Book Review: Defy

"As I gripped the hilt of the sword, my mind calmed and my body filled with purpose.  This is who I was--this was what I knew how to do.  I was a fighter."

"I want you to know that I'll always be here for you.  When the day comes that [he] breaks your heart and you need a friend to turn to, I'll be right here for you, just like I always have been."

A lot of work and a strange all over the place work schedule for the first part of April is already starting to wear me down.  But, it will all be over soon.  So, that's okay.  And another book for the book reviews is ready!

I was really nervous about this book, because the author is the daughter of one of my coworkers.  So, I knew that if I didn't like it, I'd be in trouble.  I am far too opinionated to say that I liked something I didn't.  And the book, from online reviews, seems to be one of those "love it or hate it" books.  Lucky for me, I don't have to make that rough choice, because I legitimately liked it.

At the death of their parents, Alexa and her twin brother, Marcel, find themselves facing the fate of all war orphans in war-torn Antion--the armies for Marcel and the breeding houses where they make more soldiers for Alexa.  There and then, they hatch their plan.  Marcel cuts off Alexa's hair and passes her off as a boy.  Three years later, they find themselves as members of Prince Damien's personal guard.  But as Alexa is torn by love, as well as choices deeper than herself, the fate of Antion lies in the balance.

This is a fantasy adventure with a very healthy helping of romance.  The story was engaging, and refreshingly traditional.  It's high fantasy that was fun and kept me going and wanting to know what happened next.  And, even though many people didn't like it, I didn't mind that it had a bucket and a half of romance on top of the story.  The characters are enjoyable (though some smaller characters could be more developed), and it doesn't hurt that there were lines straight out of The Book of Mormon (yes, the author is Mormon).

The downsides:  I was a little tired of her thinking that she was great at pretending to be a boy, but whenever she revealed that she was a girl to a character their response was either, "Yeah, I know," or "Makes sense." No one ever seemed surprised.  Some people have said that it's like Mulan, but just because a woman dresses up as a man to take on a male role doesn't make it Mulan. Ever heard of Deborah Sampson?   Kristina X of Sweden?  Joan of Arc (to a certain extent)? Pope Joan? Jennie Hodgers?  Sarah Pritchard?  Anne Bonny? It's not new.  But, I could hear some "We must be swift as the coursing river..." going on in my head at some points.  But when they went to "Heart of the Rivers," I could hear "Maybe you've heard of a terrible place where the scoundrels of Paris collect in a lair..." (Court of Miracles from Hunchback of Notre Dame, if you didn't know).  A lot of books induce songs to me.

It does have that funny thing where there are characters named normal things like Alexa and Jude in the same universe as people named Eljin and Tanoori.  

In case you were wondering, I'm Team Rylan.  Damien is just using her.

Four stars.  Fun book, and traditional books are starting to be fresher than nontraditional ones.