Unapologetic Reader, Psychotic Writer

It took me all but 4 hours to finish this book... I was hooked. I forgot to eat my lunch, respond to the messages popping on my phone and even cut my best friend short saying I was in the middle of an awesome book and I'd call her back after I was done with Defiance. One would expect me to give it more than measly 3 stars to this book right? Even I am surprised right now.This book started off AMAZING! I loved Rachel! I loved Logan! (Even if their relationship reminded me a lot of Riley and Beck from The Demon Trapper's Daughter) Rachel was kick-ass. She didn't take crap from anybody. Showed appropriate emotions at appropriate situations. Instead of adopting the common I-am-a-tough-girl-who-wants-to-save-everybody-so-I-will-do-what-I-think-is-right attitude she uses her brains and makes plans by discussing it with Logan so that they can do better together. The start of the book was really, really, really good - so good that I was sure to have a book to wave around in front of everybody saying *I have it! I have THE book that will be a new series I will agonize over and I will go totally fangirl over it for the next few weeks that everybody will wish their ears would fall off *evil laugh*"And then everything went downhill. Somewhere along the way Rachel was replaced with Tris (from Insurgent). Rachel's transformation from a strong character to a puddle of self-pity almost blindsided me. The plot was replaced by that of every fucking dystopia I had the misfortune of reading which had less action and more... nothing in the plot except Rachel's whining about everything. I know some major shit blew up in her face and she has every right to be angsty but really? It felt forced... especially the romance. And to think I was grinning like an idiot in every scene when Logan and Rachel were together.Defiance is a well-written book. The alternate POVs really worked for it. But what is really depressing is that it could have been a GOD-AWESOME-GIVE-ME-MORE-LIKE-THIS! book. Instead it settled on being just well-written. Except for the U-turn in Rachel's character (and the name 'Cursed One' - seriously? You put in a black-scaled fire breathing monster and the only name you can come up with for it is the Cursed One? I don't mean to be snarky, but really... the Cursed One??) I had no real issues with the book. There are a few plotholes, but I guess they will be addressed in the sequel. It had been everything a YA book should be. I was just expecting more from this book and it really felt like getting of the high of the awesomeness of the first few chapters with a killer headache towards the end.