queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
3 ⭐ CW: violence, torture, blood, death, murder, death of a child, death of a parent, illness
Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer is book one in the Defy the Night series. This one was disappointing after reading and loving the Cursebreakers series. This one just felt boring and a bit long and slow.
We follow the povs of Tessa, a common girl who has apothecary skills and outlaw by night; and Corrick, the cruel King's Justice. Tessa has been working with a masked man to steal precious Moonflower petals, the only thing that can help cure the sickness ravaging Kandala, and make them into medicine for those too poor to supply their own. One night, when Tessa's partner Wes is captured as a smuggler, it throws her into a world she never meant to have a part in. We find out that Prince Corrick isn't all that he seems.
We get an enemies to lovers thing between Tessa and Corrick. That is mostly what the book focuses on, between all the political intrigue. I thought this book was too long for just having these two main characters. We don't really get to know anyone else. I really liked Quint, but we don't get much of him, though the little we do tells me he's definitely a sass master. I thought Tessa was a little too earnest and perfect? She really had no flaws, and it was all on her to emotionally fix Corrick, and get the kingdom back in order. It all just seemed too easy to me. Corrick and his brother King Harriston were secret softies.
The one thing I did like about this story was the morally gray theme. Tessa discovers that things are not all black and white. The king isn't a monster who wants all his peasants dead, and the rebels aren't perfect saints and can go too far. Other than that, it felt like something was missing. I just don't care enough about the characters or the plot to continue to the next book.
Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer is book one in the Defy the Night series. This one was disappointing after reading and loving the Cursebreakers series. This one just felt boring and a bit long and slow.
We follow the povs of Tessa, a common girl who has apothecary skills and outlaw by night; and Corrick, the cruel King's Justice. Tessa has been working with a masked man to steal precious Moonflower petals, the only thing that can help cure the sickness ravaging Kandala, and make them into medicine for those too poor to supply their own. One night, when Tessa's partner Wes is captured as a smuggler, it throws her into a world she never meant to have a part in. We find out that Prince Corrick isn't all that he seems.
We get an enemies to lovers thing between Tessa and Corrick. That is mostly what the book focuses on, between all the political intrigue. I thought this book was too long for just having these two main characters. We don't really get to know anyone else. I really liked Quint, but we don't get much of him, though the little we do tells me he's definitely a sass master. I thought Tessa was a little too earnest and perfect? She really had no flaws, and it was all on her to emotionally fix Corrick, and get the kingdom back in order. It all just seemed too easy to me. Corrick and his brother King Harriston were secret softies.
The one thing I did like about this story was the morally gray theme. Tessa discovers that things are not all black and white. The king isn't a monster who wants all his peasants dead, and the rebels aren't perfect saints and can go too far. Other than that, it felt like something was missing. I just don't care enough about the characters or the plot to continue to the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, and Death
Minor: Death of parent and Child death
readingwithmeredith's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
brooketreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a highly anticipated read for me.
If you’ve heard the sound from Dance Moms of Abby Lee Miller saying, “You were good. I’m waiting for you to be great.” That was my thoughts through this whole book.
It’s labeled fantasy, but I didn’t get that.
The romance angle was sweet. The weird thing is I feel it’s a big part of the story, but it was very subtle.
The plot twists were easy to figure out.
Tessa was sweet but very naive. I wished she had been a little tougher for the life she lived as an outlaw.
For about the first half of the book I felt it was very dry. Not really engaging me in the story. It felt like it followed a similar plot to plenty of other books I’ve read. The pacing is fast so that helped. The second half really picked up though and I felt more engaged from there.
It leaves me unsure if I will read book 2.
If you’ve heard the sound from Dance Moms of Abby Lee Miller saying, “You were good. I’m waiting for you to be great.” That was my thoughts through this whole book.
It’s labeled fantasy, but I didn’t get that.
The romance angle was sweet. The weird thing is I feel it’s a big part of the story, but it was very subtle.
The plot twists were easy to figure out.
Tessa was sweet but very naive. I wished she had been a little tougher for the life she lived as an outlaw.
For about the first half of the book I felt it was very dry. Not really engaging me in the story. It felt like it followed a similar plot to plenty of other books I’ve read. The pacing is fast so that helped. The second half really picked up though and I felt more engaged from there.
It leaves me unsure if I will read book 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Chronic illness
rosie2007's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, and Blood
forgettingtofly's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
This was a good time. It kept my attention and definitely had an engaging storyline. I was drawn in by the characters and their relationships. The moral dilemmas were well done. The story was somewhat predictable in some moments. I’m interested to see where it goes in future books. I thought the audiobook performances were also pretty good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
mollysbooklist's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I loved this! Great character development and plot. Once I started I didn’t want to stop. I was immediately invested even through the world building.
The story highlights that life is not always as simple as good vs. bad.
The story highlights that life is not always as simple as good vs. bad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Classism, Murder, Violence, Death, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
lit_with_lauren's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Torture
lujisa's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
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? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Torture, Murder, and Violence
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
librarianheaven's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This has to be one of my biggest favourite books of all time. This was the first book I read when I started getting into reading and book collecting, I cried a lot and the plot twist was great!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Torture, and Child death
Minor: Chronic illness