Book Review - Defy

Defy by L.J. Shen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3 Stars

This is my 3rd L.J. Shen book. I originally read Vicious first when it came out, and then never returned to this series for some reason. However, back in April I picked out Midnight Blue, and read it in one sitting which prompted me to pick up where I left off on this series. And that ladies and gentlemen brings us to "DEFY". As always, I won't recap the blurb or story as y'all have probably already read it on your own so you get the gist of what this is going to be about by now. And just a heads up that there will be some quotes from the book included in the review (in case that isn't your jam). 

First let me start off by saying that I don't condone student/teacher relationships when its someone under the age of 18 in real life & while they're teaching said student. I'd elaborate, but we'd be here all day. And second, I HAVE NEVER EVER MET AN 18 YEAR OLD AS FULL GROWN AS OUR MC JAMIE. Hell, there are some 30 year old's out there that still act like children. But for the sake of the story, I'll bite. So, lets get to it shall we:

“Because that was the problem with society. It cared too much about who you fell in love with but never about why. The why matters.” - Melody

Jamie was probably the sweetest member of the HotHoles. And even after going back to re-read Vicious (which takes place in the present- whereas Defy is in the past) I felt like at 18, Jamie was way WAY more mature than ANY of the other guys are in the present. He was the rational, and definitely more supportive one out of the bunch too. I still have two more books to go through so maybe I'm being premature in my assessment? But once Jamie made up his mind about what he wanted he went for it. Completely, and without hesitation. Then when feelings start to get thrown into the mix of their arrangement he's the first to step up, and own it. However, his compassion and loyalty shouldn't be mistaken for a weakness either. He's every bit the alpha male. Possessive and commanding in all of the right ways. Melody, was a little harder for me to adjust to. And not because she was a 26 year old teacher drooling over an 18 year old student either. I think it was because of how relatable she was in OTHER areas of her life. She was stuck in a rut working at a job that she hated. She had been single for a long time with no real prospects which gave her character this feeling of defeat at first. Then everything in her life within the first few chapters just seemed a little hopeless. And we all know that every one of us has been there a time or two in our lives. So where Jamie brought in the fantasy...Melody brought the realness into the story. However, as we make progress into the book, and we get to see how great these two characters are together (under the sheets as well as out of them) you start to see how well they fit; complimenting each other. They seem like a completely normal couple dealing with normal day-to-day relationship stuff. You almost almost forget that he's a senior in high-school and she's his Lit teacher. And surprisingly for a short novella our characters have development. I didn't feel like it was too rushed, and the ending left me completely satisfied.

Here's a tiny little glimpse of one of my favorite conversations from the book:

“Just to give you a heads-up – I’m on my period." - Melody

"You don’t say. You hid it so well. Like I said, I’m here to hang out.” - Jamie

I don't have a lot of complaints. I'm familiar with Shen's writing now, and she gives us plenty of alpha male sexiness with each book she delivers. However, I'm so used to the dual POV, which I love, and I was disappointed that this book didn't have that. Maybe it was due to the length--having to keep it short and sweet? But I really enjoy getting to read both sides of a story, and with this one we only see things through Melody's eyes. Sure, we get a tiny little glimpse in the epilogue, but it was so NOT enough for me. Who knows? Maybe one day we'll get Jamie's side. But if we don't then that's still okay.

Overall though, this was a great- fast read. If you're a fan of L.J. Shen already this novella won't disappoint. If you're new to this author I feel like this is a great place to start. It's shorter, but don't let that fool you. Shen writes some pretty great stories, and this is a good book to test out whether you'll like her style or not. At the time of posting you can snag this book for $2.99 on Kindle, or read for free if you're a Kindle Unlimited member.