Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer

Description from Goodreads:

A fantasy series about a kingdom divided by corruption, the prince desperately holding it together, and the girl who will risk everything to bring it crashing down.

The kingdom of Kandala is on the brink of disaster. Rifts between sectors have only worsened since a sickness began ravaging the land, and within the Royal Palace, the king holds a tenuous peace with a ruthless hand.

King Harristan was thrust into power after his parents' shocking assassination, leaving the younger Prince Corrick to take on the brutal role of the King's Justice. The brothers have learned to react mercilessly to any sign of rebellion--it's the only way to maintain order when the sickness can strike anywhere, and the only known cure, an elixir made from delicate Moonflower petals, is severely limited.

Out in the Wilds, apothecary apprentice Tessa Cade is tired of seeing her neighbors die, their suffering ignored by the unyielding royals. Every night, she and her best friend Wes risk their lives to steal Moonflower petals and distribute the elixir to those who need it most--but it's still not enough.

As rumors spread that the cure no longer works and sparks of rebellion begin to flare, a particularly cruel act from the King's Justice makes Tessa desperate enough to try the impossible: sneaking into the palace. But what she finds upon her arrival makes her wonder if it's even possible to fix Kandala without destroying it first.

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My Review:

With the hype of the second book in the series coming out I thought it was finally time to read this one as I was looking for something a little different. This book was a pleasant read. I did enjoy it and breezed through it pretty easily, but it didn't quite grab me.

I really liked Tessa. I thought she was smart and really tried her best to do the right thing even when she didn't know what that might be when it came to the medical and political climate. I do think her talents are a bit wasted though. There is so much focus on the rebels and talk of treason that it never seemed to be a concern to do more research on a cure for the fever. It's hinted at multiple times throughout the book that Tessa may be able to find out more due to her work with her parents before they were killed but there is no opportunity to do so. Maybe it's to set up the next book but it would have been nice to have this be more of a focus.

Corrick wasn't necessarily a bad character but I couldn't get myself to feel for him or his brother. They did a lot of terrible things because of the trauma from their parents' deaths and while they seem like they want to do better, it feels half-assed because there is no acknowledgment that they did anything wrong per se. Corrick only acknowledges it by trying to make up for his guilt. I was not surprised at all when Tessa figured out who he was which was also a bit disappointing. It would have been nice if this was teased better.

The plot is not bad. I see what the author was trying to accomplish but it just felt a bit flat for me. I felt like she was trying to push the message that not everything is black and white which while true made me wish she put in the effort to show morally grey characters better. It felt like the book was a positive spin on a very real problem.

I know I had a lot of critiques and I stand by them. I do mean it when I say it is a pleasant read. I did find it entertaining. I just wish it could have been done differently. I don't know if I'll read the next book. I am very curious as to what could happen next, but I'm worried I won't be satisfied like I wasn't with this book.