Title: Defy
Author: Sara B. Larson
Pub Date: January 7th, 2014
Publisher: Scholastic
Page Count: 336
Author: Sara B. Larson
Pub Date: January 7th, 2014
Publisher: Scholastic
Page Count: 336
A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.
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?
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My Thoughts
DEFY is a high fantasy version of Mulan with a lot more romance. Yep, a lot... more. - Nova @ Out of Time
I've been anticipating this book since I started stalking following the YA Valentines (A group of 2014 Debuts) on twitter and their site. One book, Defy caught my interest. Strong female leads in dangerous situations always catch my interest in an odd way. I had been doing my best to get Defy and finally, it happened! I received a copy and it did not disappoint.
The main character, Alexa is strong, loyal and likeable. She's pretending to be a guy to fight for the king's army. It's that or... the breeding house. Basically, the world is one with inequality where women are shown to be used as birthing tools and not much else. I can see where Alexa's personality came from. It's either punch harder or get punched.
Alexa's been pretending to be a guy for so long that about a quarter in, she's exposed as a girl. This is where the ___ hits the fan. Everyone was really accepting to her being a girl and somehow a lot of people already knew about it. I don't know if I like this or I don't. It kind of gave me weird feelings because it's a secret that we're told she's trying so hard to maintain and here's a couple people who've already known from the start. It takes away from Alexa's effort and I'm starting to doubt her acting skills.
The world building was not there. As much as Sara's writing was amazing (which, it totally was), the world-building was just not there. I didn't know how their land looked like except for the fact that they were in a jungle. It took away from the story because the setting was very open and readers wouldn't know what to think. In my case, I thought it was a bit medieval but I wouldn't know if I was right because of the lack of world building.
WRITING! Let's take a moment to appreciate Sara's writing. As much as some of the other points bugged me, Sara's writing really went the extra mile. Her dialogue, character descriptions and way of telling the story was en pointe! If the entire story was a pile of rubble (which I hope you really don't think that) the writing will, honestly, shine.
When I was like "oh this book is so cool... fighting!" I expected that. What I got instead was a love triangle that (although, didn't bother me) was unnecessary. It didn't bug me like some of them do because Larson didn't take it too far in the "mush" department. My issue is that this story didn't need a love triangle. I mean this girl's been pretending to act like a dude. How is she jumping on the romance wagon so fast? It was cute to see Alexa and Damien together for a few scenes; took away the tension. But that was it: cute. And I don't see how it could've progressed with it anyway.
Overall, it's a great debut novel that I hope you'll check out! Sara B. Larson can only get better from here and this book is very good for a debut novel! It's got everything (and some unneeded but extra) things in it so you'll never be bored. I know I was never bored or tired of this book!
Author Info
I think I've finally figured out why I don't have problems with world building a lot of the time. I don't think I need a lot of description or details to feel like I've been transported into a different world. Actually, I prefer a minimal amount of description in my books. I'm REALLY glad you liked this one. I LOVED it so much. I'm probably going to end up buying it.
ReplyDeleteI just wish it were more like Mulan in the sense that there was less romance. But what can I say? It's YA. Plus, Damien is SUPAH swoony.
DeleteI'm a hopeless romantic so I was like GIVE ME DA ROMANCE! Oh my gosh! Yes *swoons* ALL THE SWOONS.
DeleteI liked this one too! And I think we had pretty much the same comments for this novel. I gave it 4.5 out of 5. I really liked how you reviewed it...You know what? You have a new subscriber my friend!
ReplyDeleteWell, I wasn't aware I had a reviewing "style", hehe. Thanks a bunch! Hope you enjoy reading my blog!
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way you did about this book, I really liked it, but I thought the love triangle was unnecessary and didn't really add anything to the story. I did like Damian, he was a complex character, and I liked Alex/Alexa except for she suddenly went all girly, which was annoying. But she was pretty badass, which was good, and I thought the ending, with what happened to her, was rather surprising. ~Pam
ReplyDelete