Defiance
C.J. Redwine
Series: Courier's Daughter Trilogy, #1
Release Date: August 28th, 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Number of Pages: 416
Source: Edelweiss
Rating: 1 of 5 stars
Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.
At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.
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.
Honestly, I am shocked by the large number of glowing reviews
Defiance has gotten thus far. Once again, it looks like I'm the black sheep, here to reign my terror on fangirls and fanboys all over Goodreads, and give my honest opinion on what I thought of the overrated mess known as
Defiance.
Defiance is the epitome of a trainwreck. Unfortunately, while some trainwrecks are hard to take your eyes away from, taking my eyes away from this book was the one thing I wanted most.
In the city of Baalboden, Jared Adams is declared dead by the ruthless Commander, and Jared's daughter, Rachel, friend, Oliver, and apprentice, Logan, are gathered to the hearing of his will. In Jared's will, he left Logan to be Rachel's Protector, acting as a bodyguard for Rachel and never letting her out of his sight. However, Rachel and Logan don't believe that Jared is actually dead, and escape the walls of Baalboden to look for him.
I really don't know where to start in this review. I might as well say that the plot itself was decent for the most part, when it wasn't taken over by sappy, melodramatic drivel. (I
told you this wasn't going to be a happy review!) But honestly, it's hard for me to enjoy a fantasy novel to begin with, and if the world building in that fantasy novel is not up to par to what I think it should be, then I most certainly won't enjoy the book very much. And in
Defiance's case, the world-building is almost nonexistent. In fact, the world building is so poor, we're never actually given a time period in which this book takes place. And, if I were to take a guess as to which time period
Defiance takes place - you know what, actually, I
wouldn't be able to take a guess. The actions and misogyny in
Defiance clearly hint towards an early time period, but the dialogue between characters, and even the character's names, certainly do not. I mean, Logan?
Rachel?