Name: Defend the Dawn
Series: Defy the Night #2
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Format: Kindle
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Noted Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Hidden Identities, Double Lives, The Other Man, Cliffhanger
Steam or Spice: Steamy
Rating:
Synopsis: Goodreads
To save their kingdom, they must embark on a dangerous journey…
The kingdom of Kandala narrowly avoided catastrophe, but the embers of revolution still simmer. While King Harristan seeks a new way to lead, Tessa and Prince Corrick attempt to foster unity between rebels and royals.
But the consuls who control the Moonflower will not back down, and Corrick realizes he must find a new source for the lifesaving Elixir.
When an emissary from the neighboring kingdom of Ostriary arrives with an intriguing offer, Tessa and Corrick set out on an uncertain journey as they attempt to mend their own fractured relationship.
This could be their only chance to keep the peace and bring relief to the people of Kandala, but danger strikes during the journey to Ostriary, and no one is who they seemed to be…
Review:
Defend the Dawn is the second book in the Defy the Night series, which means there will likely be spoilers for book 1 in the review as well as possible spoilers for Defend the Dawn.
At the end of Defy the Night, my biggest theory for book 2 was that we were going to be focussing more on the sickness, because I felt like we were in a good place with the characters and I figured the only way to go with them was up! I was wrong. The author said let me throw some complications at this situation and see how you like me then.
After I read Defend the Dawn originally I immediately gave the book 5 stars and moved on to the final book… After some thoughts, I really came to realise that one of the spanners the author threw at us, I didn’t really care much for.
And that spanner was Captain Blakemore. I really can’t go into too much detail about why I didn’t like Captain Blakemore, but I will say it didn’t start out that way. I liked him enough at the start but the way he handled himself around the royalty of Kandala was enough to tell me this guy had secrets.
Captain Blakemore wasn’t the only new character we were introduced to, some of the others were Lochlan and Fox! Move over Tessa and Wes, Kandala has a new outlaw trying to help the people. Fox leaves silver on peoples doorsteps hoping that it will provide them help. And it does, the people like Fox! And I did too, and even though originally I was a bit annoyed that we were being introduced to a new Outlaw as it kind of felt repetitive, I was quickly shown that Fox’s experience was not Wes and Tessa’s experience.
Click here for a spoiler on the hidden identity in this book (yes, it’s different!)
Fox turning out to be King Harristan was brilliant – if not pretty obvious. Harristan might be sick, but he wasn’t stupid. Any tricks Corrick thought he was keeping secret, weren’t that secret. And with King Harristan being included more, we got to learn a lot more about the bond he shares with his brother. I liked it enough in book 1, but it was developed in this book and it was truly beautiful. I love these brothers!
Lochlan was a member of a group of rebels you might remember from Defy the Night! Yes he makes a reappearance and ended up being one of my favourite characters in Defend the Dawn! I enjoyed his interactions with literally everyone. I thought having the leader of the rebel faction around might be a bit repeitive (what with them hating each other) but it wasn’t – and like I said, he was one of my favourite characters!
We did get more of Corrick and Tessa in this novel, absolutely – though it is safe to say that mixed in with the steam was angst! Tessa was really struggling with wanting Wes but knowing she was getting Corrick, despite Wes being inside him. Because of course Brigid Kemmerer couldn’t leave these two alone! Now, whilst that sounds like a complaint, I actually really enjoyed Tessa having to come to terms with who Corrick was, I just wasn’t totally on board with how it worked out totally.
And can we spare a moment for that CLIFFHANGER?! I hope you got yourself a copy of Destroy the Day at the same time you got Defend the Dawn because I can’t imagine reading that last line and not jumping right into Destroy the Day.
If it isn’t clear, I really enjoyed this one. Bar not liking one story line that involved Captain Blakemore, I was very happy! Whilst this one took slightly longer to read due to being at work, I still devoured it pretty quickly! And as I requested, we got more of Quint – and that is nothing to complain about! He continues to be the supportive friend we all need.
“Sometimes what’s right isn’t debatable, or a matter of opinion.”
Reading With Tyler 
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