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4.15 AVERAGE

adventurous 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: Yes
adventurous fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

4.5
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
adventurous funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

“Choices never seem like choices when the world only offers us bad ones.”

I’m not going to lie, there was a part of me that was slightly worried for this book. I loved Defy the Night and wasn’t quite sure where the plot was going to lead in Defend the Dawn. I thought it was either going to make or break this series. Let me just tell you… this book was SO GOOD. Oh my gods. I am so happy! Please go read this series!

“‘I know people expect the worst of me,’ he says quietly. ‘I didn’t realize you were among them.’”

Tessa and Corrick have a long way to go in their relationship. They still have issues that need to be worked out but it was done really well. Slight spoilers! There is a chapter with an argument scene that had me wanting to highlight PAGES worth of quotes. It was SO good. I normally hate when couples fight but this was just done amazingly well. Wow. Just- wow. I had to close this book and take a breather.

And let me just tell you- we like a jealous Corrick.

There is an additional POV added on top of Tessa’s and Corrick’s. It starts off as a mystery but is later revealed. I originally thought it was one of two people, but closer to the reveal it becomes quite obvious. The Barnes&Noble Exclusive edition has bonus content of the reveal annotated by the author. As it turns out, my second thought was a common guess among early readers, so I don’t feel too bad about thinking it. I loved the addition of this POV because it’s a character I wanted to see more of. It also gives you an idea of what was going on in a different location than the other MCs.

The ending? Gods, was I stressed. There were multiple things going on, in multiple POVs, and I was watching the number of pages dwindling, wondering how bad the cliffhanger was about to be.

I didn’t find myself wanting to get back to one specific character’s POV over the others, which is shocking. There was so much going on that I didn’t have time to get bored with one POV compared to the others.

I’m thoroughly looking forward to book 3!
adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

this book was everything. the characters the plot the ROMANCE !! i am so in love with the story its not funny. and my brain had a fricking field day with all the twists lol nothing could’ve prepared me.

i will be rereading eventually… after i recover from the emotional trauma. what a way to start the year!!

Pirates, romance, betrayals, and more in the sequel to Defy the Night. Picking up where the last book left off Tessa is now part of the council and Corrick and Harriston are still trying to get more Moonflower to save their kingdom, however when a dashing captain of a ship appears and claims to be an old emmisary sent by the previous king Corrick is suspicious while Tessa seems to be falling for him. This new person is named Rain and he has come to make an offer to trade the moonflowers of the kingdom he has been spying on for them in exchange for steel as he is playing both sides. Tessa spends a vast majority of this book going back and forth ( and mostly believing that Corrick is awful, frightening or a monster) and listening to everyone else’s opinion about him while she wavers between her feelings for him and Rain the new spy pirate who taken an interest in her. This book went where I dreaded ( the annoying love triangle) and Tessa constantly going back and forth about Corrick, and honestly she’s the main reason I didn’t enjoy this book so much. I loved their relationship in the first book, I was looking forward to it growing in this one, but a majority of it is spent thinking Corrick is awful and that Rain is so great ( seriously I was pulling my hair out). If i’m being honest, Tessa was the weakest point of this entire book, her whole arc was just being in the middle of two guys and going back and forth which one she wants.... seriously... why? Corrick and Harriston on the other hand were amazing, we get to delve deeper into their characters and their growth. Corrick is struggling to protect his brother, his kingdom, and Tessa. He’s immediately suspicious of Rain ( AS HE RIGHTFULLY SHOULD BE) and is weary of everyone ( HE’S WITHIN HIS RIGHTS HIS PARENTS WERE LITERALLY KILLED IN FRONT OF HIM and this entire time he’s been trying to keep control of the kingdom) and seriously Tessa? No empathy, no understanding, for this dude’s trust issues? You expect him to be friendly and cordial with the one guy who nearly got him killed and had him beat nearly to death?? ( GIRL WHAT?). Lochlan was barely there and when he was it was to start a fight or pick at Tessa and Corrick. I am excited to see where the next book goes because this one for sure left on a gigantic cliffhanger ( but seriously I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO HOW THIS ALL WRAPS UP). Yes Tessa and Corrick spent a majority of this book at odds with one another but in the end of it they finally come to an understanding and finally talk and communicate... it only took them 300+ pages to do so. Also Harriston’s storyline with Quint? GIVE ME MORE. I can’t wait to see how Lochlan and Corrick fair in the next book and where Harriston and Quint’s storylines go, especially with the reveals and ending of this book.

SPOILR BELOW: ( This is just to help me remember when I read the third book haha)!!!!!!!
Spoiler Corrick has fallen off the ship and has been captured with Lochlan and has to pretend to be Wes again, Rain turned out to be the King the entire time and was going to ransom Corrick off while also holding Oren Crane’s daughter as prisoner in his ship and poisoning her, Harriston has been pretending to be FOX a masked stranger who has been giving money and food to the people but while Corrick and co were away the counsel has ousted him as king and now he is injured and on the run with Quint, Tessa has to now cope with the idea that everyone but her and one guard are alive on the ship and states that she wants to learn to fight at the end of this book, Tessa and Corrick make up and finally admit to loving each other. Rain reveals that someone has been poisoning the people of the kingdom ( Corrick and Harriston’s and he thought they were doing it but if not them someone else is)


*Thanks Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, Bloomsbury YA for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*