Valour (The Faithful and the Fallen, #2) in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Jul 13, 2017 Emma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 'Wolven, crows, ravens, hounds....What will it be next?’
I am adoring this series! We hear the story from all POVs and we lurch almost from action scene to action scene. My heart was in my mouth on many occasions. You know people you care about are going to die- it's just a matter of who and how soon.
Despite the dark content, this book manages to make me warm and fuzzy inside too. Corbin has a big heart and the love seems to spread out from him. Camlin and Coralen are just two examples of how peo 'Wolven, crows, ravens, hounds....What will it be next?’
I am adoring this series! We hear the story from all POVs and we lurch almost from action scene to action scene. My heart was in my mouth on many occasions. You know people you care about are going to die- it's just a matter of who and how soon.
Despite the dark content, this book manages to make me warm and fuzzy inside too. Corbin has a big heart and the love seems to spread out from him. Camlin and Coralen are just two examples of how people are transformed by his attitudes and simple way of being and living his life.
Then there's the animals.
Again, Gwynn does a superlative job in the animals' portrayal- it could very easily read like some Disney type tale, but it just doesn't. There's a scene near the end where the raven Fech is berating himself which was really moving.
And on to the baddies: Poor Fidele. Boo, Lycos! Horrible. Worst for me were the white wyrms. Nearing the end of the book, I was unable to put the book down, even to eat. But once I started reading the scene with the white wyrms defending the cauldron, I found that in fact, I COULD put the book down until dinner was done!
I almost felt sorry for Nathair towards the end. He has been naive, full of pride and arrogance. I'm fascinated to see how his character will develop from this point forward.
I loved some of the character details. For example, When Corbin is seized by the enemy, his first thought is how upset his mam will be. And I adored the idea of Nathair stomping around on his pet draig, loving the statement it makes about him, when in fact he is trailing the stench of rotten meat and shit around with him!
This book has a philosophy about it. This quote:

‘Memory is a double-edged sword, Uthas. It can keep you strong through dark times, but it can also cripple you, keep you locked in a moment that no longer exists.’
This is very thought-provoking to me because it's so true. It's certainly held me back on many occasions in my life. And it shows how, for me, as well as the characters in this book- our actions come from a certain level of self- mastery- or not as the case may be.
No-one should be in any doubt that this book and series is strongly Recommended! ...more

68 likes · Like · see review

Oct 14, 2022 Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Check out my Booktube channel at: The Obsessive Bookseller

I continue to see why this series has gained so much momentum in the SFF community. Valor was a solid installment.

What’s remarkable is that this chonker of a book manages to be both a slow-burn expansive story and a fast-paced page-turner at the same time. The overall arc of the story is a gradual build, and actually this sequel didn’t do a whole lot to advance the plot. But within each POV (there are about ten) chapter, the author takes ...more

30 likes · Like · see review

Oct 28, 2015 Justine rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2016-read

4.5 stars

The second book in The Faithful and the Fallen series makes a smooth transition from merely solid to a superior fantasy work.

Gone are the problems I had with the first book, Malice, namely somewhat erratic pacing and a lack of focus on interesting female characters. Valour is fast paced almost from start to finish and gives a fair amount of focus to a previous favourite, Cywen, as well as introducing some strong new female POV characters.

This book also did a good job of balancing emot ...more

24 likes · Like · see review

May 24, 2016 Robyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016

An extremely strong second book in a series - what a difficult thing to pull of! I found it far better paced than the first, with a better balance of characters. Moreover, Gwynne keeps up the narrative pace and provides an extremely satisfying (if also sad) plot in this - it never felt like aimless meandering before the grand finale, unlike so many second books. Can't wait for the next one! ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Mar 31, 2016 Amanda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 stars!

While I enjoyed Malice it had quite a few flaws. Those were well compensated for in this second installment. The pacing was MUCH better and we now have some female characters holding their own. I'm very excited about the next two books. ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

May 02, 2021 Carrie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, favorite-series, favorite-authors

So glad my missing part of the page crisis turned out to be nothing.

14 likes · Like · see review

Jan 27, 2022 Alissa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-ebooks

3.5 rounded down. The story thickens and unfolds with interesting point of views, but it loses momentum at times and there are few surprises (but this second book capitalizes on the first and builds less, so it’s a consequence of the narrative). Still, very, very good!

7 likes · Like · see review

Jun 22, 2017 Helen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Solid second book in the series. Good pacing, interesting characters of both gender also Storm. Initially I found the names confusing on audio but they soon cleared into distinct people. I'm going straight into book 3 to avoid repetition of this problem. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 31, 2024 Alexis rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Very solid continuation of a, so far, very solid fantasy series.

The already big cast seems like getting bigger at the start of the book, but that's balanced out by the fact that very few characters are safe in Gwynne's world.

I missed some of the edge of the first book, which was slow and sprawling, but you could see this underlying conflict starting to bubble up and you weren't really sure for a long time who would end up on which side.

In this book, the sides have kind of lined up, although not ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 09, 2018 Suzanne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This was such good heroic fantasy. I really liked the characters and it was easier this book to keep track of who everyone was. I have suspicions about many things, and I'm excited to read the next book and find out. ...more

Like · see review