Even better than Defy The Night!
It was fast paced, action packed and I loved the multiple POVs!
We get a new outlaw who we don't know the identity of until later in the book. So many twists and turns, betrayals and all those court politics! The story is getting a lot more than about medicine now which is exciting. I got a little bit annoyed with Tessa and her "feelings" I can't bare miscommunication and characters not having the bottle to say what they really feel! I feel this is quite a common tactic used though.
The last third it really kicked off and I couldn't put it down. The ending left me reeling and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to wait for the next book!

Thanks so much to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy of Defend the Dawn by Brigid Kemmerer.

I loved the Cursebreaker series. It is one of my ultimate series and it has such a special place in my heart. And I really want to love the Defy the Night series but I just can't get into it. I don't know why. I really struggled with the first book but hoped that now that I know the characters that I would be more involved.

But honestly, I struggled even more with book two. I found the pacing very strange and the characters are just not speaking to me.

While this does end on a cliffhanger I don't think I will be continuing this series unfortunately... I will, however, be BINGEING Forging Silver into Stars book 2!

<i>I received this ARC thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.</i>

<b><i>Perhaps it's time to speak for yourself.</i></b>
Hiiii, did you miss Tessa and... him? I hope we all did, as with Defend the Dawn they hastily grab our hands to pull us into another adventure. And oh boi, an adventure it was! I LOVED it!!!
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<b>"You said you've waited so long."
He frowns, but he nods.
" <i>I</i> didn't make you wait," I say. [...] "I don't deserve to be treated like a secret, Corrick"</b>
Kingdom of Kandala is nowhere near in solving the case of Moonflower and illness it heals, so when opportunity comes to bargain for more medicine Harristan sends our lovebirds to deal with it. If only they weren't in the middle in dealing with their own feelings. And that was SO thoughtful! It always makes me cringe when after a grande reveal main characters are all good in sequel, like the change that made their realities flip never bothers them. Tessa is in conflict with herself. She loved Weston, she grieved him. It doesn't matter he's alive and well, walking the world as Corrick. Because she always feared King's Justice. So treating him as her confidant, especially so close to her heart, won't come so easily. If ever.
<img src="https://c.tenor.com/VrMg4AsAEiUAAAAd/guns-aboard-pirates-of-caribbean.gif" width="300" height="auto" alt="description"/>
<b>"As usual, I need to remind myself that Wes <i>was</i> a part of the man in front of me. That <i>goodness</i> is inside him.
But it's just a part.
Sometimes I worry that it's not quite enough."</b>
Of course it's not only Tessa's world that had a big change. Corrick is still the same, at least that's how he sees it. Everyone else seems to hate the idea their beloved Zorro is also their most hatred minion of the king. So to keep things short, Corry is quite a drama queen here, quite a mood, quite a kid and quite an alpha male. And it makes him such a realistic character it almost feels like you're his buddy, helping him get through with sorting his life out.
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<b>"I know people expect the worst of me," he says quietly. "I didn't realize you were among them."</b>
I guess you've already imagined you can expect a lot of lovers' quarrels here, but they are necessary and important. They make this book stand out between many other sequels that just go on with the plot like nothing happened, which I find shallow. We need to see the characters grieve their lives and relationships they'll never get back. All placed on a ship sailing to unknown. Thou if you fear you might be as lost as them missing realm of Kandala donut worry -- with Defend the Dawn we meet brand new POV of <i>The Outlaw</i> whom decided to become a standin for the previous heroic duo bringing help to common people. I did expect who he might be, but it was still a very nice relief from time to time, to hear from him how there's still a lot of mess happening in homecountry.
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<b>"Tessa." His eyes flick to mine. "It's bigger than you and me."</b>
Plot twists? I begin to believe Brigid Kemmerer is a Queen of them after all of her books I've read, as they're really good ones! See me wink when I say, there's a HUGE twist you'll get that'll make you entirely change the way you see where this series go! I've really liked the introduction to this universe we got in defy the night, but defend the dawn made me believe I love it even more than curse series which is brilliant, and even thou it's quite harsh I'm amazed with where's everyone individually at, it's perfect opening to book number 3 which now I'm impatiently waiting to read. Huge and bright 5 stars from me! Defend the dawn also becomes one of my close favourites fo year 2022, which I hope says a lot about it!

Best book of 2022. It may even be one of my favourite books ever!

I am utterly floored. If you enjoy a plot that takes place at sea with rich character conflict and development your going to love the next instalment of Defy the Night. I don't want to say too much about the plot or character developments because I don't want to spoil this for anyone, its really best you go in without knowing any of the books tropes to gain the best from the story but I will tell you its FULL of twists and turns, emotions, tension and so much more.

There were times in this book where I loved and hated each character, they all went through developments, changes and situations that impact their character and it was insane how Brigid Kemmerer makes you really question each of them. We continue with multiple POV from Tessa, Correct and The mysterious Outlaw giving perspective of the royal circle as well as the wilds in more detail.

Incredible writing, (which I am not surprised about, this is Brigid Kemmerer after all) a thrilling story, outstanding character and a good lot of Kandala history to unravel. The ending made me desperate for the next instalment and I wait with bated breath for my favourite series to continue.

A huge thank you to Bloomsbury for allowing me a eArc of Defend the Dawn and to NetGalley for making that possible.

I couldn't wait to read this next instalment of the Cursebreaker Series by Brigid Kemmerer and it did not disappoint. Continuing from the end of Deft the Night , the novel moves quickly on through the problems King Harristan and Prince Corrick are facing; political treachery, mass sickness, despair, betrayal and mistrust. Tess, our feisty heroine brings an element of relief from the doom and gloom of their situation, and this in combination with some excellent writing keeps this novel from being too dark and treats us to a romantic element. The betrayals and hidden agendas of the political elite are very realistic and the twist was very unexpected.

5 stars!

This is quite possibly the best book I've read so far in 2022, and it hasn't even been published yet.

Brigid Kemmerer has done it again. She's created an incredible fantasy novel filled with angsty romance, unthinkable twists, and edge-of-your-seat political intrigue.

I always find that second books in series are hard to pull off and they always tend to fall a little bit short of expectations, but Defend the Dawn doesn't fall into that category. It raised the stakes so much higher and made me love the characters even more.

Every single page of this book was incredible, and I couldn't put it down.

I won't go into too much detail regarding the synopsis so as not to completely spoil Defy the Night, but know that you can expect new complex characters, a deeper understanding of existing characters, and lots go angsty, devastating moments.

Brigid Kemmerer can keep breaking my heart and I will keep loving it.

Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A decent follow up to defy the night, a good book for younger adults who want to see what fantasy is like and how world and character building successfully does to a story

Brigid's books are often fast paced and the stakes are always high. However, the first 30-40% of this book was slow? Not many things happened, and it was mainly political intrigue to set the plot for the second half. Brigid is a very talented writer, though, because where I would likely have DNF'ed it otherwise because politics are just not my thing, Brigid kept me interested. The second half was way faster for me, and the last 15% were just full of twists and turns which made me beyond excited for the next book. And although I did fully enjoy this book, I have to admit it felt like a bit of an in-between book to make the bridge from book 1 to book 3? But like I said: I absolutely loved this.

This series has the comforting feel of 2010s YA fantasy yet also feels fresh and right at home in 2022. We love to see it!

Defend the Dawn mostly takes place on a ship, and there's mystery and tension both of the political intrigue kind and the romantic kind. Can we trust anyone? Who knows! You even start to distrust the main characters, whose heads we're in, which is quite some feat. Only sometimes, but still.

The romance never feels too angsty, mostly because the tension is earned. Tessa is still trying to come to terms with Corrick's past and, honestly, that's smart of her. He's still clearly got issues too, and though we see from his POV that he really does mean well, that doesn't mean it comes across to everyone else, or that Tessa should forgive him. I actually love that this was explored because it's more common for YA protagonists to just conveniently forget their love interest's dodgy pasts. (Not that I hate this, it can be fun, but this was refreshing).

My favourite sections of this book though were the Outlaw sections. They were exciting and funny and ultimately emotional, and the Outlaw ended up being exactly who I hoped they would be!

I was debating whether this was a 4.5 or 5* read, but honestly, the fact I wanted the sequel immediately after reading it really pushed it into the 5* bracket for me. Defend the Dawn is just a really good, solid YA fantasy story, and I'm so happy I enjoyed it this much because I met Brigid Kemmerer at YALC recently and she was absolutely lovely. Bring on book 3!

Defend the Dawn follows our favourite outlaw-turned-major-political-figure, Tessa, and Prince Corrick, as they deal with the aftermath of a major uprising and continue to work towards a solution that will save their country from the virus that’s still ravaging the wilds.

Their situation seems entirely impossible until a spy for the former king appears out of nowhere with news of an entirely new stash of Moonflower in a country unknown to Kandala and, seemingly, the answer to all of their problems. From there ensues a voyage to a new and unfamiliar land, full of mistrust, romantic tension and high political stakes.

This book is very different from its predecessor and isn’t at all what I expected the sequel to be, but I think in the end I loved it even more than book one (which is saying a lot!). It focused almost entirely on the voyage so allowed a lot of time to get to know all of the characters aboard, and introduced us to some fascinating new side characters whilst also developing the will-they-won’t-they relationship between Tessa and Corrick even more. The addition of a new subplot surrounding an unknown outlaw also added so much to this book, and the plot twist halfway through that had me completely stunned.

As with book one, I couldn’t put this book down for even a second and I’m so, so glad it lived up to my expectations. Brigid Kemmerer’s world-building ability is flawless, her characters are some of my absolute favourites, and I’m already desperately awaiting book three.

Thank you Bloomsbury and NetGalley for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Brigid Kemmerer has done it again! This book was so good, I went through so many emotions during this book, it was well and truly a rollercoaster.

Defend the Dawn is the anticipated sequel to Defy the Night. It picks up after the ending of Defy the Night and right from the get-go I could tell it was going to be full of action. Once again, the hidden identities trope is back, with the introduction of a new outlaw and honestly, I thought I had sussed out who it was. However, when their identity was revealed I was GODSMACKED. Literally.

I'm not gonna lie, I was swooning for Rian when he was first introduced. He's charismatic, confident and quite ballsy. I hated him so much at points but, man, I still love him. Corrick, however, there were so many points in the book where I wished I could just reach through the pages and shake some sense into him. Lochlan grated on my nerves throughout the majority of the book but by the end, I loved him.

The different plot twists in this book had my jaw on the floor. Kemmerer sure does know how to do plot twists and I may just have to send her my therapy bills for the amount of turmoil this book put me through. The ending... how could it just end like that???!!! I can't wait for the next book to come out but let me tell you, that ending is all I will be thinking about for the foreseeable future.

I have eagerly awaited the sequel to Defy the Night and it has not disappointed. Thanks to the publisher for providing a prepublication ARC. My biggest anxiety comes from having to wait for the next instalment. You just know when you’re 70% through and the journey’s not over that things don’t end here.

The story took a turn I didn’t expect and I loved getting Harristan’s point of view. I liked the character developments and the introduction of new characters. I await with interest how this will play out in the next instalment. The story is exciting with twists and turns aplenty. The next chapter can’t come soon enough.

The second book, which I thought was the last book which was a shocker for me at the end! The book picked up after the events of the forst with them all trying to find a solution to the medicine shortage in Kandala, when a mysterious ship Dock from a distant land that nobody can get to as the crossing is treacherous. With this comes new challenges for Corrick and Tessa, and boy is it a trip! I can not wait for the next book!

Wow, this book was everything. I absolutely adored the first book and I just knew I had to read this - Brigid creates a beautiful fantastical world, filled with romance, political intrigue, and suspense. This book had a sailor/pirate theme to it; I was unsure if I would like it but I ended up loving it. Similar to the first book, I adored the romance between Tessa and Corrick, my faves.

warning: there is a cliffhanger ending, and I NEED the next book ASAP.

This book was amazing! I absolutely adored Defy the Night and was thrilled to be given the chance to review Defend the Dawn as well. I read it all in 24 hours and it was so so worth it :)

Tessa and Corrick are back and things are getting tense, Harristan gets more page time and it’s fabulous to see his character developing. I gasped aloud several times in the course of reading this, I loved it!

Defend the Dawn jumps straight in from where Defy the Night left off, and despite being a little hazy with the details I was able to jump straight back into the world of Kandala without a problem. Things were a little drawn out in the middle but I thoroughly enjoyed myself regardless!

I kind of wish the romance was a bit more developed but I’m sure that will come in book 3! It’s especially needed after that cliffhanger. I was not ready for the book to end <3

4.5 stars

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for my e-ARC of this book! I loved every minute.

If you read the “Defy the night” and enjoyed it, the sequel guaranteed to blow your mind! It’s surpassed my entire expectations! It is so worth 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 on a ship with so many twists, action packed chapters taking your breath away!

I...I have no words.

I went in with high hopes for Defend the Dawn, after already having fallen in love with Defy the Night, and Brigid did not disappoint!

I will say this, it started kind of slow, but that may be my view as I fully believed this was a duology, but alas, it is not! And I am sitting in full anticipation for the next book, because that ending! That cliffhanger!

I went through a spiral of, I love you, I hate you, with a few characters, but that just kept me more invested. And if there is one character I did not hate, not even once, you guessed it, it was Corrick.

Next book, now, please and thank you.

Thanks you Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the e-ARC, this is my honest opinions and views.

I enjoyed reading this book with all the different characters and plot it wasn't boring and kept me intrigued. This was my introduction to this series of books as I hadn't read the first book Defy The Night.
Even though I hadn't read the first book it was easy to understand the story and the motivations of the characters and the story wasn't to complex understand who was who, and what happened in the previous book.
The story jumps from different perspectives with the book starting with introducing the Outlaw Fox then switching to Tessa then Corrick. At first I did find this annoying but Brigid transition between characters was done well so I didn't feel too displaced out of the story with the different POV's.
Overall a really good story that I will definitely read the next book and catch up on the first one, I highly recommended it if you like Robin Hood type of stories with high stakes and political institutions.
My rating 4.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ due to switching of POV sometimes felt disjointed.
Have already placed an order for my library 😃
#netgalley #defendthedawn

First of all I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for sending me an arc of this book !

I have been waiting for this one for so long ! And it did not disappoint !
I'm always suspicious of the next book when I really love the previous one, because you sometimes can get disappointed. But honestly I think I might even love it a little bit more than the first one !

The setting is different, I love the character building of the previous protagonists and I really enjoyed the new characters too !

If I only have one thing to say it's this : I need the third one like Yesterday 😭 !

What an amazing sequel!! I really loved and enjoyed it because not only was so excited to read this but also wow(ly) it didn’t disappoint.