Deception (Defiance #2)
By C.J. Redwine
Genre: YA Dystopian (with a hint of fantasy)
Recommended Ages: 16+

Baalboden has been ravaged. The brutal Commander’s whereabouts are unknown. And Rachel, grief stricken over her father’s death, needs Logan more than ever. With their ragged group of survivors struggling to forge a future, it’s up to Logan to become the leader they need—with Rachel by his side. Under constant threat from rival Carrington’s army, who is after the device that controls the Cursed One, the group decides to abandon the ruins of their home and take their chances in the Wasteland.



But soon their problems intensify tenfold: someone—possibly inside their ranks—is sabotaging the survivors, picking them off one by one. The chaos and uncertainty of each day puts unbearable strain on Rachel and Logan, and it isn’t long before they feel their love splintering. Even worse, as it becomes clear that the Commander will stop at nothing to destroy them, the band of survivors begins to question whether the price of freedom may be too great—and whether, hunted by their enemies and the murderous traitor in their midst, they can make it out of the Wasteland alive.

The Gist:

An okay follow up to book one in the series.  The story continues well and holds your interest as you wonder who is trying to take the remaining group from Baalboden out from the inside. Some of the characters got better, though I think the pace slowed slightly from book one.

What I Liked:

The constant threat of the someone in the group getting hurt or killed. The notes and possibility of a traitor meant I was never quite at ease throughout the entire book. I can appreciate being able to hold suspense that long.

Logan is in charge people! He takes his new role seriously, even if he does have trepidations about his qualifications, he still rises to the challenge. Love setting that kind of example. Logan was by far my favorite character in this book.

What I Didn’t Like:

If I killed someone, I’d be a wreck too. So I get that Rachel. But at some point you have to decide how much you will let it destroy you. Her constant internal struggle with that got tedious after a while.  She needed to open up to Logan in my opinion. Not that that would make her struggles go away, but at least it would strengthen their relationship. Rachel was my least favorite character in this book.

Also tedious? The amount of time they spent on the run. Several times I said I wish they would just get somewhere! There should have been less talk and faster walking. With YA fantasy, it’s not always about being super realistic, it’s about being interesting.

And the twist at the end didn’t feel very Earth-shattering to me. It seems like that kind of twist has been overdone of late so it didn’t really make me excited for the next book. Also, the traitor? I usually see most endings coming because I consider lots of possibilities, but I feel like that was the most obvious choice and that disappointed me.

LunasLuckyRating: 3.5/5 Lunas