Dec
19
2014

Defy by Sara B. Larson

Title: Defy
Author: Sara B. Larson
Series: Defy #1  
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: January 7, 2014

Summary from Goodreads:
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?


Review

I admit that had I not received an ARC of Ignite (book 2) from Scholastic, for which I saw many 4 and 5 star reviews for on Goodreads, I don't know if I would have gotten around to reading Defy any time soon, if at all. Although it is a Fantasy and has a strong heroin who is parading around as a boy, (things that would normally appeal to me) the reviews were all over the place and initially scared me away. But with the promise of Ignite being so good I decided to give Defy a chance, hoping that I would be in the group of those that loved it.

Sadly, I am not in that group, but I realize now why the reviews are all over the place - it comes down to whether or not you like the romance-focus. Defy has a lot going for it, but all of that is unfortunately overshadowed by the love-triangle, although I use that term loosely because Alexa  does favor one more than the other the whole time. I personally prefer romances to complement a story rather than be the main focus of it, so that is primarily why I did not love this book. If only the other elements of the story were heightened I would have enjoyed it a lot more. After all, there is a lot of potential here - a corrupt king, an oppressed kingdom, a bloody war, powerful rebellions, secretive alliances, political maneuvering, dangerous sorcerers, and a fierce heroin who has the power to stop it all. I was definitely interested in the story itself, which kept a good pace and showed glimpses of greatness, if only there wasn't so much talk about feelings. But then again, I feel like all that talk might have been intentional to keep the story from getting too dark, which was definitely a possibility, and maybe it was always intended for a younger audience (whereas I am a masochist and like my heart to be ripped out).

I was also pleased by the ending which did not end on a cliffhanger at all. The main plotline that was presented in Defy was concluded completely and satisfactorily, well for the most part (there is a little glitch in the HEA).  But I still think one could be completely content reading Defy and never picking up Ignite if he or she pleases (but Ignite is better, so I wouldn't advise on that).

If you are are a reader that enjoys a romance that is at the forefront of a story, the foundation of great Fantasy story but that is kept from getting too dark by said romance, and doesn't mind a love triangle, then this series is PERFECT for you. However, if you are more like me and prefer fantasy over romance, then this book might not be your favorite, but you might very well still like it, like I did.

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Comments (8)

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Aw shucks, I'm the type of person who likes fantasy to be the forefront when it's a fantasy book and normally hate it when they focus on the love story a lot. (unless I ship the couple though) I didn't really find this interesting before and like you, wouldn't actually read it. But it does seem like worth giving a shot, so maybe I will. Great review!
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I'm like you. I liked Defy but I didn't love it. I wasn't even sure if I would read Ignite since Defy ended so nicely. But you are saying the second one is better? Maybe I will read it. We shall see. I just felt like Defy was trying to hard to be this epic young adult fantasy novel and it just didn't quite work for me.
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1 reply · active 536 weeks ago
I liked Ignite more but the romance is still the main fault of the story, and even though I liked it, I didn't LOVE it. I'm around 3.5 stars right now.
"I personally prefer romances to complement a story rather than be the main focus of it," THANK YOU. I absolutely hated how this book was focused primarily on the romance and secondarily on everything else. At first neither guy shows much interest in her, then they both do! I thought the story itself was interesting too and had an interesting plot but I DNFd it just as they reached the fort or castle they were traveling too. The strange dialogue and equally strange characters just got to me by that point.. Great review, I'm happy the ending was good.
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1 reply · active 536 weeks ago
Yeah it's a shame. The romance brings the sequel down too and I think it could be such a strong series if executed better. =/
That darn love-triangle all the time :( I can handle those, but if the focus is on it I tend to get bored and annoyed very quickly. It's such a shame, because the whole girl-disguised-as-boy-aspect is one of my favorite things.
I've heard a lot of great reviews for Ignite too, but haven't read this one myself. Sorry to hear it wasn't as enjoyable for you because of the romance-focus. Also, I feel like if the romance was done really well, it would've been more bearable, even for readers who didn't like romance as much. But this plot sounds way too interesting to be overshadowed like that, so that's really too bad. Really fair and awesome review, though! :)
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Pam@YA Escape's avatar

Pam@YA Escape · 536 weeks ago

I enjoyed this one, except for the romance. I didn't really care that much for Rylan, and, in fact, his character seems a bit unnecessary. I wish we could have seen more interactions between him and Alexa before we find out how he feels about her. I also didn't completely buy Damian's feelings for Alexa, it seemed quite sudden given they didn't seem like they really knew each other. A slow-building relationship would have been much more believable. And Alexa becomes so girly at certain points, constantly obsessing over Damian and Rylan that I felt like shaking her and telling her to get a grip.

Agreed…liked the ending, that it wrapped up for the most part and also thought what happened to Alexa was a gutsy move on the part of the author.
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