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calicat42's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, Torture, Blood, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, and War
thumbeleia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Chronic illness, Gore, Body horror, Child death, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Police brutality, War, Classism, and Torture
lisashelves's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Terminal illness, Violence, Physical abuse, and Death
Moderate: Torture, Death of parent, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Physical abuse and Fire/Fire injury
littletiramisu's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, Torture, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Confinement, Physical abuse, War, and Violence
irisheyz77's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Violence
kayladaila's review
- 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
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!
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: War
Minor: Alcoholism
teri_b's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
They desperately try to even out the odds between the rich and the poor in this kingdom where the rich can afford to buy the moonflower that is needed to fight a fever that has swept into the kingdom a few years back and is taking its toll on young and old, rich and poor all the same, unless you regularly take an elixir that is made from the moonflower.
Kemmerer's world building is well done as she paints the picture of economics and politics and the general set up of the lands. The books comes with a map for further orientation and is lovely.
We get a second perspective from the second in command in this kingdom, Corrick, the King's Justice, who does all the dark work for his brother Harristan, the King, in the dungeons of the castle.
The two royal brothers have come into power very young when their parents got assassinated and the stability of the kingdom was at risk. Now they have to stick together as they get more and more under attack from the consuls who govern the various regions of this kingdom and are vying for as much power as ever possible. In addition, rebellion and revolution is brewing everywhere.
In the book we meet the two sides of the same coin, the ones that have no power at all and the ones that have the power in this kingdom and, as can be expected, they are on a collision course.
Over this first book, the main characters grow, their perspective and horizon changes and they start to move on, change what they believe to be true and start to try out new things, get into new situations and possibly even envision a future that they never thought about before. There, too, is a slow burn romance. And climbing. Yes. Climbing. I loved it.
What I most loved about this book is its female main character, Tessa Cade. She is so very well fleshed out and stands her own throughout the whole book.
There, too, are the royal brothers, Corrick and Harristan, who are caught up in their past with their parents being murdered and a kingdom that now threatens to eat them up alive. Their dynamics is very well done as well as their relationship starts to creak and gets strained.
And then there is the plot. The beginning feels a little bit slow, but the second half definitely picks up speed to come to a very fast paced ending.
The end of the book leaves me curious about what is going to happen next and how things will develop.
Please check on trigger warnings for this book, there are quite a few.
I received an eARC from the publisher in return for an honest review via Netgalley.
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, and Emotional abuse
emotional blackmail