Minor spoilers ahead, scroll down for the spoiler free part

Let’s start with the characters. Corban? Is this really the main lead I’m supposed to root for? He was so underwhelming—bland and one-dimensional. I couldn’t bring myself to care about him. Sure, he’s well-raised and good with a sword, but I wasn’t impressed (and I even liked Rand from book one, despite his constant complaining). Things kept happening to Corban, and he never really took charge—though I’m sure he will later. I wanted to see more growth in his character in this instalment. I’m usually pretty easy to win over with young protagonists destined to save the world, characters I want to protect from every bad thing. But Ban never made me feel that way.

Then there’s the forced romance with Coralen. As one of the only three female characters with her own POV in this book, she didn’t impress me at all. I understood what Gwynne was trying to do with her character, but it felt forced. She tried too hard to come off as a badass.

Edna was unimpressive, and aside from a couple of scenes, she wasn’t fully stepping up to her status as queen. I would have preferred to see her take more decisive leadership actions. I understand she had just survived a traumatic experience, but she should have shown more strength, at least for the sake of her company.

That said, I did grow fond of some characters and looked forward to their chapters. Maquin was my favorite—I wanted him to find peace, but Gwynne didn’t give him a break. Cywen, who I liked from the first book, also stood out (and yes, I totally ship her with Veradis; that pairing would work much better). Fidele's chapters, although brief, also interested me for we could see her trying to do what was right. I'm curious how her subplot will develop in Ruin.

end of the minor spoilers

As for the writing, the battle scenes were well done. Yet despite the constant action, I found myself getting bored around the middle of the book, as it felt like the main characters weren’t making any real progress. My main issue was with the middle section, where I simply lost interest (except for Maquin, Cywen, and Tukul’s chapters). Some chapters felt unnecessary, and the information could’ve been conveyed through another character’s perspective. While it was a relief at times that certain characters' perspectives were brief, the short chapters also detracted from character development for most. Nonetheless, I can see why this series would make for good TV with all its action-packed content.

As I mentioned, this book was packed with action, but it didn’t become truly interesting until the last 200 pages. Then, except for the few perspectives I didn't care about, the book became actually good and I finished that part rather quickly compared to the rest of the book.

In sum, I was disappointed by Valor but the last 25% redeemed the book but not enough to rate it 4 stars. I will persevere and read Ruin since this book has set up a lot of events, and [spoilers removed]. What I won’t do, however, is wait too long to read it, as my interest will likely fade by then. If you liked Malice, you’ll probably enjoy this more. If you didn’t, don’t bother with this installment. But if you’re on the fence, give it a shot—just keep your expectations in check.