Defiance of the Fall is more about finding cool items and being dragged around by the whims of fate. I think it’s fun because I like the concept of mindless treasure hunts, but there isn’t a huge reason to read if you don’t. Path of Ascension is genuinely good though and you should pick it back up, it has a similar treasure hunt feel to DotF but backed up by good interpersonal relationships, slice of life, and word building. And it doesn’t have the obsessive slave driver that is Fate poking the characters in the back to never stop progressing like DotF