Deliverance by C.J. Redwine

C.J. Redwine delivers a fantastic conclusion to her debut series. Deliverance is the third and final book of this trilogy and while I really enjoyed the first book, I thought the sequel fell a little short because of repetition and lack of plot. However, the author redeemed herself with this last book because, while I wasn't really sure where she was leading us with this story, I was sad, surprised and shocked throughout the whole book.

This story is as much about the ability to overcome oppression as it is about the fragility of the human spirit. Rachel and Logan have been fighting against the Commander of the now fallen city-state, Baalboden, for what seems like forever. Torn apart again, they each find themselves in dark situations where they have to push through in order to fight against their enemies, and hopefully find peace for their friends and loved ones. Rachel is taken hostage by Rowansmark trackers and forced to travel toward Rowansmark to face imprisonment and possible death. The trackers hope that Logan will do anything to save Rachel including bringing back the piece of Rowansmark technology that was stolen by the Commander, via Rachel's father. However, before saving Rachel, Logan embarks on a different quest to find allies to bring to Rowansmark's gates in order to fight their crazy leader that is obsessed with pain atonement. Trusting allies isn't easy for Logan, especially when he must learn to trust the most unlikely person. One of his new allies really makes you hate the expression, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The writing doesn't get too touchy or emotional because Logan and Rachel are separated for most of the book. Personally, I think the separation allowed the characters to really evaluate their feelings and acknowledge what they have together is the real deal. I love these two as a couple and I think the author made the right choice in not letting the romance overpower the story. While I love a good love story, this book was primarily about fighting for freedom in a dystopian world, and the author achieved a good balance between the action and the romance.

C.J. Redwine proved in the previous books that she wasn't afraid to kill off important characters, even characters that were very close to the main characters, like a certain mentor or a very good friend. Again, in this book, many notable characters died fighting, even some that I truly believed would make it to the end. Obviously, don't get too attached to any character. On the other hand, we are also introduced to many new characters, some that are quite important in the continuation of the story.

While I'm sad to see this series end, I think C.J. Redwine made the right choice writing this series in only three parts. I don't think there's any room for more books and she leaves me satisfied with this ending. This last book answers all the questions that were left unanswered in the previous ones. Redwine created a wonderful dystopian world, and while the apocalypse is a little far fetched with its dragon like creatures that destroyed pretty much every city, I enjoyed seeing how human nature could create such hatefulleaders and the protagonists that were able to stand up to their evil. Deliverance  is the epic conclusion to a wonderful series that I really hope many of you will take the time to enjoy.

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by Tynga at Monday, December 29, 2014

 Balzer amp; Bray, C.J. Redwine, Defiance, Dystopian, Harper Collins, Purchased, Review, young adult  1 Person left their mark

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Deception by C.J. Redwine

I was really impressed by the first book of this series, DEFIANCE, when I read it a few years back. I loved the dark dystopian world the author created and the two main characters really held the story together. Unfortunately, I expected a little too much out of this sequel. It left me wanting more action and more romance.

I loved the two main characters, Rachel and Logan, in this novel as much as I did the first time around. A great pair, they make an exceptional team in leading the Baalboden survivors, especially for being so young. Normally, I don't like it when authors continuously switch back and forth between two point of views, but in this case, it does make sense because they're not always together, and they don't always fight the same mental battles. Rachel is plagued by the blood she shed, when she killed a man who was simply following orders from a twisted leader to keep his wife safe. She also blames herself for the death of Oliver, her surrogate grand-father. As for Logan, at nineteen years old, he's tasked in leading a group of people who never accepted him into their society in the first place, until he stood up to their autocratic leader, Commander Chase.

Right from the beginning of the novel, the survivors of the ravaged city-state Baalboden feel defeated, but together Rachel and Logan encourage them into fleeing Commander Chase, in order to keep their freedom. For a good part of the novel, not a whole lot happens as the 100 plus group of survivors flee from Commander Chase and his army. This is the part of the novel I really had a hard time getting through because they walk (and walk) for the majority of the novel. We travel with them into the Wastelands towards another city-state, always mindful of a possible attack from the Commander's army or from the Cursed One, the giant reptilian beast that destroyed their city in the first place. What they didn't expect is an attack from within the group. When people in the group start to die, they soon realize they're travelling with a traitor. A traitor that always seems one step ahead of them.

Honestly the last 60 pages or so are actually the best part of the book. The action picks up and the author throws us a nice twist. I really wasn't expecting what we learn about Logan and this changes the whole story around. We finally have some answers for so many events and actions, and just as things were about to get interesting, the book ends on a cliffhanger. I think DECEPTION does set up the last book of the trilogy rather well, but still, it feels like this book was just filler. I had high hopes for this trilogy and I'm really hoping the last book doesn't let me down.

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by Tynga at Monday, December 01, 2014

 Balzer amp; Bray, C.J. Redwine, Defiance, Dystopian, Harper Collins, Purchased, Review, young adult  Leave your mark

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PSC: Guest Post & Giveaway with C.J. Redwine

I couldn’t wait for this week because in today’s guest post, we are featuring C.J. Redwine. This debut YA author has already caught the attention of many readers, and her book isn’t officially out yet! DEFIANCE hits the shelves tomorrow, but in the mean time, you can read C.J.’s personal summer camp experience and check out the giveaway!

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In my junior year of high school, some men in suits came to our school and announced that they would be choosing one boy and one girl to attend a special Leadership Camp. They were looking for tomorrow’s leaders and thinkers—responsible kids who got good grades and participated in extracurricular activities that showcased their leadership potential… I know, I know. Sounds soooo exciting.

I was kind of one of those kids. I got straight A’s, was in the sort of extracurricular activities that would make me look well-rounded on my college applications, and played the part of a responsible girl focused on her future.

I was also an incurable klutz with a penchant for doing the absolute most ridiculous, embarrassing thing possible in any given situation. Want a girl who will accidentally slide down the icy hill at winter camp and take out the preacher at the bottom? Or a girl who will enter an egg toss only to catch one full in the face? Or a girl who will be mid-swallow with a mouthful of burrito when you crack a joke, thus forcing her to either coat her lungs in Mexican goodness or send said burrito flying out her nostrils like twin bean-fueled missiles?

I’m it, baby. I’m. It.

Fortunately, the interviewers for Leadership Camp didn’t know that. All they had to go on were my stellar grades, busy extracurricular activities, and obvious lack of burrito missiles flying out of my nose during my interview. Before I knew it, I’d been chosen to attend Leadership Camp with a bunch of other hand-picked kids from around the county.

Awesome, right?

Wrong.

I don’t need to go into detail on the entire week I spent enduring Leadership Camp. I can sum up seven days just by telling you about one.

12:00 noon: I boarded a bus with about thirty other kids, and we set out for Leadership Camp. Our bus driver, Henry (May a pack of rabid squirrels take an unholy interest in his face) Johnson, told us it would take an hour and a half to get there. An hour and a half crammed into an un-air conditioned bus in the hot California summer with a slew of strangers wasn’t my idea of a good time, but I could endure it. We all could.

1:30: Contrary to Henry (May his toes forever stub themselves against his dresser) Johnson’s assertion, we didn’t pull up into Leadership Camp an hour and a half after we left. In fact, we were several miles in the wrong direction. And by several, I mean eighty. And by wrong direction, I mean Holy Buy A Freaking Compass Already, Henry.

2:00: Despite the vocal protests of many of the bus’s passengers, Henry (May a ravenous goat discover his shoes) Johnson refused to stop and look at a map. Or ask for directions. Or acknowledge that we all knew Leadership Camp was due south and the road signs clearly indicated we were making a run for the Oregon border.

3:00: Perhaps fearing a mutiny, or perhaps wearying of his passengers incessant complaining, Henry (May he be the first permanent resident on planet Mars) Johnson finally turned the bus around, stopped at a gas station, and bought a map. One wonders why he didn’t have a map in the first place. Also, one wonders why he still had a job driving kids anywhere. Anywhere at all.

7:30: Henry (May he be cursed to wear velour forever) Johnson deposited us at Leadership Camp and drove away. We hadn’t eaten since noon. We were STARVING. Okay, no. Kids in Africa were starving. But we were hungrier than we appreciated. The camp’s director greeted us, told us dinner was served at 5:30 and therefore we’d missed it, but assured us that the cook (May she fall into a vat of mayonnaise) had left some food out for us.

7:40: We munched on carrot sticks.

7:45: The carrot sticks were gone. So was evidence of any other food. The cook (May she discover a skunk in her bathtub) had left us carrot sticks and carrot sticks alone.

7:50: We headed off to our cabin assignments. I’d grown rather fond of the crew I’d spent time with on the bus, but was I rooming with any of them? No. No, I was not. I was rooming with seven other girls who hadn’t been cursed with Henry (May his nose fall off into his coffee) Johnson and who had all eaten far more than a handful of carrot sticks for dinner. I walked into the cabin to find them all seated around the floor in a circle, talking like old friends.

7:55: After awkwardly introducing myself and slugging my suitcase onto the only available bunk, I settled down into the only place left to sit—against the cabin’s thin wooden door. Nothing is quite as much fun as being the only stranger in a room full of girls who’ve already determined the social pecking order, but I gave it my best shot. I was charming. I was engaging. I was noticeably lacking in burrito shooting out my nose.

8:05: My mistake, I realize now, was twofold. One, I became too comfortable. Too willing to let my inner klutz loose. Two, I’d failed to properly latch the cabin door. Disaster struck just as I was happily joking with the girls about Henry (May he anger the Incredible Hulk) Johnson. Someone said something funny. My lack of natural coordination and inner balance came roaring to life. I threw my head back to laugh. The rest of my body said “Hey! What a good idea! Let’s follow the head!” My back hit the cabin door. It flew open. And I, dear reader, rolled right out the door, across the little porch, and straight down the hill until a tree kindly broke my fall.

8:10: No broken bones. No real damage at all, unless you count filthy jeans and mangled pride. The girls were at first concerned, and then amazed, and then delighted. Not because I’d amused them. No. Because right before I came in? When they were all sitting around on the floor having a conversation? They’d been discussing the group assignment handed out by the camp director while they were all enjoying a nice hot meal. That group assignment was to produce a skit on the last night of camp. They already had their idea. They just didn’t know which of them was best qualified to play the part of the geeky girl who dresses up like she’s a prom queen and then makes a fool of herself.

8:11: I got the part.

Leadership camp taught me several valuable lessons. One, don’t get in a bus if the driver is named Henry. Two, always carry back-up food with you. Three, if you laugh at yourself first, it takes the sting out of any embarrassing moment and invites others to enjoy it instead of to mock it. And four, always latch the cabin door.

Always.

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Here’s the scoop on  DEFIANCE, which hits the shelves tomorrow, August 28!

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

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.

Stéphanie and Lili’s review

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

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Harper Collins Canada is offering a copy of Defiance to (1) lucky winner!

To enter the giveaway, fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

Canada only

Ends Wednesday, August 5th, 2012
(like all of our Paranormal Summer Camp giveaways)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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C.J. Redwine loves stilettos, lemon bars, and any movie starring Johnny Depp. She lives in Nashville with her husband, four kids, two cats, and one long-suffering dog.

To learn more about C.J., visit her at:

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest 

 

 

 

 

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by Unknown at Monday, August 27, 2012

 C.J. Redwine, giveaway, Guest Post, Harper Collins, Paranormal Summer Camp  18 People left their mark

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Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Book Stats:

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia
Hardcover: 416 pages 
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release date: August 28, 2012

Series: Defiance #1

Source: Edelweiss

Reviewed by: Stéphanie and Lili

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

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.

Lili’s Thoughts

Baalboden is a walled in city that thrives under the command of Commander Chase and fears The Cursed One that resides underground in the Wasteland. Here, the women must be given a Protector at age sixteen. They cannot leave their home without said escort and when they turn seventeen, a man will court them and they will become a wife. Such a thing is necessary to the survival of a colony of people that do not leave the walls. One of the few people that is able to leave the walls is courier Jared Adams, Rachel’s father, and he never returned from his last mission…

DEFIANCE is a book that I had trouble putting down. It’s very easy to slip into the Baalboden dystopia because you truly feel for the characters. Rachel is a strong heroine. At such a young age, she does her own thing and will not allow herself to behave and look to men to save her. Jared raised her with the knowledge of self-defense and instructions that she can always be independent. With her fiery red hair, skin-tight pants instead of skirts, and billowing black cloak, she is a force to be reckoned with. (Just look at that amazing cover and you’ll see how kickass Rachel’s character truly is).

Logan McEntire sees too much of his mother in Rachel. When he was a young boy, his mother was lashed to death for breaking the law and wandering into the market without a Protector. He simply cannot let Rachel meet the same end. A brilliant inventor and big-hearted protector, Logan cannot allow Rachel to know his true feelings for her because Jared was so willing to help him after his mother’s death and he didn’t want to bite the hand that fed him. Thus, he gently let her down when she once admitted to being in love with him. Their relationship had never been the same, but Logan will stop at nothing to protect her now that she is in his custody. He cannot fail, especially because everyone expects him to.

Together, the two of them will take you on a survivalist’s journey of a lifetime, all while evil Commander Chase breathes down their neck. The Commander’s evil tendencies oozed off the pages and filled you with rage. While he is a man that nobody can respect, his characterization was spot-on and he is one villain that’ll make your shiver whenever he makes an appearance.

Redwine expertly created her characters and the world surrounding them, making their journey easy to follow and completely unforgettable. The romance was believable and you watched both characters slowly mend themselves before they realized that they are capable of loving each other, even with Jared’s disappearance.

A must read for any young adult reader, this is a debut to look forward to in 2012. With an ending that you’ll never see coming, you’ll practically be begging for the sequel. Redwine exploded onto the young adult writing scene with a story unlike any other.

Stéphanie’s Thoughts

We couldn't decide who was going to review this novel so Lili and I decided to do a double review. I'll try to keep this short since Lili has done such a great job with her review.

DEFIANCE is so much more than a story about defying the rules and regulations. It's about fighting for what you think is right and sticking by the ones you care about. It's also a tale of love and fighting through hardships, no matter what life throws at you. I think many teens (and adults) can related to the themes of the story, despite it being a dystopian novel.

At first, I thought it was a true dystopian novel, but as I read on, I realized that it does have one little (or big) paranormal element to it. The Cursed One, a fire breathing monster, has wreck havoc over the whole world by incinerating everything in its path. This has created the need for secure cities surrounded by huge walls, in order to protect the inhabitants. Baalboden is such a city but Rachel Adams does not feel protected nor safe within its walls. Her father, a courier, has gone missing outside the walls and has been pronounced dead. Since Rachel doesn't believe him dead she decides to go searching for him in the dangerous lands outside the wall.

Rachel is very different from the rest of the girls in Baalboden. First, her father has taught her the basics in self-defence. Second, she feels like she shouldn't be "claimed" by a man once she turns seventeen, like all the other girls in the city. Her independent streak and her common sense tells her that she should be able to care for herself and that she should be allowed to walk the streets of the city without a man guarding her every move. However, one man has caught her heart. She has been in love with Logan for years and now, since her father has not come back from his courier mission, he is pronounced her new guardian, or Protector.

The relationship between Rachel and Logan is one of the main reason I enjoyed this novel so much . Despite their rocky past, they more or less make a pact to join forces in order to find Rachel's father. The tension and the love/hate relationship between the two characters is really what has you coming back for more. Before their mission even begins, they’re separated from each other as the communist commander of the city jails Logan for treason. I truly believe this separation of the two characters is a genius, since, as a reader, it kept me that much more interested in the story. And of course, it had me anticipate their reunion. Who doesn't love a good reunion?!?

Despite really liking the story, I found it lacked a bit of information, which could have made it an even better book. What exactly is this Cursed One? Where did it come from? Why couldn’t the army find a way to defeat it? Why have the women of the city become puppets when they were once free and independent? Despite these questions, DEFIANCE is near the top of my list of favorite YA books of 2012.

DEFIANCE is a griping tale that keeps you entertained until the very end. For all the dystopian fans out there, this is one book that you'll want to stack your shelves with since, besides being a great story, lets admit, it does have a pretty cover. C.J. Redwine will definitively enthrall you with her writing since her characters are so realistic and fresh.

 

    

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by Unknown at Monday, August 27, 2012

 C.J. Redwine, Dragon, Dystopian, Review  1 Person left their mark

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