Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Review of Defiance

Title & Author:
Defiance by C.J. Redwine
Publisher:
Balzer + Bray
Publication Date:
August 28, 2012
Pages:
416
Source:
Publisher via Edelweiss

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. – Goodreads

Defiance by C.J. Redwine is definitely an epic story worth getting your hands on.

From the get go I was thrust into Rachel and Logan’s world, quickly gobbling up bits and pieces of their society and the rules they live by. I loved that C.J. Redwine didn’t really ease us into the story, we started out at a very emotional point and it definitely helped me to build an attachment to Rachel early on.

There was a lot of swoon between Rachel and Logan that I loved, even though I didn’t particularly have any real feelings for Logan. Rachel was an easy protagonist to like – she just kept getting her ass handed to her and I was rooting for her all the way to kick some major butt, and to finally get together with Logan. But Logan, at least to me, always remained just the love interest, rather than a protagonist himself.

The story of Defiance was all kinds of awesome. I loved the way a lot of components mentioned earlier on in Defiance became important later on – C.J. Redwine did a fantastic job of tying all the different story elements together.

I wouldn’t say Defiance is fantasy-light, but it definitely had a very contemporary tone and I would highly recommend it to readers just starting out in fantasy, or even casual readers of the fantasy genre – but honestly, I think even hardcore fantasy lovers will enjoy Defiance by C.J. Redwine.

I’m super excited to see where the next book takes us. Defiance is a fantastic debut and I can’t wait to read more from C.J. Redwine.

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