A Dream Within A Dream: Julia Defiant Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

JULIA DEFIANT (Witch's Child #2)

Author: Catherine Egan
Genre: YA Fantasy

Release Date: June 13, 2017

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 464

Find it: Amazon, B&N, TBD, iBooks, Goodreads

Description:

Fans of The Rose Society, Graceling, and Six of Crows will thrill to the masterful world-building and fiercely flawed heroine in this heart-pounding follow-up to Julia Vanishes, book two in the Witch's Child trilogy.

"Adventure, murder, romance, intrigue, and betrayal with a 16-year-old heroine that is both fierce and flawed at the same time." - Hypable.com

Julia and a mismatched band of revolutionaries, scholars, and thieves have crossed the world searching for a witch. But for all the miles traveled, they are no closer to finding Ko Dan. No closer to undoing the terrible spell he cast that bound an ancient magic to the life of a small child. Casimir wants that magic will happily kill Theo to extract it and every moment they hunt for Ko Dan, Casimir's assassins are hunting them.

Julia can deal with danger. The thing that truly scares her lies within. Her strange ability to vanish to a place just out of sight has grown: she can now disappear so completely that it's like stepping into another world. It’s a fiery, hellish world, filled with creatures who seem to recognize her and count her as one of their own.

So... is Julia a girl with a monster lurking inside her? Or a monster wearing the disguise of a girl? If she can use her monstrous power to save Theo, does it matter?

In this riveting second book in the Witch s Child trilogy, Catherine Egan goes deep within the heart of a fierce, defiant girl trying to discover not just who but what she truly is.

Praise for Julia Vanishes: 

Egan’s debut novel sparkles. A beautifully rendered world and exquisite sense of timing ensure a page-turning experience. Publishers Weekly, starred review

Readers will find themselves immediately immersed in the narrative and invested in the fate of Julia, who is both feisty and flawed. Booklist, starred review

Julia’s a wonderful, fully realized heroine... For those readers waiting for the sequel to Marie Lu’s The Rose Society, a well-realized page-turner in the same vein. Kirkus

Haven’t started the series? Make sure to grab the Paperback of JULIA VANISHES!

Amazon | B&N | TBD

Julia Defiant is an amazing second novel in a thrilling YA fantasy series, and is one that fans of the genre definitely need to get their hands on. A lot of series start off with a great first book, only to fall short on the following books. That is definitely not the case with this one. Every single aspect of the novel was fabulous and just as fantastic as the first installment. I read and loved the first book, Julia Vanishes, so I came into this one with pretty high hopes. I'm so glad to say that it lived up to my expectations and surpassed them all. There are so many wonderful aspects to this book that I know I'm going to end up forgetting something, but I'll try to get as much as I can.

Julia continues to be a great main character. She's realistic and easy to connect with early on in the book. She has lots of positive qualities - smart, loyal, determined, kick-ass abilities, strong, brave, and more - but she has plenty of flaws too. I loved watching her become more comfortable with her powers and her role in the crew she's a part of. She grows and matures quite a bit during the story, and I liked seeing it happen. I also enjoyed watching her relationship with other characters develop on various levels throughout the novel. One huge thing for me is always the writing style. I prefer the first person point of view in most cases, and the author chose to use this for the story. I'm so happy that she did, because it just cemented my love for it even more. I love how the reader gets to really know Julia because the book is told from her perspective. We get to know her on such a personal level that it allowed me to slip inside her mind and her world right from the beginning. The writing style always seems to be a "make it or break it" situation for me as a reader - and I honestly think this was the perfect fit for the book.

The plot was awesome. It was full of adventure, suspense, action, and thrills. I was immediately hooked - from the first page - and didn't stop reading until I had finished it in one sitting. I had to keep going to see what was going to happen. Julia and the rest of the crew kept getting into tight spots with so much on the line - it definitely keeps the reader on their toes. Another aspect I adored was the extreme attention to detail throughout the book. The author uses rich descriptions and vivid imagery to bring everything to life in front of the reader's eyes. Every little part of the city was thought out and described to the smallest detail. I loved getting to know everything I could about the city, it's history, inhabitants, the magic and politics - it was all so vibrant and exciting. I wanted more and I hope we get to learn even more about it all in the next book. I very highly recommend this book - and series - to fans of YA fantasy and readers looking for a richly imagined escape into a sensational world full of danger and magic.