{Re-Read Review} Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Defiance
by C.J. Redwine
Series: Defiance #1
Pages: 403
Release Date: August 28, 2012
by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads / Purchase

While the other girls in the walled city-state of Baalboden learn to sew and dance, Rachel Adams learns to track and hunt. While they bend like reeds to the will of their male Protectors, she uses hers for sparring practice.

When Rachel's father fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the city's brutal Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector: her father's apprentice, Logan—the boy she declared her love to and who turned her down two years before. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father's survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself.

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.

*REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*

They are whited out so you can only read them if you highlight the text

This book easily withstands the test of time, which is why I loved it as much reading it now as I did six years ago for the first time.

What struck me the most was the romance, how unique it was, and how it was used to track the development of the characters. When we start the book, Rachel holds the world’s biggest grudge against Logan because she confessed her love for him, and he said he couldn’t deal with it at that exact moment. She was mad at him because he refused to reciprocate her feelings, which is just stupid. Honestly, her behavior at the time showed how immature she was, and Redwine wanted us to see that. But then time passed, things happened, she changed and grew up, and finally both her and Logan were at a place where they could really, truly love each other. Rachel’s first declaration of love was made by a kid, someone who was too young and immature to know what true love was, who hadn’t experienced the world. When she professed her love for the second time, it was real. The book had several passages that hinted at this development, talking about how Rachel was a different person now than before, and how the love her and Logan shared isn’t some fantastical, dream romantic stereotype, it’s hard, strong, and keeps them going through the hard times. I really enjoyed how the romance was developed, how it was used to track the change in the characters, and how it was a driving force behind the book. The romance is what tied everything together. It was Logan and Rachel’s devotion to each other that drove their actions, motivate them to keep fighting, and moved the whole story along.

Another thing I really liked was Redwine’s willingness to do the unthinkable. There was no line she wouldn’t cross, no action she wouldn’t take, no character she wouldn’t kill, to further the storyline and drive Rachel’s character growth. I really respected that, because it made the book and Rachel’s character development more believable and easier to become emotionally invested in. [SPOILER: Redwine didn’t kill thoughtlessly, she didn’t kill just to kill, she made each death a monumental point in the book, something that slingshotted Rachel’s development further. Her grandfather died because she defied the Commander. She killed Malkin because she believed he was going to kill her, but after the fact she fears she had killed an innocent man.] These deaths changed Rachel in drastic ways, and I really believed it.

I don’t think I’ve seen such a drastic change in a character as I saw in Rachel. She kept her core, which was her strong will, defiance of authority, and drive to save her loved ones. But when the book started, she was young, naïve, and fairly annoying. She held a grudge she had no business holding, but she quickly grew out of it. The pain Redwine put Rachel through changed her. I loved how beautifully the passages of Rachel reacting to torture after torture were written. They reminded me of Sarah J Maas’ Heir of Fire, when Aelin was being stripped down to her very core before rebuilding again. I really felt the pain. These descriptions were eloquent and heartbreaking, and they really sucked you in. I could feel the disorientation, feel the ringing in my ears, feel the panic, feel the lack of feeling. These parts of the book were so beautifully written, which is good because they were so incredibly important. Rachel went from being this vibrant, energetic person to being cold, hard, and fierce. The internal discussion over whether or not she was still a good person showed the depth of her character. [SPOILER: Rachel did some questionable things, she saw people she loved murdered, and she became a different person because of it. So much so that she worried Logan would no longer care for her when they reunited, even though she was determined to keep him alive.]

On the other side of the sphere, fighting across the forest to reach Rachel, was Logan. He wasn’t as developed as Rachel, but seeing his point of view added depth to the book. I loved being inside Logan’s brain. He was very practical yet imaginative, and I loved seeing the thought process behind his actions. He was a great guy, who was also driven to protect the people he loves. He has a tragic backstory which fuels his hate for authority, and a soft spot for the people who took him in. His grand escapes and solutions to problems were all very believable. His main atrributes were his heart and his brain, and that's what made him an interesting character.

The devotion Rachel and Logan have for each other, no matter how much time and space separated them, was what fueled this book. It was like being apart showed them how much they really cared about each other, and only brought them closer. Their main motivation for all their actions was to protect the other person. They were driving each other through life, knowing they had to reach the other person, but not really taking the time to understand why they were doing that. [SPOILER: So, when they finally reunited and confessed their love, it made sense, it really did.] And I loved seeing their development, from young, naïve children to hardened, mature adults. Together, he and Rachel make a great team. Rachel’s raw energy balanced by Logan’s calculating patience. Their romance goes to show that people change, and that change could mean something is now possible that wasn’t before.

With the romance taking up most of the plot, you would think there wasn’t room for much else. Well, you’re wrong. The romance was what connected everything, but Redwine created a world outside of that worth reading about. A tyrannical dictator, a deadly beast, other cities vying for control, and a burning desire for revenge. It all works. The writing was so good, none of that cheesy, stunted dialogue. She sucked you in right away and didn’t let go. She staged and developed everything smoothly, leaving readers wondering what comes next. I guessed some major plot points (and I didn’t cheat because I read this book so long ago I remembered absolutely nothing) but I didn’t hold it against Redwine. She dropped little hints about Logan throughout the book that have yet to be elaborated on, so I assume that is staging for the next book. She had a no-nonsense, tactical way of writing when it came to action scenes, which reminded me of Maria V. Snyder’s writing style (which I love). When Logan started listing out best- and worst-case scenarios, I knew shit was about to go down.

The ending was a bit anticlimactic, in that it didn’t go the way I thought it would at. ALL. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, it just took a second to calibrate my brain to accept what I was reading, and not keep thinking about what I expected to happen. It didn’t really feel like the ending of a book, it felt more like the ending of a chapter, which I can deal with because it is the first book in a trilogy. I’m excited to read on.

5 stars

My original REVIEW

Other books by C.J. Redwine

Deception (Defiance #2) - Goodreads / Purchase
Deliverance (Defiance #3) - Goodreads / Purchase
The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1) - Goodreads / Purchase
The Wish Granter (Ravenspire #2) - Goodreads / Purchase
The Traitor Prince (Ravenspire #3) - Goodreads / Purchase
The Blood Spell (Ravenspire #4) - Goodreads / Purchase