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521 reviews by:
quixoticreads
The Laughing Listener
Reread August 2018
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Kate Rudd
Length: 7 hours & 28 minutes
Story Rating: 4 Stars
Performance Rating: 5 Stars
Overall Rating: 4.5 Stars
Man, I was so STRESSED starting this book. As my former favorite fantasy series, I was worried I’d end up hating this if I reread it. That I’d suddenly realize 14 year-old me had no taste in books and this was actually completely terrible. I can’t tell you how happily relieved I was to discover that wasn’t the case! I recently learned (and freaked out) that the characters of Tithe make an appearance in The Cruel Prince, so I started this reread in anticipation of that. And I can’t believe… how much… I forgot??? It was like reading it for the first time.
This was the book that started everything and the reason why I love fantasy as much as I do. Just picture it--middle school Loretta running around reading bubbly, romantic, Meg Cabot contemporaries like [b:The Princess Diaries|38980|The Princess Diaries (The Princess Diaries, #1)|Meg Cabot|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355011082s/38980.jpg|2073907] and [b:All-American Girl|19448|All-American Girl (All-American Girl, #1)|Meg Cabot|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1291882422s/19448.jpg|2610030]. I didn’t hit the Harry Potter books until high school, so this is what taught me about the fantasy genre. When I decided to pick up Tithe, it completely shattered my small world view and was unlike anything I had ever read. It was dark and gritty, had a half Asian and gay main characters, kids smoking and getting drunk, low-income families, magical faeries, cunning wickedness and lots of bloodshed. It was complete fantasy and yet more real than anything I had read up to that point. Reading Tithe was like discovering a piece of myself I didn’t know existed.
So I’ve been completely terrified of this book for a few years now, worried that rereading it would shatter my perfect view, but it didn’t! I love that Kaye is a flawed character who can be selfish and wicked, but still has a good heart and clever mind. I love Roiben’s emo-ness and proud nature. And I absolutely LOVE the gritty backdrop. Of course there are problems like an astounding level of violence, homophobia, and racist comments that made me squirm. But I also think it was done purposely. Black paints a harsh, unforgiving world that Kaye, Corny, and Roiben have to muck through in order find their genuine friendship and love.
Admittedly, I have a harder time wrapping my brain around Corny. My 14 year-old self didn’t know what to do with him at all. The concept of finding pleasure in pain was so completely foreign to me, it was like reading about an alien. Now over a decade later I have a better understanding and appreciation for his character that I didn’t before, especially his dark sense of humor. But there were still moments that he seemed so unlike myself I couldn't understand him. Either way, Corny is always unapologetically himself, which makes him awesome.
And somehow I completely forgot how nutso that ending is?!?! How an ending so violently amazing could fall out of my brain is a mystery, but it was freaking awesome!
FINAL WORD
This book had proved the test of time and remains one of my favorites. It dark and gritty and magical and wicked and raw and there are faeries. READ IT.
#1 ↦ Tithe ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#2 ↦ [b:Valiant|266607|Valiant (Modern Faerie Tales #2)|Holly Black|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1332713354s/266607.jpg|588218] ↦ ???
#3 ↦ [b:Ironside|283494|Ironside (Modern Faerie Tales, #3)|Holly Black|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1354844906s/283494.jpg|275023] ↦ ???
The Laughing Listener
August 2018
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Kate Rudd
Length: 7 hours & 6 minutes
Story Rating: 5 Stars
Performance Rating: 5 Stars
Overall Rating: 5 Stars
The final installment in my epic Modern Faerie Tales reread. Man, I freaking LOVE these books. Since all of Valiant completely fell out of my brain when I read it before, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this last installment. My memories of each novel seemed to have blurred together. But most of my memories of this were shockingly in tact and it was just as awesome as I remember!!
For anyone wondering, you don’t actually have to read Valiant to understand this one. The two are pretty unrelated, but it’s more fun if you have because the characters make an appearance.
My man Roiben is the freaking best. I love him so much and definitely count him among my fictional boyfriends. The poor guy just wants everyone to be happy and I hated seeing people screw him over. Kaye is also another favorite character of mine and I love how clever she is!! Even though Kaye is flawed, she always does what she thinks is best and stays loyal to the ones she loves. And I also loved Corny A LOT more this time around. In Tithe I had some trouble wrapping my brain around his character, but I didn’t have that trouble this time. Plus, watching the romance between him and Louis was so flipping cute!!
FINAL WORD
A great ending to a great series. A decade later and this is still one of my favorite series. Roiben and Kaye won’t let you down!!
#1 ↦ [b:Tithe|46777|Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales, #1)|Holly Black|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1342120818s/46777.jpg|1460966] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#2 ↦ [b:Valiant|266607|Valiant (Modern Faerie Tales #2)|Holly Black|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1332713354s/266607.jpg|588218] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#3 ↦ Ironside ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
The Laughing Listener
August 2018
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Caitlin Kelly
Length: 12 hours & 36 minutes
Story Rating: …….. 3.5 Stars????????
Performance Rating: 5 Stars
Overall Rating: 4 Stars
……… *Holds mouth open to speak like a gaping fish for five minutes*
Me questioning everything after this book shoved me into an existential crisis.
This is, legitimately, one of the hardest reviews I’ve ever had to write. I finished this book weeks ago and can’t find anymore valid excuses to put it off. I definitely have feelings, I just… don’t understand what they are???? I know there’s a ton of hype surrounding this, so please don’t throw tomatoes at me, but I absolutely hated the beginning and LOVED the end. Where does that leave me now?? Excellent question. I wish I could tell you.
First of all, let me start this by mentioning that I JUST finished rereading the Modern Faerie Tales series, which is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because when Roiben and Kaye showed up towards the end, I could fully appreciate how EPICALLY AWESOME THAT SCENE WAS. Seriously guys. Best part of the whole freaking book was just Roiben and Kaye casually eating Chinese food. But it was a curse because I went into this already comparing it to Tithe and they are NOTHING alike. The Modern Faerie Tale books deal with a lot of heavy, adult themes—Kaye dropped out of high school to support her mother, Corny is taken and abused by an evil faerie, Val is homeless with a serious drug addiction… You get the idea. I was expecting more of those heavy themes in The Cruel Prince, but it was sooooo different.
In the beginning, watching Jude and her sister felt like the Mean Girls, teen angst version of The Modern Faerie Tales and I wasn’t a fan. I wanted that dark grittiness back that was so prevalent in Holly Black’s other series and it all just felt so shallow for a while. A girl in school who struggles to find herself and fit in—what a novel and original idea for a young adult book. *Rolls eyes* I couldn’t even really appreciate the villains Cardan, Nicasia, Locke, and Valerian because I didn't get why they were so horrible. They just seemed to be terrible because they could, which is totally LAME. For a while, the only characters that had any real depth to them were Viv and Jude, and even then I struggled with Jude. She was the worst spy ever guys.
But somewhere along the way there was a subtle shift and I found myself captivated by this mess of a faerie court. I think it was around the coronation ball. There was just so much drama and political intrigue that I couldn’t stop myself from wondering how it was all going to end. No one ever did what I was expecting them to (besides Locke. I saw that douche coming from a mile away). Plus, the more I got to know Cardan the more I liked him and Jude. They both can be completely awful, but I love that they embrace that evil part of themselves. And that ending?? HOLY. CRAP. I WAS SO UNPREPARED.
FINAL WORD
I hated this and then I loved it, so I broke even I guess??? But I’m soooooo here for the drama that’s going to happen in the next book and I NEED to find out what happens.
#1 ↦ The Cruel Prince ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#2 ↦ [b:The Wicked King|26032887|The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2)|Holly Black|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1520620414s/26032887.jpg|45959180] ↦ ???
The Laughing Listener
September 2018
Format: Paperback
#KissOfSeptember buddy read!
Overall Rating: 4 Stars
Ahhhh the final conclusion to the EPIC Remnant Chronicles series. *Sniffles* This has been such an excellent series and I’m sad to see it come to an end because Lia is THE FREAKING BEST. I do have some minor gripes with parts of this book, but it was still an excellent conclusion to an excellent trilogy.
This book picks up right where the second novel leaves off (THANK GOD) and we get the same amazing characters we did before. Lia is incredible. She’s one of my all-time favorite female heroines now and I could never get tired of reading about her. I’m in love with Rafe too. He’s a complete idiot in this book and makes some bad decisions, but I forgave him and he’s still one of my fictional husbands. And Pauline!! Honestly, I’ve been feeling pretty blah about Pauline the entire series, but she really stepped up her game this book and I loved it! I can’t stress enough how amazing the character arcs are in these novels. Everyone has grown and evolved so much, Lia most of all, and it’s been such a great journey.
"Truth is as free as the air and we all have the right to breathe as deeply of it as we wish. It cannot be held back in the palm of any one man.”
Plus, I know I say this every review I write, but I continue to be stunned by the world building. Each kingdom has a different history, language, religion, culture, etc. and it’s been amazing to read about. I love when they go to new places and I get to learn new things about this universe because it’s so rich! Definitely something I’m looking forward to in [b:Dance of Thieves|35796008|Dance of Thieves (Dance of Thieves, #1)|Mary E. Pearson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1505930101s/35796008.jpg|55233885] as well.
“It is good to have many strengths, Natiya...Do not sacrifice one kind of strength for another”
The story was pretty great too and I LOOOOOOVED how it ended! It started off strong in the beginning and it was really interesting seeing Lia and Rafe go back to their kingdoms. Being gone so long had its consequences and they both had a lot to deal with when they got back. It was nice seeing that in action and I’m glad Pearson didn’t make everything magically fine upon their return. But the battle scene at the end of the book was… odd. I can’t really talk about it without getting spoilery, but it all happened so fast?? We’ve been building up to this battle for AGES and then it’s over in just a few pages. It all just felt kind of anticlimactic for me after all the tension that had been built up.
“Choice is powerful and can lead to great things if not held in the tight fists of a few.”
But the very very end was AMAZING and I’m so fangirlishly happy with how everything turned out. I would definitely consider this #KissOfSeptember buddy read complete success!!
FINAL WORD
Loved it! Admittedly this wasn’t as great as it’s two predecessors, but it’s still and awesome conclusion to a fantastic series!!
#1 ↦ [b:The Kiss of Deception|16429619|The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles, #1)|Mary E. Pearson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389804901s/16429619.jpg|22617247] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#2 ↦ [b:The Heart of Betrayal|21569527|The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles, #2)|Mary E. Pearson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1414932049s/21569527.jpg|40901894] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#3 ↦ The Beauty of Darkness ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
The Laughing Listener
September 2018
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5 Stars
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I have so many feelings?!?! My heart was not prepared for the ending of this book. After attempting to listen to the audiobook and completely failing, I was more than a little apprehensive about reading this. But my awesome book friends convinced me it was a good idea and I’M SO GLAD BECAUSE THIS WAS AMAZING???? I can’t even believe there was ever a time when I didn’t love this.
First of all, the format of this is CRAZY genius. The way Pearson spun the traditional love triangle and kept the identities of the guys a secret was such a great way to amp up the tension with minimal action. It gave Lia some time to really get to know Kaden and Rafe and develop feelings while STILL building the suspense. Plus, each chapter begins with a passage from “historical” songs and books that seems so random in the beginning, but come together in the end. It was so great. I literally could NOT put this book down and flew through it in two days.
“‘Some things last.’ I turned to face him. ‘Really? And just what would that be?’ ‘The things that matter.’”
I also really really REALLY loved Lia. Okay, I admit there were things about her in the beginning that grated on me, but all of that was wiped away at the end of the book. Her character arc is so awesome and she’s such a freaking bad ass by the end!! I can’t talk about most of the other characters without spilling spoilers, but I loved them. Even the characters I hated were amazingly rich and layered. Going into this, I expected a somewhat shallow story of a princess running away from home and caught in a woe-is-me-two-attractive-men-love-me love triangle. And even though it might have started that way, this novel turned into soooooooo much more! I was worried that learning the identity of the two male leads would deflate the excitement of the book, but that DEFINITELY didn’t happen!
“‘Trust your gifts, Arabella, whatever they may be. Sometimes a gift requires great sacrifice, but we can no more turn our backs on it than will our hearts not to beat.’”
And this is completely random, but I was also really impressed with the Venden language?? Look, I only know English and learned the bare minimum of Spanish to get through high school, so I’m no expert. But it seems like Pearson literally created her own language and I’m in awe!! That’s CRAZY.
FINAL WORD
This book was AMAZING!!! Don’t listen to the audiobook because the hard copy formatting is key for this novel, but definitely pick this up! It’s such an awesome story!!
#1 ↦ The Kiss of Deception ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#2 ↦ [b:The Heart of Betrayal|21569527|The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles, #2)|Mary E. Pearson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1414932049s/21569527.jpg|40901894] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#3 ↦ [b:The Beauty of Darkness|25944798|The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles, #3)|Mary E. Pearson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1445626686s/25944798.jpg|45680041] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
The Laughing Listener
September 2018
Format: Paperback
#KissOfSeptember buddy read!
Overall Rating: 5 Stars
Remember that time I was completely broken by a book and my brain exploded reading the ending?!? OH WAIT. That just happened. It took me a few days to collect myself because the ending of this book was INSANITY, but I’m here now and I’M READY. Let’s do this thing.
First of all, the world building of this series is so crazy awesome. Everything seems so well thought out and I’m living for it. I love how vast it is and how each kingdom has its own culture and language. It was already impressive in The Kiss of Deception, but it’s even better this time around and I was so fascinated with Venda. Discovering this new world through Lia’s eyes was amazing and it felt like we were falling in love with it together. I’m also shocked by how political this series has gotten and I’m even more shocked by how much I like it. Normally political intrigue isn’t my thing and I lose interest pretty fast, but Pearson has done such an excellent job building the suspense and making it interesting.
Also, the characters are so rich! Each one is layered with their own histories and desires that push them forward. I still think Kaden is terrible and I’m so over him, but I like that I know more about his character and can understand him better now. Even the Komizar was interesting to read about and he’s the absolute WORST. But so wonderfully vile and evil! Definitely a new favorite villain. Lia is still my girl though and she kicked major ass in this book, it was AWESOME. All of the character arcs are out of this world—not just on this book alone, but over the entire series as a whole. Everyone has come so far from where they started and I can’t wait to see where it leads next.
And that ending. THAT ENDING. Oh my god. So much happens you guys. SO. MUCH. The entire plot takes a dive in the span of two pages. I’ve never gone from okay to complete emotionally ruin so freaking fast in my life. I had to read it three times to make sure I understood what happened, but damn. It was so good.
FINAL WORD
This book was even BETTER than the first. If you liked The Kiss of Deception at all, do yourself a favor and keep reading. I also recommend having the third book handy because the ending of this one is diabolically EVIL and I love it. Two thumbs way up.
#1 ↦ [b:The Kiss of Deception|16429619|The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles, #1)|Mary E. Pearson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389804901s/16429619.jpg|22617247] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#2 ↦ The Heart of Betrayal ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#3 ↦ [b:The Beauty of Darkness|25944798|The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles, #3)|Mary E. Pearson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1445626686s/25944798.jpg|45680041] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
The Laughing Listener
Reread July 2018
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Molly C. Quinn & ED WESTWICK *Swoons*
Length: 12 hours & 39 minutes
Story Rating: 3 Stars
Performance Rating: 3 Stars
*Ed Westwick = AMAZING
Molly Quinn = TERRIBLE*
Overall Rating: 3 Stars
Okay, first of all, Ed Westwick you guys. ED. FREAKING. WESTWICK.
For the last three novels, Natalie Moore has been the narrator of the audiobooks, so imagine my surprise when a MAN started reading this. And not just any man, but one with a magically hypnotic British accent. I officially want him to read everything to me now. The different voices Westwick did were wonderful and every time he played Simon, he did it with an accent that was kind of... British New Yorker?? It's sounds like it should be terrible, but it reeeeally wasn't. Unfortunately, I wasn't too thrilled with the girl Molly Quinn and actually stopped it towards the end so I could just read the damn thing. But to be fair, I can't tell if it was because of her or because she had to compete with ED WESTWICK. I mean, we ALL sound terrible in comparison.
Thankfully Ed Westwick's voice was here to comfort me because we're getting into the half of the series I don't like. Generally I just loathe Sebastian and we have to put up with him for the next three books, so I get a tad salty. But everyone is just so annoying in this one! Jace is having nightmares about killing Clary, but never bothers talking to anyone about it. Dude, asking for help IS NOT A CRIME. Simon is running around dating two girls at once. NOT COOL. Clary is too busy being worried about her relationship status to notice that Jace is WHITTLING AWAY. Girl, he is not eating or sleeping. OPEN YOUR EYES. And Alec wigs out on Magnus and starts asking questions about how many people he's been with. Honey, he has been around for HUNDREDS OF YEARS. Of course he's been with a lot of other people???? *Le sigh* Isabelle, Maia, and my boy Luke are really the only sane ones in this installment.
This has always been my least favorite in the series and now I remember why. It's just a lot of angst and why-doesn't-he-love-me drama. I dragged my feet so much during this audiobook and then had to force myself to finish it. I will say that the ending is pretty awesome, but that's only a few chapters out of the whole book. I only really perked up and paid attention when anyone mentioned the name Will or whenever Brother Zachariah was around.
"Would that I had been here, he said, his voice unexpectedly gentle, when you were growing up. I would have seen the truth in your face, Jace Lightwood, and known who you were."
Oh my GOD!! *Sobs* This is my first time reading the series after The Infernal Devices and I LOVE catching all the details I missed before!!! I can't wait to keep going and notice more of the little things I missed.
FINAL WORD
Ugh. I liked hearing more from Simon's perspective and seeing Brother Zachariah. Plus, Clary and Jace had some cute moments once they got their act together. But there was just too much angst for my liking. If you've loved the rest of the series so far, it's worth ripping this off like a band-aid so you can move on to the other books.
#1 ↦ [b:City of Bones|256683|City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)|Cassandra Clare|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1432730315s/256683.jpg|2267189] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#2 ↦ [b:City of Ashes|1582996|City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2)|Cassandra Clare|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1432730356s/1582996.jpg|1575860] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#3 ↦ [b:City of Glass|3777732|City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3)|Cassandra Clare|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1369452339s/3777732.jpg|3443248] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#4 ↦ [b:City of Fallen Angels|6752378|City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, #4)|Cassandra Clare|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1369452302s/6752378.jpg|6948844] ↦ ✦✦✦✧✧
#5 ↦ [b:City of Lost Souls|8755776|City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5)|Cassandra Clare|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460477703s/8755776.jpg|13629058] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#6 ↦ [b:City of Heavenly Fire|8755785|City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, #6)|Cassandra Clare|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460477794s/8755785.jpg|13629068] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
The Laughing Listener
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Rebecca Mozo
Length: 9 hours & 45 minutes
Story Rating: 4 Stars
Performance Rating: 5 Stars
Overall Rating: 4 Stars
What a surprising read! After finishing [b:Red Queen|22328546|Red Queen (Red Queen, #1)|Victoria Aveyard|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449778912s/22328546.jpg|25037051], I needed an emotional break before starting [b:Glass Sword|23174274|Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2)|Victoria Aveyard|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436460934s/23174274.jpg|42720997] and turned to my Hoopla account for help. I chose this book at random without knowing anything about it, or having heard of it before and was pleasantly surprised! Despite being heavily weighed down with clichés (Love triangle? Falling for a Prince?? Chosen one???) I couldn’t help but be entertained my this!
THE UGLY
After perusing some of the other reviews, I was actually surprised to see some of the bad ratings. Was this a piece of literary genius? Ummmm, no. But definitely deserving of more than one star, I thought. However, if you go in thinking it’s a Mulan-esque tale of feminist power, you will DEFINITELY be disappointed.
To help, here’s a list of things to know before picking up this book:
-Completely unlike Mulan besides the whole acting-like-a-boy thing.
-This is 100% a romance book with some fantasy and action-y stuff thrown in.
-Definitely geared for the younger side of the teen spectrum.
-Hardcore love triangle vibes vaguely reminiscent of the whole team Edward/team Jacob fiasco of the early 00’s (minus all of the supernatural crap).
-Filled to the brim with tropes including a bratty prince who secretly has a heart of gold, boy who has everything but is silently miserable, best friend who gets friend-zoned and confesses their love, the what-do-I-do-two-beautiful-men-love-me anguish, and many more.
What I’m trying to say is, set your expectations low on this one. I think what really saved me was going into this blind. All I wanted was something cute and easy, which is exactly what I got.
As far as the story goes, I was vaguely annoyed at the love triangle because it felt pointless. We all know who Alexa is going to choose, isn’t there enough going on without it? Plus, the ending was completely frustrating to me.
THE GOOD
Okay, now that we got that out of the way, I really enjoyed Defy! This book made my girly side very happy.
I knew exactly where this story was going the moment we got a description of the “devastatingly handsome” Prince Damian and I fought against it so hard for a while. I mean, really?? Forbidden love with a handsome prince??? Really????
But DAMMIT, I am such a sucker for forbidden love and teen angst. Despite fighting against this book in the beginning, Damian is so cute I ended up throwing in the towel halfway through. His character was designed to be swoon worthy and I’ll admit it, I swooned. Alexa’s character was really fun too! I loved that she’s a girl who can kick butt. Plus, her sense of humor and temperament were completely relatable to me.
And the setting was really interesting too! The kingdom of Antion sounds like it’s shrouded in rain forest, which was an interesting contrast to the classic, old-world sophistication of the castle. It provided a colorful backdrop to the story that I really appreciated.
Also can’t forget to mention Rebecca Mozo’s narration, which was wonderful! I don’t know where she’s from, but she spoke the whole story in an English accent that sounded legit to my American ears. But then at the very end when Mozo read the credits she sounded American and it blew my mind!!! Either way, she sounded amazing and gave a great performance.
FINAL WORD
If you’re looking for something fun and romantic then definitely give this book a try! I really liked it and can’t wait for the next one!!
The Laughing Listener
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Rebecca Mozo
Length: 9 hours & 20 minutes
Story Rating: 3 Stars
Performance Rating: 5 Stars
Overall Rating: 4 Stars
This is the second book in the “Defy” trilogy, the sequel to the cliche-heavy novel that I found so entertaining a few weeks ago. And this definitely didn’t disappoint.
THE GOOD
Oh my god, I thought the first one was entertaining, but this one took it a step further and I ended up liking this sequel more than the first. When Vera the beautiful, evil, she-demon comes along, Alexa isn’t fooled for a minute, but all the men start drooling on the spot. In the end, it takes a woman to save all the men who couldn’t keep it in their pants and I can’t stress enough how much I enjoyed this storyline. Watching all the guys looks like morons and get saved by a kick-ass woman was awesome.
I also really enjoyed Rafe’s character because he was just so wonderfully evil. His power is legit terrifying and I genuinely have no idea how he’ll be defeated. He was such a creeper, I loved it!
And of course, the romantic tension between Damian and Alexa is top-notch in this book. Watching their relationship evolve was great fun. I love that Rylan still pretends like he has a chance because like, did he ever?? HA! Poor Rylan.
THE UGLY
Just like it’s predecessor, this book is incredibly predictable. It didn’t bother me this time because I had so much fun following the plot, but I don’t think I care enough about the third book to read it. In general, I already know what’s going to happen and how this saga will end, so what’s the point? I bought a package of the ebooks a couple weeks ago and I might just skim the third one [b:Endure|25440127|Endure (Defy, #3)|Sara B. Larson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1430848464s/25440127.jpg|43797160] to see what happens, but I just don’t have it in me to go all in.
FINAL WORD
If you read [b:Defy|17406847|Defy (Defy, #1)|Sara B. Larson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1371226819s/17406847.jpg|24246340] and enjoyed it, then definitely read this one too! I liked Ignite more than the first novel and highly recommend it to anyone looking for some good entertainment.