Defiance - C.J. Redwine

Defiance by C.J. Redwine
Series: Defiance #1
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
Source/Format: Bought || Paperback

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. (modified, from Goodreads)

When I picked up Defiance, I was anticipating falling completely in love. A number of bloggers had loved it, and based on their reviews, I thought I would love it too. I know that this introduction makes it sound like I didn't love it - which isn't true because I really liked it. But it did take me a while to get invested in this story, so if you do pick it up, you don't get discouraged and stop reading it right away.  

Defiance brings us an interesting new world, characters that I absolutely adored or hated and a plot that's simple and complex all at once - which is pretty much a formula for a book that I would like.

Rachel Adams is so difficult girl to like because she's stubborn and impulsive, and those things often made me want to toss something at her head. Knowing the reasons for her actions, however, changes everything: she believes that her father is alive somewhere in the Wasteland and will do what it takes to find him and prove it. It took a while for her to grow on me, but once I started feeling for her, I almost wanted to take it back because she goes through so much emotional and physical trauma. My heart broke for her again and again, especially as the stakes got higher and the enemies she faced increased in amount and intensity. Readers get to experience the full spectrum of her complicated emotions - grief, anger, denial, pain, fear - and it pretty much dragged me through the mud.

Logan McEntire is the other narrator of this book and, unlike Rachel, it was pretty easy to get into Logan's head. He's a very analytical young man, always coming up with contingencies and back-up plans for back-up plans. He's also skilled when it comes to creating things, like new technology or gadgets. This makes him sound like a bit of a nerd, right? WRONG. Well, right, but also wrong. He's also a really good Tracker, with fighting skills that were taught to him by Jared, Rachel's father. This combination of smart and strong obviously appealed to me, and I really liked him! His dedication to his duty, as well as his regard for Rachel, Jared and Oliver (the third member of their unconventional family), were also bright spots when it came to his personality.

Obviously, it is no surprise that they butt heads a lot. They each think that their way is best, and often try to protect the other by (a) not telling the other person or (b) telling the other person what they should be doing as part of the plan. It was surprisingly fun to see them at odds, but it was heartwarming to see them working together. They start out the story barely speaking to each other (and you find out why at the very beginning), but they eventually start to develop feelings for each other. The romantic tension was so apparent to me, and I spent at least 3/4 of the book wanting to yell, "JUST KISS ALREADY!". When they finally do something, I breathed a sigh of relief and enjoyed all the swooning.

Anyway. Apart from these two and the romance, we're brought into the world of Baalboden, which is one of cities surrounded by a wall that protects them from the Cursed One. It's ruled by a very disciplined and straight-laced guy known as the Commander and he is scary. He's got rules, and if anyone disobeys them, it's basically their death sentence. He also knows how to manipulate people to get them to do what he wants, and you just know that his motives are mean and selfish and that he possesses no morals at all.

The world that we get to explore in Defiance is actually pretty interesting. A large chunk of the novel is set within the walls of Baalboden, so we experience a few of the daily routines of the town. But an even larger chunk is set outside the walls in the Wasteland, which is desolate, scary and basically somewhere you don't want to get caught in. Despite the fact that there are really only two main settings, I think C.J. did a great job with bringing them to life for the reader.

What really, most likely, made it hard for me to get into this book (apart from Rachel being incredibly stubborn) was because I felt like the plot was moving so slowly at first. Though I understood eventually that it was basically to set up the situation and let us get to know the characters, I was really just wondering the whole time when the action would start.

When it finally does, it is the cruelest, vilest and scariest thing ever (and I won't say what it is because that would definitely count as a spoiler) - and then we're basically just tossed into the adventure. So many things happen all at once that it's a sudden shock to the system, but I loved that. It was interesting to see the story progress so rapidly after that, and I was hooked on finding out what happens next.

Defiance ended on a high note for me, because the situation was pretty much wrapped up but there was the definite possibility of another story happening because of a few loose threads. Even with the slow start and the (initially) slightly annoying main character, I ended up really enjoying this book. The romantic tension, the interesting turns and twists of events and the intrigue that rocks Rachel and Logan's worlds - all of these just added up into the perfect package for a reader like me. I'd urge people to try this book, and simply say that being patient and persistent through the first few chapters pays off in the end.