Valiant Ladies - Melissa Grey

Author: Melissa Grey

Narrators: Frankie Corzo and Almarie Guerra

Genre: YA Coming-of-age, Historical fiction.

Rating: 3.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A fun book though a bit ‘in-your-face’ with its writing. Will work great for its right audience –the upper end of the YA reading segment, maybe even the NA crowd. Older readers might end up rolling their eyes.

Story Synopsis:

Kiki and Ana are best friends from different circumstances. Ana was born and brought up in a brothel while Kiki belongs to a noble family. However, once their paths met, their bond forged strongly and Ana now stays with Kiki’s family, both trying hard to be society ladies. However, in secret, they are teen vigilantes, passing their time gambling and rescuing those who need to be rescued. When danger comes to their own house and a close family member ends up dead, Kiki and Ana realise that it is up to them to ensure that justice is served.

The story comes to us in the alternate first person perspectives of Kiki and Ana.

Where the book worked for me:

😍 The story is partially inspired by the real life 7th century Latinx teenagers known as the Valiant Ladies of Potosí. I loved knowing that such brave and non-conformist young girls actually existed.

😍 Ana and Kiki’s connection is pretty well-written. I liked how no one judged Ana for coming from a shady background. This made for a pleasant change from the norm.

😍 It’s surprisingly complicated for a YA book, with a combo of sapphic romance, murder mystery, family drama, and swashbuckling action scenes. Add to this a dash of feminism and a smash of patriarchy, and you have quite a strong story in your hands.

😍 The vocabulary is also surprisingly rich for a YA book. I enjoyed some of the unusual word choices.

Where the book could have worked better for me:

😑 Except for a regular mention of gowns and swords and noble titles, there was nothing in the setting to make this feel like a 17th century Peruvian story. The data was there, but it didn’t transcend into a genuine cultural experience. The dialogue writing is also quite contemporary in its style. I wasn’t expecting old-style English (or Spanish, to be more accurate) but the overuse of cuss words and modern day phrases further added to the inauthentic feel of the time period.

😑 The middle part of the story is quite repetitive. (Having the audio version helped a lot.)

😑 There’s no suspense. You know who the villains are the minute they enter in the page. It is just a matter of knowing how they will get their dues.

😑 All the factors which make YA less than ideal are present in this book – reckless leads who jump into danger first and regret their actions later, loads of internal rambling, tons of thoughts about physical attraction, exaggerated emotions,... There is no denying that eliminating these issues would have improved the book to a great extent.

😑 Some basic information seems to have been missed out upon. Like, what year is the story actually set in? When and why did Ana and Kiki become vigilantes? Knowing this would have helped understand them better.

The audiobook experience:

The audiobook, clocking at about 12 hours, is narrated by Frankie Corzo and Almarie Guerra. Both narrators do a wonderful job of bringing their respective charges to life with their voice. I enjoyed the audio version – it certainly enhanced the book for me.

I was mentally prepared for a YA-level book, so there was no great disappointment over the flatness of the characters and the storyline. If I had read this as a historical fiction, I would have rated it much lower. But as a YA coming-of-age/romance, it does justice to its genre.

I am sure it will click better with the right age group than it did with me.

My thanks to RB Media and NetGalley for the ALC of “Valiant Ladies”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.