I got an early copy from netgalley and I am so buzzing I did.

I loved this book, being back in this world was everything I needed.
It was great to see more of their love story come alive - we get more history and how we got to this point.
When another love interest was introduced I was like no I hate love triangle so I am so glad it didn't turn into anything.
I can not wait for the third book!!

For me it was 5⭐️ it had me on the edge of my seat, in tears, laughing and now I’m just a bit broken.

The MMC Nyte is simply incredible.

I know I will read other reviews now and I will probably agree with some people’s opinions about things they didn’t like. But for me this book swept me up, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and all I want to do is turn back to page 1 again…. And to me that is a 5⭐️ feeling.

I am now off to send 1001 emails to the publishers so I can hopefully get an ARC of book 3!

I think this series is maybe just not for me. Whilst I enjoyed the first book, I wasn't completely enamoured with the story nor the characters. I was interested enough to read this sequel, but I'm not sure I will continue to book 3.

There was a lot happening, so I didn't get bored, but as the reader I felt very out of the loop until the very end of the book. The characters are very typical romantasy characters, and while this is no bad thing, I did feel that they were a little two-dimensional a lot of the time. I think if we learned a bit more about the characters, especially Nyte, outside of his relationship with Astrea, he would be more personable.

I was also a bit over some of the smut by the end. I love a good spicy read as much as the next person, but when it starts to overwhelm the plot and become superfluous, I get a little bored.

** Thank you to the author/publisher for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own. **

Okay, this is not a review for book two. I thought I was going to love this series, and have had a copy of book one for years - I got it while it was still indie published, but held off on reading until book two was coming out. And I wish I could read this because I’ve been waiting so long, but I can’t even finish book one. I’ve tried different formats and everything, but I don’t know. Something just isn’t clicking and I’m not enjoying it at all. I’m sorry an earc was wasted on me.

"The Night is Defying" by Chloe Penaranda offers a significant step up in polish from the first book, demonstrating a clear improvement in writing quality and overall presentation. The world-building, a strong suit of the previous installment, continues to be richly imagined and effectively woven into the narrative. However, while the ambition to clarify earlier plot threads is admirable, it unfortunately contributes to the book's biggest weakness: an unwieldy and often confusing plot. The narrative jumps between timelines and perspectives, sometimes obscuring rather than illuminating key events and character motivations.

The characters, particularly the intriguing Nyte, remain a highlight. Penaranda has crafted a compelling figure whose internal struggles and complex morality keep the reader engaged. Astraea, too, possesses a captivating presence. However, the characters' arcs feel inconsistent. Their relationships, especially the central romance, suffer from abrupt shifts in emotion. One moment they are deeply in love, the next they are filled with animosity, leaving the reader struggling to understand the motivations behind these dramatic swings. This inconsistency, coupled with the convoluted plot, often clouds their actions and makes it difficult to fully invest in their journeys.

Despite these narrative challenges, "The Night is Defying" offers glimpses of brilliance. The world Penaranda has created is fascinating, and the core conflict between Astraea and Nyte holds immense potential. With a tighter, more focused plot and more consistent character development, this series could truly shine. As it stands, it's a book brimming with potential that's somewhat hampered by its own complexity. Fans of the first book will appreciate the improved writing and deeper exploration of the world, but may find themselves frustrated by the occasionally perplexing plot and fluctuating character dynamics.

The Night is Defying is the second book in the Nytefall series and it picks up right after the ending of the previous book, The Stars Are Dying. I'm a huge fan of Peñaranda since i read An Heir Comes to Rise series. I felt like this book has more action than the first one and is a bit more emotional.

This book has a dual timeline and dual POV's, which allowed me to discover more information about the events in the past through the perspective of both Aestrea and Nyte. I loved to see Aestrea's journey through this book, as i enjoyed seeing her love and Nyte's being tested with a lot of obstacles but they kept coming back for each other against all odds. This was a bit heart-wrenching at times but worth it.

I felt like it was more intense, full of betrayals and i was at the edge of my seat time and time again. I enjoyed the pace of this book more than the previous one and felt like there was some interesting plot twists. I enjoyed the character development throughout the book and while it was a bit slow at some points, the cliff-hanger is making me anxious to see what will happen to them in the next book.

I recommend this series to all that enjoys an addictive romantasy book full of politics, alliances and secrets, that will keep you hooked for the start.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eArc!

I am not okay after The Night is Defying. Chloe C. Peñaranda has once again delivered an emotional rollercoaster that wrecked me in the best way possible. This sequel takes everything I loved about Nytefall and dials it up.

The stakes are sky-high, the twists had me gasping, and the ending? Absolutely brutal. I thought book one was intense, but this? This was next-level. The worldbuilding is rich, the writing is stunning, and the slow-burn tension will make you ache. If you love star-crossed lovers, morally gray heroes, and fantasy that makes you feel, then you need this book. Just prepare for emotional devastation—you’ll thank me later.

2.75

I’m not sure what went wrong with this one for me because I really loved the first one. In all honesty I think a lot of it has to do with timing! I’m coming off a 6 star read and I’m in a slump so really had to force myself through. I found Astrea really annoying in this one, and the plot just didn’t feel like it was moving for ages? It was very repetitive. I did reallly love Nyte though 😍😍 he probably is responsible for a whole star of this rating 😂

4.5 💫 this book is FULL of yearning and heartwrenching romance, as Astraea fights to unlock more of her forgotten memories. dual pov gives the reader insight into the past through the memories of others (pain) and i really loved being in Nyte’s past and seeing the world through his lens.

as established in book 1, Nyte being “the villain” is a main theme in this book. i LOVED learning about the different species and how history, politics, and religion shape their outlook on Astraea’s bonds. (kind of reminded me of Dune & the bene gesserit, which i love!)

Astraea is so strong in this book. her development is TOP TIER and this journey pushes her to her limits and then some. i love a soft fmc who also pushes herself to become her strongest self.

the romance in this book is what takes the cake for me. (also established in book 1) the starcrossed lovers trope will forever be my favorite because the pain is oh so good 😭 Nyte is top tier book boyfriend (husband??) and the way he fights to protect Astraea makes my heart ache.

the one reason this isn’t a 5 star book for me is because I felt that at some points there was a lot of dialogue without a lot of action. by no means do i need a book to be 100% action, but i felt that the talking dragged on at points where we could have been showing instead. i still LOVED the story, characters, and am so excited for where this series is going!!

Admittedly though I am a sucker for a MMC being a simp for our main gal, and Nyte for sure holds no reservations with his fawning over Astraea. It makes for an addictive read for the romantasy folks as we hit all the serotonin marks, alongside a high-stakes fantasy plot with changing alliances and secrets around every corner.

I wasn’t sure about continuing this series at first, but this sequel changed everything.
It’s a lot more action-packed and emotional; it has all the elements I wished for more in the previous book.

The Night is Defying started right after the ending of the previous book, providing just enough information to jog my memory so I could keep up with the plot easily enough.
I love the dual timeline and dual POVs, which allowed me to discover more about the events in the past through different perspective of the two main characters, Nyte and Aestrea.

I really enjoyed seeing Aestrea’s journey as she battles to regain her memories and learn more about her powers. Not to mention, she also has to deal with a mischievous and tempting Nyte who always riled her up but always support her for who she is not for what she is.

It was impossible not to root for Nyte and Aestrea when it seems like fate always keeping them apart, yet they keep coming back for each other despite it all. Their love was tested with every obstacle, it was heart-wrenching but also admirable.

The last few chapters are so intense, I didn’t want to take my eyes off of my Kindle, afraid I’m gonna missed something.
All the chaos, betrayals and display of power in the final battle kept me on the edge of my seat!

Overall, this was an improvement to the previous book; more captivating with plot twists and significant character development.
Some parts are a little slow but that HUGE CLIFF-HANGER at the end just made me eager to pick up book 3 in this trilogy for more of Nyte and Aestrea. They deserved the happy ending they’ve fought so hard for!

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: violence, bloodshed, blood

Second book in a planned trilogy so may be spoilers for book one, but none for this one

We join Astraea as she has her freedom, but still not her memories. She is spending time with Nyte but also a figure from her past, Auster, has appeared causing some conflict in her mind

Without knowing who she was, and who these people really were to her before, Astraea needs to find her place now and decide if head or heart are more important

All the while, she is also finding her place with a new group of friends, and trying to balance that with old grudges and connections

It did take me a while to get through this nook, typical middle book journey, but I really enjoyed the journey and seeing characters grow and find their places

But that ending, really got me, the journey just built up perfectly and I cannot wait to see how it all ties up in book 3

This installment is out next week, 28 Jan, thank you to NetGalley and Headline books for the review copy, all opinions my own

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book. A gorgeous 4 star read book from me. What an exciting plot, vivid storytelling and relatable, rich characters. I couldn't put this book down – absolutely loved it.

Thank you for the Arc :) I have been really excited for this book since I finished the first and it did not disappoint

Firstly I would recommend doing a re read of the first as it did take me a while to get back into this I feel like this but once I was back into it I loved it! This book was a lot more action packed and the romance was beautiful.

Not sure how I am going to deal with not have the 3rd!

This was an action packed sequel to the Stars are dying.
I am going to start by saying, when I read the stars are dying it did take me quite some time to get in to it but I knew it had so much potential.
The world is more diverse, with more characters that you get to know. It’s developed and paced well. It’s a book of rediscovery. What Astrea & Nyte go through and the way their love defies all odds is everyone romantasy loves expect in a book. Loved it.

loved this as much as the first one
the enemies to lovers
the plot

PERFECTIONN

you are my brightest star, I will find you no matter where you shine. I love you. Now, then, and always

chaos
pain
THAT ENDING

This book was a great continuation of the first one and answers a lot of the questions we were left with. There was a good mix of action and romance. Some of the story did feel repetitive. I still don’t feel as connected to the characters as I usually do. I like them but I’m not as invested in their outcome as I should be. The writing was better in this book so it was a more enjoyable reading experience.

I. AM. SPEECHLESS. This book is EVERYTHING!! It's so, so, SO good!! Astraea's character growth was phenomenal. She's come a long way from terrified girl from first book to the confident and utterly magnificent woman she is. Watching her gain her true self back was amazing. As well as learning the real Nyte. This poor boy deserves so much better. My heart was breaking for him and his insecurities in every next pov of his. Which I was actually happy to have. I was dying to know what's going in his head. The love Astraea and Nyte have?? It's so beautiful. So pure. And so devastatingly heartbreaking. When Chloe said they're star-crossed lovers she wasn't kidding. In fact, she was detracting the whole tragedy. I literally have no words to describe the hollow that this book left in my heart. And the ending was a cherry on top of the emotional damage. But I loved this book so much. It kept me immersed in the story and I couldn't put it down. It was everything and more and I can't wait for third book.

Summary

Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

Spicy rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5

The last 20% off this book was a whirlwind!
The start was a little dry but once you get stuck in there’s a lot to unpick. It felt very character driven this time but once everything starts kicking off the action felt absolutely non stop.

It definitely had me on my toes and honestly I couldn’t tell you which characters to trust, there was epic betrayals coming from everywhere. Everyone has their own secret intentions and hidden plots and whilst you get some hints it was definitely entertaining trying to figure them out.

I enjoyed the dual timeline of this one which helps clear up a lot of lingering questions I had from book one and it felt like a great way of exploring the fated mates who are dated to kill each other angle. The story starts to get more and more cohesive, the more Astrea’s memories come back to her.

I really love the romance between Nyte & Astrea, watching them fall in love, their biting back and forth is so much fun to read. Nyte is such an angsty pining puppy for Astrea and I love that about him. Seeing him go from brutal villain to just wanting to be loved by her broke my little heart. The villain for her but never to her. Such a swoony MMC and I’m not sure I’ll get over what happened to him at the end of this book 😩!

Astrea coming more in to her power was fun to read but I am READY for her to enter her villain era and fully explore this power. And the addition of Dragons 🐉 was excellent in this book I’m ready for more of them too!

Things that would’ve made this a 5⭐️ read for me would’ve been:
-more development and explanation of the magic system
-more development of the found family element (it was there but just needed a little more
-more balanced pacing the first half felt quite slow and not as gripping. All the action was packed in to that last 20%

Book 2 in the Nytefall Series - 4.5 stars

“I’ll always want you … through every realm. To the collapse of stars in every one.”

I really enjoyed The Stars are Dying so I was really excited to go into book 2 but oh my gosh, I loved book 2!!

We got so much more depth to the plot in regards to Astraea's heritage and memories, more around the political and historical landscape of the kingdoms, and lots more focus on the relationship with Astraea and Nyte! It's difficult to get a good balance between romance and fantasy sometimes but this was perfect for me.

There were some details in the plot which could have been expanded more but maybe that's coming in the next book, which I'll definitely be reading!

este libro ha ido de peor a mejor!!!!! En el inicio fue bastante lento (también hacía mucho que salió la primera parte y tuve que refrescar todo) pero poco a poco se va viendo el cambio en Astrea, es una reina absoluta.
Nyte tiene mi corazón, mi alma y todo mi ser, este personaje no es de este mundo 🥹😶‍🌫️

Deseando ver por donde sigue esto y espero que no tarde mucho