Defend the Dawn: 2 (Defy the Night)

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Meanwhile in Kandala, Harristan is dethroned and on the run. He’s struggling to unite the rebels in his fractured kingdom, but he finds support—and maybe more—in unexpected places.

Not much happens for the first half of this book. The end is eventful but not enough to make me bump it up a star. In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world. I ACTUALLY PREDICTED a lot of the twists 🙈🙈 But nonetheless, I still found it highly entertaining, and predicting the twists didn't make me enjoy it any less! Definitely a testament to the amazing writing. Also, the ending?! 🫣🫣 I am literally so mad that we got a cliffhanger and the 3rd book isn't out UNTIL JANUARY. Like, how am I supposed to wait that long?! 😤😤 That said, I’d probably also call it a crossover because Brigid Kemmerer has written other young adult novels and has a pretty significant (well-deserved) following among YA readers.Immersive and engaging, DEFY THE NIGHT is a romantic epic that blends magic and politics with a deft hand.” –Adrienne Young, New York Times bestselling author of Fable His side of the story carried this book for me! I really hope that we will see even more development of his character in the last book! I need more of his POVs!!

The pure frustration I've felt throughout reading this... Only finished because I'm hoping the third book will make it up to me, but WE WILL SEE. The heart-stoppingly electric sequel to Defy The Night is just as addictive as its predecessor. With a whirlwind plot and compellingly complex characters I couldn’t get enough of this breathtaking tale of love, duty and revolution.Defend the Dawn tells us a story about the betrayal that the Crown’s facing. We finally get to see from Harristan’s POV. While, I’m delighted to see the way he’s thinking, I wish that the author dig deeper into his personality. Tessa is really showing her naivete in this book. It’s not exactly a “fault”, because from how and where she was raised and what we know of her from the first book I don’t expect her to be some political savant and amazing at reading other people. BUT, sometimes, I wanted to sit her down and ask her to please not be so trusting of what people say at face value. To ask more pointed questions and to consider what a person has to gain or lose that may make them act a certain way before jumping to judgments. Good grief. New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer continues her electrifying series with more intrigue, romance and heart-stopping adventure

Istg I was the edge of my goddamn seat throughout the last few chapters! Like… the twists and turns once again had my jaw on the FLOOR!!! Especially the ending. I‘m not okay and I won’t be okay, until I know how it’ll end!!! The plot, the romance, the main characters, the side characters, the world… just everything was sooooo well done!! The writing was also once again amazing! Brigid Kemmerer is a true genius. She just knows how to write incredible YA, fantasy books!! The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life. One of my fave things about Brigid’s books is the guaranteed fun I’ll have while reading!! I was as hooked into this as I was with Defy the Night & the only sad thing about reading it this soon is the one year I’ll have to wait on for book 3 BECAUSE THERE WILL BE A BOOK 3!! There has to be with the way this book ended!!The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own. More information