The plague can only be treated by an elixir made from a specific plant known as the Moonflower, which naturally only grows in two sectors of the kingdom. (Oh, is the roguish outlaw secretly helping the sick find medicine also the cruel prince who punishes traitors? Whoever could have guessed? He’s just the second POV character!) But that’s not what makes this story an enjoyable read – or one that’s worthy of a sequel.ĭefy the Night is set in the kingdom of Kandala, a land that has been suffering for years from an ongoing epidemic of a deadly fever. Many of the beats of this tale will likely feel more than a little bit familiar to fans of Kemmerer’s recent Cursebreakers trilogy: The fish out of water heroine forced to live and learn in an environment she had initially despised, the supposedly monstrous romantic lead who is secretly not that monstrous at all, repeated exploration of the ways that both love and politics require us to attempt to understand – and offer grace – to those beyond our own point of view.Īnd to that end, much of this story is easily predictable – most of its twists are fairly obvious from the start, and there aren’t any real huge twists along the way.

If that summary sounds more than a little like you’ve heard it before, well, it probably should. Bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer is back with her latest high fantasy story, Defy the Night,a dramatic tale of politics and romance, with the fate of a kingdom hanging in the balance.

Brigid kemmerer defy the night