Defiance by Lili St. Crow

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Razorbill, 2011. ISBN 9781921518935.
(Age 14+) Recommended. This, the fourth in The Strange Angels series, following Strange Angels, Betrayals, and Jealousy, is just as engrossing as the previous books. They are best read in order of course, so that the characters and events are clear. Dru Anderson, a strong tough girl, is determined to face the King of the Vampires and rescue her best friend Graves, from his clutches. She decides that she can no longer wait for Christophe with his enigmatic ways and decides to go it alone.
I thoroughly enjoyed the character of Dru. She is strong and caring and thinks for herself. The love triangle between her, Graves and Christophe is not at all clearcut, and the author has managed to keep me on the edge of my seat, wondering just whom she will end up with. With physical training and pushing her psychic powers, she began to move towards being the Order's svetocha, with all its responsibilities.
There is plenty of action, with vampire attacks, runs with the werewolves and conspiracies to foil. A few surprises at the end kept the momentum going and left enough questions to make me want to read the next in the series.
Pat Pledger

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