Defend the Dawn

– Brigid Kemmerer –

Defy the Night #2

Bloomsbury YA

Published 20 September 2022

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Defend the Dawn is the second book in the Defy the Night series and all I can say is I definitely need book 3, right now. Talk about a cliffhanger of an ending.

In book one of Defy the Night we met Wes and Tessa, outlaws working to secret medicine to the poor. But Wes was hiding a massive secret and rebellion was rising. Now, in Defend the Dawn, Tessa and Prince Corrick have managed to dispel the uprising – for now – and are striving to find a solution to the Moonflower shortages. Everywhere they turn they are met with anger and blockades to a solution. When a ship arrives from a long-forgotten neighbouring land, it seems it might have the solutions they are looking for. But it will mean Tessa and Corrick must leave Kandala, leave King Harristan and must face the growing tension between them.

Defend the Dawn has no shortage of action and tension. Tessa and Corrick’s relationship has deteriorated, worn down by palace politics and the reality of Corrick’s role and choices. Tessa just wants to find solutions and the kind sailor from across the sea seems to promise it all. Yes, we do find ourselves in a little bit of a love triangle (I for one really like Rian), but Tessa and Corrick have a long journey (literally and figuratively) before them and it’s not over yet.

Brigid Kemmerer excels at giving us wonderfully flawed characters who it’s so easy to love and who can shred our hearts all in the same paragraph.

We readers are also given a bit of insight into King Harristan in Defend the Dawn, as chapters from his perspective are added to those that follow Tessa and Corrick. The tiny hints of romantic tension in Harristan’s chapters are just as thrilling as the absolutely mess he finds himself in.

So basically, at the end of this book everything is in a mess, including our hearts and we are just going to have to wait for book 3.

Fantasy fans will adore this addictive and fast-paced series.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

More information

Category: Young adult fiction

Genre: Fantasy

Themes: Brothers, healers, medicine, illness, war, royalty, romance, LGBTQIA+, sailing.

Reading age guide: Ages 13 and up.

Advisory: Violence, injury and fighting, blood, healing, war injuries, death. Sexual references, comments and innuendo made about sexual relationships.

Published: 20 September 2022 by Bloomsbury YA

Format: Hardcover, paperback, ebook. 448 pages.

ISBN: 9781547610075

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