Defy
(Firstborn Trilogy #1)
Author:
Raine Thomas
Purchase on Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
Synopsis: 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.
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.
Review: I
first became a BIG fan of Author Raine Thomas with her Daughter of Saraqael Trilogy, where I was introduced to the
wondrous world of the Estilorians. My favorite book being Foretold, go Team Caleb and Team Skye! Upon getting news that
Thomas was creating a follow up trilogy which would include the same characters
I had come to love, I squealed with excitement and demanded the book as soon as
I could! Defy is the first book in
Thomas’s new Firstborn Trilogy and
let me tell you, the book ROCKED MY SOCKS!
Tate is so much like both her parents, Caleb and Skye, which
made me love her instantly. She is impulsive, far too trusting, and defiant
much like Skye. She is also fiercely strong, good under pressure, and determined
much like Caleb. Tate goes through a pretty tough journey through the book
while attempting to find her way back home and I was impressed with how
controlled she managed to remain of her emotions and temperament.
I was happy to see my favorites returning from the original
trilogy: Amber and Gabriel, James and Olivia, and of course, Caleb and Skye.
The Elders In-herit, Jabari, Uriel, Sebastion, and Knorbis are also back. My
favorite is Ini-herit, I enjoyed his relationship with Clara Kate, who is the
first born to Amber and Gabriel. It was fun to see how much In-herit was
confused through Clara’s emotions and actions and how much he listened to Clara
Kate and I liked how strong willed Clara is. I also enjoyed the slew of various
new characters. I really liked Tiege, Tate’s twin brother. He’s so cute and
loving and much calmer than his twin sister. I also was happy to read more of
Quincy and loved his relationship with Sophia, first born to Olivia and James.
Zachariah was my favorite character of the entire book. He
is extremely guarded, hot tempered, prideful and downright rude. He is also
deadly agile, incredibly strong, and undeniably hawt! I couldn’t get to the
scenes with him fast enough when I was reading. He had me cracking up and in
the next sentence wanting to slap him. I so LOVED that he had a tomahawk as a
weapon! I also really liked his connection with Nyx, a kragon (dragon-like
creature on the Estilorian plane). I liked that they could communicate without
words, just with emotions and expressions. They had such an intimate bond which
was sweet and trusted each other without question. Nyx helped to show
Zachariah’s more vulnerable side. Zachariah is such the anti-hero but it worked
great against Tate’s optimistic and impulsivity.
I’m still Team Caleb *swoon* but Zachariah comes in at a
close second ;)
The action was well done and one of my favorite scenes was
when Tiege swopped in to fight against the Mercesti and took down Zachariah
showing just how much like Caleb’s son he really is. The pacing doesn’t drag
too much and the suspense, although at times too predictable, was built
gradually as the scenes intensified. The characterization was developed with
depth where readers can connect with them and relate to what they go through.
There were a few things that could use tweaking in upcoming
books. Some of the dialogue sometimes sounded unlike the character who was
speaking which made some of the dialogue come off choppy. There were times the
pacing was a bit dragged because the story felt like it was being told too much
over being shown to the reader. There was also a feeling of repetition when the
same scenes where told from different characters and sometimes the details were
a bit much. But for the most part, the book was well executed.
With loveable characters returning and new fun characters
introduced, with action packed scenes and new budding romances, Defy is a great beginning to what seems
to be a promising new trilogy!
About the Author: Raine Thomas is the award-winning author of a bestselling series of YA fantasy/romance novels about the Estilorian plane. She became truly passionate about writing when one of her stories took an Honorable Mention in a fourth-grade writing competition (who would have thought a story about a dancing spider would garner so much attention?). Carrying that passion with her, she earned her bachelor’s degree in English with a focus in Creative Writing from Georgia State University, then her master’s degree in Humanities from Central Michigan University.
Residing in Orlando, Florida, Raine is a hopeless romantic with a background in the fields of mental health and wedding planning…two areas that intersect far more than one would think. Her years working with children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral challenges inspired her to create young protagonists who overcome their own conflicts. She’s a proud member of Romance Writers of America and a contributing blogger to The Writer’s Voice. When she isn’t writing or glued to e-mail or social networking sites, Raine can usually be found vacationing with her husband and daughter on one of Florida’s beautiful beaches or crossing the border to visit with her Canadian friends and relatives.
Where to Find the Author
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