Book Review: Defiance by C.J. Redwine + Giveaway

Posted 08/28/2012 by alicemarvels in Dystopian

Overview

Genre: Dystopian

Author: C.J. Redwine

Year: 2012

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: August 28, 2012

Page Count: 416

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, 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.

PROS:

sweet love story, smoking sexual tension, exciting action

CONS:

your feminist hackles will be raised by the gross patriarchal rules and attitudes of Baalboden

BOTTOM LINE

A solid post-apocalyptic/dystopian plot with a strong love story at its core.

by alicemarvels

Full Article

Rachel’s father Jared hasn’t returned from his last messenger mission, and is presumed dead by Commander Chase, the ruthless ruler of her city, Baalboden. He places her in the custody of Logan, a guy she has avoided like the plague since confessing feelings—unrequited, yikes!—for him two years before. No one seems willing to help Rachel find her father. The plot for Defiance just gets darker and bleaker from there, but it was completely addictive and SO very worth the gloom.

Defiance is a solid post-apocalyptic/dystopian story with a strong romance at its core. The characters go through various stages of likability as they deal with rage, revenge, trauma and newfound feelings of deep attachment. For those of you who are still riding and loving the dystopian wave of YA lit, you will find it easy to enjoy the stark world and desperate action of Defiance. If you’re getting dystopian fatigue, maybe give yourself a nice Meg Cabot palate cleanser before tackling it.

5 cool things to look forward to if you read Defiance:

Ancient Monsters from Below

Outside the walls of the city-states, The Cursed One—a dragon/sandworm like monster that explodes out of the earth with very little warning—is an ever-present danger, responding to any surface sounds with scorching fire. Yeah, it’s effing DANGEROUS outside those walls. Keep your voice down.

"RAWR! Inside voices! RAWR! Get off my lawn!"

Sexual Tension

I know MTV loves to hand out Best Kiss awards, but if they had a Best Almost Kiss award, Logan and Rachel would take it down. There’s so much history between them—she’s ashamed to have admitted schoolgirl feelings for him; he feels responsible for her as her Protector and guilty for being attracted to her. I mean, yeah, they want to make out, like all day long. But there are THINGS in the way. So many THINGS.

Logan and Rachel Defiance by C.J. Redwine

OMFG—are we going to kiss this time?

Badass Heroine

Rachel pissed me off/scared me sometimes. She is stubborn, and she goes through some pretty heavy stuff that makes her kind of stabby. But I respect her, and I’m pretty sure I want her in my wagon when I’m riding through Baalboden. The girl has skills with knives, a bow and arrow, a staff, you name it. As long as you stay on her good side, you’ll live. Probably.

If you cross me, I will eat your babies.

Dystopian Villain

A dystopian city is so much more menacing when its ruler is a ruthless, lawless sociopath. Commander Chase does not disappoint. By the first 50 pages, you’ll feel fully and rightly oppressed, outraged, and will kind of secretly wish The Cursed One would come make barbecue out of him.

Commander Chase Defiance by C.J. Redwine

You choose me over certain death outside the walls. But just barely.

Smarts Rule

The world of Baalboden and its environs is kind of lo-fi overall, but there is some interesting new tech thanks to Logan. The guy recites the periodic table to keep calm, rattles of logical best case/worst case scenarios for every threat before acting, and stays up late nights laboring over new inventions. It is refreshing to see a guy who would probably be a chemical engineer in our present-day world wreak serious havoc on this primitive future world.