Defiance : Number 1 in series

Defiance is an incredible book, with each page like a move in an intricate, high-stakes chess game between the characters. It was beautifully written and full of unexpected twists. Best of all, it has Logan, who in the author CJ Redwine's own words is like the love-child of Sherlock Holmes and MacGuyver. The book is set in a dystopian city-state society, where citizens live in walled cities in fear of a Leviathan-like ground monster called The Chosen One. Baalboden, the city where the story starts, is ruled by the sinister, power-hungry Commander Chase who tells Rachel that her father, a courier, hasn't returned on time and has been declared dead. He hands over her Protectorship to her father's young apprentice, Logan. The story was well-plotted, working both character-driven scenes and high action. Even when I thought the story was going the way I expected, Redwine managed to catch me out at every turn. It kept me on my toes the entire time. The words were also beautifully crafted and showed a great range from humorous awkwardness, real heart-wrenching emotion and everything in between. The book uses an altering point of view narration between Rachel and Logan, and subsequently both main characters were incredibly well-developed. Their motives, priorities and feelings matured with each chapter. Rachel, with each passing loss grew from being stubborn, determined, and impulsive to more thoughtful, grounded, and detached and I came to admire how she coped with the cruel hand fate dealt her. Logan, always logical and well-planned, started to act on his emotions a little more. It was a nice contrast as they took on some of the other's personality traits-they are an extremely well-matched pair. The narration style also allowed us to get into the hero's brain, and boy was it a good one. I wanted to take a blanket and snuggle up inside the head of our resident inventor. Logan grew up as an outcast orphan, his mother sentenced to death for breaking the law at the hands of the Commander. He taught himself how to wield a sword and to invent tech in order to create a better life for himself and there's nothing I enjoy more than a smart, skilled fighter. Logan also has a strong sense of justice, loyalty and fairness, and when mixed with a certain awkwardness makes him extremely charming. I especially love his logical mind, always thinking through best and worst case scenarios, always having a plan of action, always succeeding in finding a way out of each passingly worse situation. This is definitely someone I would want as my Protector-or, you know, to Claim me. The Commander is an excellent villain, the perfect mix of ruthless and controlling. He was a genuine threat to Rachel and Logan throughout the book and I always felt nervous during each of their encounters. Sweet Oliver was a great father figure to them both, someone they loved and respected and he was comforting. There are also glimpses of other minor characters that I have a feeling will grow into their own in the second book and I can't wait. I highly recommend this book if you're a fan of anything dystopian, fantasy or if you're just in need of a new book boyfriend. Best Case Scenario: You love the book. Worst Case Scenario: You dislike the book, but love Logan anyway. It's a win-win. Trust me, Logan won't let you down. "If you can't believe that right now, believe in me."show more

Favourite Quote: "Do you really have to go into every situation with more caution than a grandmother crossing Market Square?" This book was actually sooooo good! I really liked it and give it a 4/5 stars! Let's start with the world, I thought it was unique and all the world building was scattered throughout the book, so you weren't getting information overload! So that was a good thing! I have to admit I was slightly confused with the world because so of the aspects seem very old fashionable like medival times, for example there is a claiming cermony where single men choose there wives and then there is futurastic aspects like all the tecnology or some of the items the characters have are things like shampoo! So yeah a bit confusing but still really liked the world! As for the plot, I thought the pace of the book was just perfect, I flew through 300 pages in one sitting! There was a few very good action scenes that were exciting! Most of the twists I did guess but that didn't stop me from enjoying the aftermath of them The ending doesn't leave on a cliffhanger thankfully but it does set up for the next book. The characters were my favourite thing about this book, they were all awesome! The book is told from dual perspective which I loved because we could really get into both these characters! Rachel is such a great herione, she is strong, independent, sassy but still has her flaws that make you feel for her. As for Logan he is just amazing! A perfect combination of manly and nerdy, he was so smart with technology and creating things yet he could fight incredibly well! One problem I did have was the author constantly wrote in Logan's chapters "Worst case scenerio - Best case scenerio for every decision he makes, it was highly irriating. As Logan and Rachel's relationship I liked aswell, wasn't developed too quickly and it wasn't dragged out so that was good. The side characters were all okay, we never really knew much about them apart from the Commander who was a great villian, I hated him so much! Overall I would highly recommend this book, I throughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to the sequel!show more

Well, it seems I can still enjoy dystopian after all! Now, this statement (and my delight) may seem a bit odd to those of you who don't know me very well, but I was never a big fan of the (sub)genre in the first place, and there are only a handful of dystopian titles that I actually loved. (Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me trilogy and Ann Aguirre's Razorland are the only two that quickly come to mind.) 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. The story is equally divided between two points of view, Rachel's and Logan's. These characters won me over in a heartbeat. Rachel, our heroine, is a strong, independent, stubborn girl in a society in which girls like her shouldn't exist. 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. Logan is her father's apprentice, a brilliant young inventor who was orphaned as a boy when his mother dared walk the streets without her Protector and was whipped to death on the town square. As much as Rachel hates living under the Commander's iron fist, Logan hates it even more because when he looks at their leader, he sees the man who murdered his mother. When Rachel's father disappears outside the town limits, where there are no guarantees of safety and a huge monster, the Cursed One, preys on the unprotected, Rachel and Logan will have to go against the Commander to bring him back. Now that I think about it, the worldbuilding wasn't nearly as complete as I'd have liked it to be, but in all honesty, I got so caught up in the action and the romance that I completely failed to notice until much, much later. 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.J. Redwine won't take that road and that she'll continue to build the wonderful, honest, warm romance between Rachel and Logan without unnecessary drama. "I need Logan. 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. He's not just Rachel's love interest, he is a hero in his own right. I love that he's both a skilled fighter and a brilliant inventor, and that he knows exactly what his goals are and what sacrifices he needs to make to accomplish them. My hat's off to you, C.J. Redwine. I can't wait to see where you'll take them in the next book.show more