More damning is the fact that these POVs seem identical - if their names were not at the start of the chapters, it would be hard to distinguish them from one another. In general, these are not particularly well thought-out or developed characters. Huh, haven't seen that one before. Logan is her bland, but self-sacrificing love interest. Rachel is clearly supposed to be tough and brave and yet her actions just seem stupid. Some people are brave, but most people are self-preserving first. If not, bravery quickly becomes foolishness. Not surprisingly, her rebellions mostly fail.
In fact, the plot moves forward by failures. Every bit of drama is created out of Rachel and Logan constantly screwing up their plans and getting themselves in a load of trouble. At first, it was just cringy to watch them constantly propel themselves into bad situations, later it became boring. The story is actually pretty vague.
Rachel and Logan live in this town called Baalboden, surrounded by a wall, and we learn in the beginning that Rachel's father has not returned from doing something over the wall and now he's been declared dead. Rachel refuses to accept it and decides to go find out what really happened to him. Because of Rachel's idiotic actions, Logan gets caught up in it too. Then there's this world. What world is it anyway? And the founders of this society happened to be crazy sexist too. Lots of books, particularly YA dystopias, use sexism to engage the readers - yeah, make us angry!
Make us want to scream at the unfairness! The sexism is just one more element of this book that hasn't been thought about. It's just been thrown in. As is also true of the cruel, mindlessly evil antagonist. The Commander is literally the equivalent of a cackling man sat in a high-backed chair, enjoying the doom he is imparting. I get it - he's the bad guy. Also, I've heard other reviewers sometimes talk about "over-writing", but I don't think I've ever really appreciated what they mean until reading this book. There are some very strange phrases, metaphors and analogies used for things that could have and should have been said quite simply: I'm glad I finally read this just to satisfy my curiosity.
Now I can move on to better books and not look back at this series. View all 23 comments. Aug 27, Mitch rated it it was ok. A thoroughly melodramatic misfire that ends like a B-grade Godzilla movie. Yeah, that definitely describes Defiance to a tee, I don't think I've been bashed so hard so many times over the head with manufactured emotions since, well, ever. Whether it's the melodramatic overwriting, the cruel, harsh, cookie cutter dystopian landscape, the one note antagonist, or all the awful things that happen to Rachel in the first chapter of this seventy one chapter mess, wow what an annoying book.
I'm sure tho A thoroughly melodramatic misfire that ends like a B-grade Godzilla movie. I'm sure those who have no problems being told how to feel by paragraphs of obtuse language will have no problems loving this, but as for me, no thank you. I like books that are subtle with their emotions, Defiance announces it with as much finesse as the lumbering Cursed One that wanders around and kills people like the prehistoric fire breathing dinosaur that it is. See chapter one basically, where every third sentence tells me in a variety of maudlin ways how depressed Rachel feels that her father hasn't come back and is presumed dead.
In fact, it's so overwritten I had to figure out he's been missing for sixty days from two lines of dialogue Instead, apparently Redwine thinks emotions are best conveyed and measured by the number of synonyms of and similes for sad she can cram into a chapter. Except sometimes, they don't even make sense.
When a book is so overwritten that I'm supposed to feel emotions just because, I'm not impressed. Then, there's the whole contrived and not well thought out dystopian setting created solely to elicit more emotions. Basically, a whole bunch of Cursed Ones woke up, destroyed all of modern society, except the government manages to kill all but one before it collapses, and the survivors, living in fear of an attack by the last surviving monster, are now crammed into a bunch of towns protected by the soldiers who killed the other Cursed Ones.
Ok, except Rachel just happens to live in the misogynistic town, where all the woman hate is supposed to make me feel sorry for her.
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Yeah, no dice, I have plenty of sympathies for real life women in situations like that, but for a fictional book, I expect the dystopian setting to have a point, like, I don't know, social critique, besides just the, yeah, how horrible, sympathize with her! There's no point to the misogyny here, sorry. And now let's talk about the leader of this town, Commander Chase. Want to know the cheapest, laziest way to write a villain that'll guarantee universal loathing? Write him with what I like to call kick the puppy syndrome.
That's right, Chase is evil just because, so of course he's going to be cruel and ruthless enough that he's willing to do anything to get what he wants, heck he'll even kill minions and kidnap pregnant women just to make a point. Except, even though Rachel and Logan constantly remind me of how evil he is, and maybe this is because I'm a guy, but by the halfway point of the book I started pushing back against their Chase is an evil bastard obsession.
Like in one scene, the Cursed One attacks and causes a stampede, Chase rides out to confront the monster, and one guy gets trampled by his horse. Rachel and Logan's response? What a horrible person to run down one man in a mass panic to save everyone else. But, you know, I see the Commander doing exactly what he has to do to save the rest of the town, and this fixation on how evil Chase is and needs to go just shows me Redwine is unwilling to tackle the potential complexities that could've been with the character and took the easy way out instead.
I don't have a problem with Rachel or Logan, the characters, but honestly the tough orphan girl with emotional problems and the possessive guy who won't admit his feelings are a dime a dozen in young adult books, particularly dystopians. It's the way they're written, angst filled, melodramatic, that annoys the hell out of me. When you have a male character in a dungeon, bruised, battered, broken ribbed, nose bloodied, weak, feverish, lethargic, sore - seriously stop. If every page is riddled with oversentimental tripe, honestly, how can I appreciate the parts I actually want to care about, like the two major character deaths?
Instead, I'm rolling my eyes at the cartoonish way Logan escapes from the dungeon by using a portable drill to dig a tunnel under a wall Wile E. Oh, and the point of view alternates between chapters which are fairly short except Rachel and Logan sound I can tell Logan apart when he's talking about logic, science, or plans, but when he's narrating, talking about the plot, his voice, sounds the same as Rachel. I think I'm gonna skip the many plot holes, which are the least of this book's problems, except to say in one scene, Rachel shoots an animal, jumps on top of it, slices its throat, flips it over Hmm I wonder what else it could've been.
Nah, the only thing remotely enjoyable about this cheap tearjerker is watching these woe is me characters get one upped by the one note villain. She was a true badass and a very real person. Her dad taught her how to take care of herself but she could recognize when she needed help and she accepted it. View all 8 comments. Oct 13, Zoey Talbon rated it really liked it. Defiance doesn't waste any time at throwing you right into the story. Once Commander Chase declares her father dead, Rachel Adams wastes no time in trying to come up with a plan to find him. Defiance is certainly filled with plenty of action, which is something I think a lot of dystopians are, oddly enough, missing.
Because Defiance is written in dual POVs, we get Defiance doesn't waste any time at throwing you right into the story. Because Defiance is written in dual POVs, we get to experience both Rachel and Logan's thoughts and experiences when they're separated. While I think Redwine handled the dual POVs very well, when I stopped reading and returned quite a bit later, it was hard to tell whether I was reading from Logan's perspective or Rachel's perspective for a page or two.
The characters themselves are very easy to love - Logan and Rachel are both fighters in their own way, both heroes. Rachel is stubborn, sometimes impulsive, and very determined. Logan calculates things, makes plans. Together, they work perfectly to level each other out. But sometimes they just didn't have unique voices in their narratives. When it comes to the romance between Rachel and Logan, however, I wasn't really satisfied. It felt a bit rushed to me, even though I know it wasn't since Rachel and Logan have known each other since forever, basically.
The tension between the two of them in the first half of the book is written perfectly - but then suddenly I feel like it fizzled out. The two of them are still perfect for each other, of course. I just feel like there could have been more. Speaking of more, the only other issue I had was the world-building.
It's easy to see that the world Rachel and Logan live in is dangerous. But I didn't really understand the world itself at all. That's always been an issue for me, so maybe it wouldn't bother anyone else. I spent half of the book wishing I could punch him in the face. He's a merciless, power-hungry, mysterious leader.
I can't wait to find out what's really going on with him in the next book. With strong characters - that also know they need help from one another - and action-packed chapters with smooth writing, Defiance is a dystopian you don't want to miss out on. View all 3 comments. She now must attend the reading of his will to find out who will be assigned as her new Protector.
Rachel has no doubt that Oliver, the trusted family friend and surrogate father, is the one that will be named. This is the man she gave her heart to, only to have it handed right back. She starts planning a way to skirt over the protective city Wall and look for her father. One who professed her love for him two years ago, but no longer even glances his way. I loved everything about this story! The characters, the pacing, the world, and of course , the romance! You will find no insta-love or triangle in this story. There are just two well-rounded and believable main characters.
Lack of communication between Rachel and Logan leads to them making bad decisions with major consequences. Because this seems to be so different from many YA stories. These characters actually learn from their mistakes and do not keep repeating them. Their romance is very sweet, and like I said, no insta-love, but instead a slow and satisfying build-up. All I can taste when I breathe in. Her body molds itself to mine like she was made for me, and I want her to feel it too.
I guess you would call this a steampunk novel set in a post-apocalyptic future world. There are futuristic-gadgets, and yet much of the advanced technology we have available in our world is gone. Customs and traditions seem to have reverted back to the past. The role of women has taken a big leap back, which left me furious in a few instances. Fortunately for Rachel, her father chose to ignore that custom and trained her to be a competent fighter. This is a brilliant debut from author C. I forgot to add, I love this cover and it's so perfectly suited to the story which is nice for a change!
You can find this review and more at The Readers Den. View all 31 comments. I took almost two weeks to finish this. And to think, once upon a time I gave this book 5 stars and endless praise. It's amazing how opinions can change within a few years, huh? This book was fine. The me from 3 years ago remembered it as awesome and heart-stopping and jaw-dropping and whatnot, but I suppose I was a tad too easily impressed at the time. My tastes have since developed and I no longer find much unique about this book.
You know how I usually say that there are some slower-pac Yikes. You know how I usually say that there are some slower-paced, character-focused books that could still keep my interest? Well for once the opposite has happened. This book is the epitome of action-packed, but it stull left me yawning and it was very putdownable.
I still liked it, I just didn't lurve it like I did back then. I'll still finish the series, if not only for the sake of finishing it cause I own all 3 books. View all 7 comments. It's more of a typical dystopian, though, complete with an evil Commander and a Wall the teens need to cross. The whole story, characters, setting, and basically everything were super forgettable to the point where I feel like I just had my mind wiped right after finishing the book.
Basically, nothing stood out for me good or bad. I think if I had gotten to this before a lot of o 2. I think if I had gotten to this before a lot of other similar books I might have liked it more, though. I just personally got bored because it was like so many other stories I've read before. Feb 25, Keertana rated it it was ok Shelves: I went into this novel with low expectations, simply because so many trusted reviewers had given this a low rating, and I absolutely have to agree with them.
Defiance, far from being a defiant Rating: Defiance, far from being a defiant cry about the re-emerging fantasy genre in YA Fiction, has only made me extremely wary of it. Rachel and Logan, while proving to be intriguing characters from the surface, are truly quite flat. First and foremost, it should be known that their dual narration was very poorly written and if it were not for their names appearing before every chapter, I would not be able to tell them apart.
Over and above that though, Rachel came across as petulant and whiny more than kick-ass and Logan, for all his romantic moments, was also controlling and seemed to look down upon Rachel from time-to-time. If you had inserted two different characters into this equation, I guarantee you that I would have been completely invested in it, especially as the story arc for it was so well-done.
Yet, even beyond the characters, what defines Defiance is its genre: There is one thing, and one thing alone, which defines a novel as fantasy and that is world-building. Strangely enough though, I still know nothing about the world of Defiance! I read in another review that this was a futuristic realm where man had dug down so deep that they had awoken a beast, The Cursed One, who terrorized the people in this story, but this book could just as easily have been set in a fantasy realm or on another planet for all I know! Overall, this story just lacked a lot.
It lacked world-building, it lacked feeling, it lacked character depth and it now also lacks my stamp of approval. You can read this review and more on my blog, Ivy Book Bindings. View all 35 comments. Well, it seems I can still enjoy dystopian after all! I was more than a little surprised and more than a little thrilled when I was able to add Defiance to Well, it seems I can still enjoy dystopian after all! I was more than a little surprised and more than a little thrilled when I was able to add Defiance to this very short list.
These characters won me over in a heartbeat. While her peers sat demurely with their mothers or their Protectors and learned embroidery, Rachel was secretly being taught how to survive in the wilderness by her liberal father. In retrospect, there really should have been more background, more explanations offered. What little there was, however, I liked well enough. The romance was multilayered and complicated, just the way I like them, and I was feeling things along with Rachel and Logan from the very first page. There were, however, hints of a love triangle in the last part and I fervently hope that C.
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Not because he could plan our way out of this. But because on some basic, soul-deep level within me, he is the solid ground beneath my feet. The one who will move mountains to keep his promises. The one who looks at me and sees. Which brings me to Logan himself, again and let me tell you, he is one amazing guy.
Aug 15, Whitley Birks rated it it was ok Shelves: Can you make it dystopian? That fact that it makes no sense will be beside the point. Tell me about the main character. Those are very big right now. They should be soul-shatteringly in love. The setting makes no sense. But it goes beyond that into…almost fetishizing misogyny. The culture of Baalboden is extremely misogynistic, to an absolutely ridiculous degree, and it feels like the only purpose is to delight in heaping all that misogyny-flavored angst on Rachel.
But it goes beyond that.
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Rachel is also a textbook case of how not to write a Strong Female Character. At first, she was just a character, and I sort of liked her. She was brash and unruly, a bit juvenile, but that was acceptable given her age. I got the impression from her that she was very sheltered, since she was laboring under the impression that she could just shout things and get her way. The fact that she can use weapons is not strong.
Any time she did do anything on her own, it was always a disaster that got her scolded afterwards. He was too over-the-top and quite stupid, especially given the set up. In fact, it turns out his trick is just a necklace that repels the monster. Why not just take that from him and then stab the guy in the face? Like I said, this is a fantasy setting that clearly got shoehorned in to dystopia just for the sake of calling it dystopia.
It was quite engaging, actually. The book had the potential to be amazing, but it got held up with poor characters and creepy kink and abysmal logic gaps. And the attempts at science downright hurt me. Jun 07, Giselle rated it liked it Shelves: In a futuristic setting with walled-in cities to stave off a monstrous killing machine, Defiance is a mix of dystopian and fantasy that has a very interesting premise, although its characters did leave me feeling kind of uncomfortable, as well as annoyed. As it started out I began to really like our female lead, Rachel.
She was tough and confident, knowing how to take care of herself, unlike other women in this city. As the book progresses, I found she made a lot of impromptu decisions - trying In a futuristic setting with walled-in cities to stave off a monstrous killing machine, Defiance is a mix of dystopian and fantasy that has a very interesting premise, although its characters did leave me feeling kind of uncomfortable, as well as annoyed.
As the book progresses, I found she made a lot of impromptu decisions - trying to escape without a strong plan in place for example - which pestered me a little, leaving cracks in the image of an intelligent and wise character I had thought her to be. Still, I didn't downright dislike her as a character, but I never grew to love her either.
As for our male lead, Logan, he comes off as a very condescending love interest who acts more like he's highly irritated by Rachel than he's apparently falling in love with her. At one point during a rather unpleasant arbitrary conversation where she asks simply "What is that supposed to mean? This is about where I realized I'd gotten really disturbed by his personality and the fact that he was apparently the love interest we were meant to root for.
I never grew to like him one bit, consequently making the romance in this book fall flat for me. Which is a shame because if not for my issues with these characters, this book could have easily blown my mind. Luckily, the premise still kept me engaged. The slow moving plot in Defiance is actually done attractively and lets you savor the entrancing, yet terrifying world that we're introduced to. The leader of this city is an evil creep who will get under your skin as only a great villain can.
Yielding power over this whole town, he's turned it into an old school anti-feminist culture reminiscent of an era way past gone. With a leader that dishes out executions if a woman dares walk through the market alone, the tone of the book is very dreary and distressing. I, myself, am a fan of darker reads so I did enjoy this world building quite a bit.
I was also kept fascinated by the idea of a fire breathing beast roaming just outside the walls, giving the book a little fantastical feel. Throughout this story, we're switched between Rachel and Logan's POV, giving us a journey in both views, which is especially appreciated in cases like this where they're in two different situations, fighting for their lives. Once we get in the thick of it, it becomes a highly intense read that has just the right amount of action to keep you on your toes until the end.
Even though I wasn't taken by the characters, I still found Defiance's premise entertaining. There is a lot of bloodshed, and a dim future that makes us doubly curious about book two. I think fans of fantasy may just see themselves lost in this dangerous world. For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads Check out Amanda the Book Slayer Rating: The first thing that comes to mind when I think of this book is Cover Lust!
Seriously is that not an awesome cover? I know that is exactly what I thought too. Way to go Marketing team! I wish that I could say that what I found in the pages were up to my expectation of what the cover offered. Sadly, I was led away from the awesomeness by some huge let downs and mumble-jumble of mediocre writing. I am warning you now that this might not be pretty but it will be honest.
Here is my take on Defiance. The Best Case Scenario I thought that the overall storyline was interesting, at least at the beginning. This part got me excited. But I am telling you so many, many things could have been done better.
But I will wax poetic about that later. Sigh , it really was too much for me. You, as the reader, get to watch Rachel shatter in a million pieces over and over and over again then try to pick them up and move on. They are few and far between, but at least they seem worth remembering. Sometimes it ruins everything. The Worst Case Scenario This, my fellow readers, is where my review will get long and may turn rantish.
As I said earlier, the cover and blurb held so much promise but fell short in so many ways for me. This is not a joke and I am telling you every book like this that I have read has been dubbed with this effect. Major points get deducted.
Do I really need to keep going with this one? Damn the rant is starting. The Scenario Complex I found this book repetitive as well. The whole scenario complex was just too much. This is not the kind of thing you want to stick out in a book. Melkin was an idiot. The Commander made me want to hurl several times. The only good character was her father but he is in so very little of the book that for that reason alone might be why I liked him the most.
Yes, we have a love triangle or at least I think we do. This was not a good thing. Most of the time it just left me feeling awkward. The plot would look like it was gaining speed and getting interesting then plateau or just drop off completely. I was left feeling disappointed and yet again annoyed during the majority of this book.
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It was a complete skim to the end. This is not how I should feel. The middle I can forgive some skimming but I do enjoy being captivated at the end and this one just… did not hold any interest for me. We get a train wreak instead of Epic Awesomeness or even a decent battle would have done.
But no, it just crashed into carelessness and a jumble of thoughts and events. Overall I was left feeling annoyed and disappointed. I really wanted to love this book, but it just did not happen. I do have to thank Edelweiss for providing me with a copy of this book for an honest review. Jun 27, Ashley rated it liked it Shelves: I found this intriguing enough to continue on in the series, but I didn't really feel like this first book in the series was all that amazing.
It took forever to read, and nothing truly exciting enough to draw me in happened. I liked the main characters, and some of the things that happened to them made me sad. I liked how it drew them closer though. I am excited to continue on in this series sometime down the road. Probably sooner, rather than later. Nov 26, Lindsay Cummings rated it it was amazing Shelves: Rachel is so tough, but she has pain in her that fuels her on.
It's chilling, has amazing characters, and the story is fresh and unique to what's out there right now. I read through it pretty quick, despite the fact that I'm knee-deep in edits, and I can't wait to buy a finished copy! You're a finished it! You're a lovely storyteller! View all 6 comments. Apr 12, Wendy Darling rated it liked it Shelves: I did like the way some of the action scenes were written, and the view spoiler [person under the cloth hide spoiler ] was genuinely shocking. It was the only time I felt emotion while reading this, though. Jul 27, Jodi Meadows rated it it was amazing Shelves: I tried several times to start this review with something clever or profound, something that would let you know I mean Serious Business about this book.
I love this book. There were so many things that thrilled me about DEFIANCE, from the characters to the worldbuilding to the gorgeous prose that pulled me so deep into the story I never wanted to leave. The story is told from two points of view, Rachel and Logan, and the story belongs to both of them equally. Both characters have their own plotlines, development, and voices.
The title, too, plays an important role in the story. Both Rachel and Logan are defiance personified. They refuse to let anything stop them from achieving their goals. No matter what obstacles are thrown in their paths — and terrible things do happen — they never give up. And I love that. Regarding the worldbuilding, I think most of you know how much I admire a good genre mash. The city-state of Baalboden is a terrible dystopia.
Logan invents brilliant pieces of tech that might be found in a science fiction novel. And the things that caused the apocalypse and still threatens the world today? View all 9 comments. Finish this chapter and then you can eat all the chocolate in the house! Does Defiance take place in the future of our world, or an alternate world?
But the thin allusion to a world of advanced technology that is completely obliterated within five decades and replaced with a system of self-styled warlords and walled cities is too flimsy for me to buy into. Further, Baalboden — the city where our main characters reside — and possibly the greater population, has adopted a strict social system in which women are under the direct care and authority of a male Protector. Explain it to me. Show me why the world is this way. This is a poorly built world and it felt illogical too me — there are too many holes in the reasoning, or rather, no reasoning at all.
And much of the novel is like this. Redwine has good ideas, but little follow through. We know this because Logan has lots of plans lying about and ink-stained fingers and does a lot of tinkering around with gears and wires. Sure, if comes in handy when they need tracking devices and or some MacGyver-style explosions, but besides vague references to sonar and acid, it all just seems more convenient than believable.
The slow burn between the characters was somewhat spoiled by the way it was overwritten. This was my biggest problem with the novel: Just say what it is! Direct statements are avoided by dancing around them with purplish musing, and the pacing of the story suffers for it. I can only describe the writing as gluggy: Or something like that. View all 5 comments. Loved Rachel, Oliver,and Logan The closeness of them had a smile on my face, especially the moments between Rachel and Oliver.
Her father Jared who has disappeared we don't get much screen time with but we get a good sense of him through the other's memories. I volunteer to kick him on the balls! Living under the rule Surprisingly excellent: The world building wasn't very in depth but you get enough to get a sense of the history of it all for the moment. Still plenty of questions, but it never pulled me out of the story. The Cursed One is intriguing and scary The Boys at Twilight. More Stories from Zimbabwe. Swimming with My Father. Where The Light Is. Yours Truly, Brian and Other Stories. The Hunger of Time.
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Defiance (Defiance, #1) by C.J. Redwine
His daughter claims a complete lack of interest in her father's fate. But why is she hiding on a Greek island with her mother's second husband now her own lover , and writing obsessively in her notebooks about her father and the other members of her family? Slowly her diary starts to make sense of the disappearance--or, at least it appears to. But all is not what it seems, and Anasuya may not be the most reliable of witnesses. As Mary Lord has said: Ratings and Reviews 0 0 star ratings 0 reviews. Overall rating No ratings yet 0.