All I wanted was a little trouble. Okay, so maybe choosing Cruz Donovan’s 18th birthday party wasn’t the way to go about it. Three years ago, I fell for him. I thought he fell for me too. But when he broke it off, he took my heart and, as if that wasn’t enough, he took my best friends too. They aren’t the same boys I knew before high school started. They’ve got all kinds of secrets they’re … they’re keeping from me. If I want back in, I’ve got to be ready to play their game. I might be a killer soccer player, but I’m not real eager to join a team when they won’t tell me who the opponent is, how to score a goal, or what rules I’m supposed to be following.
I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time, a pawn in games I don’t understand. Maybe I never should have gone looking for trouble in the first place. Is it too late to change my mind?
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A great story that will keep the reader flipping pages until late into the night.
Smooth writing , great story , and a great start to a book series .
Emotions all the over the place .
Might need some chocolate ..
Recommend for adults
five stars …
Ali Dean does it again! I love that this book has all the feels. It’s a fast read, grabs you from page one and keeps you hooked until the very end! I really like how it has drama but it doesn’t seem to drag on forever and resolves in a timely manner. I gave it four out of five because it just doesn’t seem like it could really happen to kids in high school and that they’d handle it all so well.
I absolutely loved this book. I loved that soccer was the sport the characters were dedicated to and as someone who played soccer for 13 years, Ali Dean did a great job being realistic in what it takes to train and the work you have to put in.This book had everything. It had the couple you root for and to be honest, who doesn’t love the stories where the guy is all in for the girl and is willing to fight for her? A little bit of jealousy, a whole lot of confidence. The overprotective friends and family. And a CLIFF HANGER. Which, I usually don’t read a book right away if I know a cliff hanger is coming but I read this book twice and am now dying to get my hands on the second one.
I loved Defiance Falls. It sucked me in and I read it in one sitting. I totally ignored the part that this one is book one in the Defiance Falls series and the cliffhanger took me by surprise. I loved every one of the characters. There’s a lot of layers and secrets being kept in this story. I felt a lot happened in the story but there are still a lot of secrets. Hazel is just getting back into hanging out with Cruz, Emmett, Bodhi, Spike and Moody. She doesn’t really know what she’s getting into. Her and Cruz have great chemistry. Cruz is possessive and sweet and I’m so rooting for them. Oh the ending has me so wanting book two right now.
Actual 4.5 stars
Ali Dean is one of my favorite YA/NA writers. She usually writes about all sorts of sports – snowboard, skiing, swimming, running – you name it, she writes about those sportsmen. I like her books as they show a little bit inside heads of those who are envied by us due to their records, achievements, dedication, good looks etc. She shows us readers that it is not so simple, that there are the same problems as with usual people.
Regarding this book – I did not put a 5-star rating as I did not like Cruz and Hazel’s cousins much. They loved to speak in some kind riddles and then anticipated Hazel to understand them from half-a-word. Actually, I liked most of the book, just Cruz felt a bit immature and annoying.
In anticipation for the next book in the series, as it ended with a cliffhanger.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Like all of Ali Dean´s books – I loved this one. It was soo good that I read it without stopping at all.
If you love the combination of young adult, romance and action this one is going to be perfect for you.
I absolutely recommend this book. Read it you’re not going to regret it =)
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Ali Dean does it again!
Defiance Falls is a win! One of my favorite things about Ali’s books is the close ties her characters have within their frequently non traditional family unit. She writes strong female characters that are allowed to struggle, but who also show independence and inner strength. She also writes strong male leads who can learn, grow and evolve.
I loved getting to know this new crew of characters. It was a page turner that had me chuckling, feeling anxious for the characters and upon reaching the last page, shouting out …. “wait….what?! Don’t end yet!” Can’t wait for books 2 and 3
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Oh my ! What a cliffhanger! Bring on the next book because I could not put this one down!!! Incredible!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Masterpiece !
Wow , Ali has done it again !
A great start to a new book series .
Emotions all over the place .
Might need some chocolate and a cup of coffee . wink , wink …
Late night of reading …..
A hard book to put down .
Great job !
Recommend for mature readers .
Defiance Falls is a great start to a new series, and Ali Dean at her best. In this volume we meet Hazel Ross, a star soccer player at her high school destined for stardom at Harvard. She grew up playing soccer with the boys, and had a core group of guy friends in Spike, Moody and her twin cousins Bodhi and Emmett. After Cruz Donovan transfers from another local school, they share a summer romance before starting high school. When Cruz breaks it off, Hazel distances herself from the group.
The night of Cruz’s 18th birthday, the group reconnects, but it isn’t long before Hazel discovers everyone is hiding something and keeping secrets from her. The secrets and lies put Hazel in danger she would never have seen coming, and makes her question everything she thought she knew about her friends and even her family.
Man, I seriously love Cruz! I think it would be impossible to read this book and not fall in love with him a little bit. He’s so protective of Hazel, and his adoration is obvious. I’m really looking forward to the next two installments of this story. This has all the intrigue and fated lovers goodness that is catnip to my soul.
I absolutely loved this book. I am a huge fan of Ali Dean’s writing, and this one did not let me down! The main character, Hazel, is strong, independent, and athletic. Ali Dean is the queen of stories with female athletes, and I love it. I appreciate that Hazel is strong, yet we got to see many instances where she had to recognize where she was a bit disconnected from the world around her. The way she throws caution to the wind to be herself and explore relationships during her final year of high school is fantastic! Cruz is a fantastic male lead to this story, and he is someone you can’t help but love and want more of! This is a great start to a new series, and I can’t wait for the next two books!
Angsty. Mysterious. Intriguing.
‘Defiance Falls’ by Ali Dean is book one in a new YA mature trilogy.
This book is intriguing in the most amazing way, with scenes that will create so many questions you’ll have to take a break from reading, scenes that will make you swoon and a moment later make you wanna throw something at the wall.
This is a fast-paced book that can be read in one sitting but you might need a shot of whiskey when you finish and a good ol’ cold shower.
It all starts with Hazel, Number 1 soccer player in the women division of Defiance Falls, trying to live a little during her senior year of High school, trying to find that thrill and excitement that only comes with knowing you’re doing something wrong. And there is only one group that can help her achieve her goal.
Hazel is focused and determined, feisty as hell and even more stubborn. She likes her independence and she hates when people get too close to her, she’s an amazing daughter and an okay friend but that’s fine by her.
It might get a little bit lonely in her life but she’d much rather that than the chaotic mess she found herself involved in when she decided to rejoin her old group and seek a little wildness.
Cruz is the most wanted boy in Defiance Falls, he has an air of arrogance and cockiness to him that is like a girl magnet, he’s intense and definitive. Cruz has a mysterious vibe that everyone loves but when it comes to protecting his group and those he loves, everyone also knows that he will go to any distance to do that. Especially hen the subject at hand is the one girl he could never forget, the one who broke his heart and managed to ignore him, the closed-off and evasive one, the one his enemies have no fear using to get to them.
The group’s dynamic is, to say the least wild. Cruz, Moody, Spike, Emmett, and Bodhi have all different personalities, all big and confident, but they all have one thing in common, Hazel.
Things start to get messy though when Hazel starts asking questions and dangerous events start happening all around them. It doesn’t help her emotions are blurry and every step of the way is a push back of sorts.
She might be a pawn in their game but she is the most important one. The one every single person involved is willing to protect at all costs.
This book is full of secrets and untold truths, and because this is only book 1 in a trilogy, we won’t have all our questions answered in ‘Defiance Falls’.
The sexual tension, the laugh-out-loud moments, the swoon moments and the WTF moments are what make this book worth it.
I can’t wait to see what happens next, to learn the truth and understand people’s actions.
If you like an angsty mysterious book, filled with repressed anger, amazing characters and thirsty moments then this is the book for you and you better check it out.
Defiance Falls is an incredible, angsty, sexual frustration-at-its-finest extravaganza. The author did an incredible job at building the tension between two teens who are destined to be together yet apart at the same time.
This novel is a teen angst romance. Based in High School, we get to see Hazel flirting between dangerous lines at Defiance Falls, and we also get to meet the handsome Cruz Donovan, which is a bonus in itself.
This book is angsty to the max. The tension between Hazel and Cruz is palpable. Well, this entire book is angst city. There is a lot of tension between all the character, and it leaves you intrigued as to why.
Reading this book will leave you with a lot of questions. I have a lot of questions, which will hopefully be answered in the next book, which i am soo excited for! It leaves you intrigued until the very end.
I loved the gang. I loved how they were so loyal to one another and close they were. They weren’t friends, they were family.
I loved this book! It was full of excitement and interesting and kept me reading to the very end. I adored the characters, and I loved the story – exciting from the very beginning.
Defiance Falls is a brilliant and action-packed read with lots of tension of all kinds. I seriously cannot wait for the second book now. Highly recommended!
Ali Dean became a favorite with the Pepper Jones series, but Defiance Falls has definitely cemented her spot within my favorite YA authors! Hazel is a smart and talented soccer player enjoying summer before her senior year. Her biggest decision is whether to go to an Ivy League school or school with a better soccer program. Senior year should be cake! Until it’s not! This story has the brooding alpha boys, suspense, and a hot dad! Book totally ends on a cliffhanger, so its a good thing the next book comes out soon because I cannot wait to get my hands on it!
I love all of Ali Dean’s writing. Her strength is writing strong female characters and her latest series does not disappoint.
I know that this is a series and the next books are set to be released later this fall, but I think the readers need more development of the characters. I really liked Cruz, but I feel like we need more backstory. He is just not in the same league as Jase and Ryker, however there is potential and I am excited for book two.
Overall another solid work from a great author.
I was given an advance copy for an honest review.
I loved it! It is different and a bit darker than the author’s previous series. The sport element is there but the suspense in the storyline takes the book to another level. Throughout the book, I was intrigued to find out what was the underlying secret everyone was keeping from Hazel. By the end, an inkling of the secret was given but not the full story on what Cruz Donovan, her cousins and her dad may be involved in.
Defiance Falls is the first book in a new series by Ali Dean and, full disclosure ends on a cliffhanger.
This book was nothing like I was expecting, and everything that I wanted. I went in figuring I’d read a chapter or two while getting a pedicure and then pick it up later that night or the next day and ended up reading the entire book in one sitting (well technically two – I had to drive home from the nail place, but I promptly ignored all plans and picked it right back up!).
Being the good girl all through high school, Hazel decides to finally have some fun senior year. Consumed with soccer and her grades, she hasn’t made time for many friends or going out, so when she shows up at an end of summer party more than a few people are surprised. And when the boy she loved long ago starts talking to her, she has no idea her life is about to take an unexpected turn.
Reuniting with Cruz, her cousins & old friends, Hazel learns that everything she thought she knew isn’t what it seems.
Defiance Falls is a roller coaster ride of epic proportions, full of twists and turns you never see coming. I couldn’t get enough of this story, and that cliffhanger left me begging for more. I loved the characters, the storyline, the secrets I’m still trying to figure out, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!
Do you remember your childhood friend(s) who you thought nothing would tear you apart, or your first love who made your heart fill full, or the person you shared your first kiss and never wanted it to end? Then all of it went away… That’s what it’s like reading this book. You feel for Hazel and what she’s been through and lost. You feel the emotions of the friendships and love she no longer had starting to come back, but there are holes in what once was. She’s trying to figure out her life and what she wants, but secrets remain and nobody is filling her in. Then it’s all pulled away….Cruz the only one who has her heart and she needs to figure out how to deal with him.
This books has the start of a series you are going to want to finish. It’s keeping me on the edge of my seat wanting to get my hands on the next book.
Young Adult
Romance
Action
Suspense
Cliff Hanger
October can’t come soon enough!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Fabulous start to a new, romantic-suspense, YA series
Hazel Ross and Cruz Donovan were close friends in middle school, along with Hazel’s two cousins, Bodhi and Emmett Boyd, as well as Spike Matlock and Peter Moody, whom she had been friends with since kindergarten. They are all extremely talented soccer players in a small town where soccer is king, Defiance Falls, which is 30 miles south of Boston, Massachusetts. Hazel played on the boys’ soccer team until she was 12 and was forced to switch to the girls’ team. After Cruz transferred from the local private school to the public school, he took her place on the boys’ soccer team.
Cruz is a few months older than Hazel and the other four boys, though they are all in the same grade. All five boys and Hazel were close enough that Hazel considered the boys a second family—until three years ago. Just before their freshman year, when Hazel and Cruz were only 14, they were briefly a couple. They shared a few sessions of very intense kissing, until Cruz broke it off between them shortly after his 15th birthday. He broke Hazel’s heart in the process, and she couldn’t bear to be near Cruz after that. Which meant she hasn’t spent time since then with her former crew of male best friends, and has hardly even spent time with her cousins, other than weekly dinners at their mutual grandparents’ home.
Until the night of Cruz’s 18th birthday party, shortly before the beginning of their senior year.
Suddenly Cruz is constantly in Hazel’s space, acting as if they were never apart, and simultaneously drawing Hazel back into close connection with her former friends and her two cousins. The trouble is, it soon becomes apparent that the boys—most especially Cruz—are keeping dangerous secrets. The mystery seems to be connected to an ongoing feud between Cruz’s family, the Donovans, and another bigwig family in town, the Malones. Both families are extremely rich, and the Donovans in particular own the largest pharmaceutical company in the world. Soon after the patriarch of the Malone family, Flynn Malone, turns up dead, presumably from suicide, the Malone boys, who are around Hazel’s age, begin acting threatening toward Cruz and the boys. And Hazel suddenly finds herself potentially in danger from the Malones as well, simply by being in the boys’ radius.
This fast-paced, romantic-suspense, young-adult novel is a change of pace for the talented Ali Dean. Though she has previously written romantic-suspense, it was in the context of the primary focus of the books being on the heroine as a star athlete, secondly on the romance, and thirdly on the suspense plot. In this new series, though both Hazel and Cruz are star soccer players, there are no scenes of either of them engaged in playing soccer. Instead, the main spotlight is primarily on the romance, and secondarily on the suspense plot.
This is a very gripping read on both counts. The sexual chemistry between Hazel and Cruz is intense, and the suspense plot is scary.
I enjoyed very much reading about Hazel’s father, who is a single dad who had her at age 17 and, when her mother abandoned her, raised Hazel with the help of his parents. He is only 34, and a very loving and “cool” dad who does MMA and works from home as a high-tech computer programmer.
I also enjoyed reading about Hazel’s loving grandparents, and her two quirky male cousins.
This trilogy seems to be essentially a three-part novel, so this book ends, as advertised, on a cliffhanger, with many important, suspense-plot questions remaining to be answered. Per the author, Book 2, Defiance Falls Revolution, releases October 10, 2019, and Book 3, Defiance Falls War, releases October 30, 2019. I don’t normally like to read a series with cliffhangers until all of the books in the series have been released, because I am too impatient to know what comes next to wait for the next installment of the story. However, I am such a big fan of Ali Dean’s fiction, I immediately grabbed a copy of this book as soon as I could get it, and I am eagerly anticipating the next two installments for more chances to read about Hazel and Cruz.
Parental Advisory: I would personally rate this book PG-13 due to foul language, underage drinking, marijuana use, and sexual activity. It is recommended for older teens and adults.
Note: I received a review ARC from Booksprout.
I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Suspense Plot: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars
I have read all of the works published by Ali Dean, but this may be my new favorite and that is saying something because I love the Pepper Jones Series! I love the dynamics between Hazel and Cruz and the rest of the gang! Something is going on in Hazel’s world and everyone knows about it but her — including her dad! Hazel must decide whether to stay blind to whats going on or embrace the guys and everything they are involved in.Towards the end I felt the lead up coming to a cliffhanger but did not expect where the story went! I can’t wait for book 2 and I am already my second read of this book and pre-ordered a kindle copy despite receiving an ARC. The vibes of this story and writing style reminds me of several stories by Tijan as well as the Boys of Brayshaw High Series by Meagan Brandy! Happy Reading!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.