Book Review: Defy

It took me forever to finally order this book, Defy, and there really is no good reason for this. I had been interested in it for a while, but had never really gotten around to ordering it, so I finally did! I actually finished this book a couple of weeks ago, however, being busy with college has made this review extremely late!

Getting on with the actual review, this book is set in about the sixteenth century, in the made up kingdom of Antion. This nation is at war with another one, called Bevlon, however the reasons aren’t as clear cut as everyone thinks. The king of Antion is a crooked one, and he declared war on Bevlon when his wife was supposedly killed by a Bevlon assassin. Fast forward a couple of years, and we meet a girl named Alexa, who is made into an orphan, along with her twin brother, when her parents are killed by the Bevlon army. In order to save his sister from being taken to the breeding houses, he cuts off her hair and says they are actually identical twins and both wish to join the army. They had been trained all of their lives by their father, so they’re both very good with swords and quickly move up the ranks in the army. They eventually become apart of the Prince’s personal guard; while very honorable, it is not the best job because Prince Damian fits the role exactly for haughty prince.

Alexa, now known as Alex, gets a special job from Prince Damian to deliver a message. She goes to deliver it, but gets attacked by a jungle cat (the castle is in the middle of a jungle) and has to stay in the jungle for a couple of days with some healers. Prince Damian is livid when she gets back, but she doesn’t tell him she was attacked because she was healed by sorcerers, and the kingdom of Antion hates sorcerers. After a calm couple of weeks, the castle is attacked, and Damian, Alexa, and another guard in the Prince’s guard are captured and taken on a two week trek to Bevlon. Many things happen throughout this journey, and Prince Damian is revealed to be different than his perceived image.

I absolutely loved this book! The writing was great and the suspense was done just right. I loved all of the politics within the book – it was more than the cliche “nobody knows who I really I am, I have to keep my secret at all costs” and each character had so much depth. The ending is great and I can’t wait for the second book! I thought it was out already and was disappointed to find out that it isn’t coming out until next year! I definitely recommend this book if you like thrillers, or books like The Hunger Games.

Thank you so much for reading, and I hop you have a great day! 🙂