"I love you... Until the moon is no more."
(3.75/5*) Quite a solid debut for Persephone Steele! "Defied" follows the story of young Ave, who dreams of being able someday to travel the world with her shapeshifter best friend, Bes, and see all that's waiting for them outside their little town. But her hopes meet an unfortunate and harsh end when the tyrannical Vojka's army of Devoted raid her home, and destroy the normalcy she knew forever. Ave is forced to flee the town with only Bes and a mysterious little tornado that seems to be a manifestation of her own magic to help her, and soon stumbles upon a mysterious place sheltered by illusions... Guarded by an amethyst-eyed young man, with whom she develops an immediate bond of an ancient magical sort. Ave will have to learn to control her new gift, and determine whether she trusts her new soulbonded mate enough to trust him with her life.
This book was absolutely hilarious. I had the pleasure of beta reading for Persephone Steele, and. Oh. My. GOSH! I literally spat my tea once, after a particularly sassy line by almighty Ave. She's witty, sharp-tongued, and a lovely smartass. Definitely would want to meet her one day! But it was cutesy Bes who won my heart over. He's quite a bubba boy, and although my OTP looks more like a brOTP, I still have high hopes! All of the characters had me howling with laughter.
I really can't wait to see what Persephone has in store for the next installments in this series!