Review: Defy by Sara B. Larson

Title: Defy

Author: Sara B. Larson
Publisher: Scholastic Press (January 7, 2014)
Source: Library

From Goodreads:

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?

I was super excited to start reading Defy by Sara B. Larson. The cover and synopsis gave me a Graceling feel, and since Graceling is one of my favorite books, I couldn't wait to read it. 

Let's start with the cover. I'd describe this cover as deadly elegant. My dog on the other hand, would describe it as deadly delicious. 

*sigh*

Lucky for me, my dog left the rest of the book for me to read. 

I absolutely loved the beginning. Sucked me into the story immediately with intriguing characters and great world building. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Alexa and her twin brother, Marcel. Maybe it's because I have so many siblings, but I always appreciate reading well-done sibling relationships in YA, especially since they are often ignored or sidestepped. I just wish there was more time to flesh out their relationship further. I would have enjoyed reading that. 

However, as you can guess by the synopsis, the book isn't about siblings. It's about a warrior girl and her love triangle. *wink* For me, the first third of the book was more compelling than the rest, but that's not to say it got boring. The love triangle didn't really get started until about that far into the book, and personally, I found the other aspects of the story fascinated me more. Maybe it's because I wasn't in a romance mood or maybe because it's tough to do a love triangle well within the span of one book, but I felt the love aspect was lacking a little bit. I really like a nice, slow build-up, and while that's how it started, at a certain point, the love sky-rocketed and became intense quickly. Again, not a bad thing. Just not my personal preference for this story. 

Now, don't take that wrong and think I didn't enjoy the end of the book. I absolutely did. 

Wanna know why? 

The romance wasn't everything. 

There was still a cool plot with danger, action, and thrills happening. They still had to defeat the bad guys with minimal bloodshed and make it to the other side. The readers were spectator to an interesting world with sorcerors, warriors, kings and princes, murder, deception, and courage. What more could you want?

Overall, I recommend Defy by Sara B. Larson to fans of action, adventure, and romance. Seriously, what more could you ask for in a book?

Final thoughts: Borrow or buy. If you have a dog like mine, save yourself the trip to the library and just buy it, because you'll have to pay for it anyway when the dog devours it.