This is a sequel to "Beware the Night." In this book, civil war has erupted between the Night, led by the Sindaco, and the Light, led by the High Regent.

This book had many of the same problems as the first book, mainly huge gaping world building holes. In a tiny island with only two real villages, hundreds and hundreds of people are missing. The Lunalette legend was passed down via tapestry and by word of mouth for generations, however, the legend was only created by the Sindaco 15 or 16 years ago. Early in the book, Nico's wrists are bound by rope. He sticks his hands in the fire to burn the rope. His hands are burnt, but that is never mentioned again. Later, Nico heals from a life threatening arrow in his back in just a week or two. I know this is a young adult book, but seriously, fix these problems! Overall, a bust.

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-book of the below in exchange for an honest review as part of a tour hosted by Xpresso Tours via NetGalley.**

Title Defy the Sun (The Offering Series #2)

Author Jessika Fleck

Release Date March 10, 2020

Publisher Swoon Reads

Description from Amazon

Civil war has come to the island of Bellona. Veda Adeline believes in the Night. She’s joined the underground revolutionaries, led by Dorian Winters, and they’re determined to overthrow the ruling Imperi and find justice for her people.

Nico Denali, Veda’s childhood friend and maybe-something-more, is one of those ruling Imperi, and he’s just been named heir to the most powerful man above ground.

As the war intensifies, Veda and Nico are leveraged against each other: Veda is above as a hostage of the Imperi and Nico is below, taken by the Night. There’s no way Dorian is letting such a valuable hostage go.

The island will burn unless Veda and Nico can come together to rip everything apart. But Nico and Dorian will never trust each other, and Veda’s heart might be the biggest casualty.

Initial Thoughts

Beware the Night had such an epic (cliffhanger-filled) ending – I literally started Defy the Sun immediately. Needless to say, I was really excited to read this book.

Some Things I Liked

No magic. I know, what am I saying? I love magic in books. However, I absolutely loved that this was a story that didn’t have any magic. Normally, no magic = sci-fi but, that wasn’t the case at all here and I can’t praise it any more highly. I thought the political plots were the stars here.
Dystopian vibes without being sci-fi. I loved that this book had a non-specified time frame. I didn’t overthink it and I didn’t dwell on it. I loved that the society felt dystopian, but there weren’t unexplainable elements (like the technology featured in The Hunger Games).
Two-book series. I loved that this was a duology. Two books perfectly captured this story and it’s been a while since I read a good duology.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

That love triangle. I know, I know, I said that was my core issue with Beware the Night, but I just feel so bad for all of them. Poor Veda is torn, and poor Dorian and Nico both think they’re going to get the girl. *Spoiler Alert*, only one of them gets the girl. I just felt so bad for the disappointed party in this love triangle, it broke my heart.

Series Value

Swoon Reads and Jessika Fleck, please give me a spin-off / sequel / novella (whatever you want) about that character I mentioned above! I’d love to revisit this setting and see how this society is doing.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed this duology and particularly, this book. My only issue was the resolution of the love triangle, but other than that, this was a solid four-star read for me.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recommendations for Further Reading

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – if you liked the revolutionary vibes as well as the concept of “the offering” in Beware the Night, definitely check out The Hunger Games trilogy.
Frostblood by Elly Blake – if you liked the love triangle as well as the idea of a persecuted group of people that leads to the main character smack in the middle of a revolution, try this trilogy by Elly Blake.
Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan – if you liked the mysterious, revolution vibes as well as the day / night duology, check out this series. The sequel, Ruthless Gods, is coming out in April.

Defy the Sun by Jessika Fleck
Book Review by Dawn Thomas

304 Pages
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group / Swoon Reads
Release Date: March 10, 2020

Teens & Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopian

The story picks up where Beware the Night left off. Nico was rescued by the Night and Veda has been taken hostage by the Imperi guards. They are planning an elaborate Offerings ceremony to set an example. Veda tries to get sympathy from her guard. At the same time, the Night is trying to recruit him. As the Heir to the Imperi, it would a feather in their cap if he switched sides. The war between the two groups is destroying Bellona. Soon there won’t be anything left.

The book is the second in The Offering Series. It is written in present tense and switches point of view between Veda and Nico. The story flows well and the characters are well developed. In fact, we learn more details of the secondary characters. If you like the Hunger Games, you will probably enjoy this book.