Astrea seeks answers to her past she doesnt remember she finds herself falling ever deeper into her attraction to Nyte but after meeting Auster she begins to question who she should believe in you go into depth with Nute past and his powers and his family. How everyone see bim as the Villain and how much he care and come to rwalize he cares for Astrea.

The Night Is Defying by Chloe C. Peñaranda is an utterly mesmerizing continuation of the Nytefall series, and I could not put it down. The dynamic between Nyte and Astraea is absolutely enthralling—their push and pull, their undeniable chemistry, the way they ignite and challenge each other—it’s everything I crave in a fantasy romance. The tension between them isn’t just about desire; it’s laced with purpose, conflict, and an intensity that keeps the pages turning.

The world Peñaranda has built is stunningly detailed, weaving magic, danger, and wonder so seamlessly that it feels like stepping into an entirely new realm. 🌙✨ Every description, every bit of lore, adds another layer to the immersive experience, making it impossible not to be swept away. The war between good and bad, between desire and responsibility, is written with such nuance—it’s not just a battle of power but of the soul, and I loved the complexity of it all. ⚔️🔥

And it’s not just Nyte and Astraea who shine. The supporting cast brings so much depth to the story. Their motives, their struggles, their roles in the greater scheme of things make this world feel alive. The intricacies of the plot, the twists, the heartbreak, the hope—it’s all woven together masterfully.

With a perfect blend of action, emotion, and scorching spice, The Night Is Defying delivers everything I wanted and more. Peñaranda knows how to balance tension and tenderness, passion and pain, and I am so ready for whatever comes next. 🔥❤️‍🔥

A great second book. While I didn’t love it as much as the first one it was still enjoyable and definitely worth reading.

The story of our star-crossed lovers continues! This sequel gave us a lot more character development and expanded on this unique world.

We get lots of flashbacks as Astraea learns more about her choices, relationships and powers from the past.

I loved the dual POVs because we get to see just how far gone Nyte is for Astraea. Their chemistry is there and the spicy scenes had me blushing.

I appreciated that the book was broken into parts and each chapter had the POV we were getting and designated the past.

Chloe dialed up the morally grey and shadow daddy vibes in this one!

I also enjoyed listening to audiobook production from MacMillian Audio. The two narrators Corvin King and Jacci Prior really capture the characters beautifully.

I’m really looking forward to the next book in December!

Spoiler Alert: We see dragons in this book!

Thank you to Bramble Romance, Macmillan Audio, Chloe C. Peñaranda, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a honest review

Audience: Adult
Plot: 4 out of 5
Characters: 4 out of 5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 out of 5
Keywords: Romantasy, Fantasy, Romance, Vampires, Magic, Amnesia, Memories, Friendship, Betrayal, Love Triangle, Dragons
Tea Pairing: Dragonfruit Desire Herbal by Plum Deluxe

Favorite Quotes:
“Trust yourself, always. Don’t fear the darkest path for it will always lead to the brightest light.” — Chapter 39
“We are stars colliding and night defying.” — Chapter 41

I received copies of this book through NetGalley from Bramble/Tor Publishing Group and Macmillan Audio. Thank you! All opinions are my own.

The Night is Defying is the continuation of the Nytefall trilogy, following the events of The Stars are Dying. Defying is a romantasy that focuses on the newly found Star-Maiden Astraea, who is determined to discover her memories, keep her freedom, and help those who have been awaiting her prophesied return. Meanwhile, Nyte is determined to stop his brother Drystan from raising a vampire army to conquer the world. Are these star-crossed lovers destined to destroy the world or save it?

Defying is told through dual-POV between Astraea and Nyte, which is denoted by the chapter headings. I thought the overall pacing of the novel was very well done – there was action, adventure, romance, and intrigue. Readers are piecing together Astraea’s lost memories along with her, with the hopes of discovering who had betrayed her and caused her death from before. Readers are left wondering who to trust, and who may have ulterior motives.

I also enjoyed listening to audiobook production from MacMillian Audio. The two narrators Corvin King and Jacci Prior were perfect for this series. Their performances allowed me to really become immersed into the story, and it was as if I was transported to the world, which added to my overall enjoyment of the story.

I have enjoyed this novel immensely! Readers who enjoy spicy romantasy should consider adding the Nytefall series to their TBR. I would recommend this series to fans of Carissa Broadbent (Crowns of Nyaxia series) and Jennifer L. Armentrout (Flesh and Fire series). I look forward to the conclusion of the series with The Dark is Descending at the end of 2025.

*The Night is Defying* is an absolutely incredible sequel! I adored every page of this book! I’m really trying to avoid giving away spoilers from the first book. One thing I can say—dragons make an appearance, and it’s awesome!

Astraea’s journey in this book was so satisfying. Watching her piece together her memories and fully embrace who she is made her even more of a badass in my eyes. I love how she refuses to let others dictate her choices or her identity. Her loyalty to Nyte is unwavering, and I admire how she doesn’t let other people’s opinions of him sway her feelings. Plus, the chemistry between them is *off the charts*! The spice factor is definitely turned up in this one.

We also get to experience Nyte’s perspective in this book, and I’m here for it! His love for Astraea is so deep, he’s willing to risk the fate of entire worlds just to be with her. Swoon-worthy, for sure. I also enjoyed seeing him open up a bit—though he won’t admit it, he’s got some friends now, and it’s nice to see him happy. Plus, he’s that perfect mix of morally gray and dangerously charming. Shadow daddy vibes all the way.

There are plenty of familiar faces, but also new characters who bring fresh dynamics to the story. Some I absolutely loved, and others… not so much. The new characters really expand on the world-building, making this dark and magical world feel even richer. My theory about one particular character turned out to be right, and let me just say, the reveal in the middle of the final battle was both devastating and thrilling. I’m still justified in my dislike for a certain character, though!

The ending left me gasping, “WHY?” I can’t believe I have to wait for the final book to see how this all wraps up! But at least it’s releasing in December, so not too long of a wait. The anticipation is killing me!

This novel was even more confusing than the first book. I was lost almost the whole time. She's his prisoner but is free to roam wherever? I dnf'ed after 50%. The narrators were amazing!!

This book was just fine.

I felt like there was a lot going on, but no clear reason for these things until the very end of the book. It also seemed like the smut was used to pad the page count at certain points. Some of it seemed to come out of nowhere and didn't make sense in the context of what was going on in that moment.

I also felt like Nyte didn't really have a personality outside of obsessing over Astraea. Don't get me wrong, I love a man who would crawl home to her, but this was just a bit over the top. I wish we got to know him more outside of his relationship with her.

Wonderful and exciting sequel to the first book, I love this world, magic and characters so full of depth so much!

Dare I say, this may have been even better than book one?! This is mildly surprising because TSAD captured me, heart, and soul. We get to dig deeper into Nyte and Astraea's relationship and be right alongside Astraea as she discovers her lost memories and figures out how to navigate her feelings in the wake of the events at the end of book one. She has quickly become one of my favorite FMCs between her tenacity and resilience and always keeping Nyte on his toes. Speaking of Nyte, oh Nyte. Elite book boyfriend material, every day of the week. The things my boy has endured for his love, I want to wrap them both up and keep them away from the world that tries to tear them apart at every turn, although they don't really need my silly mortal help. I digress, this book has it all, star crossed lovers willing to do anything for one another, loveable side characters and found family, magical beings, big feels, I could go on and on. Also the narrators for the audiobook did a phenomenal job!

Ohhhhh was this good! I received an advanced copy of the audio and I will now happily call myself a huge fan of this series. Great and unique storyline, characters that evoke all sorts of emotions, and just enough sexual tension and spice to keep you going ohhh I hope nobody else can hear this! A must read for any romantasy lovers!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC of this book!

Unfortunately I'm going to DNF at 42%.

The transitions between place and time and in between have no meaning and no explanation and it's so distracting I can't keep going on.

I absolutely love the narration and maybe one day I'll come back to finish this because I did enjoy the first book but this one is just too long with the poorly executed transitions.

Thank you to Macmillan audio and NetGalley for sending me an audio-ARC in exchange for review.

2.5 stars

I bought and read the first book of this series, and while it had a lot of interesting and promising points it felt like it needed a bit more editing. The ending was very confusing (at least for me).

This second book, The Night is Defying does make more sense and flow slightly better. I think reading it via audiobook really helps with that. Having dual narrators helps the flow. I also really like the voices of both narrators. However I think this series just isn’t for me, maybe the more I read the less interested I am in Romantasy but the can’t control themselves even though they shouldn’t be together is not hitting for me between Astraea and Nyte. We love a shadow daddy but there’s too much going on like the world is ending guys…
It still was a little confusing with timelines and I understand it’s because she’s getting her memories back but I’m not vibing with this book.

I am grateful I received this as an audiobook though, and if you liked the first book you’ll definitely like the second one.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the advance copy!

This is the second book in the Nytefall series and I enjoyed getting to read more about this world. Like the first book, there were a ton of things happening in the plot which made it action packed. This time, there were past and present storylines, which felt a little confusing at times. There were definitely some parts that felt repetitive, but there was still plenty of action. Nyte and Astraea's relationship grew throughout this book which I enjoyed. I love duet narrations, and both narrators did a fantastic job bringing the characters and their emotions to life

This was slightly better than the first book but it also had some second book syndrome. I find it very hard to get into this story because there’s no grounding, it feels very aimless a lot of the time and things are just happening. The added time line jumping just makes it hard to follow. It has good pieces, but it’s not easy to follow and I’m still not entirely sure I like it. I could not read the print, but the audio did help me finish.

Chloe C. Peñaranda once again proves her mastery of dark fantasy and heart-wrenching romance in The Night Is Defying, the gripping second volume of the Nytefall series. Narrated with breathtaking intensity by Jacci Prior and Corvin King, the duet narration elevates this already mesmerizing tale, making it an immersive and emotional experience.

Peñaranda crafts a world where fate is as cruel as it is inescapable, and where love is both salvation and destruction. The push-and-pull between Astraea and Nyte is intoxicating, their connection laced with longing, pain, and an undeniable pull toward one another—even as the world around them threatens to rip them apart.

With lyrical prose, vivid world-building, and a relentless emotional grip, The Night Is Defying is a must-read/listen for lovers of dark fantasy, star-crossed romance, and high-stakes intrigue. A truly spellbinding continuation that will leave readers aching for more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

This second book was much better than the first one.

I loved the plotting, the found family, the Romance and the plot twists.

The only thing I will say that that was confusing is sometimes I felt like there was a couple plot walls to where I couldn’t figure out if they were memories or they were current and overlapping.

For example, when she is injured and comes through the void to find him and he does what he does to save her, the next moment we are seeing a different aspect of this, but it’s done in front of people and not in the same way. The only thing I can think is it’s past memory vs current but that’s not clear in the audiobook. I’m not sure if it’s clearly separated in the book by italicized but listening to it. I was a little bit confused. Because of this confusion, it took me out of the story trying to think what the heck was going on.


I think plot pacing was perfect. I was entertained the whole time.

I am very interested to see where this story will go.

I listened to the audiobook for The Night is Defying. The narrators on this book are perfect.

The Night is Defying was a great follow up to the first book in the series. The first half of the book was a little slow for me but it was really nice to watch Astraea gain her memories, power and strength back as the book progressed. The world building gets more intricate and new players are introduced that move the story along and of course, the relationship between Astraea and Nyte was just as fun to explore as it was in book one. Once the action picked up, I was on the best roller coaster. While listening to the Audiobook I found some of the flashbacks harder to follow than if I was reading the print book. Especially once it seemed as if certain events from the past were happening again in present day. However, the narrators did an amazing job with the characters and Chloe's writing is always a great read!

Definitely excited about the next book after that cliffhanger.

Another triumph for Chloe! It is haunting long beautiful and has the perfect balance of intrigue, steam and plot progression. It’s heart gripping and will have readers begging for the next book already. Her incredible story telling and beautiful prose matched with the narration is a match made in Romantasy reader heaven. Perfection toy paired for our MCs the narrators bring this truly rich world to live and make the emotion on the page come alive. I couldn’t have asked for more!

This book is second in the series and unfortunately it does fall into the second book trap. There is a lot of action and romance. I did enjoy the main characters . I do also think that the book was a little too long. However, the ending did make up for it and I will continue with the series. I also enjoyed the narration in this book 3.5 stars.