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Preview
  • Defy or Defend

  • A Delightfully Deadly Novel
  • By: Gail Carriger
  • Narrated by: Emma Newman
  • Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (39 ratings)

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Defy or Defend

By: Gail Carriger
Narrated by: Emma Newman
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Summary

New York Times best-selling author Gail Carriger brings you a charming story of love, espionage, and Gothic makeovers set in her popular Parasolverse.

Narrated by the wonderful Emma Newman.

Spy...

Dimity Plumleigh-Teignmott, code name Honey Bee, is the War Office's best and most decorative fixer. She's sweet and chipper, but oddly stealthy, and surprisingly effective given the right incentives.

Versus knight...

Sir Crispin Bontwee was knighted for his military service, but instead of retiring, he secretly went to work for the War Office. Mostly he enjoys his job, except when he must safeguard the Honey Bee. Neither of them are vampire experts, but when Nottingham Hive goes badly Goth, only Dimity can stop their darkness from turning bloody. And only Crispin can stop an enthusiastic Dimity from death by vampire.

In a battle for survival (and wallpaper), Dimity must learn that not all that sparkles is good, while Cris discovers he likes honey a lot more than he thought.

Spinning off from the Finishing School series, featuring deadly ladies of quality, this story stands alone but chronologically follows Poison or Protect. It's Cold Comfort Farm meets Queer Eye meets What We Do In the Shadows from the author of the Parasol Protectorate books, perfect for fans of Julia Quinn, Jodi Taylor, or Meljean Brook.

Delicate sensibilities? Contains fraternizing vampires and one very curious young lady, who asks about it, sometimes in detail, but mostly in retrospect. May also involve excessive use of velvet, melodramatic poetry, and the strategic application of interpretive ballet.

©2020 Gail Carriger LLC (P)2020 Gail Carriger LLC
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What listeners say about Defy or Defend

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Delightful and just a little silly

This is wonderful, lighthearted, kind, and just a little silly - like Dimity herself. It’s a story of intrigue and occasional peril, where bustles save the day. And best of all, it features Pillover!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Thank you Miss Gail ❤️

Just what I needed - to spend more time with Dimity (and her sparkles) and in Gail's inclusive, positive, witty world ✨ Really enjoyed the story - laughed out loud so many times - and the performance by Emma Newman. Thank you Miss Gail!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Simply wonderful!

As usual GC delivers! A delightful follow up from the Finishing School series, it's so lovely to meet the characters again and catch up with their lives. I loved Presheas book and loved Dimities just as much! Will there be more? I really hope so!
Highly recommended!

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Full of beautiful and humorous writing

Another truly excellent book from Gail Carriger, Defy or Defend is Dimity’s story. It is full of all the beautiful and humorous writing that characterises the author’s writing. As it is Dimity’s story, it is also full of sparkles. I chuckled lots (both at the witty words, and the story itself), and enjoyed the whole book immensely. All the characters are well written - they all have their own personalities and motivations, and seem real.

Emma Newman does an excellent job of narrating this audiobook (as she always does). The reading is clear and easy to listen to. The expression is excellent, bringing all the characters and their various emotions to life, and highlighting the brilliant and subtle humour of the writing.

I’d definitely recommend this to anyone, really. Obviously, you get extra enjoyment if you’ve read Gail’s other books, as a few characters pop in to say hello.

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Enjoyable fun

Delightfully quirky, very entertaining. Good story, fun characters. I always enjoy Gail Carriger's work immensely.

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excellent addition to the parasolverse

I have loved all the books based in this universe but ive always had a soft spot for Dimity and I'm so glad she got her own book, it's a little more straight in there with the romance than some of the others, both characters tell you they like each other pretty much the second you meet them, but you dont get frustrated waiting for them to get together as there is so much else going on. Would reccomend reading the finishing school series first to get to know Dimity, however its not strictly necessary, this book could be read without reading any of Gail's other books.

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Thoroughly enjoyed!

As always, Gail Carriger has hit the spot again. An extremely engaging, entertaining book with much humour. You do not need to have read Gail's other books to listen to this, but I would recommend doing so, or check out her website to understand the world she writes about if you, as I do, like to have background. I can't think of a single one of Gail's books which I have not enjoyed - although to be honest I prefer reading about the characters from the Finishing School series as adults. Emma Newman does a very good job of narrating too. If you like the quirkier side of vampires and steam punk then this may be for you.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

love these books but can't stand this narrator

I really enjoyed the book before this (poison or protect) and was eager to listen to this. Unfortunately I found the narrator so grating I couldn't get past the first 15 mins of this one. might be asking for a refund!

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1 person found this helpful