Review – WE RULE THE NIGHT (It Rules!)

Item: We Rule the Night
Rating: 4.5
Author: Emily

Posted April 2, 2019 by Emily in review / 0 Comments

Review graphic for WE RULE THE NIGHT by Claire Bartlett

I received this book for free from NOVL in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

TITLE: We Rule the Night
AUTHOR: Claire Eliza Bartlett
PUBLICATION DATE: April 2, 2019
Source: NOVL
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RATING:

Two girls use forbidden magic to fly and fight–for their country and for themselves–in this riveting debut that’s part Shadow and Bone, part Code Name Verity.

Seventeen-year-old Revna is a factory worker, manufacturing war machines for the Union of the North. When she’s caught using illegal magic, she fears being branded a traitor and imprisoned. Meanwhile, on the front lines, Linné defied her father, a Union general, and disguised herself as a boy to join the army. They’re both offered a reprieve from punishment if they use their magic in a special women’s military flight unit and undertake terrifying, deadly missions under cover of darkness. Revna and Linné can hardly stand to be in the same cockpit, but if they can’t fly together, and if they can’t find a way to fly well, the enemy’s superior firepower will destroy them–if they don’t destroy each other first.

We Rule the Night is a powerful story about sacrifice, complicated friendships, and survival despite impossible odds.

Setting the Scene:

9 Word Summary

Enemies must join forces to survive while fighting war.

Mood Before Reading

Determined… Must. Finish. This. Before. Pub. Date. 😅

Review:

We Rule the Night is a beautifully crafted fantasy war adventure about two girls, Revna and Linné, who must put aside their differences to survive. The two of them could not be more different – Revna is a second class citizen factory worker, and Linné is a high ranking general’s daughter. Yet, they are also so similar. Both are determined and joined the (first & only) women’s fighting military unit in hopes of escaping punishment (Linné for pulling a Mulan) and possible jail time (Revna for using The Weave, aka illegal magic).

We Rule the Night is definitely a more character driven fantasy. As such, it does have a bit of a slow start in order to get to know Revna and Linné better, as well as set up the world it’s set in. The slow start was worth it though. I ended up loving both of the characters and thoroughly enjoyed the world building.

Revna and Linné are just great characters. It’s interesting to read about just how similar they are despite their vast differences. Even though they come from completely opposite backgrounds (which I would have loved to learn more about, btw), they both have the same heart and strength. And loneliness – neither one fits in 100% with the rest of the girls in the unit. Revna, because of her physical disability and Linné because of her prior military experience as one of the boys (her blunt honesty, which I found refreshing, also certainly did not help).

It was a joy to watch them mature, and their relationships with each other and other characters develop throughout the story. Revna and Linné were not the only characters I connected with. I felt like I got to know all of the other girls in the unit through the two MCs. I highly admire their determination to make an impact in the war, despite the hardships they faced from the idiotic boys who always tried to drag them down. And let’s just say I needed four tissues for my tears. That’s a lot of tissues for someone who rarely cries for fictional characters.

The world building was also great. There are soo many intriguing elements in this story. Like, living metal, metal that has feelings, for example. And hot/cold spark, the magic that’s our life force. They’re so unique to We Rule the Night. Perhaps even more interesting is that if you take all the magical elements away, it feels very much like a historical fiction novel, even though it’s not historical at all. That said, there were some complexities that I felt were unnecessary for a standalone (is it one?). View Spoiler »