Book Review: Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Title: Defiance (Defiance #1)
Author: C.J. Redwine
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 416
Release Date: 28th August 2012
Read In: August 2012

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*This is a review of an ARC. Thank you to HarperCollins and Edelweiss for the copy*

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.

In most YA books we establish the characters, the setting and the plot. There is a bit of tension, a plan is formed, something goes wrong, things are fixed and the heroes save the day. Defiance is slightly different. 

‘”Is there a problem?” the Commander asks in a tone meant to convey that there’d better not be.  
“It’s, ah, just a bit irregular. Highly irregular.” The man’s fingers clench the parchment, curling the edges until they begin to crumble.
“Continue,” the Commander says to him. A hard knot forms in the pit of my stomach.
“In the matter of Protectorship of my daughter, Rachel Elizabeth Adams […] I do hereby appoint as her Protector, until such a day as she is legally Claimed, my apprentice, Logan McEntire.”’

The story is not as straight forward as I originally expected. A plan is formed, it failed. Another plan is formed, it failed. People are not that predictable. The story is not predictable. I loved it. I don’t know how things are going to pan out. You think you have something sussed but apparently it is not going to help. You are kept on your toes.

You are taken on a journey. It has been awhile since I read a book that was spread out over a long chronological period of time. Normally the problem that arises is the pace is either too fast or too slow. I either can’t keep up or I am falling asleep. Well done C.J. Redwine. I was neither of those things. I thought it was paced just right. I was engaged all the way through wanting to know what will happen next. 

Rachel goes on an emotional roller-coaster. Seriously, it was torture. I would hate to be in her position. She is forced into a sort of mentality that someone so young shouldn’t have. While many of her decisions I didn’t like, I understood why she made them. If it was me, as I am now, having to face those choices, the story would have turned out differently. Her decisions drive the story. I am curious to know what will happen to her next. The way it ended doesn’t leave a natural opening. 

The Commander is the perfect antagonist. He is sneaky and unpredictable. He is clever. They are the most dangerous kind of enemy. He is the reasons why you cannot fall into a sense of security. He will always have a Plan B. It is what made him so scary. ‘How are they going to get out of this one?’ was a constant question in my head. 

Personally I would have liked more information on the construction of the society. I guess it wasn’t truly essential to the story. All you need to know is the Commander is a tyrant and violent. Hopefully we will find out more in the next book.

I would have liked the romantic tension to have started a little later, after we had gotten to know Logan and Rachel a bit better. It feels like it was too heavy too soon. At the beginning it should have focused more on the main plot.

Defiance is an engaging, action packed read causing you to question throughout the entire story. A dystopian with a paranormal twist, this book is a must read. 

 Becky