Review: Defiance by C.J. Redwine

 

Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Genres: Dystopia

Release Date: November 13th, 2012

Source: Won from Marissa @ Beneath the Moon and the Stars

 

Synopsis:

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city's brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses 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 one who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but a 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.

My Review:

After seeing so many mixed reviews about this book, I honestly didn’t really know what to expect. I was still excited for Defiance, so excited in fact, that I chose it as my giveaway prize. The cover was calling my name, and the premise was enchanting, despite what other people said. So, I read it, without really any idea of what I would think. And while there were definitely things that I liked about this book, some things just irked me.

The character development in this one was so fantastic. Watching characters grow, make mistakes, and learn from them is always so great, and I loved how we got to witness this. It’s definitely not easy to achieve in a book, so I was glad that the author pulled this off, pretty flawlessly, I must admit. With both main characters, we saw them change throughout the book, especially Rachel. It was fascinating to watch Rachel’s development in general, just because it was a bit different from the typical character growth.

Also, the ending was fascinating to read. It was filled with gut-wrenching emotion, action, and suspense that had me sitting at the edge of my seat (er, well, sofa, in my case,as I read in comfort ). I loved how different it was from what I was expecting, as well. Not everything turns out perfect, and now there’s even more problems that I’m interested to see play out. It was definitely one of the highlights of the book.

However, while the ending of this book was a shining star, the beginning, simply put, was not. It was pretty dull, and it took quite a while for things to actually get started. I wish that there was just more substance or more anything to the beginning. I understand that it takes a while for things to get started in a book, but honestly, this book was over-dramatically slow.

Also, this book suffers from a case of insta-love. I’ve ranted over and over again about my detest of insta-love. The romance between Logan and Rachel just felt like instsa-love for me, with the pretense of something happening over 2 years ago. Even with something developing 2 years ago, I wanted the romance to develop now. Instead, I felt like we just witnessed insta-love, something that did not make me happy at all.

Overall, Defiance did have its strengths. The intriguing character development and an intense ending definitely made this book enjoyable. However, what really dampened my enjoyment of this book was the beginning and (insert sigh here) insta-love. The next book does have potential, so I do think I’ll be picking it up, eventually.