Defiance: Number 1 in series (Courier's Daughter Trilogy) [Paperback]

I feel it is only fair to warn you all that this review is going to be extremely gushy. Before reading this I had a lot of expectations which normally leads to me being disappointed, well not this time because this book blew me away. I utterly adored it. Defiance is one of those books that just seem to get everything right. I loved the plot, the characters and the writing. Redwine took a risk mixing dystopian with fantasy but it worked extremely well, and she managed to take the best of both genres and mould it into something new.

Another thing I loved about this book, and what made it stand out from the rest of the pack was its ability to constantly surprise me. I don't mean that it was a mystery novel that did its best to keep its truths hidden, what I mean is that the characters would do the unexpected when challenged instead of traveling down the well-used, and overly dramatic YA route that we are all used to seeing. It made such a pleasant change and managed to keep me on my toes.

I really have to applaud Redwine for managing to write in a beautifully descriptive way whilst keeping the excitement of the action scenes. It was extremely well done. I love to see beautiful writing in YA and there are beautiful moments in this book. Redwine also proves that she is not scared to take her writing to some dark places. There are moments of brutality, violence and death. Also The Commander is probably one of the most shockingly brutal and menacing villains I have seen in YA fiction.

The Commander is not the only character that stands out. Rachel is a great female lead. She is tough, head strong and smart without being arrogant. Other characters like Oliver and Melkin are also worth mentioning but it is Logan who really stands out. I really liked this guy. He is strong, caring, gorgeous and smart. He is all the things you expect a male YA character to be, yet despite his strength as a warrior and stealth he is actually really socially awkward and embarrasses easily, he often had me laughing out loud. He is also a nerd and, well, I love nerds. His slowly deepening feelings for Rachel were adorable. The peril they are and his natural awkwardness made for some pretty funny and at times intense scenes. The chemistry between them was electric and I swallowed up every bit of it.

Are there negative things about this book? Of course. There are maybe a few to many characters and a couple of moments that weren't needed but these are little things and they didn't bother me at all.

Defiance is a beautifully written and thought out book. It is action packed, humorous and at times touching. This book dares to be a little bit different and asks some big questions about the consequences of your actions, revenge and morally what is right and wrong and how you distinguish between the two.

Believe the hype, this book is brilliant and is one of my books of 2012.

Caroline for Big Book Little Book
Copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Like the thick stone and steel walls which surround the city of Baalboden, the archaic rules of the society are as restrictive to the people as they are protective.

Under the guise of Protection women are brought up to be dependent on the males in their life and obedient to them. Designated to the care and responsibility of a Protector, usually their father and later, a husband, women have no autonomy. Instead all decisions, from where a woman can go to whom she can marry, are made for her.

Every movement is chaperoned and traceable and the punishments for non-compliance are extreme; the last woman caught visiting the market without her protector accompanying her, was subjected to capital punishment.

While her peers were playing house Rachel, a motherless only child, was training with knives, swords and a bow. When her cohort's educations focused on their future role as wives and mothers, Rachel was encouraged to think for herself.

Impulsive, often to the detriment of those associated with her and despite the potential repercussions, Rachel has no qualms about dropping everything, scaling the wall that encloses the city and searching for her missing father Jared.

As the only other person with the conviction that Jared still lives, Logan should be a natural ally in the search for Rachel's missing parent. But an animosity exists between them, born out of hurt pride, humiliation and awkwardness.

While Rachel is impetuous, Logan is a deep analytical thinker, considering the best and worst case scenarios for every plan of action. Don't be fooled by his attention to detail, nerdy focus on his inventions and awkwardness around the opposite sex. Logan is a hot boy with a sword and he knows exactly how to use it.

I really don't know how to effectively express my love for this fantastic debut.

CJ has crafted a pacey, action packed, kick-arse, pseudo-historical dystopian, with fantasy, sci-fi and Steampunk elements. Thrilling, heart in your mouth action, sits side by side with uncomfortably honest narration, emotive, gut retching scenes, profound observations and an almost poetic descriptive prose.

Rather than being uncomfortably full and sickly from taking a bite out of every pie you are left with the experience of having tried a wonderfully unique flavor combination that experimental chef Heston Blumenthal would be proud of.

A romance junkie at heart, I simply adored the developing relationship between the two main protagonists. A foundation of friendship, turned sour by defensive pride, our protagonists have to wade through misunderstanding and miss communications before acknowledging that their uncomfortable, passionate responses to each other are formed from love, not hate.

Not only has CJ created two flawed but immensely likeable characters whose chemistry sizzles off of the page. But by writing a first person, dual narrative she has given us front row seats to the toe curling, breath catching action

Verdict: I feel like CJ Redwine sat down with a checklist of my favorite fictional ingredients, seamlessly combining them together in to one spectacularly decorated, mouthwatering treat. All that was missing from this surprising gift was an out of tune rendition of "Happy Birthday ".

Let me start by saying that I don't like having to give Defiance such a standard rating. For around 80% of the book, I was all set to give it four or even five stars because it was so original, so well-written and so hard for me to part with.

I loved the world Redwine created: it's a fantasy world where people are reduced to living in walled cities for fear of a creature they call the Cursed One who lives outside the walls in the Wastelands. Rachel, our heroine, lives in the city of Baalboden, ruled by the sadistic Commander Chase. In Baalboden, women are inferior creatures, permitted to leave their homes only with their Protector, usually their husband or father. And yet Rachel is not only feisty but her father has taught her to fight and how to survive the Wastelands. So when her father goes missing in the perilous Wastelands and the Commander wants him back at all costs, Rachel is fully prepared. With the help of Logan, her father's apprentice who rejected her after she professed her love for him several years ago, she must find her father before the Commander does.

The story is told from both Rachel's and Logan's point of view, and as such it opens up the minds of both characters in fascinating ways. I really identified with Rachel, who isn't content with the rules that oppress her and instead rebels. As she walks through the Market alone, she tells us: "It's been thirteen years since a woman dared walk through the Market without her Protector. She paid for her actions with her life." I admired her for her bravery and could relate to her pride and fiery temper! I loved Logan too; though he was an apprentice to Rachel's father, a courier, he is really an inventor and whenever he comes across an obstacle, he finds an invention that will help him cross it. He is a logical thinker and when faced with less than appealing situations, he logically thinks over the worst and best case scenarios. When Rachel's father is officially declared missing, Logan becomes Rachel's Protector, and he desperately wants to do just that but Rachel is so fiery and so determined to disobey him that she causes plenty of trouble for the both of them! But my favourite character of all was Oliver. Oliver is a very fat old man who is a surrogate grandfather to Rachel. He always smells of the cakes and pastries he sells in the Market, and he affectionately calls Rachel "Rachel-girl". It's not hard to see how much he cares for Rachel, and Logan too.

Baalboden itself is a very well-imagined society and I can see easily it could be real. I enjoyed how Redwine dives straight into this new world at the beginning, starting with the announcement that Rachel's father is missing. I had no trouble getting into Defiance and I almost felt like I was living Rachel's life with her. The world becomes so real that I dare you to read it and not hate the Commander; I dare you not to will with all your heart that they will find a way to overcome him; I dare you not to turn page after page to find out if Rachel and Logan will ever fall in love. This is an emotional roller-coaster of a novel and once you get on board, there's no getting off.

You might be wondering why only three stars if I loved the book so much? The reason is this: Defiance begins like Hunger Games, a fast-paced, action-packed humdinger of a young adult dystopian novel. But towards the end, it turns from Hunger Games to Twilight. It starts to exist solely for the romance and every other plot point seems to become less important. Whereas my heart had previously been racing as I waited to find out what would happen in Baalboden, suddenly Redwine only wanted me to care about the romance to the extent that it became more important than the plot. I could barely tell you what happened at the end because I got so bored I was just waiting for it to end.

Don't get me wrong - I'm a big fan of romance in Young Adult novels. A big fan. I could list you all of my favourite couples from YA fiction and it would go on for a long time! But I'm a firm believer that plot should never take a backseat to romance. If you agree with me, brace yourself for a disappointing ending. It's still an excellent read for most of the book, and I may even read the sequel when it comes out, but I won't exactly have any problems waiting for it.