REVIEW: Deliverance (The Courier's Daughter #3)

Deliverance (The Courier's Daughter #3), by C.J. Redwine
Published August 26, 2014
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Format: hardback, purchased
Genre: young adult dystopian
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating: 5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Everything hangs in the balance, and nothing is certain: Rachel has been kidnapped by enemy forces and is being taken to Rowansmark while Logan, imprisoned and awaiting trial, is unable to leave Lankenshire. Separated from each other and their Baalboden comrades, each must find a way to achieve what they desperately want: to rid their world once and for all of the Commander and the tech that controls the deadly Cursed One.

Fighting through her pain and embracing the warrior she’s become, Rachel will do whatever it takes to escape her enemies’ clutches and join Logan in his fight. But when she learns a secret that changes everything, she realizes that escaping Ian and his tracker friends is no longer an option if she wants to save the people she loves. Instead, she’ll have to destroy Rowansmark from the inside out—if she can survive the journey through the Wasteland.

Logan needs allies if he wants to thwart Rowansmark’s power grab and rescue Rachel. But securing allies will mean betraying his beliefs and enlisting the help of the man he hates more than anyone: Commander Jason Chase. Driven by his fierce love for Rachel and his determination to make their world safe, Logan may be just the weapon the city-states need to defeat the Cursed One.

But as Rowansmark bears down and uneasy alliances are tested, will Rachel and Logan’s love for each other be enough to surmount the unbelievable odds against them?

What a wild ride to the finish. The Courier's Daughter trilogy was an unexpected thrill for me in 2014. I initially picked it up because the covers are so beautiful and haunting. I thought it was a fantasy book, and in some ways it is. But, in actuality, it's a dark dystopian full of evil men and scary monsters. Threaded throughout, though, has been this epic love story between a warrior girl and a brilliant boy. DELIVERANCE, the final book in this fantastic series, puts an exclamation point on Rachel's and Logan's relationship and illustrates in harsh, blaring visions that love really can conquer all. 

Rachel and Logan are once again separated. Rachel is in the clutches of the despicable James Rowan, while Logan is forced to team up with the Commander to rally support from the other city states to wage war on Rowansmark and get Rachel back. Both of them are biding their time, missing each other and making plans for revenge. The final showdown between Rachel, Logan, the Commander and Rowan is coming, and one way or another, Rachel and Logan plan to see it through to the end. 

I had problems in previous books with Rachel's attitude. After experiencing so much tragedy and loss, she closed in on herself and chose to focus only on her anger and thirst for revenge. It hurt her relationship with Logan, who is the only person that she can really truly relate to. He's the man she loves, and she couldn't even tell him how she was feeling. 

The wonderfully amazing Quinn helped get Rachel back on the straight an narrow, though, and in Deliverance, she's a whole different person. Now THIS Rachel is the one I thought was so incredible in the beginning of book 1. She faces some really, REALLY hard stuff in Deliverance. James Rowan, Ian and the rest of the Rowansmark trackers don't think too highly of her. They torture her. It was awful. And, yet, she doesn't descend back into that dark place again. She keeps her mind fixed on Logan and what awaits them on the other side of all this. 

Logan is now and always has been singularly focused on one goal - get his people to safety so he can focus on more important things. Like Rachel. His thoughts are always on his girl. It seems like every decision he makes in Deliverance is with rescuing her in mind, especially now that his people have been taken in by Lankenshire. He is even willing to ally with his most hated enemy for her. That's some serious love there. 

All three books in this series have been utterly brutal. C.J. Redwine doesn't hold back. In all three books there are deaths of some pretty central characters. Many of them were very emotional. I've shed tears multiple times over the course of reading this trilogy. Deliverance is no different. It's the final showdown. Of course there are going to be deaths. With every death of one of Logan's people came a sense of sadness and pride. Sadness because I really connected with so many of these characters, and I didn't want to see any of them go. Pride because many of them went out in a proverbial blaze of glory, committing some selfless act to save others. So. Many. Tears. 

And the end - holy smokes. It was one crazy thing after another as we saw Rachel, Logan and the refugees of Baalboden band together to take down Rowansmark, the Commander and the Cursed Ones. It was exciting and gripping and nail-biting. I loved every single minute of it. The ending is satisfying in all the best ways. 

I'm so glad I read this series. I'm looking forward to seeing what new awesome thing C.J. Redwine has waiting for us. If it's even close to how good the Defiance series was, it's a sure thing.

REVIEW: Deception (The Courier's Daughter #2)

Deception (The Courier's Daughter #2), by C. J. Redwine
Published August 27, 2013
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Format: ARC, obtained in trade
Genre: young adult dystopian romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating: 4 STARS

(From Goodreads) Baalboden has been ravaged. The brutal Commander's whereabouts are unknown. And Rachel, grief stricken over her father's death, needs Logan more than ever. With their ragged group of survivors struggling to forge a future, it's up to Logan to become the leader they need—with Rachel by his side. Under constant threat from rival Carrington's army, who is after the device that controls the Cursed One, the group decides to abandon the ruins of their home and take their chances in the Wasteland.



But soon their problems intensify tenfold: someone—possibly inside their ranks—is sabotaging the survivors, picking them off one by one. The chaos and uncertainty of each day puts unbearable strain on Rachel and Logan, and it isn't long before they feel their love splintering. Even worse, as it becomes clear that the Commander will stop at nothing to destroy them, the band of survivors begins to question whether the price of freedom may be too great—and whether, hunted by their enemies and the murderous traitor in their midst, they can make it out of the Wasteland alive.

In this daring sequel to Defiance, with the world they once loved forever destroyed, Rachel and Logan must decide between a life on the run and standing their ground to fight.

The tone of Deception is totally different from Defiance. It's much darker and sadder than the first one. And, if you've read the first book in this series, you know that's really saying something. The whole series seems to have a somber air to it, but this middle book in the series is different. There's less action than in the first book, and instead the focus has shifted inward as both Rachel and Logan try to come to terms with all that has happened to them. 

In the beginning, the surviving Baalboden refugees who submit to Logan's leadership decide to make the trek across the Wasteland to Lankenshire, a nearby city-state. The trip is fraught with disaster as they have to deal with attacks from the Cursed One, Rowansmark trackers, and the Commander and his army. In addition, it soon becomes clear that there's a mole in their midst, determined to bring the group down from the inside. Logan and Rachel and their friends try and figure out who the traitor is, while battling their internal demons. 

This series is truly EPIC. The world building is incredible, and in Deception, we get to see more of this world in which Rachel and Logan live. They take many weeks to travel with their crew through the Wasteland, and I found it easy to forget that this story actually takes place in the future. They travel by foot, wagon and horseback. They fight with swords and bows and arrows. And, the crazy cool thing is, during down times, Logan is playing with wires and batteries as he tries to revise and perfect Rowansmark's device that calls the Cursed One. It's like the past mixing with the present.

The Rachel we met in the first book always was very serious. But, she had some lighter moments, and those usually involved Logan. In Deception, they've made their feelings known, so there's no hiding that. But, with all Rachel has lost and with the truly intense and burning fury she feels toward the Commander since hers and Logan's losses are directly thanks to him, she becomes incredibly consumed with her yearning for revenge. 

The vengeful Rachel was very frustrating. She shut everyone out, including the love of her life. She was so focused on her anger and her desire to exact brutal revenge on the Commander, that she lost sight of what was really important. I didn't like this version of Rachel nearly as much. She was still a fierce warrior and totally brave, but she also made me mad every time she had a chance to open up to Logan, and she didn't take it. 

Logan was infinitely patient with Rachel. He was dealing with so much already - to have to deal with his moody girlfriend was something he didn't need. But, he handled her with care and love, and I fell in love with him even more because of it. 

Outside of Rachel's and Logan's relationship drama, we spent the entire book trying to figure out who the mole in the group was. The horrible things that this person did to the other members of the group were absolutely shocking and horrific. I was so angry that it kept happening to these poor people who had been through so much already. I couldn't wait for them to find out who it was so that they could absolutely flay that person. 

We do find out who it is by the end, and it did keep me guessing, which I loved. The ending was explosive and action packed. While the middle of the book tended to drag a bit with the lack of action and the broody Rachel stomping about all over the place, the ending was one exciting event after the other. There were some wildly unexpected revelations, a battle, a kidnapping - I didn't want it to end. But, all the stuff at the end most definitely made me eager for the final book in the series.  

REVIEW: Defiance (Defiance #1)

Defiance (Defiance #1), by C.J. Redwine
Published August 28, 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Format: paperback, purchased
Genre: young adult dystopian/postapocalyptic
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating: 5 STARS

(From Goodreads) While the other girls in the walled city-state of Baalboden learn to sew and dance, Rachel Adams learns to track and hunt. While they bend like reeds to the will of their male Protectors, she uses hers for sparring practice.

When Rachel's father fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the city's brutal Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector: her father's apprentice, Logan—the boy she declared her love to and who turned her down two years before. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father's survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can't be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

It's been awhile since I read a good dystopian book. I had an open spot in my review schedule for me to read whatever I wanted. I had too many choices, though! You know the feeling - you stand in front of your bookshelf looking at all the books you own but haven't read yet, and you realize it's impossible to pick one. That was me. I decided it would come down to cover design, which brought me to Defiance. The cover is gorgeous, right? As it turns out, I can judge a book by it's cover. The cover is amazing... the book is amazing. 

Defiance takes place sometime in the future. Big business, in their search for more natural resources, drilled down so deep into the Earth's surface, they awakened several dragon-like beasts that rose up and destroyed most of the population and sent the world back into the dark ages. All but one of the beasts was destroyed by a team of nine soldiers, who later went on to each form their own city-state. The city of Baalboden is lead by the ruthless Commander who keeps the women illiterate and subservient to their "protectors" and then to their husbands. 

Rachel's father secretly raised her to be more than that, but when he goes missing and is declared dead, she is given to her father's apprentice, Logan. She loves/hates him, so it's a difficult situation to now have to answer to him. Except that pairing up with Logan ends up being the best thing for both of them since he doesn't believe Rachel's father is dead either. Through a very circuitous route, both Rachel and Logan escape Baalboden's wall in search of her father. What they find is something far worse and with far reaching implications. 

I haven't read a book this exciting in a really long time. I was literally hooked from the very first page. The action throughout the entire book was off the charts. There were battles and fighting and secret plots - it was so awesome! I loved the addition of the beast, or "The Cursed One." to the story too. It added a fantasy type element to the book that was unique and exciting. You never knew when the beast would pop up and start destroying stuff. It made it seem like bad guys were always right around the corner.

And, I guess they really were. The Commander was one of the worst villains I've experienced. It appears that the next city-state over is also an evil empire. And, then there's The Cursed One. Not to mention the random trackers and highwaymen that Rachel and Logan encounter in the Wasteland. Friends are hard to come by in this book. And if you have friends, chances are, you'll lose them at some point. 

There are deaths in Defiance, and they are not pretty. Sometimes in YA books, authors paint issues like violent death with a weak brush, but not C.J. Redwine. Oh no - she faces death head on and doesn't pull any punches. It's there, it's scary and violent, and it's very necessary to the story. I loved that about Defiance. 

I can't talk about Defiance without talking about the romance. So often in post-apocalyptic books, the romance (if there even is any) takes a back seat to the larger plot. This isn't the case in Defiance. It's clear from the start that Rachel's and Logan's relationship is going to play a very important role. At first, Rachel was furious with Logan because of something that happened two years earlier. But, as they start losing the people they care about, they realize that they are all each other has. And, that's not a bad thing. 

Logan is smart, logical, and brave. He's a born leader and it doesn't take him long to realize that he's desperately in love with Rachel. Logan is a sexy nerd, and I love that about him. Rachel is the one the book's title talks about. She is the embodiment of defiant. she is nothing like the other girls in her city-state, and she embraces that fact. When things go to hell, revenge becomes her driving force. Guilt and remorse and fury spur her to action, but those feelings slowly eat away at the lively girl she once was and leave a hardened shell. Logan's love is the only anchor she has to her humanity. That was hard to read. I loved Rachel the way she was in the beginning, but the Rachel at the end was tough to love. 

As you read, you find out that there is so much more going on than what meets the eye. Those secrets coupled with the explosive and exciting ending spurred me on to the second book in the series immediately. It's clear there's so much more story to tell yet, and I can't wait to experience it all.