Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer

43 reviews

oakairi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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


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janacc's review

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adventurous dark tense 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? Yes

5.0


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kylosten's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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ajpotz's review against another edition

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fast-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

3.0

Pretty fun book, definitely not literary art but easy to read 

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boo1's review

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adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

In some ways the plot was a bit predictable but it was an exciting story with really interesting characters. 

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kfmcf's review against another edition

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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. 

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middle_name_joy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

3.75

Though the main themes are beaten to a pulp by the end, this is a decent adventure story with characters you come to be invested in. There are slow sections, but there is also action and shifting loyalties and castle intrigue. Lots of gore, too. I'm going to need a romance cleanser before reading the second book. 

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thecasualbooknerd's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-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

This was a solid Robin-Hood-esque fantasy that had satisfying twists and turns and none of the cringe YA tropes. It was enthralling and original enough to stand on its own. 

Would definitely read again and recommend 

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calicat42's review against another edition

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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


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thumbeleia's review against another edition

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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


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