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A review by cloudbooks
Defend the Dawn by Brigid Kemmerer
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Okay, okay... No one told me this was THE SECOND BOOK in a trilogy! Imagine my horror when I thought it was over. When I thought I actually picked up the biggest tragic book to date. Then my relief when I realized it's the second book.
With that said... let's catch up:
This book is obviously the second book in a trilogy where we follow Tessa, the King's Justice, and of course the King of Kandala. The consuls who control the moonflowers cannot back down and the trio is forced to find new ways to provide enough medicine. The saving grace is, of course, a new face. A ship from Ostriary sails in and the captain claims to be the son of a spy sent from Kandala before king Lucas and his wife were murdered. In desperate need for medicine, Prince Corrick and Tessa board the ship with the intention to establish a trade with Ostriary. But there's a locked room on the ship that the captain refuses to open and they only have three guards on board to help them. Can they really trust the captain to sail them to Ostriary? And how will the people of Kandala react once the King's Justice is gone?
What's the good?
The brotherly affection. If there was any doubt that Prince Corrick and King Harristan had a solid brotherly bond, this book solidifies it! I loved the fear between the brothers when they're forced to separate and the absolute love they have for each other.
The complexity and depths of the characters remain true to the first book as well. While I feared we'd get a more shallow development this time around because sequels tend to do that, this book didn't suffer much. Perhaps we did get less development but they remain within the characters originally established and I appreciated that.
The scheming! That plot twist! I had seen some of it coming but by far not the whole thing! I was genuinely terrified I'd have to end this book with my beloved cast dead at the hands of their enemies.
The pirate adventure! I was honestly thrilled to go out on the sea with these characters but a little disappointed that the vast majority of it was spent on...
What was the bad then?
The love triangle. It was a little too on the nose for me and took up some of my joy. Jealous Prince Corrick just didn't do it for me. It made it quite hard to enjoy the boatride when a lot of chapters were spent on two men fighting over Tessa - in the most polite way possible.
The pace was just a little slow but not so much that it impacted my reading experience. Still it took a long time before something significant happened for the plot and some scenes felt a little like padding.
Overall, a solid 4.5*. The last 0.5* was removed for the love triangle. Drama and miscommunication just doesn't do it for me. But I still love the characters and the world, and the story kept me listening to the very end (and I plan on reading it too so you know it's good!). I definitely will pick this up again!
With that said... let's catch up:
This book is obviously the second book in a trilogy where we follow Tessa, the King's Justice, and of course the King of Kandala. The consuls who control the moonflowers cannot back down and the trio is forced to find new ways to provide enough medicine. The saving grace is, of course, a new face. A ship from Ostriary sails in and the captain claims to be the son of a spy sent from Kandala before king Lucas and his wife were murdered. In desperate need for medicine, Prince Corrick and Tessa board the ship with the intention to establish a trade with Ostriary. But there's a locked room on the ship that the captain refuses to open and they only have three guards on board to help them. Can they really trust the captain to sail them to Ostriary? And how will the people of Kandala react once the King's Justice is gone?
What's the good?
The brotherly affection. If there was any doubt that Prince Corrick and King Harristan had a solid brotherly bond, this book solidifies it! I loved the fear between the brothers when they're forced to separate and the absolute love they have for each other.
The complexity and depths of the characters remain true to the first book as well. While I feared we'd get a more shallow development this time around because sequels tend to do that, this book didn't suffer much. Perhaps we did get less development but they remain within the characters originally established and I appreciated that.
The scheming! That plot twist! I had seen some of it coming but by far not the whole thing! I was genuinely terrified I'd have to end this book with my beloved cast dead at the hands of their enemies.
The pirate adventure! I was honestly thrilled to go out on the sea with these characters but a little disappointed that the vast majority of it was spent on...
What was the bad then?
The love triangle. It was a little too on the nose for me and took up some of my joy. Jealous Prince Corrick just didn't do it for me. It made it quite hard to enjoy the boatride when a lot of chapters were spent on two men fighting over Tessa - in the most polite way possible.
The pace was just a little slow but not so much that it impacted my reading experience. Still it took a long time before something significant happened for the plot and some scenes felt a little like padding.
Overall, a solid 4.5*. The last 0.5* was removed for the love triangle. Drama and miscommunication just doesn't do it for me. But I still love the characters and the world, and the story kept me listening to the very end (and I plan on reading it too so you know it's good!). I definitely will pick this up again!