This morning I wanted to take a quick moment to recommend a Young Adult novel, which initially caught my attention for it's oh-so-pretty cover. I mean, come on, just look at it!
I was delighted to have the opportunity to receive an ARC (Advance Read Copy), and this is what I had to say about the story:
4 1/2 Stars!
"Defiance is a well-paced,
heart-wrenching tale of loyalty, courage, and love – set in a darkly
dystopian world some readers may find reminiscent of 'Reign of Fire.'
Redwine presents convincing teenaged characters with potent prose and
palpable emotion, all while never underestimating her audience.
Admittedly
swayed by the gorgeous cover, I went into this book thinking I would
immediately love the fiery heroine. Not so. It actually took this reader
until about 1/3rd of the way through to get past the crippled grief and
bullheaded impulsiveness to fully warm up to her. But that was okay,
because instead, I immediately connected with Logan. Rational, studious,
and noble, he was a far cry from the quazi-mysterious, angsty badboy
archetype that so annoy me about many recent YA novels.
The
author captures masculine vs. feminine misunderstandings and awkward
moments with with a believable and authentic candor. And in doing so,
she conveys a concept that will ring true for those who've lived in
close quarters with pain: that even in the middle of unfathomable stress
and tragedy, humor still crops up to provide us both guilt and relief.
The tunnel may be long, but there is always a light at the end of it.
My
one complaint would be the Commander didn't quite feel fleshed out by
the end, his brand of malevolent, ego-maniacal evil feeling just a bit
one-dimensional. It was a little hard to believe someone wouldn't have
assassinated him by the time the story takes place. But he's far from
the only obstacle involved, and the intensity of the internal character
conflicts makes him easy to set aside."
Favorite quote:
“Silent acquiescence in the face of tyranny is no better than outright agreement.”
--Logan {Defiance}
Hopefully I will be interviewing the Author, C.J. Redwine, somewhere close to her August 28th, 2012 publication date! Stay tuned, there may very well be a FREE BOOK and/or swag involved.
In the mean time . . . on to the next book! Tell me about the best book you've read this year, so far. :)
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Well now I want to read THAT book! Since I will have to wait....*Long beleagured sigh* On to other books:
ReplyDeleteActually the one I've really enjoyed recently was Dragonwood my Janet Carey--I loved the time period and the realistic emotional reactions to people--even in the middle ages.
And it has all the elements I like: Witch trials, dragons, family dysfunction, romance....even the fae. :) A bit of everything for everyone.
My kids adored this book.
Thank you, Mary!
DeleteI hadn't heard of Dragonwood yet--but it sounds fascinating. I'll add that one straight to my to-read listing on Goodreads. ^_^
Here's the kicker- there is a book before it--but you won't notice it. This is a stand alone. Once you read it, let me know. I'd love to talk about this book! ;)
DeleteOoo...that IS interesting. I expect good things out of the world-building, in that case. ^_^
DeleteI want some swag :) I love this cover. I'm actually using it as an example to requisition the design of a cover for my 3rd book.
ReplyDeleteI know these books were published a while back, but I just read them this year. I love Scott Westerfeld Leviathan series :)