Defy the Night

Ok so this book did absolutely live up to the hype.

The moral quandary in this book is definitely what gets me. Corrick is such an interesting character; constantly fighting a battle of doing what must be done vs. doing the right thing. Always having to ask himself what is more important? His brother, the King, or the Kingdom they're supposed to be protecting? That's the kind of turmoil and angst I LOVE to see in a main character.

I still liked Tessa as a character but I feel like her arc wasn't as impactful as Corrick's. Yes, she had to come to terms with how she felt about Corrick and everything he'd done as the King's Justice, but it didn't feel like it was much of a fight with her. She quickly saw things from his point of view and although she was still hesitant, it felt like it was...somewhat easy? For her since she already had feelings for him and she was biased towards him just a little bit.

I'm hoping to get more development for her in the rest of the trilogy, hopefully some more scenes focused on her and her abilities because it felt like she was really reactive in this book instead of proactive, if that makes sense.

I do like that it didn't just end on a full cliffhanger. I feel like most fantasy books in series do that nowadays and it's not that I don't like it as a plot device, but it's refreshing to have things in this book end on a tense yet slightly hopeful note rather than just having me gasping and upset by the end.

I'll be picking up the next book, and I'll be interested to see if there is enough substance here to make it an entire trilogy.