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kfmcf's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
There's something missing from this book for me. I don't know what it is, exactly, but it just feels like there's a layer that just never made it in.
I also think that the pacing is just off. I never really felt the stakes of anything as I moved through the book because I just kept looking at how much was left and going...okay surely they're going to get to *something* and they didn't until the last like 2 chapters.
I'm also just really not of fan of such a textbook ingenue. She has nothing that makes her interesting and yet the MMC is supposed to be so enamored with her. I was really excited in the beginning to have her alchemy be a major part of who she is but it's really not, which is a bummer.
There were parts of the character interactions that I enjoyed, just not the characters themselves. There's some good banter, but it's just intermingled with a whole lot of NOTHING happening. Also OBVIOUSLY Corrick was Wes. We did not need to wait that long for a mediocre reveal. Or if we WERE going to wait that long, there needed to be more stakes of it. She needed to hate Corrick himself and not just government. Ugh. Missed opportunity.
Something about the writing also just didn't gel with me. Maybe it's from just finishing a few books where the prose felt very mature and well written (also YA) and then moving into this just felt a bit patronizing to teens and their reading capabilities at times. Juvenile writing is not a bad thing in moments, but having the actual writing structure of the book feel juvenile was a miss for me. CW: S Assault - Also, the scene where they're in his room after she's caught is CREEPY. It's creepily written and Corrick is creepy, he basically assaults her. And why did her breast need to pop out of her shirt in the struggle? It was gratuitous and made me uncomfortable and I don't think in the way that the writer was hoping for. I didn't feel her vulnerability, it just felt like an edition thrown in with no consideration to how it would affect the character. Also, like a line before it happened she made a joke (WHILST BEING ATTACKED) about his knife maybe being his boner (ala "is that a __ in your pocket or are you just happy to see me"). Took me out of the book, that whole interaction and really put a bad taste in my mouth for Corrick as a character.
However, all that said, I'm interested enough in the story and characters (not Tessa) to read the next one just to see if the exposition of the first book was just set up. If it isn't, then I'll probably drop this rating lower.
I also think that the pacing is just off. I never really felt the stakes of anything as I moved through the book because I just kept looking at how much was left and going...okay surely they're going to get to *something* and they didn't until the last like 2 chapters.
I'm also just really not of fan of such a textbook ingenue. She has nothing that makes her interesting and yet the MMC is supposed to be so enamored with her. I was really excited in the beginning to have her alchemy be a major part of who she is but it's really not, which is a bummer.
There were parts of the character interactions that I enjoyed, just not the characters themselves. There's some good banter, but it's just intermingled with a whole lot of NOTHING happening.
Something about the writing also just didn't gel with me. Maybe it's from just finishing a few books where the prose felt very mature and well written (also YA) and then moving into this just felt a bit patronizing to teens and their reading capabilities at times. Juvenile writing is not a bad thing in moments, but having the actual writing structure of the book feel juvenile was a miss for me.
However, all that said, I'm interested enough in the story and characters (not Tessa) to read the next one just to see if the exposition of the first book was just set up. If it isn't, then I'll probably drop this rating lower.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Violence, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, Confinement, Gaslighting, and War
Minor: Sexual assault
calicat42's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
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
lisashelves's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
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
kryzysowa_narzeczona's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Medical content, and Police brutality
Moderate: Torture and Grief
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
ka_ke's review against another edition
Meh. I think I’ve just moved beyond the Y/A reading level, that or some Y/A authors are just not giving their readers enough credit. As much as a robin hood retelling is interesting and certainly not over done, I think the whole “we hate the king & his brother thing” has become a cliché. Don’t be a cliché my dear.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Grief, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, and Terminal illness
kirstenf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, War, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Terminal illness, Alcohol, and Torture
Minor: Confinement, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Sexual content
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