Tour Stop! Review of Defy by Raine Thomas (Firstborn #1)

Title: Defy

Author: Raine Thomas
Publication date: April 30th 2012
Publisher: Iambe Books
Age group: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Cover rating: 3/5
Content rating: 4/5
Buy: Amazon

Description via 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.

My thoughts:
Just last week, I read and reviewed Becoming, the first book in this author's other series. I adored it. I loved the characters, the plot, the writing and the world. So, naturally, I was very excited to get started on Defy. This book is set in the same world as the Daughters of Saraquel series but it's a separate series. There was a glossary at the start of the book to get readers up to speed on the world and the terms used within it. I really enjoyed the start of this new series and I'm glad I got the chance to read it!

Defy is about a 17 year old girl named Tate and her life which is becoming increasingly complicated and dangerous! I actually found Tate's name a bit confusing at the start (I've only seen it on boys before) but that's a tiny complaint really. I was drawn into this book from the start and just had to find out more about the characters and what was going to happen to them. I find the whole Estilorian world absolutely fascinating and it's a pleasure to read about it and get lost in it.

This whole book was incredibly intense and had me eager for more. I had to set aside a few hours in a row so I could just sit and devour this whole book in one sitting! I really love the writing style. It's simple yet effective. I loved being dragged along on Tate's journey and meeting so many intriguing and entertaining characters throughout it. This book definitely wasn't predictable and there were boring points for me. I just liked it all!

That said, I'd probably recommend reading the Daughters of Saraquel series first. You can read the Firstborn series first and it's fine that way but I genuinely think the experience would be better if you already knew the world and knew of the characters. It just makes it more exciting that way and you don't have to try to adjust yourself to the world and learn about the Estilorians for the first time. Overall, it was an enjoyable book and I'm sure it'll be an enjoyable series.

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