Defiance (Defiance #1)

Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Paperback, 403 pages

Expected publication: 6th September 2012 by Atom

My shelves: arc-or-review, better-than-expected, books-i-own, cover-appeal, dragons, fantasy, magic, read-in-2012, really-good, read

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

Rachel’s world is confined to the protective walls around her city. Beyond them are violent wanderers, extreme terrain, and a danger straight out of legend: a beast called the Cursed One that devastates everything in its path.

When Rachel’s father goes missing, she is desperate to search for him. But her attempts to flee the city bring her to the attention of its overbearing ruler. His efforts to control her make the world within the walls seem as dangerous as that outside.

Her only chance at escape is Logan. Once her father’s apprentice, and now her only protector, he feels that helping her might mean losing her completely. But if he can put his feelings aside, they might be able to save more than Rachel’s father. They might be able to break down the walls, and set their people free.

Buy this book:

The Book Depository / Amazon (US/INT) / Amazon UK

My thanks go to Atom for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Picking up this book, I wasn't all that sure what to expect. I tried to avoid all of the hype around Defiance as 1. I wasn't sure if I it would be for me and 2. I didn't want to be disappointed if I did decide to pick it up. Well, I did pick it up and I imagine that could've read all the rave reviews for it and still loved it. I really, really enjoyed this book from start to finish. It can be difficult to find a new, interesting concept these days, but C.J. Redwine has thought of a great concept and executed it well.

Defiance has a strange setting. Though it's set in a somewhat dystopian future, to me it felt more like a medieval, historical setting, with a bit of a twist. This book is written in two points of view, of Rachel and of Logan. Our protagonists live in Baalboden, a walled city to supposedly protect them from 'The Cursed One' - a dragon-like, murderous creature. Rachel's father, Jared, is a tracker and so has left Baalboden, but unfortunately he hasn't returned. Each woman must have a protector until she is 18 and 'Chosen', and when Jared goes missing, not only is Rachel left without a father, but she is left without a protector too. Unexpectedly, Jared's apprentice, Logan, is appointed to look after her. At first, this isn't good news for Rachel and she decides that she must go and find her father. All of the fun starts there...

The plot of Defiance unfolds at a good pace. I got a good feel of the setting and atmosphere quite easily - I never thought that such a setting could captivate me, but it did.  Whilst this is quite an eventful book, it wasn't too much and things didn't go too fast. The plot was surprisingly complex, with twists and turns that really pulled me into the story, making me want to keep reading on and to discover more. I never got bored whilst reading this book - it was captivating, a true page-turner.

The characters felt solid to me right from the start, yet still had a sort of hidden mystery behind them. Rachel, our main character is a likeable heroine - she is very, very determined and strong, yet still has a realistic vulnerability. She isn't the perfect heroine, but she tries to be the best person that she can be. I loved Logan as soon as we met him (probably due to the fact he's named Logan) and grew to like him even more as the book progressed. He's moody, he's clever, he's protective but not in a restrictive way. I also really liked meeting the other more minor characters and seeing what they brought to the story, which was a surprising amount. I particularly liked the whimsical nature of the tree people, Willow and Quinn.

As you can tell by now, I really, really enjoyed this book. The ending of this one really excited me - I think the setting in the next book will be even more effective. I really can't I can't wait to get reacquainted with Rachel and Logan and see what happens next!

Rage Within Blog Tour Stop - An interview with the author

You may have seen my review of Rage Within yesterday, a book which I really enjoyed.

Now I'm happy to announce that the blog tour has stopped by this blog!

I was given the opportunity to have my first interview with an author, which I was both a little nervous but very excited about.  I hope that you enjoy reading the questions and the answers that Jeyn Roberts so kindly provided.

An Interview with Jeyn Roberts, author of Rage Within

There were so many questions I wanted to ask this wonderful author, so I started with a few general questions that I was desperate to find out....

What is the strangest question (and answer, please!) that anyone has asked you in regards to your writing?

I haven’t had a lot of really weird questions when it comes to writing. I did have someone ask me to list the books I really hated and why. I refused to do it. It didn’t seem like a good idea and would probably lead to death threats in the middle of the night. I had another person tell me he didn’t really care for my book and wondered if I was hot? I was like… um… yeah… I’m not going there. 

In your opinion, what are the best and worst things about writing a book?

I find the first thirty pages to be the worst. For some reason, it’s a magic number for me. The second I’m past it, the words just seem to flow. Before thirty pages, it’s like watching grass grow. The best part is a collection of a few things. It’s the moment when I get an idea and it begins to develop in my mind. The thrill of knowing I’m about to get to a particularly exciting scene and when I write the very last word. Of course finishing a book is always bittersweet. 

What did you read when you were a ‘young adult’ and what do you read now? 

I didn’t read a lot of teen books when I was a teen. I was going through a massive horror kick at the time. Stephen King was my favorite from thirteen on. I couldn’t get enough of him. Nowadays,  I still read Stephen King (haha). I read a lot of YA, mostly because it’s so good. Recent reads have been Anna Dressed in Blood and After the Snow. I’m also working my way through the largest collection of zombie short stories ever. I swear, this book is big enough to kill a zombie. 

Do you have any ideas as to what you’ll write after the Dark Inside series? Are you interested in branching out into other genres?

I’m working on a bunch of different things right now. I’ve got a middle reader book that’s set in the Great Depression that’s been taking up some of my time. I’ve also been working on three different ideas. One is horror, the other paranormal romance and the last is a ghost story. 

Then, of course, as this was the Rage Within blog tour, I just had to ask some questions about her latest book...

Who is your favourite character and who do you relate to most in Rage Within?

I have to admit that Mason is my favourite. He’s also the most frustrating character because he’s so darn emo all the time. I want him to be happy!!!!!  I also love my new character, Raj, who is introduced in Rage Within. He's fantastic and brings some much needed comedy. I’d say I relate most with Aries. I’d like to believe I share her desire to constantly be there for her friends, her reluctant leadership qualities and her optimism. 

How would you cope in the situation of your characters?

What would you do if you came face to face with a Bagger?

I’d probably pee my pants. Haha. In all honesty, I don’t know. I’ve thought about this a lot too. I’d like to believe I’d be strong enough and smart enough to survive the Bagger attacks but I’m not sure. I really think it’s one of those things that no one can predict. Would I be a Bagger? Would I survive? No idea. Your guess is as good as mine.

Then for some quick-fire questions to (sadly) end the interview..

What one word describes you best? 

Believer. 

Favourite book?

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. 

If a book was written about your life, what would it be called?

You Did What Now? 

Zombies, Vampires, Werewolves or other?

Zombies!

Thank you so much for your time Jeyn!

--------------------------------------------

I really hope you all enjoyed finding out more about Jeyn and that, if you haven't already, you now want to pick up either Dark Inside or Rage Within - trust me, you won't be disappointed!

Don't forget to stop by the other hosts of this blog tour for even more exclusive content!

Rage Within (Dark Inside #2)

Rage Within by Jeyn Roberts

Paperback, 368 pages

Expected publication: 30th August 2012 by Macmillan Children's Books

My shelves: apocalyptic, arc-or-review, blog-tour, books-i-own, dystopian, horror, read-in-2012, sci-fi, read, young-adult, zombies

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

After the earthquakes came the infectious rage, turning friends into deadly enemies. For survivors Michael, Aries, Mason and Clementine the battle to stay alive is about to get even tougher. The new world is organising itself, with camps that promise protection for the uninfected. But the reality of the sites is far more sinister. Besides, nobody is safe from the rage within their own soul...

For fans of Gone, or 28 Days Later not to be missed!

Buy this book:

The Book Depository / Amazon (US/INT) / Amazon UK

My thanks go to Macmillan's Children Books for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Last year, I picked up a copy of Rage Inside from my local library, not knowing much about it and having not read a zombie-type book before (okay, they're technically not zombies, but some characters are in a zombie-like state). I was very glad that I did pick it up as I really, really enjoyed it. The only problem was, I had to wait for the second book to be released! When I finally held a copy of Rage Within, I was so excited to delve into it.

I'll be honest and say that I can't remember Dark Inside very clearly, despite how much I liked it - I could only recollect snippets of events, though I had a good memory of the characters. This wasn't a problem for me though, by around only 50 pages in, I was absolutely absorbed into the story, reacquainted with the characters and didn't want to put the book down. I was surprised that I enjoyed Dark Inside so much and even more surprised that I enjoyed this instalment even more. In this book, we follow a group of teenagers as they unite to try and survive a world that has completely changed after a catastrophic earthquake. They are up against a load of people who have turned into what are known as 'Baggers' - the bad guys of the books. Baggers are still human and it's very hard to know who is a bagger and who is not, which makes things a whole lot scarier and unnerving.

Again, this book is narrated by Mason, Michael, Clementine and Aries. Each character was strong and for me, it felt very equal - I didn't warm particularly to one character as I was interested in them all. Whilst all characters are well formed, I personally thought it was quite easy to get them mixed up, however this didn't cause any difficulty whilst reading. Though I won't mention who they are incase of spoilers, we also got to meet some new characters in this book who were very intriguing. There was a huge twist with one character in particular in this book and although it did sadden me as I'd come to like and know the character, the twist was indeed very effective! I loved all of the twists and turns in the book. There were some things that were slightly predictable but a lot of twists did shock me and make me gasp, which was fantastic. I was totally hooked, desperate to know what was going to happen next.

The one aspect of the first book that troubled me was the point of view of a character known as 'Nothing' - someone/thing that we don't know anything about. despite it being effective, I didn't like it in the first book as it was too vague for me. However, in this book we get to learn a lot more about 'Nothing' and begin to really discover who/what Nothing is. 

As you should be able to tell, I really liked this book and now begins the torturous wait for book three! Absolutely addictive, edge of your seat reading with fantastically developed, fun and loveable characters, this series is definitely one that I'd recommend.

Stacking the Shelves and Showcase Sunday (17)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Showcase Sunday is hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea.

These memes are a replacement of The Story Siren's In My Mailbox.

Stacking the Shelves and Showcase Sunday make a place to showcase your new books,

whether you obtained them through the post or otherwise.

I happily received several books for review this week, and surprisingly only one was YA! I received The House on Willow Street by Cathy Kelly who will be stopping by my blog soon. I also received a copy of The Diary of a Submissive which I have already read, so expect a review of that early this coming week. The Rose Petal Beach, The Two Week Wait, One Hundred Names and Happily Ever After also came into my home and I'm excited to read them. The one young adult book I received was Summertime of the Dead!

Again, I'm proud of myself for not actually purchasing any books! Well, I did buy two cross-stitch chart books, but they don't count do they? Unfortunately the swaps I made still haven't arrived, but fingers crossed (again) that they will next week - I think I have enough to keep me busy until then!

Which books came into your home this week? 

Remember to leave a link and have a great weekend!