Review: Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Defiance by C.J. Redwine

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.

Publishes in US: Aug 28th 2012
1st in Defiance series
source: balzer bray for honest review

I immediately liked the fire that I saw in Rachel. She was fiesty but she knew when not to cross the line. I admire her fierce devotion to her dad, and her confidence in what she has been taught. I admired how she didn't sit back and let things happen to her, she knew when she could and could not do something and make a difference and even when it was hard, if she could do something, she did. Rachel is all that my inner spirit wants to be with her fiestiness and determination.

I wasn't so sure about Logan, but he won me over in a few pages because his heart was in the right place. I don't know what will happen romantically if anything but it was good to hear his side of what happened and his motivations for hurting her. It's sad that he knows he caused that wall, and I can only imagine what it would be like to grow up with a girl and then all of the sudden be charged with protecting her. (that is the way the society is set up. He was an apprentice to her father and since her dad didn't return and was declared dead, they both thought that an older friend of the family would be appointed.) As the chapters went on we find even more insight into his feelings and thoughts and I grow to like him more and more. He becomes this perfect blend of techie and fighter.

I really enjoyed the dual perspective in this story and I think that moves the plot along, and there are also scenes where it gave more suspense because we knew something the main character did not.

Another plus for the book is that it explored the many forms of grief and how people process it differently and how it effects them. A choice is made in a split second, but it has repercussions and that is dealt with well in Defiance. Sometimes books skim over the negative consequence of actions, but I appreciate how C.J. faces it head on.

I can't wait for the next one, I want to find out more. C.J. Redwine wrapped up the threads of this story while leaving room for questions and definitely a need for the next pages to be in my hands.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Techie or tough guy?

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