Beware the Night by Jessika Fleck [Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway]

Hello! Welcome to the next stop on the Beware the Night blog tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. I'm thrilled I get to share my thoughts on this book with you! Thank you for stopping by, and don't forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom!

Title: BEWARE THE NIGHT
Author: Jessika Fleck
Pub. Date: March 12th 2019
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Find it on: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo

On the island of Bellona, they worship the sun. Seventeen-year-old Veda understands that keeping the sun content ensures plentiful crops, peace and harmony, and a thriving economy. But as a member of the Basso class, she never reaps those benefits.

Life as a Basso is one fraught with back-breaking work and imposing rules. Her close friendship with Nico is Veda’s one saving grace in a cruel world where the division between her people and the ruling Dogio is as wide and winding as the canals that snake through their island.

But when Veda’s grandfather is chosen as the next sacrificial offering to keep the sun’s favor, Veda is forced to see the injustice of her world. Turning away from the sun means she must join the night—and an underground revolution she’s been taught to fear all her life.

𑁋

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

Beware the Night left me feeling frustrated and at a loss for words. I dislike cliffhangers as a rule, because they leave you with more questions than answers, and I feel like it's a dirty way to leave a book. I don't mind when books are part of a series, but I also want them to be able to stand on their own. When you're left not knowing what happened to one of the main characters, that's really annoying. Books take time to write, and not all books get a sequel, so I firmly believe that every book should have a beginning and an ending. If they want to set up future books, fine, but don't leave me feeling like I've wasted hours of my time by failing to provide even a hint of resolution.

Next, there's a love triangle, and an unnecessary one at that. I will say that I think the author handled this one better than most, but I still don't like that it was there. We have Nico on one side, someone Veda has known since childhood, and Dorian on the other. He's a new addition to her life, but an important one. I really wish one of them could have remained her friend, while the other was a love interest, because kissing them both on the same day (and claiming they were both perfect, or heavenly) was ick. She felt at home with Nico, but she also said her kiss with Dorian felt like they'd been doing it forever. People are planning for a war, and she's thinking about which boy she likes more (or questioning everything always).

My third issue is likely due to the fact that I read a review copy, because I really hope the inconsistencies were straightened out before publication. Someone would be sitting, and then they would stand, but then they would stand again with someone else. Veda was given keys, but then she couldn't unlock a door because she didn't have keys, and then she's thanking the Sun for having keys later on. It was a little obnoxious, but again, not holding it against this book since my copy was for review.

I enjoyed the lore behind the Sun and the Moon, but it was also confusing. Bellona is supposedly a child of the Sun, so where does the Night come from? Why did they start worshiping the Moon? Was it done just to oppose the Imperi, or were there other legends that weren't shared with us? I know the Night had tapestries and stories that were passed down over the generations, but then Veda finds something at the end that made me question everything that I thought I knew.

Actually, there's a lot about this book that doesn't make sense. The Night was planning on someone returning to them, but they didn't make arrangements until a few days before her birthday. It felt like they simultaneously knew and didn't know that Veda was the person they were waiting for. Apparently, the Sindaco had made plans prior to someone seeing her scar, but then the plans started after her scar had been seen. I'm confusing myself trying to explain how it was confusing.

I wish the information had been presented a little differently, and definitely more thoroughly, because I don't like feeling confused and frustrated when I finish a book. I love stories that make me think and question what I know, but not books that make me feel like I went in circles for hours. I want things to be explained to me in a way that leaves no room for doubt or confusion. If it's a new world with new rules, I want to believe in it wholeheartedly. Alas, Beware the Night made a halfhearted attempt at best, and I wish the story had left me with more than a vague sense of doom.

I'm curious enough to possibly continue this series, but it's not one I'm eagerly anticipating. If the first book ended with a cliffhanger, it's safe to assume the author would do it again. I don't know... maybe I need to read a finished copy to see if some of the messiness it sorted out. If you've read a published copy of this book, what do you think? Were you satisfied with it overall?

Author Bio:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

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.

Giveaway:

Tour-wide giveaway (US/CAN)

Print copy of Beware the Night

a Rafflecopter giveaway