Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer

Defy the Night (Defy the Night, #1)

by Brigid Kemmerer

King Harristan rules Kandala with an iron fist. He’s had to ever since he and his brother Prince Corrick inherited a kingdom on the verge of collapse after a deadly illness killed most of the population before a cure was found. The one thing keeping his people alive is also driving them apart . . . the cure, made from the nectar of a rare flower. As sickness lingers among the people of Kandala, a sharp divide has formed, as those who control access to the medicine live in luxury--while the rest live in suffering. The only way to keep the peace is to kill anyone who threatens it, and that task falls to young Prince Corrick.

Tessa Cade is a masked outlaw marked for death, but she likes it that way. At night, she and her best friend Weston Lark ride through the streets of the poorest towns, distributing food, money, and medicine they’ve stolen from the elite ruling class. Tessa has reason to hate the king: her parents were publicly executed after they were caught selling medicine on the black market. She has reason to love Weston: he saved her life when she nearly followed her parents to the same fate. She’s come to hate the dawn, which signals that it’s time for Weston to return to his home on the other side of the city, where he spends his days working in the grueling iron forge.

Lately, rumors have been spreading that the cure no longer works, and people are starting to act on their worst impulses. Tessa knows that the only way to save her people--the poor--is to assassinate King Harristan. It’s a mission that is more likely to kill her than save anyone, but if her parents were willing to risk their lives, then so is she. What Tessa doesn’t expect to find is that everything she believed about her kingdom is a lie, and that tipping the balance of power will require her to work with the very people she intended to destroy. . .

Set in a fantasy world startlingly similar to our own, Brigid Kemmerer's newest series illuminates the divide between those with power and those without. . . and what happens when someone is brave enough to flip the system upside down.

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

4 of 5 stars

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Fans of Brigid Kemmerer must have been SO excited to hear the announcement of her newest series, Defy the Night. Personally, I've never read anything by her (her backlog is on the list! I swear!), but I just couldn't resist this beautiful cover and title. And I am so glad that I decided to dive right in.

They say that every war has two sides. But what about a war fought within the same kingdom? The kingdom of Kandala is falling apart. People are dying in increasing numbers due to a disease, while those with money can access all the medicine they could ever want.

Tessa Cade is an apothecary apprentice, and her heart goes out to the people of the kingdom. She's done everything in her power to help save their lives, including risking her own to give them the medicine they need.

Meanwhile, there's Prince Corrick. He's universally hated and feared by the people, as he is the King's Justice. We all know what that means. Yet, he walks a fine line to keep his brother safe.

"I think that very few people truly deserve what they get, Tessa." He pauses, and for the briefest moment, sadness flickers through his eyes. "For good or for bad."

I fell in love with Defy the Night from the moment I saw its cover. Seriously, it's stunning. I opted not to hunt down a special edition (well, unless you count the B&N version), as I loved the original so much. (I also got the preorder pin, and it is sooo pretty!)

Defy the Night is split into two perspectives, Tessa and Corrick. As one might imagine, their perspectives are wildly different, but that added so much to the story. It also gave us a better grasp of what was happening in the kingdom, especially surrounding the epidemic and resulting medicine shortage.

This novel also had the perfect balance of developments: character development, romance, political intrigue (which quickly turned into a whole different scenario), and more. I loved that balance and hope to see more like it in the sequel.

Yes, a sequel! This is the first in a series, and I honestly have no idea what will happen in the next book – but I can't wait to find out! It's going to be a little bit of a wait there, though. Unfortunately.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 22 November, 2021: Finished reading
  • 22 November, 2021: Reviewed