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amibunk's review against another edition
3.0
I am pleased to report that the fourth installment of the Strange Angels series is a great improvement over the disappointing third book. While I did not like it as much as book one or two, I enjoyed watching Dru kick vampiric butt all throughout the novel. Sadly, I must now wait until November to read the next book in the series. When will I ever learn to start a series only after all installments are published? Probably never.
andreana_k's review against another edition
4.0
I love this series more and more with each book. And the stories are consistent plot wise, it's how a series should be. Unlike The Wolves of Mercy Fall's or the Fallen series where the plots and directions change dramatically with each additional book.
_camk_'s review against another edition
3.0
I was debating whether to read this book or not because I was quite disappointed with the third one but Defiance was much better.
It was nice to have Graves out of it for a while and see the rest of Schola for a change and Dru's relationship get more complicated with Christophe.
It was nice to have Graves out of it for a while and see the rest of Schola for a change and Dru's relationship get more complicated with Christophe.
penandpencil's review against another edition
3.0
Lots of things I like about this series-Dru in particular is a great character who (literally) kicks ass. Love how she has been set up to have so much power that she has no idea what to do with-interesting situation. I liked seeing her take charge in the end, even if she might have been manipulated into doing so. The books are getting better as the series progresses, which is great to see.
There are lot of things that bug me about this series though. After four books, Christophe-who I am assuming will be the main love interest in the end-is still full out creepy and continues to hide a lot from Dru. I don’t really understand what she would even see in him, apart from hormones and ‘because he’s there’. The age/experience issue bothers me as well, he is a million years old and she is 16 :/
Another thing I have noticed about this series as a whole, some of the language just seems unpolished and is not used as effectively as it could be. I think St. Crow is trying something unique in terms of how the story unfolds, but she seems to have a hard time getting to the point and conveying precise meaning. A lot of the times I have to re-read just to understand the point.
There are lot of things that bug me about this series though. After four books, Christophe-who I am assuming will be the main love interest in the end-is still full out creepy and continues to hide a lot from Dru. I don’t really understand what she would even see in him, apart from hormones and ‘because he’s there’. The age/experience issue bothers me as well, he is a million years old and she is 16 :/
Another thing I have noticed about this series as a whole, some of the language just seems unpolished and is not used as effectively as it could be. I think St. Crow is trying something unique in terms of how the story unfolds, but she seems to have a hard time getting to the point and conveying precise meaning. A lot of the times I have to re-read just to understand the point.
angela_iseli's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
ellencamino's review against another edition
4.0
It weird, i always, ALWAYS, forget how much i enjoy these books, I put off reading them but when i finally do i can hardly put them down and Defiance was no different. The only thing that bugs me about these books is that in every one Dru miss judges or mistrusts Christophe unfairly which leads to her either pushing him away or running off and getting in some sort of deadly danger or battle. I wish she would just trust him i mean really, as she points out, he has never let her down. ever. That said im looking forward to Reckoning and more Dru antics and hopefully Dru will through a bit of trust Chris' way and they run off into the sunset....to fight some sort of evil that Sergej is undoubtedly behind ;)
maddycat8's review against another edition
3.0
The Strange Angels series, to me, are good books. I love the plot, the characters, but the writing is terrible. It just seems so sloppy and written as if in a hurry. Even though the book is very slow and only happens within a few days span. Explain that. Although the writing irritates me to know end, and oh man, how many times will she tell us that her moms necklace is hot or cold on her neck, or that she wishes she would blossom already? Ugh. Ok enough rants lets get to the good parts.
This book happens a few weeks after the last book left off. We begin with Dru in a club trying to lure the 'Suckers' out, (the beginning confused me slightly at first, a little more explanation would have been nice). Dru and gang have been doing this for a while, this way they can kill them, with Dru being the bait. There is action right off the bat when her escape routes quickly get blocked by the suckers so she has to improvise. Shortly after she gets out of there we head back to the Schorla, we are quickly reintroduced to the characters and the going-ons around the school. This is basically all that happens, Dru goes and hangs with Nat and the Laup-garu and has some good, intimate moments with Christophe (Yay!). Things exciting happen with Ash, all leading up to finding the infamous Graves that she can't stop talking about. Pretty much the same game, just different book. There were some good redeeming moments in the book, When Dru is in action, she stands up for herself and puts up a good fight, which I find very likable in a heroin. I thought the moments between her and Christophe were great, much better than her and Graves. Chris is just much more exciting, maybe more frustrating but he has all good intentions behind them. Nathalie has become one of my favorite characters as well, she seems very down to earth but knows how to stand up for herself and can kick-ass all in one. Well this about sums up the book. Heres to hoping the writing gets better with less repetition in it (highly doubted). But I am excited to find out how it all ends in the series.
This book happens a few weeks after the last book left off. We begin with Dru in a club trying to lure the 'Suckers' out, (the beginning confused me slightly at first, a little more explanation would have been nice). Dru and gang have been doing this for a while, this way they can kill them, with Dru being the bait. There is action right off the bat when her escape routes quickly get blocked by the suckers so she has to improvise. Shortly after she gets out of there we head back to the Schorla, we are quickly reintroduced to the characters and the going-ons around the school. This is basically all that happens, Dru goes and hangs with Nat and the Laup-garu and has some good, intimate moments with Christophe (Yay!). Things exciting happen with Ash, all leading up to finding the infamous Graves that she can't stop talking about. Pretty much the same game, just different book. There were some good redeeming moments in the book, When Dru is in action, she stands up for herself and puts up a good fight, which I find very likable in a heroin. I thought the moments between her and Christophe were great, much better than her and Graves. Chris is just much more exciting, maybe more frustrating but he has all good intentions behind them. Nathalie has become one of my favorite characters as well, she seems very down to earth but knows how to stand up for herself and can kick-ass all in one. Well this about sums up the book. Heres to hoping the writing gets better with less repetition in it (highly doubted). But I am excited to find out how it all ends in the series.
paradoxically's review against another edition
2.0
Something about this book grated on my nerves. Part of it, perhaps, is the fact that I was in a somewhat foul mood when I started reading Defiance, the other part... well. Something about Dru made me want to smack her head and tell her to get over herself. I don't expect her to be a doormat (I definitely don't want that to happen, in fact), but the way she just runs full tilt at things without even pausing a brief moment to consider that, hey, maybe she should think about it a little more--argh. Argh.
And it's somewhat pissing me off that she thinks so much about the status of her relationship with Graves and Christophe when she has more important things on her mind. And, I'm sorry Dru, but the fact that you think that you should be let loose upon the world when you've been training for what? A month? Is laughable at best. It just makes me think that you're whining and I'm trying hard to cut you some slack considering that your best friend was kidnapped and all, but ugh, I hate reading it.
On a more positive note, I still really like Ash. I think of him like this giant puppy of doom and I always sort of want to pat him. Even though he's a person, underneath all the fur and growlyness. That and we don't actually see much of him, really. ...Well, I like him anyway.
I feel like Dru was a giant idiot in this book, and it's not a pleasant feeling. The plot somewhat plods along before picking up at the end of the book, but by then it was more of a feeling of finally than anything else. While I'm glad to read the action and see Dru try her best, at this point I was mostly just tired. And then the ending was a cliffhanger, of course. Lovely.
I just did not like Defiance all that much. I was bored. I was mad. I was annoyed. I wanted to kick Dru in the head. I wanted Cristophe to stop being so damned inscrutable. I wanted Graves to... I have no idea. But at the point where we met Graves again, I just didn't care.
Giving this book 2 stars. I actually disliked it enough that I wavered between 1 and 2, but considering that I liked the series well enough before... well, bumped up to 2.
And it's somewhat pissing me off that she thinks so much about the status of her relationship with Graves and Christophe when she has more important things on her mind. And, I'm sorry Dru, but the fact that you think that you should be let loose upon the world when you've been training for what? A month? Is laughable at best. It just makes me think that you're whining and I'm trying hard to cut you some slack considering that your best friend was kidnapped and all, but ugh, I hate reading it.
On a more positive note, I still really like Ash. I think of him like this giant puppy of doom and I always sort of want to pat him. Even though he's a person, underneath all the fur and growlyness. That and we don't actually see much of him, really. ...Well, I like him anyway.
I feel like Dru was a giant idiot in this book, and it's not a pleasant feeling. The plot somewhat plods along before picking up at the end of the book, but by then it was more of a feeling of finally than anything else. While I'm glad to read the action and see Dru try her best, at this point I was mostly just tired. And then the ending was a cliffhanger, of course. Lovely.
I just did not like Defiance all that much. I was bored. I was mad. I was annoyed. I wanted to kick Dru in the head. I wanted Cristophe to stop being so damned inscrutable. I wanted Graves to... I have no idea. But at the point where we met Graves again, I just didn't care.
Giving this book 2 stars. I actually disliked it enough that I wavered between 1 and 2, but considering that I liked the series well enough before... well, bumped up to 2.
lindaunconventionalbookworms's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book a lot, there was a lot of action, but really, can't Dru ever catch a break? She runs from one emergency to another, and feels trapped and unsafe everywhere. The fact that Christophe didn't tell her about all the attempts on her life helped her not being able to even trust him later.
I was very happy that she and Nat had become such good friends, and that the wulfen have accepted her fully. And it was great when she saved Ash! She's a lot more powerful than she thought she was, and she is able to deal with a lot of misfortune at the same time.
When she started blooming at the worst time possible, I felt really sorry for her, and it was such a twist to see Anna captured with Graves.
Graves and Dru work really well as a team, and they understand each other fully without need for words. I look forward to the next book, wondering what the order will do when she doesn't come back. She took a load of money from Augies place, and I'm sure the three of them with Ash will be able to stay off the grid for a long time.
The main reason why this book didn't get five stars from me is that I really wish she'd catch a small break. Is that too much to ask for?
Christophe also acted really weird! OK, so he's in love with her, but come on, she's so young, and he trained her mother! And the fact that he's withholding information from her really doesn't help at all.
Leon really surprised me, I thought he was on her side, and I was disappointed that there were actually more traitors left at the schola.
I was very happy that she and Nat had become such good friends, and that the wulfen have accepted her fully. And it was great when she saved Ash! She's a lot more powerful than she thought she was, and she is able to deal with a lot of misfortune at the same time.
When she started blooming at the worst time possible, I felt really sorry for her, and it was such a twist to see Anna captured with Graves.
Graves and Dru work really well as a team, and they understand each other fully without need for words. I look forward to the next book, wondering what the order will do when she doesn't come back. She took a load of money from Augies place, and I'm sure the three of them with Ash will be able to stay off the grid for a long time.
The main reason why this book didn't get five stars from me is that I really wish she'd catch a small break. Is that too much to ask for?
Christophe also acted really weird! OK, so he's in love with her, but come on, she's so young, and he trained her mother! And the fact that he's withholding information from her really doesn't help at all.
Leon really surprised me, I thought he was on her side, and I was disappointed that there were actually more traitors left at the schola.