This book picks up right where the first book left off and does not spend time recapping, so I would highly recommend a reread of the first before jumping into this one. Bellona is a land divided not only along socioeconomic class lines (the Dogio and Basso) but also by a revolution. Bellona worships the sun and makes sacrifices to it, resulting in frequent loss of loved ones.

The Night is a group which is leading a rebellion against the current leadership and its many lies. Veda is a young girl who has been labelled as the Lunalette, a figure from a legend that says she will be the one to save them and lead a successful rebellion. On the other side is her best friend and love interest, Nico, who has been selected as Heir to the regent. The book begins with Nico being held by the Night and Veda being held by the Imperi, the militia of the regent.

The book has a slow start as each of them learns more about their captors and figures out a course to freedom. The end of the book moves much faster as we get into the action of the plans they have created. This book has a solid ending without cliffhangers. I recommend it..

Defy the Sun picks up pretty much immediately right after Beware the Night so this is definitely one of those series you must read in order and you really do want to have to both books before you dive in because it really feels like 1 big book although one big change in this installment is that we have Nico’s POV as well as Veda’s and it’s just beautiful.

It is now all out war between the Day and Night and both sides are suffering losses they could barely afford. Nico and Veda and some others want this war to end before their whole world burns however as Nico and Veda are in position of power now, the burden mostly falls on them. But as they are separated, how are they to collaborate to end this blasted war?

To be honest, this novel is rather heavy in romance and while I expected that, I had to work hard to not hold against the love triangle issue. You’ll note I whinged about that in the last book, well… it got a bit worse in this book until it got better. Thankfully, Veda’s got a good head on her shoulders and at the end, everything worked well.

Defy the Sun was a riveting read; I was on tenterhook, not only because of the resolution of the love triangle, but also for the resolution of this world’s division. I really couldn’t guess how it could be resolved and , at 85%, had my doubts that it’d be resolved in this book! But the explosive ending totally worked and I’m left with a peaceful heart.

Thank you Swoon Reads and Xpresso Tours for including me in this blog tour & ecopy of book in exchange of my honest thoughts

I liked this second and final book a lot more than the first one! This was a decent dystopian duology.

Exciting conclusion to the duology! Fans will be pleased with this well-rounded wrap-up packed with tension that ties up enough ends to provide a satisfying ending.

I received an eARC of this book before an interview with the author for a teen book festival. I was so happy to be given it since I had read the first book (Beware the Night) and wanted to know the rest of the story. I am definitely not a huge fan of fantasy/sci fi (or dystopian settings for that matter), but this is the kind of book that lures me in (at least to the edges) to the genre. This is also a YA book and it's fabulous that there is such a variety of genres for teens. I liked this book more than most reviewers. I also appreciated the not entirely happy ending. Even if you're not much into YA but like dystopian settings and/or fantasy sci/fi, I recommend this duology.

Great story and loved the romance. Loved the cast of characters and how the story came to be. Great story and I would read this author again.

Fleck did some really smart things with this book! It’s pretty hard to do something new with the dystopian genre in 2020, but she definitely brought some new flavor to it.

Some pros:

- Mythos. The Sun/Moon worship was really interesting. It’s strange that I rarely see religion as a major element in dystopian novels. The way the offerings work, and the way they are leveraged by the government as a tool of control rather than just directly oppressing the people, gave the plot an extra intensity. It made a lot of sense why the people of Bellona didn’t rebel all those years.
- Nico and Dorian. As an adult, it’s hard to read a teen book and not think “c’mon kid, let the grown ups do the war.” But these two boys are seasoned soldiers, and they know what they’re doing. They have their ambitions, their loyalties, their goals, and they stick to their guns. I especially love Nico’s story, where the rebels want him to join their cause so badly, but he insists that he can do more good in a different way.
- Supporting cast. Xavier, Salazar, Bronwyn, Imi, Nico’s mom! They all interwove into the story perfectly.
- The Sindaco. Man, what a character.

Wasn’t a Fan:

- Raevald. There were so many nuanced characters that it was extra disappointing for the main villain to be so flat.
- Veda. Honestly, she grew on me more by this sequel, but only because she started to take a back seat to other things. As a main character, I never really had a sense of her capabilities. When she was training in the first book, was she already good at combat? Was she quick and resourceful? I really had no idea. A lot of her character seemed reactionary to the plot rather than driving it.
- The love triangle. I know, I know, what’s a teen romance without them? I’m a little disappointed because it was handled well for most of the two books. It’s wartime, emotions are high, and of course Veda is going to seek solace in the personal closest to her at the time. Both men understood that, and were reasonably respectful to each other. So when it came down to a simple one-or-the-other choice, I was bummed.

A fun read for sure! I’d be interested to see something outside of the dystopian genre from this author.

Readers are provided a satisfying conclusion for this duology featuring themes of classism and the glorification of war. When readers met Veda she was a low-caste outcast on the island of Bellona suddenly told that she was a people's mythological savior. Now she knows shes not. Captured by the ruling caste and all but sure her childhood best friend is dead, she must decide what she can accomplish when all hope is lost. But her best friend isn't dead; instead he has been lifted up to the right hand of the ruler of Bellona. Can he save Veda and their people from corruption from within? Or will the oncoming clash between the Sun and the Night destroy everyone? Unlike the first book, which slowed during some parts of the necessary world-building, this sequel progresses at breakneck spread and will keep readers entranced.

Beautiful cover on this final book of the duology! Starts right off from where book one ended and I love that we get Nico's perspective in this book. It's a wonderful conclusion and a fun read.

There are literally two books building up this big important world-ending "war" and it's over in five pages. In the meantime we get much more of the irritating butterflies-in-the-stomach and making out. But nothing actually happens, the ending fizzles out, and I was mad I devoted my energy to this story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this. I hope other people liked it more than I did.

There are some potential spoilers in this review. I really wish I could do half points bc I would give this 3.5 stars.
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I was glad to get to the second book soon after finishing the first. I like that it started off right where Beware the Night ended.

The book is told from two points of view, Nico’s as well as Veda’s. I would have liked some of it told from Dorian’s POV too. Maybe in a spin-off of this duology we will get that.

The book was exciting, but felt rushed in places. I had to keep checking and thinking about how few days had gone by at the beginning of the book and then the end seemed rushed as if the deadline had hit and loose ends needed to be tied RIGHT NOW.

I loved the character development of some if the supporting characters. Nico’s mother, Bronwyn, Salazar, and Xavier. There were delightful surprises from each.

The love triangle...that was really not my favorite part of the book. As in Hunger games, I liked the two boys (men-ish) involved, but it just left me sad for the one who lost. I didn’t like how it all played out.

The Sindaco. Wow, that was something.

All in all, I did enjoy the book. I felt mostly satisfied in the end and I would recommend it, especially bc the first book is so well written and people will want to know how it ends.

Although, this one was much better than book one. I still felt like it was lacking what I was looking for. It still suffered from being far too slow in spots. In this one I felt like the characters were lacking and it was weird to all of a sudden get another POV. All in all this one just wasn't for me at all.


Go Into This One Knowing: Love Triangle, Slow

I definitely enjoyed this book. Book 2 in the series takes off directly from where the last book ended. And there is now the perspective of Nico AND Veda, which I love. I am over the love triangle arc though. I had loved the first book and 'Defy the Sun' doesn't disappoint either. The writing is descent and I'm curious as to whether there is a third in the series coming out--I'll most likely read that one too!

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
It's been several weeks since I read the first book in this duology, Beware the Night. It was easy to pick back up with the characters and plot. Where the first book focused primarily on Veda's point of view, this one alternates between her and Nico as they return to their respective sides and work closely with those in charge. Both find that the respective leaders are not quite what they seem and through notes and some (luckly) well placed allies, they work together to unite the people of the island.
I enjoyed the book, though I found the love triangle reminded me of The Hunger Games (there's a war and we're supposed to be worried about which boy she'll choose?). In addition, until I decided to look for the sequel on Goodreads, when I was about two-thirds of the way through with this book, I assumed there would be a third book, as this second book seemed to lag up until the last third-which is when it picked up a bit too quickly, and ended things rather abruptly.

In the much anticipated second book of the Beware the Night duology, Defy the Sun picks up after Veda's failed offering. Veda awakes to find herself imprisoned by the Imperi, and must escape before she is publicly executed. Nico is likewise saved and held hostage by the Night. Each concerned about the other, the fight for survival and the path back to one another is immediate. As the political power-plays of both the Imperi and the Night become clear, the only way to reunite the people of Bellona is for Nico and Veda to bring their people together.

A quick and lively read, readers will enjoy the growing relationships between the characters and a very satisfying conclusion.

After the cliffhanger ending of Beware the Night, I quickly reached for this one, and loved it! I really enjoyed this epic conclusion to the duology. A good mix of romance and action, with plenty of danger and intrigue. A great story for YA dystopian fans, and well written!

This was a great conclusion to the series. I actually liked this one better than the first and I really liked the first one.

What a fantastic conclusion. What will happen to a world divided into two groups that are at war? Veda has two men who adore her so where does her heart lie?

I loved every second and I think Defy the Sun was even better than the first. Characters are forced to make hard decisions. This is a must read!

Book two in the series takes off directly from where the last book ended. And there is one plus point: we get to hear the voice of Nico this time along with Veda. Except for the love triangle part, I had loved the first book and 'Defy the Sun' doesn't disappoint either.
Things escalate as the two heirs are taken captive which also gives them an opportunity to sway the enemy to their side to create a unified front. Nico as always is my favourite: his irrevocable love towards Veda, the driving force behind all his actions is quite admirable. Veda, on the other hand, is not that great on the constant part but I am glad that she made a decision at the end.
Some characters like Poppy is particularly missed even with the others trying to fill the gap. I loved Nico's mother particularly, even with her small but relevant part. The conclusion, I felt, could have been drawn out a bit more with added amounts of anxiety. There are some deaths, but we get the happy ending we waited for: ad astra. Altogether, an engaging and enjoyable read!

"we received free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own and do not reflect those.of.the publisher or author.

In the thrilling follow up to Jessika Fleck’s YA Dystopian Romance: Beware the Night, Veda must once again come face to face with the corrupt government that has ruled her island for so long in the hopes of sparking some sort of revolution to liberate them all.

Of course revolution comes at a cost and as many characters play their way across the political chess board lives are lost and new friends made. Fleck weaves a story rich in mythology and culture and while the romance was a little heavy handed for my taste, the world is immersive and interesting.

Told from alternating POVs between Veda and Nico, there was a lot of potential for suspense that I don’t think was ever fully realized. Frequently, even as characters were on the run or organizing an attack I never felt moved to really care what was happening

It was also super heavy handed on the tropes which is fine but I just felt like by the end, combined with some very one dimensional characters, I was rather apathetic to the plot no matter how dire the situations were on the page

Ultimately, I gave 3/5 stars because while it was just an okay read for me, I know some people will really like this book. I just don’t think I’m the right audience. I would definitely recommend it for fans of Sarah J Maas’ Throne of Glass series and Marie Lu’s Legend trilogy.