Review: Defiance (Defiance #1) by C.J. Redwine

Title: Defiance (Defiance #1)

Author: C.J. Redwine

Release Date: August 28th 2012

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Read synopsis: Goodreads

Rating: 4 stars

Defiance is one of the books I've been highly anticipating to read this year. So you can just imagine how ecstatic I was when I got approved for an ARC of it, I almost started jumping up and down like a three-year old kid. And I'm more than happy to find out and tell you that this book really did not disappoint. It wasn't flawless but it was certainly good. The plot, twist and character blend it effectively to make a really interesting, thrilling and gripping action-packed story.

I love heroines who fights and knows her ways when it comes to weapons. And Rachel was absolutely like that. She was a strong-willed, confident and impressive character. However I thought she was a bit frustrating, narrow-minded and childish during the earlier parts. Which caused me to have a hard time liking her right away. Fortunately, she didn't stay that long and her character developed remarkably fast and good. And soon, I found myself warming into her and loving her kick-ass personality.

Logan wasn't what I was actually expecting. I was expecting the bad boy type but he was actually more of the nice guy. Still he easily took a place in my heart with his really caring but also strong personality. His most notable quality was that he fights with his brain too. His brain was his most effective weapon and he did prove it a lot of times in the story.

I love how these two developed and grew through the unexpected situations they were thrown into and discovered new things about their selves. C.J. Redwine really did an amazing job in showing the significance of each of Rachel and Logan's roles in the story and showing each of their journeys through their own povs. Both were made to be the main characters equally.

The world-building was great though I wouldn't say it was completely original. Still it offered things that were really intriguing, entertaining and refreshing. My only problem was that I got really confused whether I'm reading a dystopia or a steampunk. Did I went to the future or went back to the past? The setting gave off the overall feel of a historical period but the constant reminders of the developed civilization before the Cursed Ones arrived kept me thinking that this was indeed a dytopia novel.

The romance, although during the first parts felt a bit awkward for me soon turned out to be a really sweet one. The development of their relationship felt natural and genuine. And I just love how the realizations of their feelings came to them.

The plot was great and action-packed, the twist were thrilling and exciting and the characters were all remarkable and amazing. It wasn't perfect but still it provides a great and wonderful reading experience for me. I recommend this.

*Thanks to Edelweiss and Balzer + Bray for providing an ARC of this book!