#begrudging allies

[blindhoping]

opening up the acolyte tag on ao3

[wondereads]

Personal Review (01/23/22)

Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer

Summary

Tessa is an apothecary who steals Moonflower, the only cure for a fever that has long since plagued the kingdom of Kandala, and distributes it to those who can't afford it. Corrick is the King's Justice, younger brother to King Harriston, and responsible for punishing smugglers that steal Moonflower. They're on two sides of a conflict as rebels grow bolder and rumors of the cure losing its efficacy rise.

Plot 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

I really liked the plot of this book. The basic elements are probably something you've seen in various fantasy books, but they come together really well. There's a good amount of tension through the entire thing with the consuls, the rebels, and Tessa and Corrick's own secrets. I was never bored, and I actually almost missed an appointment with a professor when I got caught up in the story toward the end. For the most part, I think there is a good balance between the information given and the information withheld. I could guess who was behind the rebels, but it was a satisfying guess, the kind that I was very pleased to have predicted correctly.

This is a fantasy world, but other than the fever and Moonflower, it doesn't really have any fantastical elements. It keeps things manageable for the reader, especially since there are a lot of political elements to keep track of. I do wish that there had been some more investigation into the origin of the fever and Moonflower's connection to it, though I bet that'll be covered in the second book. Also, while the fever is the catalyst for all these problems, it feels like it isn't given as much weight as it should. I think if maybe one of the main characters or major side characters had caught the fever, it would have raised the stakes quite a bit.

Characters 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

Tessa is a pretty good main character. She's got the typical traits of a YA fantasy protagonist (strong morals, perseverance, etc.), though I think her situation is well-constructed to make these traits reasonable in her. Her parents also stole Moonflower and made the cure, which makes her involvement with smuggling and her apothecary skills reasonable. She grew up in a country with seemingly huge wealth disparity where money is literally the difference between life and death. Finally, when it comes to her interacting with Corrick and Harriston, normally I would have an issue. Her willingness to cooperate and see their side of things wouldn't normally make sense for a character like her, but the circumstances surrounding how they meet work really well to make this reasonable.

I quite liked Corrick as well, even though I am firmly in the 'eat the rich' camp in real life. Kemmerer did a very good job of humanizing him and bringing in the conflict between what he wants to do and what is necessary in order to create a character that is hated but not irredeemable. His relationship with Harriston is complicated, and I don't think it's all quite resolved by the end of the book. I also really liked Corrick and Tessa's romance. I always prefer intense slow burns over multiple books, but I feel like their relationship is well written, not rushed, and they definitely have a couple very good scenes between them.

I'll be honest. I don't trust Harriston. I feel like in the next book he's going to on-purpose or accidentally create a very big problem. I also have an intense dislike for Allisander, though I'm sure that goes for everyone. I have no doubts that he will continue to cause problems. The only other major side character is Quint, who I like, but he doesn't have much nuance right now.

Writing Style 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

I would consider the writing of the book standard for YA. There were some points at which I was really struck by the writing, but there were other moments where I definitely thought "oh, that's a really common phrase." I do appreciate the naming conventions of this book; a lot of high fantasy, at least that I've read recently, have these really weird or lazy names for things, and that is, thankfully, absent in this book.

The pacing is very good. Like I mentioned in the plot section, there is good tension throughout, and I was never bored. Information was revealed at a steady pace in order to keep the characters moving and the reader invested. This book has a lot of factors going on at one time, making sure there is never a lull in the story other than maybe some softer scenes, but it also isn't overwhelming.

Overall 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

This was a good book with a really strong plot. I think the pacing and the different factors contributing to the political situation made the story interesting and engaging. The characters, while a little typical, had personalities that made sense with their situations, and the romance was sweet but didn't dominate the story. It was just overall a very solid book that grabbed my attention, and I'm definitely interested in reading the sequel.

The Author

Brigid Kemmerer: American, 45, also wrote A Curse So Dark and Lonely, Letters to the Lost, and Call It What You Want

The Reviewer

My name is Wonderose; I try to post a review every week, and I do themed recommendations every once in a while. I take suggestions! Check out my about me post for more!

[binary-bird]

war (@halcyyan) and the oracle, circa 1939

[13personalities]

guys I need some quality enemies to best friends rn. such an underrated troupe with several variations and I think it deserves recognition.

[fortjester]

if we're pash blogging today, i recently reread the end of nona and i had forgotten about the dynamic between pash and camilla. two women who choose violence <3

i was thinking abt this the other day!! you are so right!!!! everyone always talks abt her and corona (valid, they are fucked up and i am watching them thru binoculars) or her and nona (her just general apathy towards it is hilarious) but we just generally do not talk about her and cam's dynamic nearly enough!!! especially that last section you sent. i go insane over "i'll touch you at the end of the world, but not before" like Passion?? that was Extremely Gay, i hope you know that. (also couldn't be me, i would give anything to give camilla hect a firm handshake, outta my way gayboy)

[curiositykilledtheradiostar]

Ezra voice so you and Vanto had a “completely professional relationship” huh

[weirdo-from-bonesborough]

“How did you just beat up those guys?!”

Jason: have you seen me?

Steph: that’s how hard I girlboss

Babs: i have shit I need to get done I didn’t have time for it

Brucie: by trying my best :)

Cass: i was literally born to brawl

Alfred: we don’t have time for the whole backstory

Duke: a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do

Tim: wait do you actually not know?

Damian: Mother raised me in the arts of how to fuck up a bitch

Dick: I’m just quirky like that :P

[nicolibbyquotes]

"You," Nico assured her quickly. "I’ll come to you. "And if I need anything?" She was primly juvenile, tit-for-tat. For once, though, he didn't begrudge her that. "Me," he confirmed, relieved to be able to offer something. "I've got you, Rhodes. From here on, I swear.”

- “The Atlas Six” by Olivie Blake

[first-blight]

i have to say, though, as much as i like reading about the astarion romance and absorbing it passively via tumblr posts, as of yet i'm far more intrigued by the dynamic astarion and my durge character have going on when they don't romance astarion and when they thought he was a nuisance (derogatory) up until late act 2/early act 3. it adds such good layers imo...

because, well, they aren't doing it for any benefit, they don't love him more or differently than the others—quite the opposite, actually. he's probably the least favourite party member for quite some time, and yet they do all these things for him. they put up with him despite disagreeing all the fucking time; they don't mind his...clumsy vampire reveal; they protect him from (i.e. don't rat him out to) the monster hunter; they let him feed on them—and don't chase him away after he accidentally kills them the first time—repeatedly, even when that means they're woozy for the day; they walk him through the whole raphael quest, only sometimes stepping in to be a guiding hand but otherwise letting astarion make his own decisions; they promise to come along to fight cazador; they promise to try and steer the ritual in astarion's favour; ...

they do all of that, again, not because they love astarion in a more significant way (though i don't think romantic relationships are by default more significant than platonic ones but i digress), not because he's somehow special to them. and, again, he only became a nuisance (affectionate) after late act 2, early act 3. their relationship was at a whopping 0 or -1 for a LONG time. so them doing all these things for him still, despite the bumpy relationship they have, feels so significant to me.

and from what i passively absorb about astarion's charatcer, it must be utter whiplash to experience! imagine the guy who can't stand a single opinion you have, who you also can't be fucked to care about beyond your alliance of convenience, repeatedly risks their own skin for you and goes out of their way to help you in various ways, asking for nothing in return—when you fully expect someone who doesn't even like you to ask for something, literally just anything in return. who does that??? are they mad??? of course, you begrudgingly also risk your skin for them once in a while, but usually only in immediate battle—where you obviously have to mind your allies. but they keep defending you in dialogue and refusing to rat you out when they have every reason to do so.

after 200 years with cazador, it seems such far away a notion, so utterly impossible that someone does something for/with him just because they respect his autonomy and personhood. not because they value him as an asset but simply because he exists. what the hell

[anghraine]

My mother was talking about how the Magic School in my novel seems to be run almost entirely by powerful middle-aged women "who are kind of bitchy."

me: yes :)

[brekkie-e]

Almost a year since I read the Masked Empire for the first time and still feral over this.

DO NOT LET THE GAME FOOL YOU. CELENE IS NOT AND NEVER HAS BEEN KINDER TO ELVES. THERE IS NOTHING GIRL BOSSY ABOUT REUNITING THOSE LESBIANS. LET THAT BLONDE DIE. LET HER DIE SO FAST.

[roanofarc]

why don't you like neil gaiman? /genq

you can find a bunch of posts about that here: @neilman

(thank u paris for having this blog so i didn’t have to track down a bunch of links and posts)

[sleepy-salami]

this is such a small moment, and I totally missed it the last time I read this chapter, but

if I had a nickel for every time Wen Ning went out of his way to save Jiang Cheng and got kicked in response, I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's kinda funny that it happened twice

[psychicthepsychic-daily]

consider: downing a flask of methanol in one go

probably won't taste any different from tea right

decisions, decisions...

[krumsprompts]

prompt # 132

... and for his father's freedom, he gave the demon his wings.

[heuretourne-moved]

Consider this a dynamics call. ♡