book was definitely my favorite, and the last lines are so poetic- I love them!

Ella Zegarra

Sophie Elaina 

I have a lot of emotions about this book. I found that I either loved what was happening or hated what was happening. Nothing was middle ground. I loved the dark nitty grittiness of the story and the main character Val; but at the same time I think a lot of things that were being focused on would’ve worked better if they were more like underlying themes and less at the forefront of the book. I needed more faeries and magic, don’t get me wrong it was there but I feel as though the plot could’ve delved deeper. 

There is also a scene with a kitten that disappointed me and gave me the worst kind of feeling, so beware going in if you are sensitive to animal deaths and abuse like I am. I feel as though it was a shock factor type of move and it didn’t need to happen. (If you have the new bind up, it’s on page 409. I wish I had known the page number so I could skip it so I’ll leave it here just in case.)

While reading this I also listened to the audiobook alongside and noticed quite a few things were changed in the newly published bind up of The Modern Faerie Tales. In a lot of cases this was definitely necessary because there is quite a lot of slang and phrases used towards the beginning of the book that are definitely outdated and can be found offensive, but in the new edition this was corrected. However some hints and tidbits were added to tie in with the Folk of The Air series that weren’t there originally. I’m not sure if it’s just me but this kind of felt like a cheat. There are characters that cross over anyway and work to link the two series so why feel the need to name drop other things too? I see how this could enhance the story if you’ve read the other series then gone back to read this one. But knowing it wasn’t a part of the story originally is weird. 

As a whole I did find this book more entertaining and just more gripping overall than Tithe. But I’m confused as to my feelings. Though I can say that I loved the magic and dark places the story delves into. Holly Black’s writing is intoxicatingly addictive, so even though I didn’t love everything about this I can still say that Black is a favourite of mine and I love the way she writes.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5
Full review:https://www.sophieinbookland.com/post...

B. K.

I nearly DNF'ed this at 25%, partly due to not enjoying the audiobook narration. I switched to the ebook halfway through and by the end, was glad I chose to finish it. Main character Val makes some baffling, terrible decisions, and I've yet to read/watch a plotline about drug addiction that truly interests me, but the climax of this story was more satisfying to me than Tithe's and the happy ending felt more earned. Moving on to Ironside next.

Alejandra Bran

This book was the weirdest book I’ve ever read, but it has one of the most beautiful love stories ever. 

I really don’t have much to say... I though this was a continuation of Tithe, but it’s more of a spinoff with cameos of some fey from the first book.

Jessie G

2.5 
Definitely not as good as Tithe. Didn't really care for any of the characters.

Valiant a modern tale of faerie

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