Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer

From New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer comes a blockbuster fantasy series about a kingdom divided by corruption, the prince desperately holding it together, and the girl who will risk everything to bring it crashing down.

The kingdom of Kandala is on the brink of disaster. Rifts between sectors have only worsened since a sickness began ravaging the land, and within the Royal Palace, the king holds a tenuous peace with a ruthless hand.

King Harristan was thrust into power after his parents' shocking assassination, leaving the younger Prince Corrick to take on the brutal role of the King's Justice. The brothers have learned to react mercilessly to any sign of rebellion--it's the only way to maintain order when the sickness can strike anywhere, and the only known cure, an elixir made from delicate Moonflower petals, is severely limited.

Out in the Wilds, apothecary apprentice Tessa Cade is tired of seeing her neighbors die, their suffering ignored by the unyielding royals. Every night, she and her best friend Wes risk their lives to steal Moonflower petals and distribute the elixir to those who need it most--but it's still not enough.

As rumors spread that the cure no longer works and sparks of rebellion begin to flare, a particularly cruel act from the King's Justice makes Tessa desperate enough to try the impossible: sneaking into the palace. But what she finds upon her arrival makes her wonder if it's even possible to fix Kandala without destroying it first.

Set in a richly imaginative world with striking similarities to our own, Brigid Kemmerer's captivating new series is about those with power and those without . . . and what happens when someone is brave enough to imagine a new future.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55891833-defy-the-night

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My Review: 5/5 Stars 

Loved this one! Brigid Kemmerer has yet to disappoint me with her books. A new fantasy romance YA that ha some of her most interesting characters. In the kingdom of Kandala, the people are riddled with an illness that has no real cure. The only thing that helps is an elixir made with from the petals of a Moonflower. Tessa and her friend Wes risk their lives each night to distribute the elixir to those who need it. Yet their efforts are never truly enough. The King and the consuls are in constant battles with one another and the King and his Justice do all they can do appeal to those consuls, help their people, and squash a rebellion that threatens to collapse everything. While Tessa is one point of view in the story the other comes from Prince Corrick, the King's Justice. Or better known has the executioner and the one who is constantly trying to rid those who threaten to cause chaos. Nothing about Corrick is simple. He is a complicated man filled with secrets. But when it comes to protecting his brother, the King, he will do whatever he can. One of the things I loved about this story is that it showed there is nothing simple about each side. From the Tessa's side, the king and prince are cruel. They don't help the people and they only kill those in their way. But from Corrick's, he and his brother have been forced to show no weakness. They were thrust on the throne when their parents were assassinated in front of them and the only way to keep control was to show no fear. But they want to save their people and there is no simple way to do it. On top of having so many great characters, there are some pretty wild twists and turns. Masks and secrets are constantly in play. Truly loved this story and I was hooked from page one. I think another one should be following this story and I hope so! I'm not ready to say goodbye to this world just yet.