Defy the Night Readalong Day 5!

Beautiful picture by @xenatine

It’s our final day in Kandala, and things are only going to get more action-packed from here. We’ve had deception, romance and heartache. It’s time to find out how this book ends! Who’s excited?

Today, we’re reading from chapter 33 until the end.


Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer from chapter 33 onwards. Please only read on if you have finished this book!

-!SPOILERS!-

Corrick and Tessa are in prison. They’re being kept separate, with no food or water. Harristan visits Corrick and sends for food and chairs. Corrick promises that he hasn’t betrayed Harristan, but his brother was so angry that he wanted Corrick to stay in prison for a while. Corrick tells him that Harristan can’t release him until they find out who the benefactors are or it will be seen as a sign of weakness. How long will Corrick stay in prison?

Harristan frees Tessa and takes her back to the palace, where he asks Tessa for the whole truth. She’ll only tell him if Quint is there. Together, they tell Harristan the truth about Corrick and Tessa’s history. Harristan is taken back by Tessa’s blunt honesty as she tells him that everything Corrick risked, he did so to protect his king.

YARN | He's worried. He wants to protect you. | Dead Man Walking (1995) |  Video gifs by quotes | 3c867875 | 紗

Allisander mocks Corrick in prison, and Corrick punches him. Angered, Allisander swears that he’s going to rise up and take control, and get his brother off the throne. While in prison, Corrick arrests Allisander and has Rocco place him in prison. Rocco takes Corrick to Harristan, where he walks in on Tessa, Quint and Harristan. Who guessed that Allisander would be the villain?

Harristan coughs and Tessa realises that the moonflower petals are different. She wonders if the supply has been tampered with. Did anyone else suspect this? Before anyone can act, there’s a huge explosion!

The reason for the hiatus | lifebeginsafterkopi

Chaos erupts. The Royal Sector is on fire. Everyone is trying to find the King, and they all rush to Corrick’s quarters. On the way, Quint is struck by an arrow. They’re going to use a hook and rope to escape out the window. One of the guards, Thorin goes first, followed by Harristan, Quint and Tessa. Rocco and Corrick are left and Corrick tells him to leave, he’s too weak to climb down. The rebels burst in, but Rocco comes back for Corrick, and they escape the palace.

Corrick is struggling to hold on, but Harristan helps him walk. They hide in the workshop Wes and Tessa used to use, and Corrick falls asleep. Harristan helps Quint with his wounds. Does anyone else love Quint and Harristan’s friendship?

Harristan asks Tessa for help to try and resolve the crisis his Kingdom is facing. Tessa asks for amnesty for the people in exchange for her help, as well as offering Corrick freedom and her own job and place to stay. They leave to face the rebels.

Best Lets Do It GIFs | Gfycat

Corrick wakes, alone with Quint, who tells him that Tessa and Harristan are away to negotiate with rebels. They rush after them, heading to the hold to interrogate Allisander. Rocco breaks his fingers until Allisander tells Corrick who betrayed the King. Allisander was orchestrating fake attacks on his supply run so that he could increase his prices. He says that they weren’t supposed to set the palace on fire. Corrick ties Allisander to a horse and leads him to the rebels.

Facing the rebels, everyone begins to chant “kill the king” the situation is getting really out of hand. Who’s on the edge of their seat?

Harristan tells them that he can’t promise them medicine, and so they don’t see the point in returning home if they have no cures. Corrick arrives with Allisander, who tells the rebels that if they surrender, they can have eight weeks worth of cures until they can get a new system in place. Will peace remain for that long?

The rebels don’t trust them, but they all share stories of times when Tessa has helped them and so they surrender.

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Tessa is given a new room and selected to be the people’s advisor. Corrick rests for days, and finally meets with Harristan who tells him that he no longer wants Corrick to be king’s justice, he wants to run his kingdom differently now. There’s a lot of work do to maintain peace in Kandala, but things are looking a little brighter. What could happen next?


Thank you so much for joining me in this readalong, I really loved this book and I hope you enjoyed it too! Let me know your final thoughts and I’ll catch up with you in the comments.

Love

Nicole

18 thoughts on “Defy the Night Readalong Day 5!

  1. I really loved how it ended, it wasn’t a cliffhanger like i feared, the immediate tensions were resolved but the problems weren’t fixed yet which gives excitement for the next book, but in a bearable way.
    I really liked the scene were everyone addressed how much Tessa meant to them, that was really beautiful.
    Am definitely intrigued how the next book of courtly intrigue is going to go ?

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  2. Thank you, Nicole, for hosting this readalong. It was a great read. I do like the book and can’t wait for the next one!!

    I thought that Allisander was funding these raids for a moment, but I changed my mind because of his hatred for the rebels!! I cannot wait to see what he and Lissa will do now. But can you imagine Lissa Marpett? I can’t believe that she sends fake petals, and I can’t think she can be selfish in this time of need!!

    I like the ending; it was not all happy and not all sad, it’s in the middle, and I enjoyed that.

  3. I was so excited by the end of the reading on Day 4 that I ended up continuing straight into Day 5 (I may have read past midnight, so that’s fine, right?). I loved the conversation between Harristan and Corrick, as Harristan wrestles between being Corrick’s brother and his king.

    I was glad when the guards listened to Corrick and imprisoned Allisander. Rocco became my favorite character because of his creative understanding of Harristan’s order. Rocco stayed my favorite character because he was a good supporting character.

    I saw growing rebellion, explosives, and then Quint said nearly all the consuls were in the palace except Lissa, and I thought they were going to blow up the palace. It was too perfect for the rebels: the opportunity to wipe out the leadership in one go. Of course, it also meant Allisander and Lissa were likely the Benefactors, which wasn’t too surprising. Nothing drives up cost like scarcity. I was not expecting Leander Craft to also be in on the deal.

    Now things are sort of settled, but I’m looking forward to the next one and seeing how the characters are going to solve the fevers!

  4. Hello everyone!
    I really loved this book!
    I’m glad everyone I liked survived the ending ? and that Allisander got to see the inside of the prison cell ??
    There wasn’t a cliffhanger but I still can’t wait to read the next one!!
    Thank you Nicole for hosting this read along!
    Love, Sandy.

  5. First of all; thank you for hosting this, Nicole!

    I really enjoyed Defy the Night! I stand by the fact I would have liked a little more in the way of characterisation, but the story was completely gripping and I blew through this read which is normally difficult for me to do.

    Did anyone else get a vague hint Harristan and Quint might be a thing in book two? There seemed a couple of lingering looks and touches, though it was very subtle so I’m not completely sure (and I’m nearly always sure, lol).

    Anyway, can’t wait for the second book. I liked how the ending of this one wrapped up 90% of the story, but left a cheeky 10% to pull us all into book 2, lol.

    4.5/5 stars!

  6. I knew it!! My gut instincts were spot-on for this book: Wes being Corrick, Allisander being the bad guy, Harriston valuing Tessa from the start, Quint being loveable… ??

    There were times when I questioned myself though, & I really think that adds value to the story. There’s a lot left unresolved which lends itself to another book (or more), but as that also means more Corrick & Tessa, more Quint, more Harriston – just MORE, it’s something to look forward to. Thank you, Brigid Kemmerer, for not leaving this as some soul-wrenching cliff hanger though! The immediate threat of revolution has been quelled, the king & prince are alive & remain in control, & Tessa is safe & with her man. ????

    I’m surprised by how much I came to like Rocco, though not much is known about him. Maybe it was his stoic loyalty to the king or the fact that he broke Allisander’s fingers. ? Maybe it was how he refused to leave Prince Corrick to the rebels when he was too injured to escape. Maybe it was his clever way of finding loopholes, but I just really enjoyed his character. Much like Quint being Corrick’s BFF, Tessa’s moral support, & taking an arrow for Harriston. I could definitely do with more of these 2!

    The scene with Allisander & Corrick in The Hold was infuriatingly satisfying. Allisander is well-written as a despicable, easy-to-hate weasel. All because of a boyhood grudge? ? It was all the more satisfying to see him get his comeuppance though. So much loss of life at his hands. Lissa, hardly any better than Allisander, may not have been crying for harsher/crueler/immediate executions of the very people she was inciting or openly trying to undermine Royal authority, she still went along with raising the already inflated prices of Moonflower petals while supplying fakes!

    Having Harriston finally know the truth about Corrick made me happy because there’s nothing like secrets to sew misunderstandings. It was also fun to hear about Harriston having a mischievous streak as well as Corrick. I hope they can both come to be loved by the kingdom as their parents were. As Tessa is.

    My girl, Tessa, managed to get the Rebels to cooperate yet again, & how they all shared stories of her selflessness & caring because she was too humble to. ? I daresay she’ll do well in her new job(s).

    I could’ve easily binged this book in a day. I might still. Lol.

  7. I really love this story!! But can’t we have a few more parts about the meetings in the end ? With all the reorganisation parts ? No ?

    The end is a little too abrupt for me, I think^^

    But again, some here found the real benefactors, (I hope they’ll pay!!) congrats everyone \o/

  8. What a great end to a great book! Enough of a resolution that you’re not left throwing the book across the room, but enough questions left that you want to read more, too.

    I’ve loved taking part in the readalong again this month, thanks Nicole

  9. WOW. This book was such a wild, fun ride, and I can’t wait for the sequel! I am glad Kemmerer took pity on us and didn’t leave it on a cruel cliffhanger.

    Thank you so much Nicole for hosting this readalong! <3

  10. This book pleasantly surprised me. It’s not that I expected it to be bad, but it definitely exceeded my expectations. From what I remember, I definitely feel as if Kemmerer has become an even better writer in the time since A Vow So Bold and Deadly. Truly, the first day’s chapters were *chef’s kiss*!

    Corrick’s story and development was probably my favourite part – I now adore that boy, and the other “main” characters for that matter. Tessa – who continues to fight her fears (I do have a weak spot for this kind of character, who can stand crying and still try to fight), Harristan – who I am hoping we will get to know better in the next book because he is still part mystery to me, and Quint – his talking about doorknobs and loyalty hits the right spot.

    I’m super excited for the sequel, especially as Kemmerer says it takes place on the sea! I love a sea adventure!

  11. I really loved the ending to this book it’s left me on such a cliffhanger
    I’m definitely looking forward to the next book

  12. Though I found the twists i predictable, I still enjoyed the story telling, and the character relationships in the book were fantastic. Rocco is definitely up there as one of the best characters, and I hope we get to see more of him in the future!
    I am glad that the rebels were able to see reason and come to an agreement with Harristan, but I’m a little disappointed that we still have Allisander alive and kicking to cause more trouble in the future. I suppose at the very least it goes along with ‘keep your enemies close’ and they’ll be able to watch him more carefully now. Lissa Marpetta seemed like a bit of a side figure in all of this. I wonder if we’ll get more of her in the future.
    Thank you for hosting the readalong!

  13. Oh my gosh Corrick or Harristan didn’t die! So relieved! I thought one of them might be a goner and I’m so glad they both survived! And Rocco too, best guard!

    So Allister and Lissa were conspiring to deliver fake medicine mixed with the real, duping everyone into thinking they needed higher doses so they would buy EVEN MORE medicine. Yeah I’ll buy that. I could see a real-world pharmaceutical company trying that. Ugh.

    This book was really fabulous and I love how it reached a good end point even though it’s clear there will be more books in this series. I can’t wait! I hope Harristan and Corrick will be able to be good rulers instead of harsh ones. And for much more Corrick/Tessa pretty please.

  14. I’m really glad Corrick and Harristan made up, plus Harristan listened to what Tessa had to say, in the revolt, plus about Corrick. He acted quite mature. The revolt parts were quite action packed, I’m glad nobody died from the main characters. I’m a bit made Lissa betrayed them too!

    I really liked the book, I’d give it 4.5 stars! I’m glad there was no cliffhanger, but so many open questions, that I’m quite looking forward to the sequel and how the situation will progress.

    Thank you Nicole and FairyLoot for hosting the readalong, it was fun!

  15. Whoops, forgot to post my reply earlier, but my ending thought is that I loved this book and am interested in seeing where the next one goes (considering the Author mentioned they’re going to sea.)

    That being said, I think the only thing I didn’t completely feel satisfied with is that I wanted to see how Marpetta was handled. I know that they said that they were going to send people to collect her from her kingdom, but I want to see what steps they take and her reaction, being that she was one of their mother’s closest friends. I’m also wondering why Allisander and Marpetta weren’t removed from the counsel? Surely there are others that could take their spots, that might not be conspirators against the crown, so I’m just curious how the aftermath will play out or if it’ll be addressed in the next book.

    1. Oh, and also quite curious about how important the Counsels’ the Author didn’t mention are. Obviously, they killed one, and it was pretty inconsequential, but there are at least 1-2 that haven’t been touched on very closely at all!

  16. This last section was pretty dramatic. I was expecting it to end with a big cliffhanger but pleasantly surprised that it didn’t. Glad that the King has released Corrick from the burden of the role that was causing him such emotional, mental and moral conflict. The fact that Allisander sort of accidentally created an uprising while doing something greedy and dishonest to line his own pockets is a tiny bit funny & probably more realistic that the evil villian with a master plan that we so often see in stories.

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  17. Wow! That was a great book! I really enjoyed reading it and I give it 5 stars.

    Even though it ended in a cliffhanger, and I don’t usually like reading books with a cliffhanger unless the whole series is already available, I liked the way it was done in this book, as for the most part the main points were addressed, but there were enough loose ends the keeps us interested and
    looking forward to the next book.

    I also loved the part where all the rebels one by one remembered what Tessa had done for them.

    And I knew it! I strongly suspected Alissander and Lisa were sabotaging their own supply runs, just so they could benefit from the chaos and increase their prices or overthrow the king and take control.

    I’m really looking forward to the next book!

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