Author: C.J Redwine
Release Date: August 28th, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins (Balzar + Bray)
Pages: 416
Edition: Hardcover
Cover Judge: I love it! Badass redhead in a badass outfit and the outline of the city near the title is awesome
Quote Choice: Heh, I loved this scene.
Source: For Review
Source: For Review
Goodreads: Link
I've talked a lot before about what I think makes a fantastic book: fascinating world-building, high-stakes plot, interesting and ever-changing characters, and finally: sacrifice. I feel like in the course of a journey, the main character has to lose something, has to give something up (whether it's her sanity or her family or her sense of security) to make a novel truly compelling. Defiance, as promised, has all of it!
Defiance is about a girl called Rachel whose father Jared is declared dead by their "Commander (aka Bully Dictator)" because he fails to show up in the 60 day time slot from a mission. Because of this, Rachel gets put under the protection of Logan, her father's apprentice and the boy she declared her love to two years ago and was awkwardly snubbed for (so now, she really doesn't like him. Who can blame her? That sucks). But they both have one thing in common: they don't think Jared is dead and they want to go after him.
Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.
At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.
As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.
* BADASS HIGH FANTASY ALERT *
I've talked a lot before about what I think makes a fantastic book: fascinating world-building, high-stakes plot, interesting and ever-changing characters, and finally: sacrifice. I feel like in the course of a journey, the main character has to lose something, has to give something up (whether it's her sanity or her family or her sense of security) to make a novel truly compelling. Defiance, as promised, has all of it!
Defiance is about a girl called Rachel whose father Jared is declared dead by their "Commander (aka Bully Dictator)" because he fails to show up in the 60 day time slot from a mission. Because of this, Rachel gets put under the protection of Logan, her father's apprentice and the boy she declared her love to two years ago and was awkwardly snubbed for (so now, she really doesn't like him. Who can blame her? That sucks). But they both have one thing in common: they don't think Jared is dead and they want to go after him.
That is the set-up for the world and I'm very interested to see what's going to happen in the next installment because the pacing is set really well in that you get a glimpse of this universe and how it's changing but she doesn't reveal too much about the rest of the city-states. There's still so much more to be explored which I definitely appreciate. Also: the first-half of the story is actually all set in Baalboden because you'd think it'd be a journey story straight off the bat. BUT Redwine is actually realistic and makes it really difficult for Rachel to escape to find her father. There are consequences for her actions, failed plans, heart-break, all before she finally manages to make it outside. And I loved it. It didn't feel slow or dragged on, it felt like a natural thing because dude: it should not be so easy to get out of a city that is under a tyrannical government.
As for the characters, I was a little reluctant of Rachel going in. I liked her but I didn't love her and so, I was naturally worried. But man, was I wrong. Rachel throughout the novel is hardened by loss, sacrifice, and heart-break and she is not the loud-mouthed girl you are presented to in the beginning. She goes through...some really hard things and naturally, that makes any person become someone else. She introspects a lot about how she doesn't feel like the same person and I have to agree to some extent: she is not the same girl who walked recklessly through the marketplace. She matures but she is not a different person. She was still the Rachel I started the book with just...a badass, frankly.
And finally, the roooomance, guys. The chapters alternate between Logan and Rachel because a part of their journey is set separated from each other, going for different things. This leads to two different points of view that intertwine incredibly well. Logan was protective, determined, slightly neurotic and because of that, highly intelligent. I enjoyed this because you really get to see both sides of the coin in their initially failed romance and watch them both grow as friends and then ultimately as more as the novel goes by. I think the only thing I found strange was that sometimes, their thought patterns were organized the same way (like Logan will be thinking something in a certain format and then Rachel will think of something similar in the same format, if that makes sense) but it did form a sort of cohesiveness throughout the book.
Fantastic, I definitely recommend it!
-Happy Reading!
