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Defiance (Defiance, #1)

C.J. Redwine

Start date: October 1, 2012

Finish date: October 31, 2012

Discussion: Book of the Month

Why we're reading this: Voted as our "Most Popular Books Published in August 2012" October BOM…more
[close] Voted as our "Most Popular Books Published in August 2012" October BOM

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What Members Thought

Feb 29, 2012 cc rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, 2012-read, did-nothing-for-my-lady-parts, annoying-heroine, didnt-care

I’m disappointed at Defiance, not that it’s an awful reading or anything but I just couldn’t relate to the characters – Rachel is kind of annoying and Logan did nothing for my lady parts.

What happens is that Rachel needs to go after her missing father, and bring back an important package if she wants to save her boyfriend’s (Logan) life. Honestly her journey was quite boring and the Cursed One didn’t help, come on, a terrifying creature you can control with a remote that looks like a flute? … Se ...more

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Jun 07, 2012 AH rated it really liked it

Shelves: dragons, first-in-series, fantasy, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, young-adult, babr-reviews, arc-edelweiss, zzread-august-2012

Dystopian books fascinate me. Just how horrible can society become? In Defiance, the population cowers in their walled city of Baalboden. Outside the walls, there is only barren wastelands populated by The Cursed One a cross between a big giant worm and a fire breathing dragon. (Think Tremors). Life in the city is not that much safer. The citizens of Baalboden are ruled by the ruthless Commander Chase, a power-hungry, sadistic, and generally evil leader. His Brute Squad patrols the streets of th Dystopian books fascinate me. Just how horrible can society become? In Defiance, the population cowers in their walled city of Baalboden. Outside the walls, there is only barren wastelands populated by The Cursed One a cross between a big giant worm and a fire breathing dragon. (Think Tremors). Life in the city is not that much safer. The citizens of Baalboden are ruled by the ruthless Commander Chase, a power-hungry, sadistic, and generally evil leader. His Brute Squad patrols the streets of the city, ensuring compliance of the populace.

This is a patriarchal society. The women of Baalboden are trained to be obedient and dependent upon their male protectors. No woman ventures outside her home without a male protector. Women wear only skirts. Women barely receive an education, taught only life skills such as sewing, cooking, etiquette, and bargaining. At age 16 a woman is “Claimed” by a male in the community and begins to start a family.

Defiance is told from alternating points of view of the protagonists. The chapters are quite short, making this a quick read. Rachel is fierce, brave, and smart. She is rather impulsive, often acting before she thinks out the consequences of her actions. Rachel has not had the typical upbringing of a Baalboden girl. Her father made sure that she learned how to protect herself with a sword. Logan struck me as a little bland at first; however his character grew on me after a while. Logan is a thinker, constantly plotting out best case/worst case scenarios. Logan is an inventor and some of his inventions used a surprising amount of technology. Logan was especially adept at creating large explosives, a most useful skill.

If you are reading this book for the romance, yes, there is a romance. Rachel and Logan have a nice little relationship going on. It begins as a friendship, and then as they get to know each other better, it does bloom. It’s pretty tame, but they do spend a lot of time declaring their love for each other at one point in the book.

Defiance was an action packed read, full of chase sequences, sword fights, and explosions. I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author.

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for a review copy of this book.

Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.

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