Pages: 285
Publication Date: April 30th 2012 by Iambe Books
Age Group: YA
Source: Author for Blog Tour
Series: Firstborn trilogy #1
Challenge(s): Ebook challenge, Young adult reading challenge, 150+ reading challenge, ABC, fantasy,
Buy this Book: Amazon
Summary(from Goodreads):
Seventeen-year-old Tate is about to make her parents’ dreams come true. Unfortunately for her, their dreams foretell her death.Eager to explore more of the Estilorian plane and prove her abilities, Tate goes against her parents’ wishes and leaves the area of protection surrounding her home. Her choice puts her on a deadly path…one that leaves her alone, severely injured and battling for her life.
Her possible savior arrives in the form of Zachariah, a male who has removed himself from Estilorian society for more than fifty years. Fighting an unexpected connection to Tate, he must decide whether saving her life is worth destroying his.
As Tate struggles to find a way home, she ends up drawn into a dark Mercesti plot involving multiple murders and a powerful ancient artifact. With the unpredictable Zachariah as her only source for aid, she’ll soon find out if her abilities are strong enough to help her defy her Fate.
First of all, I have to say that I really love this cover! It grabbed my attention immediately. And the coolest part about it is that I totally pictured her as Tate the whole time. And I know that the whole point of having a cover model is to have her look like the character, but they don’t always match up with the image I create in my head. But this one did- it was dead on. The cover just captures her essence really well.
Raine Thomas is like a master world builder. She made the coolest creatures and world. I loved learning all about it. But the one mistake I made was that I didn’t read the glossary before I started reading the book. As a result, I was kind of confused. There are so many new terms for the kinds of people and things that they all became kind of jumbled up for me for a while. But the good news is that this has such an easy fix. Don’t be overeager like me- take the time to read the glossary of terms at the start of the book. It helps to clear everything up! Plus it is kind of like a cool little history lesson.
I really loved seeing the bond that Tate and Tiege( her twin brother) share. It was really touching to watch him go to such great lengths for her. And Tate, well she is a bit stubborn. But then again she is a teenager, and like ALL teens she thinks she knows everything. (Hey, it happens to the best of us- we have all been there). This can get her into trouble sometimes, but she is savvy and that is what I loved most about her. She uses her head, and I really appreciated that we got to see her thought process. For example, I loved her checklist of things to do in order of importance when she was first leaving the cave.
One thing I could not picture, no matter how hard I tried, was seeing everyone appearing as the same age. Everyone looked like they were 17-19, which is awesome but also a really strange concept to me. As I was reading, even though I knew all the adults and elders appeared like a teenager, I still pictured them as middle aged. It is just a hard habit to break. That would be really hard for me to give authority figured the respect they deserve if they looked to be my age. I would see everyone as my peer, which I guess in a way is very equalizing and good. But still a little strange. Don’t get me wrong though, I would love to not age anymore. I would be more than happy to be frozen at 24 forever 🙂
Defy seems to be the start of a really promising series. I can’t wait to see what Raine has in store for us next. I have her Daughters of Saraqael trilogy, which I recently learned is the sister/earlier generation series to this one (the firstborn trilogy) and now that I have gotten a taste of this awesome world, I need more! I think I will be bumping up the Daughters of Saraqael trilogy on my TBR list!
 |
| 3.5/5 Gavels About this author
Residing in Orlando, Florida, Raine is a hopeless romantic with a background in the fields of mental health and wedding planning…two areas that intersect far more than one would think. Her years working with children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral challenges inspired her to create young protagonists who overcome their own conflicts. When she isn’t writing or glued to e-mail or social networking sites, Raine can usually be found vacationing with her husband and daughter on one of Florida’s beautiful beaches or crossing the border to visit with her Canadian friends and relatives. |
Tour Grand Prize:
There is only one day left to enter the tour wide giveaway. Here is what you can win!
Signed paperbacks of Defy,Becoming, Central, and Foretold. Custom hair decoration valued at $100, and swag!
If you enjoyed this post, please Subscribe to Book Briefs in a reader
Raine Thomas
Thanks so much for being a part of the DEFY launch tour, Michelle, and for taking the time to read and review the book!