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Valiant #4
Assassin: The Valiant Series 4
Sold into slavery by his own parents at the age of seven, Aidan has spent his life enduring torture and training. Now, as a fully grown man, he is an Assassin. He kills whoever the king wants dead without question or regret.
Until another assassin comes for the king's daughter. The path to protecting her will only lead to corruption, which has already touched the hearts of many in the entire kingdom. Their love will be the source of their undoing and it starts Aidan down a path of lies and darkness.
Darkness that has already taken root inside his heart.
***This action-packed, romantic new installment to The Valiant Series takes place before Hunter and it's about the Chosen who started it all.***
Until another assassin comes for the king's daughter. The path to protecting her will only lead to corruption, which has already touched the hearts of many in the entire kingdom. Their love will be the source of their undoing and it starts Aidan down a path of lies and darkness.
Darkness that has already taken root inside his heart.
***This action-packed, romantic new installment to The Valiant Series takes place before Hunter and it's about the Chosen who started it all.***
- GenresFantasy
Paperback
Published January 9, 2024
14 people want to read
About the author
Joanna White
41 books227 followersJoanna White is a Christian Author and fangirl. Hunter and Shifter are the first two books in her debut series, called the Valiant Series, published by Christian publisher Ambassador International and there are more to come. Coming this December, one of her short stories will be featured in a Winter Fairy Tale Retelling Anthology by Divination Publishing. Her newest release, Dark Magi, just came out on November 19th.
She graduated from Full Sail University with a BFA in Creative Writing For Entertainment. Ever since she was ten years old, she's been writing stories and has a deep passion for writing and creating stories, worlds, characters, and plots that readers can immerse themselves in. In 2019, she reached her personal goal of writing a million words in a year. Most of all, Joanna loves God, her family, staying at home, and being a total nerd.
To stay updated and find out more about her novels, where her inspiration comes from, and more, visit her website at: joannawhite316.wordpress.com.
She graduated from Full Sail University with a BFA in Creative Writing For Entertainment. Ever since she was ten years old, she's been writing stories and has a deep passion for writing and creating stories, worlds, characters, and plots that readers can immerse themselves in. In 2019, she reached her personal goal of writing a million words in a year. Most of all, Joanna loves God, her family, staying at home, and being a total nerd.
To stay updated and find out more about her novels, where her inspiration comes from, and more, visit her website at: joannawhite316.wordpress.com.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 27, 2022
This is such a dear sweet novel. Not to set that is not full of action, terror and darkness. But there is a sweetness about a man raised in slavery who is trained to be an assassin being able to find love in his heart. Then he may have that love taken from him. He is a man that might be seen as good, but to save the woman he loves he has to take on the darkness. I found myself saying why. Why does it have to be him? I was rooting for an assassin! This is an intriguing new mystery that you will not want to miss. I received this novel from BookFunnel. This is my true and honest review.
May 12, 2022
Set aside a full day for this fast-paced NC17 supernatural battle of Good vs Evil set on Eious where there is a slave culture and torture is widely used.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 26, 2024
Confusing and Violent
Audiobook Review:
This is the second audiobook I've listened to or read in The Valiant series. For whatever reason, the author chose to offer Book 1 and Book 4 at a book review site but not the others in between. So I listened to the first book and then this one, and I'll admit it was a bit confusing when I started this book, as it didn't seem to relate at all to the first book (no overlapping characters, locations, or even realms). So, I went back and looked at the intervening books in the series, but it seems as though they actually ARE disconnected (or at least the first book didn’t flow directly into the second book … and so on for each book of the series) … though the epilogue of this book has me questioning the connection between Book 1 and Book 4.
As you may guess from a book entitled Assassin, this story is exceedingly violent at times. I know from the first book that these stories are supposed to be Christian allegories, and the level of violence in these books seems extreme in general, but particularly so for stories that are supposed to allude to biblical stories and people. Parts of this book are, frankly, hard to listen to, including more than a half-hour-long gruesome description of various types of torture of one man guilty of the crime of loving a highborn woman, her father’s retribution for such “treason.”
Early parts of the book felt confusing beyond what I've already stated, as it wasn't really clear who the good guys and bad guys were supposed to be. From reading the first book, I knew it would not be as simple as “the assassin is the bad guy.” It didn't help that names were similar, and the narrator used a similarly growly voice for many of the powerful men. This book was a bit of a hard slog at times for multiple reasons, and ultimately the time spent with this book didn't feel as though it was worth it. Things end up so tragically at the end with the hero, the woman he loved, and their child. If I had known this book would not have a positive ending—or at least a “happy for now” if not a “happily ever after”—but rather a depressingly negative and sad one on too many levels (death, abandonment, etc.), frankly, I would not have bothered to listen.
Then the epilogue was weird as well. It seemed to actually go back to Book 1, somehow, but enough intervening weeks have gone by between my listening to that book and this one … that I couldn't make sense of it all and how these two stories were supposed to relate to each other. Was Book 4 actually a prequel to Book 1, somehow? Seriously, authors should not confuse their readers so much, as it makes us not want to trust them for another book.
I received a promo code for this audiobook, but that did not affect my review.
Audiobook Review:
This is the second audiobook I've listened to or read in The Valiant series. For whatever reason, the author chose to offer Book 1 and Book 4 at a book review site but not the others in between. So I listened to the first book and then this one, and I'll admit it was a bit confusing when I started this book, as it didn't seem to relate at all to the first book (no overlapping characters, locations, or even realms). So, I went back and looked at the intervening books in the series, but it seems as though they actually ARE disconnected (or at least the first book didn’t flow directly into the second book … and so on for each book of the series) … though the epilogue of this book has me questioning the connection between Book 1 and Book 4.
As you may guess from a book entitled Assassin, this story is exceedingly violent at times. I know from the first book that these stories are supposed to be Christian allegories, and the level of violence in these books seems extreme in general, but particularly so for stories that are supposed to allude to biblical stories and people. Parts of this book are, frankly, hard to listen to, including more than a half-hour-long gruesome description of various types of torture of one man guilty of the crime of loving a highborn woman, her father’s retribution for such “treason.”
Early parts of the book felt confusing beyond what I've already stated, as it wasn't really clear who the good guys and bad guys were supposed to be. From reading the first book, I knew it would not be as simple as “the assassin is the bad guy.” It didn't help that names were similar, and the narrator used a similarly growly voice for many of the powerful men. This book was a bit of a hard slog at times for multiple reasons, and ultimately the time spent with this book didn't feel as though it was worth it. Things end up so tragically at the end with the hero, the woman he loved, and their child. If I had known this book would not have a positive ending—or at least a “happy for now” if not a “happily ever after”—but rather a depressingly negative and sad one on too many levels (death, abandonment, etc.), frankly, I would not have bothered to listen.
Then the epilogue was weird as well. It seemed to actually go back to Book 1, somehow, but enough intervening weeks have gone by between my listening to that book and this one … that I couldn't make sense of it all and how these two stories were supposed to relate to each other. Was Book 4 actually a prequel to Book 1, somehow? Seriously, authors should not confuse their readers so much, as it makes us not want to trust them for another book.
I received a promo code for this audiobook, but that did not affect my review.
December 3, 2022
Assassin was a fun and fast read.
Aidan is an Assassin. He is ruthless and kills whoever the king orders him to, without regret and question. One day, another assassin comes for the king’s daughter and Aidan gets assigned to keep her safe.
Assassin is book four of ‘The Valiant Series’ and takes place before ‘Hunter’ the first book in the series. First, I need to be honest, I haven’t read any of the other books in this series. The author claimed they can be read in any order, and I have to agree. Everything stands alone and you can easily follow the plot without knowing the other books.
Personally, I love stories about assassins. They have a secrecy about them, which makes stories with assassins so interesting. You can never figure out what they do next and I love to be impressed by their skill in combat, interrogation and reading people. So, I was euphoric to start this book. Aidan is a talented and well trained assassin. He knows his weapons and poisons and is aware of his surroundings. But unfortunately, as reader, you always know why he does something and what he is intending to do next. That is a shame, because these are the main things I like about assassin stories. There were no unexpected plot twists and surprises for me as a reader. I’ll guess it's hard to keep things mysterious and unexpected, when you are writing in the assassins POV, you know what’s going on in Aidan’s mind. But I would have preferred a few more secrets and surprises.
The story itself was fascinating and I was intrigued to read the other books in this series as well. But the writing was often not my cup of tea. All the dialogues and Aidan’s inner monologues felt kind of forced. It threw me off the story more than one time. The revelations about his past also came unexpected and at strange and inappropriate times in the book. All in all, everything felt a little out of place and I had a hard time to connect with the characters. Also, the love story, that started without any clue and way too fast, felt forced and not realistic to me. In the end, there are a lot of time jumps, which also throws you out of the story. It feels like the author was in a rush to bring the story to an end.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Aidan is an Assassin. He is ruthless and kills whoever the king orders him to, without regret and question. One day, another assassin comes for the king’s daughter and Aidan gets assigned to keep her safe.
Assassin is book four of ‘The Valiant Series’ and takes place before ‘Hunter’ the first book in the series. First, I need to be honest, I haven’t read any of the other books in this series. The author claimed they can be read in any order, and I have to agree. Everything stands alone and you can easily follow the plot without knowing the other books.
Personally, I love stories about assassins. They have a secrecy about them, which makes stories with assassins so interesting. You can never figure out what they do next and I love to be impressed by their skill in combat, interrogation and reading people. So, I was euphoric to start this book. Aidan is a talented and well trained assassin. He knows his weapons and poisons and is aware of his surroundings. But unfortunately, as reader, you always know why he does something and what he is intending to do next. That is a shame, because these are the main things I like about assassin stories. There were no unexpected plot twists and surprises for me as a reader. I’ll guess it's hard to keep things mysterious and unexpected, when you are writing in the assassins POV, you know what’s going on in Aidan’s mind. But I would have preferred a few more secrets and surprises.
The story itself was fascinating and I was intrigued to read the other books in this series as well. But the writing was often not my cup of tea. All the dialogues and Aidan’s inner monologues felt kind of forced. It threw me off the story more than one time. The revelations about his past also came unexpected and at strange and inappropriate times in the book. All in all, everything felt a little out of place and I had a hard time to connect with the characters. Also, the love story, that started without any clue and way too fast, felt forced and not realistic to me. In the end, there are a lot of time jumps, which also throws you out of the story. It feels like the author was in a rush to bring the story to an end.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
April 13, 2022
What a book! The story of Assassin's life has been difficult hard. So when a loving relationship grows between the Princess and the Assassin its a beautiful story, but you'll have to read the book to find out what happens! It's an easy book to read and the book keeps your interest from the beginning of book until the end. It's one of those books you say 'oh no!', several times throughout the book. You have action, advention, battles, good against evil, trust building and romance.
What I didn't fully understand until i got to the last couple chapters that i was taking a look at one of a Team member. This is due to the fact this is the first book in the series I've read. Everything made since until the other Team members and their purpose as being selected as the chosen was started to be discussed. I either need to read more of the series going forward or go back and start from the beginning of the series.
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review. I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoys fantasy romance, christian fiction, action and adventure books.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What I didn't fully understand until i got to the last couple chapters that i was taking a look at one of a Team member. This is due to the fact this is the first book in the series I've read. Everything made since until the other Team members and their purpose as being selected as the chosen was started to be discussed. I either need to read more of the series going forward or go back and start from the beginning of the series.
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review. I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoys fantasy romance, christian fiction, action and adventure books.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 4, 2022
Assassin is Book 4 in the Valiant Series by Joanna White. I thought that this book was interesting and different from the other books in the series. Aiden was sold into slavery by his parents at 7 years old. He became the King's assassin and killed whomever the King wanted dead. His life was changed forever when an assassin came to kill the King's daughter. Aiden goes through much to protect her. I thought that Joanna White guided the story with redemption for Aiden. Does he change? Love and hate can be two sides of a coin....which side does Aiden end on? I received an arc for free and am leaving my review voluntarily.
April 14, 2022
'Assassin' by Joanna White is a story about love and redemption. It is very well written with believable well-developed characters and with a world building skill that is hard to match. I was hooked from the first paragraph. 'Assassin' delivers the story of God's love without being preachy. I really enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next adventure.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes their adventures without graphic violence, cursing or graphic sex. This book really delivers.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes their adventures without graphic violence, cursing or graphic sex. This book really delivers.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 9, 2023
Evil and power is such a strong desire for some that they can't say no to it, then it is to late to turn back.
It's so heart wrenching what this assassin goes through, but there is still a little sliver of good in him.
This story will make you think of what God does for us and how much He loves us and wants us to follow and be with Him!
I'm rooting for this assassin to prevail and conquer this evil in the next book!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
It's so heart wrenching what this assassin goes through, but there is still a little sliver of good in him.
This story will make you think of what God does for us and how much He loves us and wants us to follow and be with Him!
I'm rooting for this assassin to prevail and conquer this evil in the next book!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
June 20, 2022
I love it when the final book of a series wraps up things in a pretty bow for me and answers the burning questions I've had all along...this book was one of those books. My questions were answered and the series ended with a satisfying ending that wasn't a cliffhanger. I absolutely loved this series and I would recommend it to everyone who loves to read fantasy!!.
I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
March 1, 2022
This was an intriguing concept and a very touching book. I enjoyed reading it from beginning to end. I highly recommend it.
May 29, 2023
This book while being a compelling fantasy story, is also a book that will make you think about good and evil and how everyone struggles with this on a daily basis. While most of us are not assassins struggling with the fact that they are required to kill people for a living like our main character Aiden, we do struggle with everyday challenges to be doing "good" in our lives.
I read this book in less than 24 hours because it was so difficult to put down! The princess falling in love with someone she isn't supposed to and an assassin falling in love with the woman he is supposed to protect is an age-old trope that is popular for a reason. While I have read these kinds of stories many times before "Assassin" feels truly unique. The emotional conflict that Aiden goes through in his mind with every mission is heart-wrenching. The fact that he still must go through with these missions he does not agree with to save the woman he loves is even more heart-breaking.
I really cannot wait to read more of Joanna's works, because I am sure if they are anything similar to "Assassin", then I will love it just as much.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I read this book in less than 24 hours because it was so difficult to put down! The princess falling in love with someone she isn't supposed to and an assassin falling in love with the woman he is supposed to protect is an age-old trope that is popular for a reason. While I have read these kinds of stories many times before "Assassin" feels truly unique. The emotional conflict that Aiden goes through in his mind with every mission is heart-wrenching. The fact that he still must go through with these missions he does not agree with to save the woman he loves is even more heart-breaking.
I really cannot wait to read more of Joanna's works, because I am sure if they are anything similar to "Assassin", then I will love it just as much.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 5, 2023
This book is slightly different from its predecessors as it stresses more that people are imperfect. Some live in ways that are beyond their control (real or perceived). True guilt and remorse are the first steps to redeeming one’s past and being able to accept other people’s help in improving ourselves.
Again, the religious message is both obvious as well as subtle (which story is this one?). The author makes it work – and well.
Looking forward to the next one!
Again, the religious message is both obvious as well as subtle (which story is this one?). The author makes it work – and well.
Looking forward to the next one!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews