Synopsis:
Eighteen months has passed since the Institute was liberated. For Allira Daniels, she’s still trying to live with the consequences of her actions. The Defective are free, but are their lives truly any better? Attacks on Defectives are on the rise, and Allira has to wonder if she’s directly responsible.
Keeping busy to escape her guilt, Allira is trying to move on, but how can she when her past is always haunting her?
Review:
Defective hit the ground running where Resistance ended. The author's evolution as a writer since book one in this series is rather remarkable. With Allira ended up in a new world far away but also intricately related to the first two books. Allira is more grown up and I like this rounded development of her far better than the first two books. Maybe it does take a while to get things going, but boy does author Kayla Howarth throw in twist after twist, not to deliberately annoy the reader, but to enthrall right up until the end.
It was hard to predict the ending but suffice to say, this closing chapter on Allira's story appears to have wrapped things up beautifully.
"In recent times I have become a bit bored of kick-ass heroines. But Defective and The Institute series as a whole is so multi-faceted, we don't mind."
Drew and Jace remain cool, but I as a male reader was drawn to Nuka. The girl rocks and the story is all the better for her inclusion.
In recent times I have become a bit bored of kick-ass heroines. But Defective and The Institute series as a whole is so multi-faceted, we don't mind.
In summary, a terrific YA to MG level story. I'm a fan of the author's writing. And it is more like Hunger Games and Dawn of Rebellion than Divergent and I am thanking the stars for that.