Defiance Review

Defiance by Lili St. Crow

4.5 Stars

Synopsis:  Now that sixteen-year-old Dru’s worst fears have come true, she’ll have to go on a suicidal rescue mission to bring her best friend back in one piece. That is, if she can put all of Christophe’s training to good use, defeat her mother’s traitor once and for all, and manage to survive another day...

Review:  I loved this one as much as the first.  It was packed with twists, surprises, betrayals, new enemies, old enemies, heart ache, a teensy bit of lovin’, new friends, and so much more.  Nothing dragged in this installment of Strange Angels.  My only complaint is that sometimes I get confused.  Maybe I’m the only one, but I have to re-read certain scenes to understand what is going on.  This is when first person becomes a problem.  Dru tends to leave out a few details and her inner dialogue can go on for too long.    

Dru is gaining back her confidence and coming into her own at last.  She is making her own decisions and wisely weighing the consequences before jumping into action.  Once she blooms, she will be a formidable opponent.  

She is finally realizing she may be more torn between Graves and Christophe than she thought.  Here’s what I think, Graves is more like a brother to her.  There isn’t any real chemistry between the two of them.  I find any sort of romance forced, not by St. Crow, but by Graves and Dru, but mostly Dru.  I wonder if she knows this, but thinks the only way to keep Graves is to reciprocate his feelings.  Although his feelings are a bit ambiguous as well.  The chemistry between Christophe and Dru is a different story.  This is who I’m rooting for.  It may be because I have a thing for the dangerous, bad boy.  But seriously, there is fire between these two, not just a spark.  Christophe makes Dru hot.  Literally.  She flushes and warms up whenever he’s around.  And their private moments are a heck of a lot better than the ones she shares with Graves.  The major problem is that she doesn’t trust Christophe like she trusts Graves.  

This book makes up for the fact that Betrayals and Jealousy dragged a bit.  It is such a dark, fun story.  I cannot wait for Reckoning to hit bookshelves.

--monica