I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I love when I find previously unknown figures or events from history through historical fiction, and Valiant Ladies is a fun fictionalized portrait of the Valiant Ladies of Potosí, sapphic teen vigilantes fighting to bring down the patriarchy in seventeenth-century Peru. It’s so fun and action-packed, and freaking queer!
I love the dichotomy of the two leads, Kiki and Ana, leading “normal” lives of the time as “proper” ladies by day, with all that entails, while taking to the streets and raising hell in the name of justice by night. Both are fun, distinct characters; Kiki is the more traditionally brought up, pampered lady and the story involves expectations for her that she faces, but she has a spark of rebellion. Ana has a more rough-and-tumble background, having grown up on the streets, and seen more of the injustices firsthand.
I loved seeing these two working together in the fight for justice, while also coming to a realization about their feelings. And the pining! Amid the high-stakes politics of the story, it’s so well executed!
The plot did feel a little odd pacing wise, and it impacted my investment to an extent. However, I ultimately was satisfied with how it came together.
I enjoyed this book a lot, and I’d love to read more from Melissa Grey in the future, especially if they’re similar to this one. If you enjoy sapphic historical fiction with a strong romantic arc, you’ll like this one.

3.5 stars

Valiant Ladies, based on a real-life pair of Peruvian swashbuckling lovers, has a lot of things going for it: sapphic romance, badass sword fighting women, fighting the patriarchy, and a revenge quest. All of these ingredients add up to what is a very enjoyable read, especially when Grey lets her protagonists Kiki and Ana really pack on the humor.

I just wish that there had been more time to really dig into all of the different aspects. I really enjoyed the romance and the action and the revenge, but there were definitely portions of the book where it felt like we were only focusing on one aspect rather than developing it all together. I almost wish we had gotten the romance developing on page rather than beginning the book with both characters already having seemingly unrequited feelings so that we could have really delved into the development of their relationship.

It's still an thoroughly entertaining and highly enjoyable read, so I would recommend anyone who is intrigued by the concept to absolutely pick it up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I will be forever grateful to the author of this book for introducing me to the Valiant Ladies of Potosi, who were real women who lived, although this story is, naturally, a fictionalized tale of their lives.

And what a fun fictionalized tale it was! I will never not love a story of badass women fighting bad men (and the patriarchy) with swords and gumption. And when it's ALSO sapphic? SIGN ME UP. Was predicting who the villain was difficult? No, not really. But was it a super fun ride anyway? Heck yes!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to do some more research into these Valiant Ladies.

Valiant Ladies has chapters from both Kiki and Ana. Ana was left by her mother and raised by the woman who runs the local brothel. But when she met Kiki, her family took Ana in. They have lived together since and both the girls' feelings towards each other became more than just a friendship. But Kiki had been betrothed since she was young. She knew she would be marrying to help her family's status, even though they were already very rich. The boy she is to marry, Sebastian, isn't liked by Ana. She doesn't trust him. There have been some local girls murdered recently and Kiki was looking into it a bit. When her brother is killed and a symbol is on his hand, Kiki knows he didn't kill himself. He had been happy and in love, but wouldn't tell her who. She knew him, as did Ana. The girls decide that they need to investigate and get their revenge. That leads them into some secrets and a lot of danger. The girls are also trying to find a missing friend hoping that she isn't already dead.

The book is full of fighting and quite a bit of blood. I loved how snarky and stubborn Kiki and Ana were and I enjoyed reading about their feelings for each other. The trust they felt was really special.

I gave this book 4 stars. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my earc.

Warnings for blood/cutting, talk of suicide, abuse, fire, mentions of sex, brothels and prostitutes, drinking.

Two girls, a forbidden romance, vigilante work, and a murder mystery to solve. Eustaquia “Kiki” de Sonza is a future baroness, daughter of a wealthy baron and best friend of Ana Leama de Urinza, poor girl turned vigilante. Both of them find joy in in a good fight, in swords, and in falling in love with each other. Things take a turn when it is announced that Kiki is to be betrothed to someone to do her duty to her family and to expand their power. But when her brother is murdered and made to look like a suicide and more girls are being killed and left with a symbol carved into them, Kiki and Ana will have to risk their lives and their hearts if they want to stop the killer and win their freedom. Kiki is struggling between wanting to do what she is expected to do for her family and following her heart and being with Ana, but when her brother dies her life is consumed in revenge and finding out who did this. Ana’s friend is kidnapped and she might be the key to solving this entire mystery and Ana and Kiki will have to follow the clues and navigate dangerous people with darker secrets filled with greed and lust if they want to be able to stop the killer. This was such a fun read and I adore Ana so much. I loved the action and the mystery and the romance, ugh the romance was so good. Two people from different stations in life, in a forbidden romance, but who love and cherish each other, who support and want the best for the other? Amazing, Beautiful, perfection!

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This is a fictionalized true story of two seventeenth century Latinx teenagers known as the Valiant Ladies of Potosí as they fulfill their expected societal roles during the day as “proper women” and gamble, get in fights, and fall in love with one another.

I appreciated the author’s note at the end commenting on how much was true. Some, as it turns out. An interesting, adventurous tale of two girls who fall in love. A handful of resources were also cited.

Spoiler alert: Happy ending for the girls! This surprised me, but in a nice way.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.

This is a fictionalized account of two real women whose lives are part truth and part legend. Set in 17th century Peru, best friends (and eventually more) Kiki and Ana leave the safety of Kiki's family estate at night and prowl the streets of Potosí, fighting and drinking their way through town. Things change when women start going missing and Kiki's brother is murdered, promoting the two to start investigating to seek the truth and deliver vigilante justice. The setting is very cool, I liked Kiki and Ana a lot. I felt that the plot suffered some pacing issues and came together very quickly at the end with some revelations being sort of weird. But overall, this is a fun story with engaging main characters.

Thank you, Feiwel & Friends, for allowing me to read Valiant Ladies early!

I was sold on this novel when the author "uttered" the words sword lesbians. This young adult historical novel inspired by real-life Latine teen vigilantes from the seventeenth century was to simply put it: EXCELLENT. I wasn't aware of the existence of two impressive young ladies before, but I'm now and I can't wait to research more about their story. The book is action-packed and enthralling and I couldn't put it down for one second. Despite having chores to do around the house, I decided to put them off until I was done with the novel as it was just too captivating.