Title: Defy
Author: Sara B. Larson
Series: Defy #1
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Spice: 0.5 / 5
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 323
Rating:

Also in this series: Ignite

My Thoughts

I’m glad I read DEFY because I loved it. I thought it was fun, intriguing, and full of all kinds of angst. I really loved the premise. I thought it was interesting that Alexa had to disguise herself as a boy to stay away from the horrors of the breeding houses. I don’t think I could’ve done what she did. The breeding houses were interesting by themselves. Not in a good way, though. They were scary, creepy, and sad. And, I think King Hector created them under the guise of breeding when he actually just wanted them so he and his men could fulfill their wildest fantasies. It made me hate King Hector all the more.

I loved the characters. Alexa was strong and emotional, which made me happy. Just because she disguised herself as a male doesn’t mean she could, or should, suppress her female emotions. And, no I’m not saying all females are emotional and males aren’t. All I’m saying is that it made her character more realistic and it helped me connect with her. I loved Prince Damian. I knew there was something about him from the beginning. I knew he couldn’t really be the way he was. And, while I had guessed some of the things about him, I didn’t guess the big reveal. It was an awesome surprise. And, as the story progressed, I just ended up liking him more and more. He’s one of my favorite literary males now.

The supporting characters were great too. I loved the dynamic they brought to the story. I loved the closeness of Prince Damian’s guar–how they trusted and loved each other. I really liked Rylan, but I liked him more as a friend than as a love interest. While the love triangle didn’t affect me like they normally do–wishing the third wheel would die a horrible death–I still didn’t want it in the book. I wanted the focus to remain on the horrible war and King Hector’s evilness with the romance between Alexa and Prince Damian sprinkled in.

I loved the action. It was fun to read all the sword fights. I could picture them in my mind. It was almost like I was playing a game of Zelda. I was Link and doing the fighting while I read about Alexa’s exploits. Larson did a great job of transporting me into the story as one of the characters. It felt real. I love when an author and story can do that.

The ending was killer. Alexa reminds me of Katsa from GRACELING. Too independent for her own good, well for my own good anyway. I didn’t want her to make the decision she did, even though I know why she did it. I just hope somehow it gets rectified in the way I want it to by the end of the series.

I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in the series. I just wish I didn’t have to wait so long.