Actual Rating: 3.5 
 When Alexa and Marcel's parents are killed by a sorcerer, Alexa is forced to pretend to be a boy to save herself from the King's breeding house. She's already a natural fighter and quickly moves up to become a part of the prince's elite guard. After an assassination attempt on the prince's life, Alexa is forced to stand guard over the spoiled and clueless prince at every hour of the day and night, making it very difficult to keep her secret. She starts to see a side to the prince that she's never seen in her time as part of his guard. Could he possibly not be as big of a brat as he seems? When the prince asks her to deliver a message to the group that tried to kill him, Alexa is pulled into a world of secrets and danger that make her question how she will protect the kingdom and prince she's sworn to protect. 
 Full disclosure: Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce is one of my favorite books (and series) of all time. When I read the blurb for Defy I was immediately intrigued and interested to see how another girl would handle masquerading as a boy. I tried really hard not to compare the two, but it was hard. The names were a bit too close for me (Alex/Alexa vs Alan/Alanna). But I digress. Defy focuses much more on the love triangle, which is definitely overplayed in YA literature. 
 Despite that, the pacing of the novel had me intrigue throughout. It was one of those just-one-more-chapter-and-then-I'll-go-to-bed-and-suddenly-it's-3am kind of books. Oops. I was definitely more intrigued when the love triangle wasn't playing such a large role. I loved Alex in the beginning. She was strong and didn't take attitude from anyone, while also being loyal and caring. But the more the love triangle became apparent, the more blushing and almost whiney she became (with often repeated thoughts about the color of eyes). I can almost forgive her for it. I mean, she's a 17-year-old girl surrounded by handsome men with hormones racing and trying to keep it together. I was just really sad to see the plot become so focused on the love triangle for such a large portion. 
 I am intrigued enough to want book two. I hope that there's a bit more world building and character development outside of the love triangle. Rylan could use a little more substance and I really want Alexa to find her stride and get as close to the beginning of the book as she can given the events of Defy. 
 If romance and declarations of love with a splash of ass-kicking is your thing, you'll probably really like Defy. If you want more of a girl kicking butt in a guy's world with a little bit of romance, definitely check out Alanna: The First Adventure if you haven't already. 
 Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Publication date: January 7th 2014