Nina ✿ Looseleaf Reviews ✿'s Reviews > Defy the Sun

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.