Mundie Moms

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

THE VALIANT by Lesley Livingston / Weapon Spotlight & Giveaway #TheValiant


Welcome to the next stop in THE VALIANT blog tour, hosted by Penguin Random House. I am so thrilled to finally talk about this book. I feel like I've been talking about ever since I read the manuscript. This book is one of my favorite reads. Today's stop features is a weapons spotlight, on the shield, and has a giveaway! Be sure to check out the giveaway at the end of the post. You can also read my 5 star review for The Valiant, here


The shield. I don't know why, but I totally love shields. Historically, they are something that was used both as a weapon, and as well as protection. More often than not, a shield is used as a protector. It's an advantage. A life savor. Shields have been used all through out history. 



Shields can be plain, or they can be decorative, showing off one's family crest or more. One of my favorite shields, is the one used in The Chronicles of Narnia. It's empowering, and one that symbolizes Peter's growth both physically, and emotionally. A shield is no light thing to swing around or hold. His shield yields power, wisdom, and nobility. Plus there's so much more to it than that. 




While I am fan of a well designed shield, one of my favorite moments in The Valiant has to do with a shield. NO SPOILERS, but I will say that this is a scene in an arena, and it's one that shows both Fallon's strength and a weakness. It's a significant scene both in showing readers the kind of character Fallon is, and also in what the scene reveals. 

I absolutely love Fallon's stance on the shield in this scene. I loved how frustrated her opponent gets her stance on the shield (and why, which is for a good reason). I love why Fallon makes her decision about the shield. It really displays her fearlessness, her strength, her courage and her choosing that just because she is a girl, she doesn't need to hide behind something. It also shows both her inner as well as physical strength, and her intelligence. 


For as much as I loved this moment, and her reasoning for it, I also like that she learns the value of having a shield. The more she understands her position, and the more cunning gladiator she becomes, she learns that the shield can be a valuable asset in battle. It's not always a weakness, but protection. For Fallon, the girl who has nothing to lose, shield or no shield, she proves it's the person that's wielding the shield, that has the real strength to come out the victor in a battle. 


ABOUT THE BOOK




By: Lesley Livingston 
Published by: Razorbill 
Released on: February 14th, 2017
Purchase from: Penguin | Amazon 
Add it to Goodreads

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR





Lesley Livingston is the author of Once Every Never, winner of the inaugural Copper Cylinder Award and shortlisted for the CLA Young Adult Book Award and the BC Stellar Book Award. She is also the author of the Wondrous Strange and Starling trilogies. She lives in Toronto. 



FOLLOW THE TOUR

Week One
2/13 – Tales of the Ravenous Reader – Gladiator Makeup
2/14 – Two Chicks on Books – Author Interview
2/15 – Alexa Loves Books – Weapon Spotlight: Bow & Arrow
2/16 – Novel Novice – Review
2/17 – Arctic Books – Review + Book Look

Week Two
2/20 – Brittany’s Book Rambles – Author Guest Post
2/21 – What Sarah Read – Review + Mood Board
2/22 – Mundie Moms – Weapon Spotlight: Shield
2/23 – ButterMyBooks – Author Interview
2/24 – Fiction Fare – Weapon Spotlight: Dimachaerus

Week Three
2/27 – Oh the Book Feels – Author Interview
2/28 – Seeing Double in Neverland – Weapon Spotlight: Gladius
3/1 – No More Grumpy Bookseller – Review
3/2 – The YA Book Traveler – Weapon Spotlight: Trident & Net
3/3 – My Friends Are Fiction – Author Guest Post

Week Four
3/6 – The Reading Nook Reviews – Weapon Spotlight: Spear
3/7 – A Page with a View – Like/Try/Why
3/8 – The Young Folks – Author Guest Post
3/9 – Icey Books – Quote Candy + Review
3/10 – Book Addict’s Guide – Bookish Scents


ENTER TO WIN
Enter for a chance to win one (1) of five (5) copies of The Valiant by Lesley Livingston 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

3 comments:

  1. I'm very excitied about getting to know a female gladiator! This book sounds so exciting.

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  2. This book so sounds like something I would LOVE! And getting to see some of the shields and weapons was so much fun! What a cool post idea. Thanks so much for sharing. Im off to check out your review now :)

    Michelle @ Book Briefs
    My 6 year Blogoversary

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gorgeous promo post Katie :D I'm pretty excited about reading this book soon. It seems so so good. <3

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