Review: Defiance

Title:  Defiance
Series:  Defiance #1
Author:  C. J. Redwine
Publisher:  Balzer + Bray
Pages:  403
Format:  Hardcover
Source:  Bought

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:  First of all, I just have to say how much I absolutely adore this cover.  The longer I look at it, the more I fall in love!  The colors are so awesome and I love the cover model's pose.  I especially like the detail of the castle just above the title.  I didn't notice that until I was about halfway through the book!  

I was really excited to begin reading this after seeing the blurb.  I was looking forward to having a strong and capable heroine I could root for!  Rachel definitely didn't take crap from anyone!  She stood up for herself and did the things she thought were right!  I admired her bravery and loyalty a lot!  However, she was extremely impulsive with the decisions she made.  A lot of the bad things that happened in the book were because of her rash choices.  And while I can't blame her considering she was in an very emotional situation, it did get tiresome and frustrating as I read knowing that Rachel was making so many obvious mistakes.  I wanted her to think some things through before just jumping into them.  She needed to weigh the potential outcomes before taking action.  

Logan had the opposite problem.  He thought everything through so much.  Before he did anything, he would sit down and list the pros and cons and what could happen and what would probably happen.  I was fine with it at first but after he did it so many times it started to get distracting.  It would pull me out of the book when I really just wanted to move forward with the plot.  Despite this, I did really enjoy his character.  I felt like he was the stable that Rachel needed in her life.  He tried his hardest to protect her and went to great lengths to do what was best for her which I was happy to see.  

The plot was very interesting, as was the world that C.J. Redwine has created.  I was a little unsteady in the new setting at first but I quickly recovered and fell in love!  It was so amazingly built.  I truly enjoyed learning more about it.  Even though it wasn't exactly somewhere I'd want to live, I did like seeing it through the eyes of Rachel and Logan.  There was a lot of little details that made it more realistic and three dimensional.  It was thrilling to see Rachel and Logan set out on their adventures.  We learned a lot about each of them through the experiences they overcame.  

While I did have my problems with this read, I liked it quite a bit overall.  I'd be more than willing to read the next book when it releases!  There was a lot of strings left untied by the end and I'm eager to see where Rachel and Logan go on their adventures next time!

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