Personal Target: Finish/get up to date with four series

Books read this week: One

Total books read: One

Series completed for challenge: One

General feedback: Although I have only managed to finish one, already started, book and read about a third of my second, I am really pleased with my progress. After a bit of a reading slump (pregnancy tiredness and newborn sleepless night will do that to you!) I am glad that I have to have managed to carve out some time each day to read.

Faye’s week: You can read all about Faye’s progress over at her personal blog A Daydreamer’s Thoughts here

Other Participants: Michelle at Fluttering Butterflies (here) has set herself the challenge of finishing as many series as she can, from a VERY impressive TBR pile. As of this morning she had crossed two titles off of her list.

Deliverance (Defiance #3) by RJ Redwine
Everything hangs in the balance, and nothing is certain: Rachel has been kidnapped by enemy forces and is being taken to Rowansmark while Logan, imprisoned and awaiting trial, is unable to leave Lankenshire. Separated from each other and their Baalboden comrades, each must find a way to achieve what they desperately want: to rid their world once and for all of the Commander and the tech that controls the deadly Cursed One.
Fighting through her pain and embracing the warrior she’s become, Rachel will do whatever it takes to escape her enemies’ clutches and join Logan in his fight. But when she learns a secret that changes everything, she realizes that escaping Ian and his tracker friends is no longer an option if she wants to save the people she loves. Instead, she’ll have to destroy Rowansmark from the inside out—if she can survive the journey through the Wasteland.
Logan needs allies if he wants to thwart Rowansmark’s power grab and rescue Rachel. But securing allies will mean betraying his beliefs and enlisting the help of the man he hates more than anyone: Commander Jason Chase. Driven by his fierce love for Rachel and his determination to make their world safe, Logan may be just the weapon the city-states need to defeat the Cursed One.
But as Rowansmark bears down and uneasy alliances are tested, will Rachel and Logan’s love for each other be enough to surmount the unbelievable odds against them?

When I first decided to embark on this challenge there was no doubt in my mind which book I was going to pick up first. I’d actually started reading Deliverance as soon as the pre-order landed on my doormat, but due to my afore mentioned reading slump I hadn’t managed to finish it.

It was so very easy to get back in to the story, and in to the world C J Redwine has created and I adored being re united with Logan, Rachel and their friends.

At the end of Deception (Defiance #2) the group was a mess,they had experienced devastating losses and the challenge ahead of them appeared insurmountable. I love how CJ wasn’t afraid to break her characters emotionally and physically and show us the gritty reality of their actions. They were allowed to dwell and regret decisions, grieve for their losses, celebrate their achievements and slowly rebuild themselves, all without interrupting the pacing of the story.

What I have really enjoyed about this series is the character development. When we first met Rachel and Logan they were already strong but inherently flawed characters. Over the course of three books we have followed as the challenges they faced have shaped them as individuals, as a couple and as a society. In the case of Deliverance I particularly enjoyed how C J manipulated you in to empathising with the antagonists motives, even if you can’t agree with their methods.

Verdict: A fitting and exciting end to a fabulous series.

Currently reading: Unmade (The Lynburn Legacy #3) by Sarah Rees Brennan

Posted by Caroline