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Defy the Sun by Jessika Fleck - Book Tour + Giveaway

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Defy the Sun
Jessika Fleck
(The Offering Series, #2)
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: March 10th 2020
Genres: Dystopian, Fantasy, Young Adult

In this electrifying YA dystopian sequel to Beware the Night, Veda is captured and leveraged against her best friend, who fights for the opposing force.
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.
Praise for Defy the Sun
“Jessika Fleck’s duology is a lyrical adventure with a twisting vein of romance throughout. I was both enchanted and haunted till the very end!” —Erin Beaty, author of the Traitor’s Trilogy
Beware the Night
“Jessika Fleck delights with a new fantasy novel set in a world where the Sun reigns supreme and the Night is your enemy—literally. Brims with secrets, betrayal, and a genuinely believable love triangle!” —Pintip Dunn, New York Times bestselling author of the Forget Tomorrow series

Excerpt
(Veda)
It’s nearly vesper bells and next to no one’s out.
Imi keeps checking her hourglass, reciting the time she believes we’ll be found out. “Twenty minutes.”
Simultaneously, we pick up our pace.
Imi and I enter the path to find more foot traffic than we expected. There’s a group of three Basso women behind us, an older Dogio couple ahead, Imperi soldiers sprinkled about.
“No one walks alone now,” Imi whispers back at me.
As we pass, not one party or soldier gives us a second glance.
Apparently, all I need to get around the island unscathed is a good haircut and an Imperi officer by my side.
My legs are heavy as stone and so very fatigued. Each step is weighted labor. My eyes are still adjusting to the unforgiving light of day. And my heart? Despite the fact that it raps from exhaustion, this heart of mine is in turmoil after seeing Nico . . . Not getting to say anything . . . Not be able to act on it . . . Being forced to pretend I don’t know him, that I don’t care he’s alive and well and somehow returned to Bellona and was marching his way up to the palace gates . . . To say it was torture would be too kind.
Imi drags me down the path behind her, but the adrenaline pumping through my veins gives me temporary bursts of strength. The grasp of hope, the maybe and what if of finally making my way home, balances precariously at the edge of my mind, gifting renewed motivation.
But as if it’s too good to be true, I catch someone staring as we pass. I tell myself they’re only curious and I do look a mess. Not only have I been in a prison for weeks, my body’s not moving as stealthily as it should, my muscles and bones long fatigued. And, well, Imi is being more forceful than need be, but I’m following her lead by struggling more than I must.
If we’re going to act the part, we’d best put in the effort.
We pass the last row of homes.
Then an electric fence. The sight stops me in my tracks, because it’s exactly like the one Dorian and I encountered what feels like years ago surrounding the Basso village. Now the Dogio village is locked in too?
Or, more plausibly, it’s protected from what, who might enter from the outside.
This idea is further hammered in by the row of Night posters lining the metal barricade. Posters painted in black and gold: the night has risen! and join the revolution! Both clad with crescent moons and Lunalette stars.
“Keep walking,” Imi warns under her breath, yanking the rope forward.
We trudge down a ravine, then back up a decent hill. From the top, I get a better view, am able to see a clearer image of the island.
Bellona is far worse a sight than I imagined from inside my cell. Fields are burned. Homes destroyed. Trees blown to splinters. An open space near the canal is littered with fresh metal grave markings left to symbolize fallen soldiers. There are too many to count, but there are no dead souls resting in that field. I can only assume their bodies, both Night and Imperi, were sent adrift out into the Great Sea—returned to the sacred place where the Sun’s child, Bellona, originally fell from the heavens.
It’s all in homage to the Sun, blessings of “We fight in your name!” and “See what we sacrifice for you!” Prayers to help the Imperi win this fight.
I force my eyes away before I can make out the markers, see how many are hammered into Suns and how many are Moons. I can’t face the dead. Not yet. Not in this moment.


Author Bio:

Jessika Fleck is an author, unapologetic coffee drinker, and knitter — she sincerely hopes to one day discover a way to do all three at once. Until then, she continues collecting vintage typewriters and hourglasses, dreaming of an Ireland getaway, and convincing her husband they NEED more kittens. Her YA debut, THE CASTAWAYS (Entangled TEEN), is now available. Her next YA novel, BEWARE THE NIGHT (Swoon Reads/Macmillan) releases March 12, 2019. More at www.jessikafleck.com

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Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.