This book was such a good read! I had high expectations, considering how much I loved Defy the Night, and this did not disappoint.

The plot of this book did not pick up till the last 50%, but I was alright with that. The first half mainly focuses on some of the political turmoil occurring, and we learn what every character has at stake here. Side characters from the first book have a bigger role, which was nice to see. We are also introduced to a wickedly charming pirate, who seems to be hiding something. The intricacies of all the character dynamics, and how they each interacted with each other differently were so well written. The level of mistrust among the group kept tensions high throughout the whole book, leaving me guessing who I should be rooting for!

In the second half, the book really picks up. All the tension set up in the first half comes to a boil in the last 50%.
No one trusts anyone, alliances are formed, and trust is broken, leading to an explosive cliff-hanger. Kemmerer did a phenomenal job of leaving hints for what is to come in the third book. There was just the right balance of secrets revealed, and secrets hinted at, that are going to leave readers counting down the days till the next book.

What a wonderful second installment in a delightful series!

(review will be posted on Goodreads closer to the release date)

I don’t have the words to properly describe just how much I loved Defend the Dawn. Oh. My.

Lies, deceit, a dashing sea caption, late night confessions, a king who’s got a secret, and so much more.

This series is my absolutely favorite and Kemmerer’s writing just keeps getting better and better!!

5/5 ⭐️

Thank you, Bloomsbury Publishing, for my early copy, you made my entire month.

Surprise, surprise we have more political turmoil in the land of Kandala. Admittedly, the first 60% of this was pretty slow for me and I was worried this was going to end up having second book syndrome. Well the last 40% remedied that because I was literally on the edge of my seat! I really liked the new character, Captain Blakemore, and some of the more minor characters in the first book had more predominant roles. We also get a new POV, which ended up being one of my favorite parts of the book. The worst part about reading a book early is that cruel, bitter wait for the next book. How will I go on after that ending? Those last couple chapters were so good and I have a feeling the next book is going to be my favorite in the series. I feel like Defy the Night just gave me endless questions and we finally get some answers in this one. I was pleasantly surprised to see a few of my theories prove correct. Fans of Defy the Night will surely love this and not be disappointed by the direction of the series.

This is seriously the year of all my anticipated fantasy sequels and I squealed when I got the approval for an advanced copy so thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury!

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up

I find that it is sometimes difficult for sequels to live up to the hype of the first book, but Kemmerer has defied expectations with Defend the Dawn. There is character growth and enough intrigue to keep the plot "sailing" smoothly. Ending with a cliffhanger has once again left me wanting more!

Defend the Dawn was as good, if not better than the first book in the series. I really loved being back into this world with the characters. I will definitely be purchasing this for my library.

Holy CRAP! This was an amazing book! It’s very rare for a sequel to pass up an OG, but Brigid has done it again. I LOVED this book. The character development was amazing. There was so much growth from all of the characters and I am sus about someone now...someone’s on my radar for being a big fat phony. It will break my heart if it’s true though.
But I adore Tessa and I was so happy to get back into that world again. She has such a heart of gold and I want her as a best friend now. Corrick...gosh I love him too but the man needs to learn to use his words. They set sail on a new adventure that forces them to question alliances, take brave new steps, and take a good look at their own relationship. We meet some new people who put me through the ringer. I am very excited to see what develops in the next book.

**Review will be published on my sites and socials Sept. 13th!**

PROGRESSIVELY BETTER.

This was almost a miss for me, buuuut I liked the second half so much more that I'm anxious for the finale. And what I did most love was the writing. Kemmerer is a brilliant writer and I love how smooth and easy it is to follow her story and be tucked into the pages.

This book had very slow pacing. The entire first half was dedicated to getting onto a ship. At least interspersed were some total character upheavals. I think the progression focus was on who Corrick and Tessa are becoming. That mindset really helps set the scene for how a lot of these moments occur. I wish there was a toooouch more romance, but I feel it in my bones that it's coming!

There's even a third POV thrown in that was fun to figure out and to see another side to the world that was needed to keep the pace for book three. I think there's SO MANY places that POV could go and I can't wait to get to know them even more. I already love this character as much as Corrick and Tessa so it was exciting to have that added in as well.

While it took a long time to get to the ship, I do love a good boat book. There's the right amount of drama and intrigue. Characters getting to know one another. And allll the secrets revealed (like what's behind the door?!). I thoroughly enjoyed how this played out and even though the ending left me going WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, I know the next book will deliver too.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy
- Language: some mild
- Romance: make-outs
- Violence: medium
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, battle scenes, physical altercations, weapons violence, kidnapping, poisoning

Loved this book. It is the perfect second book in the series. The cliffhanger will leave you wanting more .... right now.

I love this author and I absolutely loved this book!! I read this book so fast and I can't believe its over already. This books story is so gripping and full of action. I will be recommending this author and book to everyone I know.

Just so excited to have been able to read this fantastic book in advance. It is truly a wonderful, fantastic, incredible book! The story of Tessa and Corrick and Corrick and Harristan is beatifully portrayed.

I could not put the book down and an so ready to read the next release!

I don't want to reveal anything in advance, but wow. Fans you are going to love this one!!

A must read. Definitely 5 stars.
Have preordered a hard copy for my collection. The cover is beautiful!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher Bloomsbury YA for granting me the honor of reading this fantastic book in return for my honest opinion!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloombury for allowing me to read an E-ARC copy of this book prior to its release!

Last year, I read Defy the Night and it was one of my top reads of 2021. I loved Weston Lark and Tessa and the extremely unique storyline that Brigid created. Defend the Dawn continues that very unique storyline with heavy court politics, a bit of swoon-worthy romance and some surprising twists and turns.

Defend the Dawn picks up right where we left off at Defy the night, dealing with the aftermath after the rebel attack. The beginning of the book was pretty dense with politics but I felt it got a lot more interesting about half way through and then kept building to a huge cliffhanger that is making me cry thinking about how long ill have to wait till I get to read the next. I do think this book fell prey a little bit to the classic fluffy sequel but I also felt a lot of it did have a purpose in the end so the fluff was worth reading.

I was most impressed with the last 100 pages and how everything kind of caught on fire and I absolutely could not put the book down. I love Brigid's characters and how much I cared for all of them, even those on the opposing side. Brigid does an amazing job of writing complex characters and giving her side characters enough substance that you want to care for them as well. I also love the plotline for this series, a whole kingdom overrun with sickness, outlaws trying to help who they can, rebel uprisings and a little romance to top it all off. I can tell the last book is going to be jam packed with action, and hopefully some answers to all my burning questions!

Overall, I am loving this series, and am already excited to jump back into Kandala for book 3. I will be picking that one up the second its available!

a fun fantasy that will keep you hooked till the end! i really enjoyed this book! This is not my first book by this author, i have read A Curse So Dark and Lonely and i loved that book as well. i also own Letters to The Lost and i cant wait to read it! This book is really good and i would highly recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy.

I have to say this series is addictive! I loved book one and getting to know Corrick and Tessa – there was so much political intrigue in that one. It continues here in book two:

+ I didn’t mean to finish this book in one night, but I did. The writing is tight and flows well, it moves quickly even though parts of the book feel more like a filler. It doesn’t matter because I think there was enough new elements to make this feel like the story was moving – I was hooked!

+ The story picks up right after events in book one but I love that we have new characters, and one very intriguing Captain Blackmore/Rian. I was like, move aside Corrick…Rian is confident, he is a leader, and patient, which I love. I need more of Rian. I also love the twists in this story.

+ With the new characters come a new set of problems and political intrigue/suspicions for Harristan and Corrick. Can they trust this Rian who claims to have enough Moonflower to trade with them for Kandala steel. I love the way Rian questioned how Kandala’s people were being treated, making Corrick and Tessa do some inner reflection on a few things. The story also moves to sea, on Rian’s ship heading to Ostriary which for me was so much fun. Harristan has his own problems back in Kandala though.

+~ Tessa and Corrick are so frustrating. They are hot and cold! I understand his desire to put Kandala first and I understand how she feels like there is no future for them if it’s always first. Most of this book was Tessa questioning Corrick and trying to find out if he is the person she fell in love with before. But Corrick was also coming off as a jerk at times, especially when dealing with Rian. I did like all the suspicion though, it kept me on my toes! The tension throughout the story is fantastic.

~ Tessa – I liked the suspicions because it kept me engaged but I could not stand Tessa’s back and forth about Corrick. They have some issues to resolve. And it’s a slow burn, they only get as far as kissing. There was almost a love triangle brewing and honestly I was into Rian more than Corrick. I was even hoping something with Tessa and Rian would happen. BUT…then I realized Corrick and Tessa deserved each other haha. Let them have their hot/cold relationship ugh…those two. Give Rian a stronger woman please! Tessa is a good person, but I think Rian needs someone with more of a backbone. She just came off naive at times and

~ + It has a cliffhanger ending…of course! 😆 Looking forward to book three.

Why you should read it:
*this series is addictive! Tessa and Corrick has to deal with a lot of problems in their relationship but I like how they aren’t perfect
*Rian, the new character
*having most of this story be on a ship was fun, plus there are some great twists!

Why you might not want to read it:
*the back and forth between Tessa and Corrick can be a little frustrating but that’s their relationship

My Thoughts:

Brigid Kemmerer is a must read author for me, even though I didn’t care for how Rhen changed in the Cursebreaker series but I will say this author really does a great job with writing about complicated relationships. I think that’s why I’m so drawn to her books, the characters aren’t perfect but readers can relate in some way. I was scared Corrick was going to be another Rhen situation but Corrick at least was always morally gray. We get to see all the imperfect sides of him and try to decide, like Tessa – if we like what we know and see. Defend the Dawn has lots of tension, which I love in a story, because there are trust issues everywhere! Harristan and Corrick can’t trust Rian, Tessa doesn’t know who to trust (which was the most frustrating), Karri and Lochland don’t trust Corrick but the twists are wonderful. I love the addition of Rian and want to see if finally Corrick and his brother can get some help with their own kingdom. The story was fast moving and I want the next book in the series! It’s a great series so far and I hope it ends on a high note!

Brigid has done it again! I always love her books, but this one is something special. Political intrigue, a budding relationship, and all set on the sea?! Yes please! This book kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the last. Now if only we can get the next book asap because the cliffhanger has left me with so many questions! Highly recommend this series!

WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS TO ME BRIGID 😂🤩🤩🤩

Seriously LOVED this book so much, the only downside was my expectation that it was a duology, so I was blindsided 😂 that’s my own fault though!

What I loved:
🏴‍☠️ the unexpected turn of being on the high seas for a lot of the book, I love pirate books so I loved that aspect!
🏴‍☠️ Corrick obviously, I seriously have a thing for morally grey princes who hide their true selves behind a mask literally 🔥🔥
🏴‍☠️ the story building! The end of the first book wasn’t as much of a cliffhanger as I expected so I had no idea how the story would develop but it exceeded all expectations.
🏴‍☠️ the tension between Tessa and Corrick is top 👏notch👏

What wasn’t my favorite:
🏴‍☠️ Tessa being wishy washy with Rian made me SO. MAD. Like gahhhhh I was so mad at her for half the book, but it’s probably because I love Corrick so much 😂

Honestly all in all this was a fantastic next book of this series and I will sit here crying until I get the next book because the end of this book - you are NOT prepared 😭

Argghkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk! Oh my goodness! I’m screaming!!! This is not fair!That cliffhanger tore my heart apart! I need to know what’s gonna happen next! How will survive without knowing my favorite characters are safe and sound!

If you read the “Defy the night” and enjoyed it, the sequel guaranteed to blow your mind! It’s surpassed my entire expectations! This is MAGNIFICENT! Even better and five gazillion stars worthy reading!

It’s good to see Tessa and Corrick back! But this book is more than moonflowers and their healing powers or cold-hot relationship of Tessa and Corrick or intimate bound between Corrick and Harristan! In this sequel: knives out and ship ahoy: so many twists, action packed chapters taking your breath away!

The story opens by introducing a new vigilante/ brand new OUTLAW named Fox leaving silver coins at people’s door. Who is this new hero? Before we plotting our theories, we return back to kingdom where Harristan still negotiates with the counsils and rebels at the same meeting with the help of prince Corrick!

It seems like Lochlan leading the rebels and he still doesn’t believe king’s intentions to deliver medicine equally.

They need to find new sources of moonflowers to prevent any other imminent attack. An unexpected visit of an emissary from neighboring kingdom Ostiary might be answer to their big predicament. Captain Blackmore inherited the ship from his father, a spy offering extra moon flower sources in exchange of steel Ostiary needs to rebuild their kingdom.

He offers them to travel with him to Ostiary as a proof of his loyalty. Corrick has doubts about Blackmore’s intentions and he doesn’t want to leave his brother vulnerable. But new source for elixir will help to heal more people and prevent the inner conflicts inside kingdom.

Lochlan also is on the ship alongside three guards as a goodwill of Harristan even though Lochlan thinks this is a trap to kill him and throw his corpse to the sea.

Tessa will join the journey to check the quality of moon flowers to produce more elixir. She has complex feelings about Corrick, still missing outlaw Wes she fell for and she thinks king’s ruthless justice is not the man she loved.

Captain Blackmore and Lochlan already warned her about Corrick’s cruelty and gave her second thoughts to trust Corrick completely. This journey will threat everything they worked for and threaten the entire peace of the kingdom as the betrayals and lies start to come out!

The tension is rising. Things get heated and escalated at each chapter. You read the last third as your heart is on your throat! It’s so tense, action packed, shocking! I just jumped up and down! Hyperventilated!

And the ending, those last words….this is torture… how a normal human being can patiently wait for at least one year to read the next book! Have a mercy on us dear Brigid Kemmerer and bring us a new book ASAP!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury US Children’s Books, Bloomsbury YA for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Defend the Dawn is the second book in the series; the first, Defy the Night, started the stories of Tessa and Corrick. They live in Kandala, a location overrun with a sickness. Corrick is the kings brother and Tessa is an apothecary.

The story picks up about two weeks after the first book left off. Overall this was an interesting continuation of these characters. I was mostly happy with Corrick and King Harriston’s stories, but was exhausted by Tessa. She is very wishywashy, cannot make up her mind and is just a hypocrite. Corrick was written smartly and when he was finally calling out Tessa, I was cheering.

Another character that continued in this book was the rebel Lochlan. Lochlan gets too much attention and his word given too much weight by Tessa. He was fine with killing her in the first book, and nearly killed Corrick, and now Tessa thinks about his words all the time instead of dismissing them.

It definitely leaves you on a cliffhanger that makes me excited for whenever the next book comes out. Thank you NetGalley for the Arc of one of my favorite authors!

Wow what a wonderful sequel!! I couldn’t put this book down. It was so nice to dive back into this world and reconnect with some familiar characters who definitely showed some growth from book 1!! We met some new characters, an adventure by sea, some big revelations and a cliff hanger. This is definitely a wild ride that you don’t want to get off of. Thank you to @bloomsburyya for the opportunity to read this arc!!

I have been eagerly anticipating getting back into this world!

Here are a few things I loved about this book:
• the high seas setting
• more world-building
• the action and political drama is heating up!
• the romance has taken me one quite the
swoony journey

If you haven’t read Defy the Night yet, I cannot recommend it enough. This series has royalty, a morally grey leading man, and a heroine who is willing to fight for what is right.

I love this fantasy series. The second in the series is just as good maybe even better than the first. Highly recommend for YA fantasy readers.