zozo_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Great world building did sort of expect the ending though. There was a plot twist in the beginning that I would have never expected.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse and Child death
fremzz's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Gore
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Whew. What a wild ride this was!
I really enjoyed the Cursebreakers trilogy and was excited to find out that Brigid was starting a new series. I heard tons and tons of raves about this when it was first released, which made me simultaneously more excited to read it and also totally wary. I'm not always huge on hyped books, but I gave it a go - and I'm glad I did.
Personally, I would categorize this as new adult. Somewhere in the middle of the book, Corrick mentions how several years ago, he and his brother were 17, which means that they've got to be at least 19-20 in the story, if not older. I'm not sure Tessa's age is discussed, but no matter what, the content felt older than just YA. Not because of anything sexually explicit (there's romance and some subtle physical contact, but nothing further) - but because of the gore. There was quite a bit of it and it even made me uncomfortable at times.
I was completely entranced by the story. It was pretty quick-paced, with great character development, short chapters, fantastic twists and turns, and political intrigue that actually kept me intrigued. This is a feat, I must say. Political intrigue usually bores me to tears, but this time, I was interested. The characters actually made you care about the cause and I found myself feeling so hopeful for a solution throughout the story.
The secondary characters were nearly as fascinating as the protagonists and I'm looking forward to seeing how the sequel might dive into their stories a bit more. I just know that this felt like a really refreshing high fantasy and I'm excited for whatever's next.
I really enjoyed the Cursebreakers trilogy and was excited to find out that Brigid was starting a new series. I heard tons and tons of raves about this when it was first released, which made me simultaneously more excited to read it and also totally wary. I'm not always huge on hyped books, but I gave it a go - and I'm glad I did.
Personally, I would categorize this as new adult. Somewhere in the middle of the book, Corrick mentions how several years ago, he and his brother were 17, which means that they've got to be at least 19-20 in the story, if not older. I'm not sure Tessa's age is discussed, but no matter what, the content felt older than just YA. Not because of anything sexually explicit (there's romance and some subtle physical contact, but nothing further) - but because of the gore. There was quite a bit of it and it even made me uncomfortable at times.
I was completely entranced by the story. It was pretty quick-paced, with great character development, short chapters, fantastic twists and turns, and political intrigue that actually kept me intrigued. This is a feat, I must say. Political intrigue usually bores me to tears, but this time, I was interested. The characters actually made you care about the cause and I found myself feeling so hopeful for a solution throughout the story.
The secondary characters were nearly as fascinating as the protagonists and I'm looking forward to seeing how the sequel might dive into their stories a bit more. I just know that this felt like a really refreshing high fantasy and I'm excited for whatever's next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, and Torture
bookishgoob's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
My goodness! This book had me so entranced with every page. I loved every moment of it from the robin hood-esque premise to the friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-partners-to-friends-to-lovers dynamic between the main characters. I loved that there’s wasn’t many true good guys or bad guys; just people fighting for what they thought was right thinking they were the good guys. The dilemmas the king and the prince faced when it came to the rebels made me so intrigued. seeing things from multiple perspectives was a great choice! I love political intrigue, and this book scratched all of those itches. I highly recommend and I absolutely can not wait for the second book to come out!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Grief, Murder, Terminal illness, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, and Classism
nononononononono's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Grief, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Torture, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Rape
savannahsauls's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Gore, War, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I am writing this review after rereading Defy the Night for a second time (date finished: 11/05/2023), in preparation for the sequel, Defend the Dawn.
I first read this book in 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its height. Now, with the pandemic seemingly winding down - but by no means over - this novel remains as relevant now as it was then.
The premise for Night is a terrible fever that has swept through the fictional kingdom of Kandala, an illness for which there is only one known cure - the dried petals of a plant called Moonflower.
Kandala is a kingdom ruled essentially by two people: twenty-three-year-old King Harristan, and his brother, the King's Justice, Prince Corrick, four years his junior. The kingdom is composed of eight sectors, each of which is ruled over by consuls. Moonflower only grows in two of these sectors, hence, supply of its petals is strictly rationed among each sector, with only limited amounts available. Unless you have the means to purchase your own supply - which most of Kandala's citizens do not.
Unable to bear the suffering of those who cannot afford to buy more than is rationed, outlaw Tessa Cade and her friend Weston "Wes" Lark help as best they know how - they steal supplies of petals from the Royal Sector to distribute among the local people. Their mission is fraught with danger - the kingdom is cracking down on those who distribute the medicine illegally, particularly smugglers.
But as the illness spreads, and discontent grows among the population, how long will it be until a single spark will ignite into revolution?
The fictional situation that Kandala finds itself in has some powerful parallels with the real-life pandemic, particularly in terms of vaccine distribution - wealthier, first-world countries had the means to purchase enough supply for their citizens, whilst the poorer, third-world countries were left with very little or none at all.
Brigid Kemmerer's writing is strong and assured, deeply exploring the politics of Kandala, while giving its main characters space to learn and grow as people. I did find on the second reading that there was rather a lot of introspection from our POV characters, which slowed the pace considerably - and which went on for a bit too long. I believe that a better balance between these scenes and the more action-packed scenes was needed.
But overall, Defy the Night was a thought-provoking book with interesting parallels to our own recent history. Bring on Defend the Dawn!
I first read this book in 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its height. Now, with the pandemic seemingly winding down - but by no means over - this novel remains as relevant now as it was then.
The premise for Night is a terrible fever that has swept through the fictional kingdom of Kandala, an illness for which there is only one known cure - the dried petals of a plant called Moonflower.
Kandala is a kingdom ruled essentially by two people: twenty-three-year-old King Harristan, and his brother, the King's Justice, Prince Corrick, four years his junior. The kingdom is composed of eight sectors, each of which is ruled over by consuls. Moonflower only grows in two of these sectors, hence, supply of its petals is strictly rationed among each sector, with only limited amounts available. Unless you have the means to purchase your own supply - which most of Kandala's citizens do not.
Unable to bear the suffering of those who cannot afford to buy more than is rationed, outlaw Tessa Cade and her friend Weston "Wes" Lark help as best they know how - they steal supplies of petals from the Royal Sector to distribute among the local people. Their mission is fraught with danger - the kingdom is cracking down on those who distribute the medicine illegally, particularly smugglers.
But as the illness spreads, and discontent grows among the population, how long will it be until a single spark will ignite into revolution?
The fictional situation that Kandala finds itself in has some powerful parallels with the real-life pandemic, particularly in terms of vaccine distribution - wealthier, first-world countries had the means to purchase enough supply for their citizens, whilst the poorer, third-world countries were left with very little or none at all.
Brigid Kemmerer's writing is strong and assured, deeply exploring the politics of Kandala, while giving its main characters space to learn and grow as people. I did find on the second reading that there was rather a lot of introspection from our POV characters, which slowed the pace considerably - and which went on for a bit too long. I believe that a better balance between these scenes and the more action-packed scenes was needed.
But overall, Defy the Night was a thought-provoking book with interesting parallels to our own recent history. Bring on Defend the Dawn!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Blood and Gore
Minor: Pregnancy
Spoiler
The plot of this novel revolves around a mysterious, highly infectious illness, which does draw comparisons with the current COVID-19 pandemic. There are also themes of inequality, as the only cure for the illness - the petals from a fictional species of flower - are highly expensive to procure.kayladaila's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I received an ARC of Defy the Night from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Defy the Night is a dual perspective fantasy story. A deadly fever has broken out in Kandala. Tessa and a masked man named Wes smuggle medicine from the upper class citizens to the poor working class who can’t afford it on their own. Meanwhile, the king’s younger brother Corrick is viciously protect the kingdom by any means necessary.
This story was very slow until a quarter of the way through. I enjoyed all the characters, but the story of a fever and class war hit way too close to home. This book was intense!
Defy the Night is a dual perspective fantasy story. A deadly fever has broken out in Kandala. Tessa and a masked man named Wes smuggle medicine from the upper class citizens to the poor working class who can’t afford it on their own. Meanwhile, the king’s younger brother Corrick is viciously protect the kingdom by any means necessary.
This story was very slow until a quarter of the way through. I enjoyed all the characters, but the story of a fever and class war hit way too close to home. This book was intense!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: War
Minor: Alcoholism
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