hgranger's review against another edition
1.0
This book was such a disappointment. Great premise - girl pretends to be a boy and joins the king's army to save her life. Seems like it would be a book of fighting, intrigue, some drama surrounding the whole pretending to be a boy. Reality: a tiny bit of sword fighting but mostly angsty whining about two different men, and page upon page of no action whatsoever. This girl has pretended to be a boy the last three years. As soon as someone finds out she's a girl, she immediately drops out of character and falls in love. Twice. And curiously, these two guys are sooooo in love with her as well. Why? I'm not really sure. Alexa is annoying. She is not interesting. She has had an interesting backstory forced into her but she doesn't seem capable of handling it. She spends most of the book contemplating how her heart is racing/ pattering/ beating fast/ blah blah. She makes ridiculous comments like "was I acting like a girl? I had carried the stretcher without complaining." (This is actually straight from the book. Because all girls complain when carrying heavy things so if you did that you would definitely NOT be a boy...
mkerry's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
One thing that I really enjoyed about this book was how the characters showed their emotions. I could definitely tell that their emotions and thoughts were affecting the way they were acting. One thing that wasn't great about this book was that the ending was very predictable. Overall this book had a good storyline, with good characters, and I look forward to reading the second book.
lynseyisreading's review against another edition
4.0
Swords and Sorcery
I'm a total sucker for this genre it's fair to say. I've read pretty much every book that's ever existed in it, and loved most of them. I was a little bit concerned that DEFY might prove to be too similar to the too many others I've read, and of course there's the whole Mulan style storyline that was bound to feel familiar. But I have to say that, thankfully, it proved to be a very engrossing read in its own right, and very difficult to put down after the first few pages. I read it in a single sitting.
Our heroine, Alex/Alexa is a master swordsman/woman--
Okay, this is going to get confusing - I'm just going to refer to her as a girl, okay?
Alexa has always been the better fighter between her and her brother - her twin - Marcel. On the day their parents are murdered, and with the threat of Alexa being taken to the breeding houses, as all orphaned girls her age would be, they make the snap decision to shear off her hair, say she's a boy, and enrol her in the prince's guard. The story then jumps forward three years and we learn that not only did the plan work, but Alexa has moved up the ranks to a senior position, second only to the captain, and is widely known as the one to beat when it comes to sword fighting and archery.
Cool, right? So she's a badass, and has one one the most dangerous secrets you could think of. One that, if discovered, would mean instant death. Add to that the fact that she's now 17, and suddenly becoming very aware of certain other members of her guard, and the prince himself, who all think she's a boy and, well, there was just no damn way I was putting the book down until I saw how all that played out!
And the plotting was good. Really good, actually. Yes there's a love triangle, but I thought it was handled well and it by no means overtook the action. And although the story contained in this novel is wrapped up perfectly, I have enough interest in these characters to come back for the next instalment to see where the author is going to take them next.
4 Stars ★★★★
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I'm a total sucker for this genre it's fair to say. I've read pretty much every book that's ever existed in it, and loved most of them. I was a little bit concerned that DEFY might prove to be too similar to the too many others I've read, and of course there's the whole Mulan style storyline that was bound to feel familiar. But I have to say that, thankfully, it proved to be a very engrossing read in its own right, and very difficult to put down after the first few pages. I read it in a single sitting.
Our heroine, Alex/Alexa is a master swordsman/woman--
Okay, this is going to get confusing - I'm just going to refer to her as a girl, okay?
Alexa has always been the better fighter between her and her brother - her twin - Marcel. On the day their parents are murdered, and with the threat of Alexa being taken to the breeding houses, as all orphaned girls her age would be, they make the snap decision to shear off her hair, say she's a boy, and enrol her in the prince's guard. The story then jumps forward three years and we learn that not only did the plan work, but Alexa has moved up the ranks to a senior position, second only to the captain, and is widely known as the one to beat when it comes to sword fighting and archery.
Cool, right? So she's a badass, and has one one the most dangerous secrets you could think of. One that, if discovered, would mean instant death. Add to that the fact that she's now 17, and suddenly becoming very aware of certain other members of her guard, and the prince himself, who all think she's a boy and, well, there was just no damn way I was putting the book down until I saw how all that played out!
And the plotting was good. Really good, actually. Yes there's a love triangle, but I thought it was handled well and it by no means overtook the action. And although the story contained in this novel is wrapped up perfectly, I have enough interest in these characters to come back for the next instalment to see where the author is going to take them next.
4 Stars ★★★★
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
ronimac74's review against another edition
5.0
After reading The Throne of Glass series, I honesty didn't think I would love another series just as much. Defy proved me wrong! This is an amazing story of courage, faith, and strength. I love that the heroine is female and that even though she tries to hide her identity, she comes to realize how truly valuable she is to the people she loves, those who love her and most importantly to herself. I am so beyond excited to continue the Defy story and to see what happens next.
ssung's review against another edition
1.0
this book made me sad. :<
i was all jazzed up to like it and... nope, it opened on a love triangle with two men whose redeeming qualities seem to be their... pecs and chocolate eyes? i think? oh wait, the prince has blue eyes, so beautiful eyes and pecs - and much fleeing into the woods - pardon, jungle - while overflowing with feelings and ... oh, i honestly don't remember the story anymore. the novel spent SO LONG on the main character's hormones that i was skipping through a lot of pages somewhere in the middle and inadvertently may have skipped the plot as well.
i was all jazzed up to like it and... nope, it opened on a love triangle with two men whose redeeming qualities seem to be their... pecs and chocolate eyes? i think? oh wait, the prince has blue eyes, so beautiful eyes and pecs - and much fleeing into the woods - pardon, jungle - while overflowing with feelings and ... oh, i honestly don't remember the story anymore. the novel spent SO LONG on the main character's hormones that i was skipping through a lot of pages somewhere in the middle and inadvertently may have skipped the plot as well.
erinarkin20's review against another edition
5.0
Defy by Sara Larson is one of those books that snuck up on me. Until I saw it on Netgalley I honestly hadn’t heard a lot about it but I have to say, I was glad I jumped at the chance to read this one as it falls into one of my favorite genres, high fantasy. On top of all of that, it has a great story and some of my new favorite characters. I will spoiler tag most of this so I don’t ruin anything for anyone but be warned if you continue reading…I may not be able to help myself.
Three years later, both Alex and Marcel are a part of the Prince’s Guard. Their responsibility is to protect Prince Damian at all costs and they both take their roles seriously. Because of this, they are both considered some of the best guards but Alex stands out as the best and if not for her age, would have been Captain of the Guard.
I love that Alex/Alexa is such a smart and strong character. She’s also at the age where she is beginning to notice the guys around her. Obviously they don’t know that she is a girl so she would never do anything but she is definitely beginning to notice some around her – specifically Prince Damian and Rylan. The thing that separates these two guys, aside from status, is the fact that Alexa really likes Rylan and he is her friend. On the other hand, based on what she knows about Damian, Alexa doesn't really like him. She believes him to be spoiled and lazy. She is definitely surprised when she starts to learn more about him.
I will say, the description calls out that there is a love triangle but honestly it didn't bother me. It might be because once Alexa made her choice, there really was no question so for me, I didn't feel like it pulled me out of the story.
There is a lot of action in this story. From sword fights to protecting Damian, Alex/Alexa definitely doesn't get much downtime. While protecting Damian, a sorcerer sneaks into the castle and attacks. While definitely a strong fighter, she isn't strong enough to stop the sorcerer and ultimately Alex, Damian, and Rylan are kidnapped. As she is held with both Rylan and Damian, Alexa finds that her secret wasn't really a secret from these two and on top of that, they have been keeping things from her.
I thought Larson did a wonderful job of building the world these characters live in as well as pulling me into both the good and bad situations. There is a lot of death in this book and to main characters but all of these moments helped to move the story along as well as in some cases, give the characters purpose.
Here is where I will take a moment to reflect on how swoony both Damian and Rylan are. Both of them knew that Alex was really Alexa but kept her secret and for their own reasons waited to tell her they knew. I won’t include a lot of quotes from these guys but I’m not at all ashamed to say that the majority of the highlights for me in this one were of these two interacting with Alexa and telling her (finally) about their feelings.
From Damian:
“Thank you,” he said softly as I stared up at him once more.
“For what?”
“For saving me – and I don’t just mean from that arrow.” He smiled, a soft, wistful smile. “It’s always been you, you know that, right? From the first moment I realized you were a girl – it was always you.”
From Rylan:
“Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep pretending, to bury how I really felt, knowing I’d never be able to do anything about it without endangering you? And now I finally have a chance to treat you the way you deserve – to cherish you the way a woman should be when a man loves her. And all you can do is stare at the prince.”
See???? Both of them are swoony and I don’t envy her having to make a decision.
From a bad guy perspective, they really are bad. Iker and King Hector definitely have issues and to honest, I wasn't really sure what Iker’s motivation was other than to be an evil sorcerer but the whole idea of the breeding house just made me mad/sad/angry and I completely understood Alexa’s reaction to it.
Alright, back to the story. A lot goes down and quite a few secrets are revealed once the kidnapping happens. I’m not going to go into the detail here but quite a few things come out about Damian that make Alexa think twice about whether she can trust him. He definitely has his reasons and I don’t disagree with him at all considering some of the things he had to deal with. I actually liked how he handled everything in the end and am interested in seeing how things change for him.
I absolutely loved this one and couldn't put it down. I ampatiently waiting for the next book….it comes out soon, right?? But in all seriousness, I am hoping to understand more about Alexa’s parents and what really happened there as well as see where things go for these characters as there is more to come for all of them, no question. This will be on my “to buy” list when it comes out in January and I absolutely recommend you check this out as soon as you can. With great characters, a wonderful story, magic, fighting and swoony boys, it has easily become one of my favorite reads this year.
Thank you to Netgalley and Scholastic for the review copy!
Spoiler
Alexa Hollen is exactly as described, a fighter. She and her twin brother, Marcel, survive the destruction of their village and death of their parents but make the decision to “hide” Alexa’s true identity to keep her out of King Hector’s breeding house. To that end, Marcel chops off her hair and she becomes Alex.Three years later, both Alex and Marcel are a part of the Prince’s Guard. Their responsibility is to protect Prince Damian at all costs and they both take their roles seriously. Because of this, they are both considered some of the best guards but Alex stands out as the best and if not for her age, would have been Captain of the Guard.
I love that Alex/Alexa is such a smart and strong character. She’s also at the age where she is beginning to notice the guys around her. Obviously they don’t know that she is a girl so she would never do anything but she is definitely beginning to notice some around her – specifically Prince Damian and Rylan. The thing that separates these two guys, aside from status, is the fact that Alexa really likes Rylan and he is her friend. On the other hand, based on what she knows about Damian, Alexa doesn't really like him. She believes him to be spoiled and lazy. She is definitely surprised when she starts to learn more about him.
I will say, the description calls out that there is a love triangle but honestly it didn't bother me. It might be because once Alexa made her choice, there really was no question so for me, I didn't feel like it pulled me out of the story.
There is a lot of action in this story. From sword fights to protecting Damian, Alex/Alexa definitely doesn't get much downtime. While protecting Damian, a sorcerer sneaks into the castle and attacks. While definitely a strong fighter, she isn't strong enough to stop the sorcerer and ultimately Alex, Damian, and Rylan are kidnapped. As she is held with both Rylan and Damian, Alexa finds that her secret wasn't really a secret from these two and on top of that, they have been keeping things from her.
I thought Larson did a wonderful job of building the world these characters live in as well as pulling me into both the good and bad situations. There is a lot of death in this book and to main characters but all of these moments helped to move the story along as well as in some cases, give the characters purpose.
Here is where I will take a moment to reflect on how swoony both Damian and Rylan are. Both of them knew that Alex was really Alexa but kept her secret and for their own reasons waited to tell her they knew. I won’t include a lot of quotes from these guys but I’m not at all ashamed to say that the majority of the highlights for me in this one were of these two interacting with Alexa and telling her (finally) about their feelings.
From Damian:
“Thank you,” he said softly as I stared up at him once more.
“For what?”
“For saving me – and I don’t just mean from that arrow.” He smiled, a soft, wistful smile. “It’s always been you, you know that, right? From the first moment I realized you were a girl – it was always you.”
From Rylan:
“Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep pretending, to bury how I really felt, knowing I’d never be able to do anything about it without endangering you? And now I finally have a chance to treat you the way you deserve – to cherish you the way a woman should be when a man loves her. And all you can do is stare at the prince.”
See???? Both of them are swoony and I don’t envy her having to make a decision.
From a bad guy perspective, they really are bad. Iker and King Hector definitely have issues and to honest, I wasn't really sure what Iker’s motivation was other than to be an evil sorcerer but the whole idea of the breeding house just made me mad/sad/angry and I completely understood Alexa’s reaction to it.
Alright, back to the story. A lot goes down and quite a few secrets are revealed once the kidnapping happens. I’m not going to go into the detail here but quite a few things come out about Damian that make Alexa think twice about whether she can trust him. He definitely has his reasons and I don’t disagree with him at all considering some of the things he had to deal with. I actually liked how he handled everything in the end and am interested in seeing how things change for him.
I absolutely loved this one and couldn't put it down. I am
Thank you to Netgalley and Scholastic for the review copy!
diaryofthebookdragon's review against another edition
2.0
It’s not a secret I was eagerly waiting for Defy. Even when reviews with low ratings started to pile up, they could not dampen my enthusiasm. I mean: ya fantasy about kick-ass heroine who is masquerading as a boy? Bring it on!
When I started to read, it looked like my optimism will pay off. Alexa seemed like just the kind of strong and kick-ass heroine I hoped. After they were orphaned in war Alexa (disguised as a boy) and her twin brother Marcel joined the army. Thanks to their extraordinary fighting skills, after three years they are members of Prince Damian’s personal guard. The war games are becoming more brutal every day, the attacks on Damian’s life are happening more and more often and it turns out that some people suspect that Alex, the best swordsman in the guard, might not be what it seems…
This is a great premise on which a good ya fantasy novel full of intrigue and battles could have been written. Sadly, Sara B. Larson decided to take a different route and focus the story of Defy mostly on romance and love triangle between Alexa, Prince Damian and her best friend & guard member Rylan.
The biggest disappointment in Defy was definitely Alexa. I can blame my expectations and traits I imagined she will have for this. If we ignore Alexa’s exceptional skill with the sword, Alexa mostly reminded me of Bella Swan from Twilight and Anastasia Steele from Fifty Shades of Grey (two of the most annoying characters in literature I have ever encountered). When Alexa is confronted with a guy she likes, she transforms from experienced soldier into this blushing, clumsy mess. She keeps talking about their beautiful eyes… Shimmers slide down her spine…. Their words send jolts through her body… She can’t stop staring at their lean muscular bodies and somehow they keep getting half naked, for Alexa’s ogling pleasure.
Someone would argue that they are walking without their shirts because it’s tropical setting and a lot of action happens in a jungle. But if that is the case, shouldn't have Alexa after three years gotten immune by now?
And don't even get me started on:
* Breeding houses where orphaned girls are taken and repeatedly raped to make new soldiers for king’s army. Those soldiers will be ready for battle in 15 years. Honestly, I think hiring mercenaries would have been cheaper and given immediate results.
* Alexa, Rylan and Damien are captured and dragged across the country for weeks. Experienced soldiers would have found opportunity to escape since a lot of times they were not even tied. But kissing is all they think about.
* Everything is so obvious. And then you need to wait until Alexa figures it out (a lot of chapters later). She confesses that she’s not the quickest bunny in the forest, but still… This made the plot drag on too much and I was more and more bored as the book progressed.
Defy left me feeling deeply disappointed and irritated by: Alexa, lack of world building and a lot of holes in the plot. If I want a novel with so much focus on love story, I will read something from contemporary romance genre. As for a novel from fantasy genre I do not mind if romance is present, but I also require good development of world and characters to enjoy it.
IN THE END…
Defy is debut novel by Sara B. Larson light on fantasy and heavily focused on love triangle romance. While I think that younger female readers might enjoy it, more demanding fantasy fans will probably find it lacking in world building and character development.
My rating: 2 stars
Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.
When I started to read, it looked like my optimism will pay off. Alexa seemed like just the kind of strong and kick-ass heroine I hoped. After they were orphaned in war Alexa (disguised as a boy) and her twin brother Marcel joined the army. Thanks to their extraordinary fighting skills, after three years they are members of Prince Damian’s personal guard. The war games are becoming more brutal every day, the attacks on Damian’s life are happening more and more often and it turns out that some people suspect that Alex, the best swordsman in the guard, might not be what it seems…
This is a great premise on which a good ya fantasy novel full of intrigue and battles could have been written. Sadly, Sara B. Larson decided to take a different route and focus the story of Defy mostly on romance and love triangle between Alexa, Prince Damian and her best friend & guard member Rylan.
The biggest disappointment in Defy was definitely Alexa. I can blame my expectations and traits I imagined she will have for this. If we ignore Alexa’s exceptional skill with the sword, Alexa mostly reminded me of Bella Swan from Twilight and Anastasia Steele from Fifty Shades of Grey (two of the most annoying characters in literature I have ever encountered). When Alexa is confronted with a guy she likes, she transforms from experienced soldier into this blushing, clumsy mess. She keeps talking about their beautiful eyes… Shimmers slide down her spine…. Their words send jolts through her body… She can’t stop staring at their lean muscular bodies and somehow they keep getting half naked, for Alexa’s ogling pleasure.
Someone would argue that they are walking without their shirts because it’s tropical setting and a lot of action happens in a jungle. But if that is the case, shouldn't have Alexa after three years gotten immune by now?
And don't even get me started on:
* Breeding houses where orphaned girls are taken and repeatedly raped to make new soldiers for king’s army. Those soldiers will be ready for battle in 15 years. Honestly, I think hiring mercenaries would have been cheaper and given immediate results.
* Alexa, Rylan and Damien are captured and dragged across the country for weeks. Experienced soldiers would have found opportunity to escape since a lot of times they were not even tied. But kissing is all they think about.
* Everything is so obvious. And then you need to wait until Alexa figures it out (a lot of chapters later). She confesses that she’s not the quickest bunny in the forest, but still… This made the plot drag on too much and I was more and more bored as the book progressed.
Defy left me feeling deeply disappointed and irritated by: Alexa, lack of world building and a lot of holes in the plot. If I want a novel with so much focus on love story, I will read something from contemporary romance genre. As for a novel from fantasy genre I do not mind if romance is present, but I also require good development of world and characters to enjoy it.
IN THE END…
Defy is debut novel by Sara B. Larson light on fantasy and heavily focused on love triangle romance. While I think that younger female readers might enjoy it, more demanding fantasy fans will probably find it lacking in world building and character development.
My rating: 2 stars
Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.
ageorges's review against another edition
3.0
It's as if someone took Tamora Pierce's "Song of the Lioness" and sucked all the charm and originality out of it. Still, the book wasn't bad, and I'll probably read the sequel.