Friday, January 17, 2014

Deception by C.J. Redwine Review



"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. 

In this daring sequel to Defiance, with the world they once loved forever destroyed, Rachel and Logan must decide between a life on the run and standing their ground to fight."

Oh, so you want me to talk about Deception? Well, deception is the act of hiding or avoiding someone. That's one meaning of it, right? Don't know for sure; internet is down.  

Deception, for me, is one boring book. It's a deception from Defiance and the entire series. It's a huge circle. It's...well, there's many ways of saying it. And I did see the praising reviews of other people, and I don't care what they say. I speak from heart. Deception sure was good in the beginning and ending. It's the middle where Redwine loses me. I start to faze over the middle part, just in time to read the buildup to the climax. 

Finding the traitor among them is kind of like a guessing game. Traitors are usually the white sheep among the white sheep. They plant evidence against the black sheep, turn people against one another, and hurt people until they get what they want. And that's exactly what the traitor did. The author didn't hide it very well, because, if I guess correctly, that means the bad guy/villain wasn't hidden very well. I'm very bad at guessing evil motives behind people. Take Code Name Komiko, for one example. I guessed Crowbar (who is not the villain) of all people. I don't know why, but looking back, I don't even understand my reasons and steps. And I graduated top of the class in Geometry! 

Wait...There's just one problem. Human emotions are not like theorems and postulates. So it's kind of understandable. 

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's move on. 

The plot is an emotional coaster, without evoking emotion from me. I was pretty much heartless for most of the book. On the last page of Deception, I was like relieved. Sorry to say, but I was kind of happy that I was going to be free of Deception. I could had abandoned it, but instead I decided to stick around and hope for the best. And now I see how it turns out. It's even worse then Defiance. Deception has all the right parts to a thrilling story, but it isn't place in the correct order. 

The chemistry between Logan and Rachel is placed in the back seat, which is reasonable. When you are on the run for your life, you can't stop and kiss your girl while ten thousands soldiers are screaming at you with swords in their hands. Sometimes, I just wish it takes the stage, but it's shy now. It rarely appears and when it does, nothing explosive happens. No bomb goes off, nothing. It's like Rachel and Logan are an old married couple. 

The characters are remarkably strong and show all the traits (the human spirit, in general) of survival. They fall and rise, especially Rachel, and question themselves about the morals of killing, murdering, controlling, and keeping secrets. Sometimes they make horrible choices. So horrible that you want to reach into the pages and strangle their little necks. And then you'll continue on, hoping for the day or second when the old girl/boy pops into the POV again. 

The ending make me raise my eyebrow. It's questionable and open to discussion. Please don't post your comments on my review. Thank you very much and have a good day.

(Deception has all the right moves (for the most part), but it is not the one for me. I'm just not interested in it). 

Rating: Two out of Five

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