Review : Defy by Sara B. Larson

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Defy (Defy #1)
Author : Sara B. Larson
Publication Date : January 7th 2014
Publisher : Scholastic Press
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

Personal Thoughts

I'm normally very easy to please when it comes to YA fantasy and some of favorite books are YA fantasy novels. Honestly though, my not enjoying Defy is entirely my fault because I was too dumb not to read the summary. Had I read the summary, I would have known right away that this was not going to be the book for me because it mentions a "thrilling love triangle". Even with that though, I personally think Defy pales in comparison to other series in the genre.

In order to prevent going into a breeding house, Alexa decides to chop off her hair, learn to fight and become a guard for the Prince along with her twin brother, while pretending to be a boy. Alexa, was initially, someone I enjoyed. I didn't love her by any means, but I respected her for her choices and admired her strength and bravery. She was quite badass and I love a girl who knows how to fight as much (and even better) than her male peers. However, that soon changed. Over the course of the book, Alexa became more and more unlikeable to the point where I had to give up on the book because she was so frustrating. The reason for her change? Excuse my language; the BS of a love triangle. As soon as she started to develop feelings for the boys, her personality took a turn for the worse. All she did was stare and drool all over her love interests' chests and blush whenever they would look at her. She angered me and made me want to do get inside the book and punch her in the face for her idiocy. Plus, I lost every ounce of respect I had for her when she ended up choosing the lying, manipulative douche-bag over the sweet long-time friend. The secondary characters also bored me to tears. The Prince was portrayed as the typical bad boy, but instead of making me swoon, he only made me think of the pointy objects someone in the book could use to get rid of his presence. The other love interest, the underdog, Rylan was even more boring despite him being sweet. Seriously, he was not at all developed and I don't think there was any one in the book who was.

Apart from the violent behavior I experienced towards the characters, I also experienced intense exasperation towards the world-building, or lack of it. Defy has zero world-building. There was nothing in the book that helped me visualize the background and the history and there's nothing more annoying than that for a YA fantasy fan. The plot started off interesting and had much potential, but instead the author chose to focus on the damn love triangle and to forget entirely about the plot. I can handle love triangles if the plot is strong and well-executed (e.g. The Throne of Glass series and The Grisha trilogy). The books I've mentioned don't allow the romance to take-over the plot but keeps developing in the side-lines. The problem with Defy was that the love triangle was such a mess. The way it was executed did not make it "thrilling" but instead made it headache-inducing. My blood pressure would rise every time Alexa mentioned how hot the guys' chests were. (She does it in almost every chapter). But things don't just end with the love triangle. You also have one of the best example of insta-love in this book. In the beginning of the book, Alexa dislikes the Prince for his ways, then all of a sudden she realizes that she's in love with him. Yes, in love. She tells him that she's in love with him after he lied to her, manipulated her and was quite the asshole within a few days of getting to know him. Yay, insta-love! I never understood their love because there wasn't anything that showed me why they loved each other. That was when I gave up on this book. I personally didn't enjoy any aspect of Defy and I reckon this is going to be a frustrating book for many readers.

I wish I could recommend Defy with all my heart, but unfortunately that's not the case. If you're looking for a good YA fantasy novel, Defy is not it. There are multiple other solid choices such as The Throne of Glass Series, The Grisha Trilogy and The Graceling Series that deserve a lot more attention than Defy.

Rating

Cover : 3/5
Plot : 2/5
Characters : 1/5
Writing : 2/5

Thank you to Scholastic & NetGalley for the e-ARC of Defy.