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kelbell182's review
5.0
So many of my favorite things in one book! A post-apocalyptic world with bikers and childhood love revisited. It sounds like there would be too much going on, but it all flows together well. I can’t wait to start the next book in the series.
(full review below)
Main Characters
Book Info
Length: 300 pages
Price: $2.99 on Amazon
Ongoing Series
Defiance (Defiance, #1)
Redemption (Defiance #2)
Salvation (Defiance, #3)
Temperance (Defiance, #4) -not yet released
Review
So many of my favorite things in one book! A post-apocalyptic world with bikers and childhood love revisited. It sounds like there would be too much going on, but it all flows together well. I can’t wait to start the next book in the series.
The world building was clever and not overly complex so it did not distract from the characters.
Then the Chaos hit and the lights went out, including the sun.
I’ve read reviews of people complaining about language or the way the bikers talk to women. It is a biker romance people! It is supposed to be gritty, the emotions are supposed to be raw, the men are supposed to hard, and the sex is supposed to be dirty. If you don’t like it, pick a new genre.
“You know what the biggest difference between the MC and the outside world? Out there, women think they want a wild man, and then they try to domesticate him. Make him their house cat. In here, you know not to bother. Never gonna civilize me, babe. Shouldn’t want to. Civilized men can’t make you come like that.”
I always enjoy reading about a strong alpha biker meeting his match in a woman. I can only read about a meek virgin a couple of times before I start wishing for a heroine with a backbone. Tru’s backbone is made of pure steel and Casper is not fool enough to try and break her.
“I don’t like rules, especially the unwritten ones that say I need to let myself be controlled by my man.”
leapfeetfirst's review
1.0
Ugh, this book read like the worst parts of a Kristen Ashley book mashed up with the plot of Sons of Anarchy. The marginally original setting- a post apocalyptic world did not add anything to the actual story.
whiskeyinthejar's review
3.0
Definitely suffered from first book in a series syndrome. The flow of the writing and story took me a long time to get used to (more than halfway through book). Also kind of felt like I missed the hero/heroine falling in love as they had known each other before and were hooking up for the second time. Look, I'm not even going to try and summarize this book, the plot is way to cray cray for me to sum up in a couple sentences. Suffice to say meteors hit earth, MCs run the show, and Susan B. Anthony would not be a happy camper.
I adore Stephanie Tyler's other military series (never read the Dire series) and at times I could feel her writing style trying to push through this convoluted mess. If this wasn't about the new trending topic of bikers I would have bet money this was one of her first written books.
The characters individually were interesting enough and even though the plot read like a crazy straw I still liked (not enthusiastically mind you) it.
If you can make it through the first half of the book you'll probably find it interesting. I did and I'm going to be waiting and buying the second book in the series to see what and where these characters end up in this wackadoodle world.
Luna and Rebel anyone? (Although I did raise an eyebrow to the line of Mathias (oops or Bishop?) checking up on Luna a lot towards the end of the book. Interesting.)
I adore Stephanie Tyler's other military series (never read the Dire series) and at times I could feel her writing style trying to push through this convoluted mess. If this wasn't about the new trending topic of bikers I would have bet money this was one of her first written books.
The characters individually were interesting enough and even though the plot read like a crazy straw I still liked (not enthusiastically mind you) it.
If you can make it through the first half of the book you'll probably find it interesting. I did and I'm going to be waiting and buying the second book in the series to see what and where these characters end up in this wackadoodle world.
Luna and Rebel anyone? (Although I did raise an eyebrow to the line of Mathias (oops or Bishop?) checking up on Luna a lot towards the end of the book. Interesting.)
miss_moonshine's review
3.0
Tru was living in a world in which women are seen as property to be kept control of, and a commodity with which to barter. She left that life behind when it grew too much for her, but when a catastrophic chain of events called Chaos hits the world she must rely on others for help eventually. When this reliance ends up with her back with the Defiance Motorcycle Club, an entire way of life is shaken to its core.
Defiance is a novel made up of a mixture of genres which made it sound really intriguing, and for the most part were sewn together very nicely. The nomadic lifestyle that often goes in hand-in-hand with being in an MC also lends itself to the dystopian aspect of the novel. The world building was really smoothly done and quite easy to follow, which is a big issue for me. The MC rules might be a little hard to attune to if you are new to the genre, but after having watched Sons of Anarchy and dabbled in books of the genre, it wasn’t a big shocker for me, and I think the male-oriented society presented a good background for the development of the characters, particularly Tru. I did find that some elements of the story seemed to run together towards the end – I didn’t really get the significance of Bishop and Mathias, although there certainly seemed to be emphasis placed on them. Apart from the fact that it was really the beginning of the end of Tru’s attempt at independence from the Defiance MC, the post-apocalyptic element wasn’t really played up to its potential, but there was a lot going on that had to be explained, so I hope that the Chaos is elaborated on in the next novel.
On top of all the other elements, there is a romance of sorts. Caspar, Tru’s one-time lover and apparent bastard son of the MC leader, has to decide whether to take Tru back into the fold and risk the wrath of the rival MC, or whether to send her off to the leader who tried to take her against her will. His choice is obviously coloured by the past, but he takes a fair perspective (unlike other members of the MC) and sticks to it. People are not afraid to challenge his decision to keep her there, both verbally and physically, but he and Tru continue to stand against them, first apart and then increasingly together. Caspar is definitely a product of the MC; he still expects Tru to listen to him and believe that he will do what is right for her, but he allows her to decide whether she can do that. He was really good as the love interest, in that he helped Tru to develop into the person that she wanted to be, but he was interesting in his own right as well.
Other than the two protagonists, the characterisation was a little sketchy. Admittedly this is probably because there is so much else going on in the novel, but an attachment to the characters would have made me more likely to invest in their individual storylines. Both Tru and Caspar are, or become, strong characters so it is obvious that the author can create three dimensional characters which the reader can come to care for – and I hope that this will happen in the next instalment, now that much of the world building has been done.
Although the tie to Sons of Anarchy was one of the things which initially drew me in, I will admit that it became overwhelming by the end of the book. There was a book documenting a change of way of thinking, a character named Abel, a female protagonist with heart issues – those are the main ones but there are myriad little things that just made me think of SoA whilst I was reading the book. There was a lot of similarity to Kristen Ashley novels as well, in which the characters quite often speak in grammatically incorrect sentences. Those are some of the only things to take inspiration for a biker romance from at the moment, but I think Stephanie Tyler could have used them more sparingly.
One thing about Defiance is that it is apparently New Adult. I haven’t read as many New Adult books as some, but they are fairly difficult to avoid these days, and also fairly easily to recognise by their writing style and tropes. Defiance didn’t strike me as a New Adult book at all. I understand that the characters are living in a world in which growing up quickly is a necessity, but there was nothing about the novel – not even the sex scenes, which are usually quite indicative – to suggest that it was NA. That in itself is a plus point for me, as I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the genre and feel on much safer ground with novels that are definitively adult or YA. However, its categorisation as NA feels mistaken to me. The sex scenes weren’t particularly explicit, but they lacked the awkwardness that I think often accompanies sex in NA; in fact the entirety of the novel had a distinctly adult feel to it, and I can’t help but wonder why it’s being described otherwise.
VERDICT
All in all, Defiance was a strong, but not perfect, beginning to the series. There were a lot of elements to the story which I think were generally entwined quite nicely, but I think it was a lot of pressure for the first novel in a series. I will definitely be reading the next novel to see what happens and I hope to see some of the characters from Defiance develop and become even stronger. If you are particularly looking for a NA atmosphere then Defiance might not be the novel for you, but otherwise I heartily recommend it as having something for pretty much everyone.
Defiance is a novel made up of a mixture of genres which made it sound really intriguing, and for the most part were sewn together very nicely. The nomadic lifestyle that often goes in hand-in-hand with being in an MC also lends itself to the dystopian aspect of the novel. The world building was really smoothly done and quite easy to follow, which is a big issue for me. The MC rules might be a little hard to attune to if you are new to the genre, but after having watched Sons of Anarchy and dabbled in books of the genre, it wasn’t a big shocker for me, and I think the male-oriented society presented a good background for the development of the characters, particularly Tru. I did find that some elements of the story seemed to run together towards the end – I didn’t really get the significance of Bishop and Mathias, although there certainly seemed to be emphasis placed on them. Apart from the fact that it was really the beginning of the end of Tru’s attempt at independence from the Defiance MC, the post-apocalyptic element wasn’t really played up to its potential, but there was a lot going on that had to be explained, so I hope that the Chaos is elaborated on in the next novel.
On top of all the other elements, there is a romance of sorts. Caspar, Tru’s one-time lover and apparent bastard son of the MC leader, has to decide whether to take Tru back into the fold and risk the wrath of the rival MC, or whether to send her off to the leader who tried to take her against her will. His choice is obviously coloured by the past, but he takes a fair perspective (unlike other members of the MC) and sticks to it. People are not afraid to challenge his decision to keep her there, both verbally and physically, but he and Tru continue to stand against them, first apart and then increasingly together. Caspar is definitely a product of the MC; he still expects Tru to listen to him and believe that he will do what is right for her, but he allows her to decide whether she can do that. He was really good as the love interest, in that he helped Tru to develop into the person that she wanted to be, but he was interesting in his own right as well.
Other than the two protagonists, the characterisation was a little sketchy. Admittedly this is probably because there is so much else going on in the novel, but an attachment to the characters would have made me more likely to invest in their individual storylines. Both Tru and Caspar are, or become, strong characters so it is obvious that the author can create three dimensional characters which the reader can come to care for – and I hope that this will happen in the next instalment, now that much of the world building has been done.
Although the tie to Sons of Anarchy was one of the things which initially drew me in, I will admit that it became overwhelming by the end of the book. There was a book documenting a change of way of thinking, a character named Abel, a female protagonist with heart issues – those are the main ones but there are myriad little things that just made me think of SoA whilst I was reading the book. There was a lot of similarity to Kristen Ashley novels as well, in which the characters quite often speak in grammatically incorrect sentences. Those are some of the only things to take inspiration for a biker romance from at the moment, but I think Stephanie Tyler could have used them more sparingly.
One thing about Defiance is that it is apparently New Adult. I haven’t read as many New Adult books as some, but they are fairly difficult to avoid these days, and also fairly easily to recognise by their writing style and tropes. Defiance didn’t strike me as a New Adult book at all. I understand that the characters are living in a world in which growing up quickly is a necessity, but there was nothing about the novel – not even the sex scenes, which are usually quite indicative – to suggest that it was NA. That in itself is a plus point for me, as I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the genre and feel on much safer ground with novels that are definitively adult or YA. However, its categorisation as NA feels mistaken to me. The sex scenes weren’t particularly explicit, but they lacked the awkwardness that I think often accompanies sex in NA; in fact the entirety of the novel had a distinctly adult feel to it, and I can’t help but wonder why it’s being described otherwise.
VERDICT
All in all, Defiance was a strong, but not perfect, beginning to the series. There were a lot of elements to the story which I think were generally entwined quite nicely, but I think it was a lot of pressure for the first novel in a series. I will definitely be reading the next novel to see what happens and I hope to see some of the characters from Defiance develop and become even stronger. If you are particularly looking for a NA atmosphere then Defiance might not be the novel for you, but otherwise I heartily recommend it as having something for pretty much everyone.
missmoonshine's review
3.0
Tru was living in a world in which women are seen as property to be kept control of, and a commodity with which to barter. She left that life behind when it grew too much for her, but when a catastrophic chain of events called Chaos hits the world she must rely on others for help eventually. When this reliance ends up with her back with the Defiance Motorcycle Club, an entire way of life is shaken to its core.
Defiance is a novel made up of a mixture of genres which made it sound really intriguing, and for the most part were sewn together very nicely. The nomadic lifestyle that often goes in hand-in-hand with being in an MC also lends itself to the dystopian aspect of the novel. The world building was really smoothly done and quite easy to follow, which is a big issue for me. The MC rules might be a little hard to attune to if you are new to the genre, but after having watched Sons of Anarchy and dabbled in books of the genre, it wasn’t a big shocker for me, and I think the male-oriented society presented a good background for the development of the characters, particularly Tru. I did find that some elements of the story seemed to run together towards the end – I didn’t really get the significance of Bishop and Mathias, although there certainly seemed to be emphasis placed on them. Apart from the fact that it was really the beginning of the end of Tru’s attempt at independence from the Defiance MC, the post-apocalyptic element wasn’t really played up to its potential, but there was a lot going on that had to be explained, so I hope that the Chaos is elaborated on in the next novel.
On top of all the other elements, there is a romance of sorts. Caspar, Tru’s one-time lover and apparent bastard son of the MC leader, has to decide whether to take Tru back into the fold and risk the wrath of the rival MC, or whether to send her off to the leader who tried to take her against her will. His choice is obviously coloured by the past, but he takes a fair perspective (unlike other members of the MC) and sticks to it. People are not afraid to challenge his decision to keep her there, both verbally and physically, but he and Tru continue to stand against them, first apart and then increasingly together. Caspar is definitely a product of the MC; he still expects Tru to listen to him and believe that he will do what is right for her, but he allows her to decide whether she can do that. He was really good as the love interest, in that he helped Tru to develop into the person that she wanted to be, but he was interesting in his own right as well.
Other than the two protagonists, the characterisation was a little sketchy. Admittedly this is probably because there is so much else going on in the novel, but an attachment to the characters would have made me more likely to invest in their individual storylines. Both Tru and Caspar are, or become, strong characters so it is obvious that the author can create three dimensional characters which the reader can come to care for – and I hope that this will happen in the next instalment, now that much of the world building has been done.
Although the tie to Sons of Anarchy was one of the things which initially drew me in, I will admit that it became overwhelming by the end of the book. There was a book documenting a change of way of thinking, a character named Abel, a female protagonist with heart issues – those are the main ones but there are myriad little things that just made me think of SoA whilst I was reading the book. There was a lot of similarity to Kristen Ashley novels as well, in which the characters quite often speak in grammatically incorrect sentences. Those are some of the only things to take inspiration for a biker romance from at the moment, but I think Stephanie Tyler could have used them more sparingly.
One thing about Defiance is that it is apparently New Adult. I haven’t read as many New Adult books as some, but they are fairly difficult to avoid these days, and also fairly easily to recognise by their writing style and tropes. Defiance didn’t strike me as a New Adult book at all. I understand that the characters are living in a world in which growing up quickly is a necessity, but there was nothing about the novel – not even the sex scenes, which are usually quite indicative – to suggest that it was NA. That in itself is a plus point for me, as I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the genre and feel on much safer ground with novels that are definitively adult or YA. However, its categorisation as NA feels mistaken to me. The sex scenes weren’t particularly explicit, but they lacked the awkwardness that I think often accompanies sex in NA; in fact the entirety of the novel had a distinctly adult feel to it, and I can’t help but wonder why it’s being described otherwise.
VERDICT
All in all, Defiance was a strong, but not perfect, beginning to the series. There were a lot of elements to the story which I think were generally entwined quite nicely, but I think it was a lot of pressure for the first novel in a series. I will definitely be reading the next novel to see what happens and I hope to see some of the characters from Defiance develop and become even stronger. If you are particularly looking for a NA atmosphere then Defiance might not be the novel for you, but otherwise I heartily recommend it as having something for pretty much everyone.
Defiance is a novel made up of a mixture of genres which made it sound really intriguing, and for the most part were sewn together very nicely. The nomadic lifestyle that often goes in hand-in-hand with being in an MC also lends itself to the dystopian aspect of the novel. The world building was really smoothly done and quite easy to follow, which is a big issue for me. The MC rules might be a little hard to attune to if you are new to the genre, but after having watched Sons of Anarchy and dabbled in books of the genre, it wasn’t a big shocker for me, and I think the male-oriented society presented a good background for the development of the characters, particularly Tru. I did find that some elements of the story seemed to run together towards the end – I didn’t really get the significance of Bishop and Mathias, although there certainly seemed to be emphasis placed on them. Apart from the fact that it was really the beginning of the end of Tru’s attempt at independence from the Defiance MC, the post-apocalyptic element wasn’t really played up to its potential, but there was a lot going on that had to be explained, so I hope that the Chaos is elaborated on in the next novel.
On top of all the other elements, there is a romance of sorts. Caspar, Tru’s one-time lover and apparent bastard son of the MC leader, has to decide whether to take Tru back into the fold and risk the wrath of the rival MC, or whether to send her off to the leader who tried to take her against her will. His choice is obviously coloured by the past, but he takes a fair perspective (unlike other members of the MC) and sticks to it. People are not afraid to challenge his decision to keep her there, both verbally and physically, but he and Tru continue to stand against them, first apart and then increasingly together. Caspar is definitely a product of the MC; he still expects Tru to listen to him and believe that he will do what is right for her, but he allows her to decide whether she can do that. He was really good as the love interest, in that he helped Tru to develop into the person that she wanted to be, but he was interesting in his own right as well.
Other than the two protagonists, the characterisation was a little sketchy. Admittedly this is probably because there is so much else going on in the novel, but an attachment to the characters would have made me more likely to invest in their individual storylines. Both Tru and Caspar are, or become, strong characters so it is obvious that the author can create three dimensional characters which the reader can come to care for – and I hope that this will happen in the next instalment, now that much of the world building has been done.
Although the tie to Sons of Anarchy was one of the things which initially drew me in, I will admit that it became overwhelming by the end of the book. There was a book documenting a change of way of thinking, a character named Abel, a female protagonist with heart issues – those are the main ones but there are myriad little things that just made me think of SoA whilst I was reading the book. There was a lot of similarity to Kristen Ashley novels as well, in which the characters quite often speak in grammatically incorrect sentences. Those are some of the only things to take inspiration for a biker romance from at the moment, but I think Stephanie Tyler could have used them more sparingly.
One thing about Defiance is that it is apparently New Adult. I haven’t read as many New Adult books as some, but they are fairly difficult to avoid these days, and also fairly easily to recognise by their writing style and tropes. Defiance didn’t strike me as a New Adult book at all. I understand that the characters are living in a world in which growing up quickly is a necessity, but there was nothing about the novel – not even the sex scenes, which are usually quite indicative – to suggest that it was NA. That in itself is a plus point for me, as I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the genre and feel on much safer ground with novels that are definitively adult or YA. However, its categorisation as NA feels mistaken to me. The sex scenes weren’t particularly explicit, but they lacked the awkwardness that I think often accompanies sex in NA; in fact the entirety of the novel had a distinctly adult feel to it, and I can’t help but wonder why it’s being described otherwise.
VERDICT
All in all, Defiance was a strong, but not perfect, beginning to the series. There were a lot of elements to the story which I think were generally entwined quite nicely, but I think it was a lot of pressure for the first novel in a series. I will definitely be reading the next novel to see what happens and I hope to see some of the characters from Defiance develop and become even stronger. If you are particularly looking for a NA atmosphere then Defiance might not be the novel for you, but otherwise I heartily recommend it as having something for pretty much everyone.
arickman's review
4.0
Really enjoyed this NA. Enjoyed Tru and Caspars story,looking forward to reading about others from the Defiance MC club.
thenia's review
2.0
A dystopian world where Motorcycle Clubs and gangs are mostly running things, a former MC princess who returns to the fold and the man she'd been in love with for years. Harsh world, harsher people, traumatic pasts and mostly bleak futures.
This book is categorized as romance, but there's nothing romantic about it. Women have reverted to being property and treated like such and are glad for the "protection" they receive.
I found the whole story depressing and the supposed love between the characters gave me no good feels.
The series continues with [b:Redemption|18069990|Redemption (Defiance #2)|Stephanie Tyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1380985807s/18069990.jpg|25367763] but I'll be skipping it...
This book is categorized as romance, but there's nothing romantic about it. Women have reverted to being property and treated like such and are glad for the "protection" they receive.
I found the whole story depressing and the supposed love between the characters gave me no good feels.
The series continues with [b:Redemption|18069990|Redemption (Defiance #2)|Stephanie Tyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1380985807s/18069990.jpg|25367763] but I'll be skipping it...