Brigid Kemmerer never fails to impress me with her work!
Defy the Night is one of my favorite books so I had very high expectations for the second installment. And when I tell you, Brigid did not fail to satisfy my exceptions and she went well beyond with this book.

When I say I am obsessed with this book, I truly mean it! The world, the characters, the plot, everything. I love everything from this book. My standards have officially rose for books in this genre.
I absolutely loved Corrick, Tessa and Harristan, and I was delighted to see some chapters from Harristan’s point of view. The way that their characters developed with the plot was fantastic. That’s what I love about Kemmerer’s work. She like wove the plot with the characters, their feelings and their future actions as well as their relationships development and that made me cry, laugh, scream. This book made me feel so many emotions and that’s all I really need.

Corrick and Tessa’s relationship built throughout the book and I loved seeing them figure out their differences and solve it. I loved how they dove deep into themselves and found their true emotions. In general, I just love them. Just them.

And omg that ending! The cliffhanger had me banging my head on the wall. The ending had my gut wrenching, heart beating fast and my eyes swelling. I hope there is another book because I need more!!

The fact that I’ve rated every single Kemmerer book I’ve read 5 stars says something.
Also rude of you to leave me on that cliffhanger ✋🏼 I NEED TO KNOW WHATS GONNA HAPPEN.

This book is set on a ship/boat(?), which I was honestly skeptical of at first. But I ended up loving it. It was definitely not as fast paced as the first book, but I still loved it non the less.

I don’t think I’ve ever smiled as much as I did while reading this book. I even shed a tear or two. It was an emotional roller coaster.
The way this book ended was *chefs kiss* if you ask me. It’s a perfect set up for the next book (if there is one) in my opinion.

I love all the main characters so much, they will always have a special place in my heart 🫶🏼

After narrowly escaping rebellion, embers still burn across the kingdom of Kandala. With moonflower in short supply and the fever sickness raging, King Harristan and Prince Corrick need a new source..and fast. The timely arrival of an emissary from neighboring Ostriary could be the answer they need…but only if Corrick and Tessa can survive the uncertain journey ahead.

Defy the Night was a favorite read of 2021, so I was overjoyed to receive a widget to this ARC from the publisher (thank you to Bloomsbury!). This book did not disappoint at all and Brigid Kemmerer is quickly becoming a must read author for me.

The plot of this book was a great follow up to the first book. I was happy with Defy the Night as a stand alone novel and was a little afraid to see where this book would take us. But I truly enjoyed the plot and the arc of it. I couldn’t put this book down once I started it. I love the introduction of new characters and the shift in scenery. Corrick and Tessa’s relationship and their struggle to find stable ground added the perfect amount of tension to the book. I love watching them evolve as characters.

My biggest frustration was how much the POVs tend to blend together. The writing of the characters and how they think and act tends to blur together a little bit. I wish they were differentiated more to highlight the differences of the characters and their complexities.

Overall, a fantastic follow up book that didn’t lack for plot or character development. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this one.

I loved this. I guess I never really realized how much I loved this world and these characters until the stakes got so much higher, which they very much did in this one. I love the relationship between the two main characters and how they bring out the best in each other even when they have to be their worst self! So excited for the next book!

Thank you to Faye at Bloomsbury publishing for giving me access to Defend the Dawn through NetGalley! I have been waiting anxiously for this book and let me tell you, IT BLEW my expectations out of the water. Overall I give this book a 4.5/5 ⭐️ and rounded up.

Tessa and Corrick’s story takes off as they sail the high seas together in order to obtain more moonflower petals.

I really loved how the book dove into the politics of Corrick’s kingdom but still gave us all of the action and romance that the readers want.

AND LET ME TELL YOU! Corrick and Tessa’s relationship is everything in this book. I found myself gasping and having to put down the book several times out of shock.

I’m also so ready to see Tessa learn to fight in the next book and can’t wait for the third novel to release.

You are NOT going to want to miss Defend the Dawn!

Posted to Goodreads and will upload the tik tok link once it has been uploaded.

Defend the Dawn directly follows the events after Defy the Night. I don’t want to say too much and spoil anything that happened previously. If you haven’t read Defy the Night, add it to your to read list!

This was such an anticipated read for me and I’m so grateful for the eARC from Bloomsbury. In Defend the Dawn you continue following along the story with Tessa and Corrick and you also have a new character POV so you get a wider view of this world.

This is my second book from Brigid but her world building is amazing! This is a YA fantasy novel and though it doesn’t have faes, elves, or dragons, it has adventure, freedom, rebellion, and a sprinkle of romance. Like the first book, there were a lot of twists and turns that had me on the edge of my bed.

At the end of book 1, you think all is good with Tessa and Corrick but like the synopsis for Defend the Dawn says, their relationship is going through some turbulent waters and OMG this stressed me out while I was reading. While there is this tension between them (good and bad) Tessa and Corrick are on an uncertain and dangerous journey to try and find a cure for the sickness because from the last book, it was only a temporary fix and they’re chasing for something permanent.

What I loved about this book:
Enemies to lovers (probably one of my most favorite tropes)
The tension of are they or aren’t they
The story line and adventure
The anticipation and the twists
The flashbacks
And most importantly, I really loved seeing the character growth in this one.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I love the man I think you are. But sometimes it takes me a little while to figure out which one is real, and which one is just another face you show other”

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury for an arc!

“I've had to fight to hold Kandala together. I've had to fight to keep my brother safe. And now, if I have to, I'll fight to hold on to you."

WHAT A MASTERPIECE. UTTERLY BRILLANT.

I knew that Brigid was going to knock this out of the park and BOY WAS I RIGHT. I recently read defy the night and it was one of the best ya’s that I’ve read. And defend the dawn was so much better. Holy crap.

A lot of things kinda shift in the book that we’re so unexpected. Like corrick and Tessa still struggle and due to new factors, Tessa and corricks relationship gets a strained. But I honestly loved it. A couple quotes from it oh my god. How can corrick slightly mean but have me panting after him. But still somehow so unbelievably sweet and I will forever love him.

I have so much to say about how amazingly well done this book was but I feel like no matter how hard I try it wouldn’t be done right. The twist at the end!?!?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME. BRIGID. I hate you but so I love you. I almost cried.

GOODNESS WHERE TO BEGIN. Brigid Kemmerer seriously just never disappoints me. She continuously delivers on all the tropes I love and is just *clenches fist* SO good at the angst and the tension and the romance and the twisty turny plots!!!

Defy the Night was my favorite book of 2021, so Defend the Dawn was easily my most anticipated release of the year. I FLIPPED when I received the eARC (thanks Bloomsbury!!) and immediately dove in and didn’t stop until it was 3 AM and I was turning the last page. And BOY, THAT ENDING. Absolute chaos.

To be honest not too much happens in this book. It’s very much a “we’re traveling” sequel. BUT I was just having so much freaking fun with everything that was happening (even though my stress levels were also at an all time high) and I also really enjoy when characters are in close quarters for a long time. I liked the expansion of the worldbuilding but it was definitely a setup for the next book. The characters are always the star of Brigid’s books though, so let’s dive into those!

Tessa & Corrick’s relationship hits EXTREMELY rocky waters (pun intended) in this book. Even MORE angst than in the first book and they both really had to grapple with figuring out where they stand with each other in terms of morals and trust and how they want to move forward. I love them so much so it was fun to see their relationship evolve.

Side characters were, as always, great. The additional POV chapters were definitely necessary so we could know what was happening outside of Tessa/Corrick, and I enjoyed them. The new addition of the sea crew added A LOT of fun and A LOT of anxiety; my opinions of them were constantly changing (my opinion on Rian flipped DRASTICALLY throughout this) and I really could never guess what their motives were. This book was truly a rollercoaster from start to finish.

I can see how some people might call this a filler sequel, because so much of it really won’t be a factor until the next book, but I love these characters so much that I am just enjoying the journey. I wouldn’t say this is quite as good as DEFY, but it is definitely a thrilling follow up and I’ll be very impatiently awaiting the last book!.