Defy is about a young lady named Alexa, who has a twin brother Marcel. Life is great until an evil sorcerer descends, during war times and manages to kill both their father and mother. To save Alexa from The Breeding House (a place where all young women are used as surrogates for the war) quick thinking Marcel chops her hair off and tells her to go undercover as a boy - Alex. Years later, Alex(a) and Marcel are elite guards in the king's army and also members of Prince Damian's royal guard. Alex manages to work herself up the ranks quickly becoming the best fighter of the kingdom, making her a target. When a neighboring country's soccerer permeates the palace walls, Alex(a), her friend Ryland and Prince Damian end up captives, chess pieces to a bigger war strategy. They are abducted from the palace and forced to traipse through dangerous jungles on their way to the enemy territory. The question is will Alex be able to keep her secret hidden under these new an perilous circumstances? 
 I'm not quite sure what exactly I was expecting from this book. I think I wanted a fiery heroine, tough as nails and unbeatable. I hoped for a fantasy story with a thick plot line and strong world building. Instead, what I ended up with was a book focusing on romance and a bitter love triangle with a fantasy plot line in the background. What I really enjoyed about this book was the many secrets each character held close to his/her hearts. Some of the secrets were predictable. In fact, I had a strong sense even from the beginning that Alex(a) wasn't fooling as many people as she thought. I also guessed quite a few other key aspects, too. Admittedly, a few of the twists did manage to catch me off guard. My favorite parts of the story were surrounding the magic and sorcery. 
 What turned me off was Alex(a)'s constant concern for the two main character men in the story: Ryland and Damian. It bothered me that for some reason she let them consume her thoughts, when I believed she should be focusing on more important stuff, like how to rescue the prince from his captors. In fact I felt like it really took away from her badass-ness factor to be constantly swooning over the two men throughout the story. 
 Alex(a) the main character appeared too mentally soft for me. She's not like the strong, violent woman I admire like Katniss in the Hunger Games or Celana of Throne of Glass. Her fighting skills are strong, but to me her head wasn't screwed on right. Its like her hormones took over way too many times. Also, I didn't like how she seemed pouty, easily angered and ready to pick a fight with her love interests at the drop of a hat. I don't really believe she will made a very good mate for either one of them - they both deserve better. 
 Damien ended up being an interesting character. He is hiding quite a bit as we find out by the end of the story. His love for Alex(a) runs deep. I did end up feeling really bad for him when he revealed what really happened to his mother. He also is masquerading as someone he is not. What's different between he and Alex is I felt his character and situation to be far more believable for some reason. 
 Ryland is a true friend to Alex(a). I really appreciated his dedication and love for her. It wasn't an instalove variety. He fell in love with her over a long span of time. I couldn't help but feel sympathetic to how angry he felt when Alex(a) started falling for the Prince. It must have been very painful to see it all unfold and many times he walked in on something he should not have seen. Sometimes I think it would have been better if Alex(a) had just stabbed him with her sword than to put him through some of what he had to endure in that jungle. Poor guy. 
 King Henry, Damian's father is an cruel and most uncompassionate ruler. The author makes it truly easy to detest. When all the secrets are revealed surrounding him he deserves nothing less than a slow painful death. It bothered me how he took all the young girls to The Breeding House and allowed them to basically be raped in order to make more children to build his army. He was a character who I didn't hold even an ounce of sympathy for. 
 The pacing of this book was moderate with a few spots where it acutally felt pretty slow, especially in the middle. The beginning and the ending were quite action packed. The writing was decent, without a lot of descriptive passages it was a fairly easy read, though it did breach some dark topics - like the breeding houses. 
 The ending wraps up nicely. Its not a cliffhanger and sets up well for further installments. The initial story felt over, but the way the author chose to end it makes the reader feel like there is plenty of story still left to tell.