ARC Review: "The Lies That Summon the Night" by Tessonja Odette ★★★★★

ARC Review: The Lies That Summon the Night (Songs of the Sinless #1) by Tessonja Odette

Deliciously captivating, this enemies-to-lovers dark romance—set in a world where art is considered a sin—is the book of the year! Filled with vampires, rebellious magic, a morally grey monster hunter with sentient shadows, an outlaw fugitive, forbidden romance, forced proximity, found family, and secrets, you will want to sink your teeth into this story! 💜🩸🐺

For fans of The Witcher, Shadow and Bone, and Nevernight.

Whatever truth he’s hiding, it has convinced some of his previous Summoners to turn on him. Am I ready for the truth? Will my opinion of him change once he confesses his secrets?
Who will I see sitting on the other side of these flickering flames?
An ally? My master? A Shadowbane who doesn’t seem as awful as I first thought him to be?
Or an enemy?

[Contains some spoilers]

PLOT SUMMARY

To perform art is to lie, to lie is to sin, and to sin is to attract the shadows that haunt the dark.

26-year-old Inana Westwood committed the gravest crime 2 years ago. Now an outlaw on the run, she bides her time at the Wretched Lair, performing under the alias “The Seamstress” while waiting 2 years for safe passage off the continent.

When her performance catches the attention of a Sinless (vampire-like beings), she is intercepted by the half-vampire Shadowbane, Dominic Graves. Not only does he know Inana’s real name, he has a proposition: if she will join his crew as his Summoner to lure the Shades/shadows he hunts, he will help her leave the continent in 6 months. With his shadows Lust, Pride and Sloth the dog ready to find her if she flees, she relents. Accompanying them are: Calvin, Dominic’s companion who provides blood; Harlow, the harlot who draws; and Rykar, the bard with scars and a mysterious past.

Inana can draw Shades to her during the day when she is telling the truth, something unheard of. And the closer Dominic gets to her, the more he begins to feel for the first time in years, something that should be impossible. They are drawn to each other, but know they cannot be anything more than a fleeting fling.

The journey is treacherous, plagued by Shades and rival Shadowbanes. Dominic possesses knowledge that holds the keys to the continent, but Inana holds a secret darker than anything the Shadowbane has ever encountered.

He’s gorgeous the same way a lightning storm is—breathtaking despite its danger. Or maybe because of it.

This is told from the first-person present-tense dual POV of Inana and Dominic.

The Lies That Summon the Night art by @allexandracurte

OVERALL OPINIONS
ㅤ🐺promising prose🩸
The moment I read the blurb months ago, I was sold! It has been a long time since I’ve encountered a dark romance that has piqued my interest, something that balances worldbuilding lore with tantalising chemistry and with intriguing characters. This did not disappoint. I was indeed hooked from the first few chapters.

Who doesn’t love a dedication that can resonate with several people, including myself?

For anyone who has ever mended a broken heart and come out stronger for it.

Indeed, the author Tessonja Odette mentions this was an idea she wrote a decade ago to help her process heartbreak. I fully salute her in her endeavours: the results are an excellent read and an inspiration to us all to remain strong in hopeless times!

ㅤ🐺the outlaw and the shadow daddy🩸
The chemistry between Inana and Dominic is what you want from an enemies-to-lovers dynamic: a slowburn with plenty of humorous quips and banter between them, with the constant reminder of why they cannot be together. Yet they have a compelling parallel: she’s not felt this way about a man in a while; he’s not felt anything for a while at all.

And wow, the sexual tension was wonderful! While I would have preferred their first moment not to be in a dream, it was unconventional in that way. But the cave scene where he uses his shadows as well was *chef’s kiss*! It was giving 50 shades but shadow edition. I am giggling right now, I will be thinking about that for a looong while.

ㅤ🐺negatives (mostly forced chemistry and sexual things)🩸
One drawback for me was how forced certain moments felt, to lay on thick that Inana and Dominic clearly have the hots for each other. For example, Harlow or Calvin is like “have you guys f*cked yet?” and Inana firmly dismisses this and they don’t believe her – there’s even a time where Dominic himself challenges her denial, asking smugly “Sure about that?” and I was like “really? In front of everyone, reallyyy?”. It was just too heavy-handed. And times where Inana contemplates who she would want to have sex with. This really spoilt any natural build-up or moments where Dominic and Inana actually feel like that. It would be better to have more scenes where something happens that Inana thinks about: for example, he could grab her arm and she could think of it under a different context.

Another one that felt a bit out-of-character and baffling is Dominic’s shadows arguing in a dick-measuring contest. Which, since they are extensions of Dominic himself, is very weird. Why not have a different sort of conflict? And then there’s the “call me a good boy” moment which felt very out of place and took me out the story. While rather wholesome in a strange way, it just didn’t feel like the same Dominic. One minute he’s a grump, the next he’s grinning so wide. I felt like some in-between moment(s) where he smiles more often would have made this transition feel more natural.

My Waterstones signed edition of The Lies That Summon the Night

ㅤ🐺worldbuilding galore🩸
Being the first story in the Songs of the Sinless trilogy, Odette has set the scene up nicely and I await in eager anticipation for Books 2 and 3. I do confess, I didn’t realise this when I started, so I expected a little more in terms of action, but it made sense why the story happened the way it did. The pacing got better halfway and onwards when more things were happening.

This book, therefore, is full of information and worldbuilding which was both helpful and a hindrance as I felt it dominated the narrative at times. Conversations more shaped the world than deepened characters, though we do get their backstories. It is, however, understandable considering the complexity of the lore. I was grateful for the Glossary, which is always an excellent reference in any fantasy book.

What I did like about it was its creativity, combining elements with things we know. Some aspects, like the seven deadly sins are just like our world but heavily expanded on (love the Incarnate concept!), and then there’s the monster-hunting swords and vials which is very reminiscent of Witchers. The idea of Inana being able to attract Shades when she isn’t lying was so intriguing and made me keep wanting to turn the page to find out more. And I can never resist a story with dragons in it – especially shadow dragons!

ㅤ🐺predictability🩸
A fair chunk of this story was to be expected (save occasional twists), so the main thing for me was how it was played out, which was fine. While I predicted an aspect of the major plot twist at the end, I did not predict ALL of it so I audibly gasped. This was executed flawlessly and adds a fantastic complication to the rest of the trilogy, so I’m very excited to see how it plays out!

ㅤ🐺to conclude🩸
This was an informative, atmospheric start to a trilogy I will not soon forget. Despite a few jarring character shifts, the concepts, chemistry and that plot twist of an ending make this an easy 5-star read!

My Waterstones signed edition of The Lies That Summon the Night

<< Positives >>
🠚 Helpful glossary and maps.
🠚 Nice world-building lore, not confusing.
🠚 Meaningful dedication that resonates with the reader.
🠚 Wonderful slowburn tension and humorous banter.
🠚 Intriguing moments that made me want to read on.
🠚 Various plot twists.
🠚 The spice! Especially the cave scene with the blindfold and the use of his shadows.
🠚 The animals: shadow squirrels, shadow dragons, shadow dogs! Hooked, sold!
🠚 The cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 24.

<< Negatives >>
🠚 Lore dominated the narrative over deeper character growth.
🠚 Predictable plot elements until the final major twist.
🠚 Heavy-handed dialogue about characters wanting each other. Reminded me of high school!
🠚 Forced sexual commentary spoiled some of natural build-up.
🠚 Shadows arguing about sexual things felt very out-of-character and baffling.
🠚 “Good boy” moment felt jarringly out of place.
🠚 Repetition of Dominic’s canines being sharp and how alike his shadows are to him. We get it, please move on!
🠚 No explanation about why Dominic shares the same dream(s) as Inana.
🠚 Nobody really checks in or asks Rykar about that incident with Henderson in the inn.

CHARACTERS
-ˋˏ ꒰ Inana꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ I was obsessed the moment she told her story. I love the whole idea of her stitched “beating heart”. I like her conflict of trusting and loving Dominic, understandable considering what happened when she was with Henry. When she said being with his shadows should be strange “and yet…” gurl, I get you!

-ˋˏ ꒰ Dominic꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ I really adore his character complexity: he has loads of experience and secrets, a Shadowbane who doesn’t want to cause a scene, or kill unless he must. I like that he uses his shadows to calm Inana. Calling her “love” but ALSO “good girl”? AHHH! He’s giving 50 shades but shadow daddy edition. And then there’s his soft side: putting the blanket over her, taking her on a date, buying her that hair comb because he noticed her looking at it! STOP IT!

-ˋˏ ꒰ Other characters꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ Rykanr’s revenge story is very intriguing, I can’t wait to see how that goes! Sloth is super cute, it’s sweet how he runs around nudging people! Shoutout to the shadow squirrel/dragon too.

FAV QUOTES
• This is what I’ve craved, ever since I told that first tale when I was young. To balance on the knife’s edge between beauty and danger is the best feeling in the world.
• “Try it,” he says, a threat in his tone and a maniacal hunger in his dark eyes. A dare. “Lie to me, sinner. They like the way it tastes.”
• “I may not know your face, but my shadows will know your taste. I will track you down.”
• His attention sears me to the bone, an unspoken reminder that if he couldn’t hunt me down by sight before, he can now.
• “Welcome to my crew, sinners.”
• I wanted to see her hatred all over again, and I wanted to be the cause. Me. Nothing else. Not our situation or preconceived notions or generalized suspicion. Just me. My voice. My words.
• I imagine what it would be like if we weren’t master and crew. If he wasn’t someone I hate. If we weren’t on this rooftop keeping watch for monsters, but just a man and a woman enjoying a late autumn night. If we were just that, I’d find him... tolerable. More than tolerable. Handsome. Desirable, even.
• “Neither of us would like it if I got too hot.” My breath hitches and I get the feeling his words hold double meaning. Not just the warmth of his skin but also the fire that has sparked between us. A dangerous fire. One neither of us should touch.
• He pulls me into his chest, and I press my palm over his pectoral, luxuriating in his warmth, his heartbeat. He kisses the top of my head, and I nestle deeper into him. “Tell me a story, love.” The voice is low, deep, and guttural, thrilling in its sleep-drunk beauty.
• The gods must be punishing me. Inana is the worst person I could be alone with. The worst person to be stuck with. But I can’t regret it now. Even if I could choose again, I’d still jump into the river after her.
• “I told you that the next time you wanted my touch, you were going to beg for it.” He steps closer until he’s just a foot away. He still doesn’t let his eyes move lower down my body. Instead, his dark irises burn into mine as his lips curl into a cruel smile. “So beg, sinner.”
• Still, I say nothing as I let myself melt against him. As I envelop myself in his warmth. Knowing that if I let myself speak, I might accidentally admit that I’m ever so slowly—ever so certainly—falling for a man with a death wish.
• How have I lived six years without feeling this range of emotion? Without the pleasure and pain that pierces my chest? How will I live without it again, after she’s gone, safe across the sea? How can I risk her life for the duration of our agreement? How can I focus on anything *but* her?
• I may be keenly acquainted with the futility of hope, but it’s a powerful drug. Sometimes the only thing that keeps you going.
• “Let’s burn it all down,” I say. “Let’s make them fucking pay. Together.”

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I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank Tessonja Odette, Zaffre (Bonnier Books UK), and NetGalley for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.

A huge thank you to the Bonnier Hive Influencer program for providing me with a copy.

“The Lies That Summon the Night” is out now!