Published January 7th 2014 by Scholastic Press
Hardcover, 336 pages
Series: Defy
Genre: Young-Adult Fantasy RomanceHeat Rating: Kissing
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Summary from Goodreads
A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and heart-racing romance.
Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.
The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?
Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.
The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?
It's been a long last couple of weeks, but I am glad for all the reading time I can get. I don't even know where to begin reviewing this book. Honestly, I wished I had finished it earlier. Defy and I did start out on a good foot and then it kind of dwindled downhill after the first 50%.
I never read the Graceling series, so this is only coming based on my own opinion and not a comparison between the two books that according to other reviews - are much alike?
Alexa watched her house and her family burn in front of her very own eyes. Being a twin to her brother Marcel, she chopped off the long strands of her hair in hopes to be confused for a boy in order to avoid the breeding house and end up in the King's Army instead. Years she is in the guard to protect the prince and is one of their best and most skilled fighters.
What Alexa doesn't realize is that war is brewing against King Hector and his vicious ways, and she might just get stuck in the middle of it.
Started out really well like I said. I enjoyed reading the build up of how Alexa got into the guard, what she had to sacrifice and how careful she had to be in order to avoid being recognized as a girl and get sent away to the breeding house. Which is the small dark part of the story. All the girl of the land are ripped away from their family and are sent to this house were they are raped in order to give birth to more men for the king's army. I found myself cringing every time I read that part.
There is a war between the two nations, so when Prince Damian's life get's threatened. Alexa is put in charge of watching over the Prince in order to make sure he doesn't get kidnapped and killed. Over time the Prince builds a trust between him and Alexa and so much more until Alex, her friend and guard Rylan and Prince Damian get abducted regardless of her efforts.
I was really enjoying the book until the romance, because as always there is a triangle. Or something like it, since she does not feel the same way about Rylan as she does for Damian, but the fact that Rylan is head over heels for her and does what he can is heart-breaking. I really liked Rylan, he did not use Alexa, nor did he constantly keep lying to her. Not sure how I felt about Damian, but I could have went without the love-triangles. They really make me head hurt.
I came into this story hoping it was a high fantasy like it promised, but the layout felt a little weak. Not to mention that honestly, it was mostly a love story that had me gritting my teeth.
I had a few other issues along the way. One of them is that apparently almost everyone she runs into knows she is a girl, with the exception of a few fellow guard members. With so many people knowing what she is so fast, I was surprised she never got thrown into the breeding house or worse. Second, she totally acted like a girl when she got kidnapped, being all goo-goo eyed over the Prince, so when Eljin told her to keep acting like a male because she was slipping she actually acted surprised.... uh really? cause the way you look at the Prince and all touchy with him wouldn't give it away?
When the war erupted I actually started to enjoy it more until Damian's secret came into play and had me rolling my eyes. I was surprised, considering earlier in the book they mentioned that his father's guard could tell which people have this secret and somehow him as a little boy went completely unnoticed? I won't go into the secret in order to avoid spoilers but it felt like too much.
Anyway, the story could have been better if it avoided the dreadful triangle, love story. I thought Alexa was foolish and let her feelings blind her. Damian lied to her so many times, I would have assumed it made her smarter.
Other then that, the story did have potential.
I never read the Graceling series, so this is only coming based on my own opinion and not a comparison between the two books that according to other reviews - are much alike?
Alexa watched her house and her family burn in front of her very own eyes. Being a twin to her brother Marcel, she chopped off the long strands of her hair in hopes to be confused for a boy in order to avoid the breeding house and end up in the King's Army instead. Years she is in the guard to protect the prince and is one of their best and most skilled fighters.
What Alexa doesn't realize is that war is brewing against King Hector and his vicious ways, and she might just get stuck in the middle of it.
Started out really well like I said. I enjoyed reading the build up of how Alexa got into the guard, what she had to sacrifice and how careful she had to be in order to avoid being recognized as a girl and get sent away to the breeding house. Which is the small dark part of the story. All the girl of the land are ripped away from their family and are sent to this house were they are raped in order to give birth to more men for the king's army. I found myself cringing every time I read that part.
There is a war between the two nations, so when Prince Damian's life get's threatened. Alexa is put in charge of watching over the Prince in order to make sure he doesn't get kidnapped and killed. Over time the Prince builds a trust between him and Alexa and so much more until Alex, her friend and guard Rylan and Prince Damian get abducted regardless of her efforts.
I was really enjoying the book until the romance, because as always there is a triangle. Or something like it, since she does not feel the same way about Rylan as she does for Damian, but the fact that Rylan is head over heels for her and does what he can is heart-breaking. I really liked Rylan, he did not use Alexa, nor did he constantly keep lying to her. Not sure how I felt about Damian, but I could have went without the love-triangles. They really make me head hurt.
I came into this story hoping it was a high fantasy like it promised, but the layout felt a little weak. Not to mention that honestly, it was mostly a love story that had me gritting my teeth.
I had a few other issues along the way. One of them is that apparently almost everyone she runs into knows she is a girl, with the exception of a few fellow guard members. With so many people knowing what she is so fast, I was surprised she never got thrown into the breeding house or worse. Second, she totally acted like a girl when she got kidnapped, being all goo-goo eyed over the Prince, so when Eljin told her to keep acting like a male because she was slipping she actually acted surprised.... uh really? cause the way you look at the Prince and all touchy with him wouldn't give it away?
When the war erupted I actually started to enjoy it more until Damian's secret came into play and had me rolling my eyes. I was surprised, considering earlier in the book they mentioned that his father's guard could tell which people have this secret and somehow him as a little boy went completely unnoticed? I won't go into the secret in order to avoid spoilers but it felt like too much.
Anyway, the story could have been better if it avoided the dreadful triangle, love story. I thought Alexa was foolish and let her feelings blind her. Damian lied to her so many times, I would have assumed it made her smarter.
Other then that, the story did have potential.
I agree with Heidi, I am kind of sick to death of love triangles right now (with a few exceptions) and am sad that this started out so strong for you and then petered at the end. I hate it when that happens. :( I have never read the Graceling series either so I wouldn't be able to compare them either.
ReplyDeleteGod lord, I so don't know what to make of this book, reviews are everywhere. From the romance being meh to the world building being fascinating..LOL I am glad you saw potential. Maybe I will hold off to see what everyone things of book two
ReplyDeleteA lot of people who were anxious for Defy seem to be disappointed, mainly bc of that triangle. I'm glad you still liked it overall!
ReplyDeleteI was curious about this book, but it isn't high in my reading priorities right now. I think I'll hold off a while longer still.
ReplyDeleteI have read the other reviews and if it really is so similar to Graceling then it's not a book for me. I wasn't such a huge fan of that one either. Also too bad that you didn't enjoy this book fully, but hopefully the things will get better with the next one. Great review :)
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