Title: The Lies that Summon the Night
Author: Tessonja Odette
Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
Keywords: enemies to lovers, slow burn, morally grey, hot, betrayal, repressed identity/memories, self-discovery, worldbuilding
Tessonja Odette’s The Lies that Summon the Night is a dark romantasy that blends a slow-burn romance with deadly monster-hunting adventure set in a world where art is a sin, forbidden, and ruled by the Sinless, vampire-like creatures. This provides a dark, oppressing background that adds to the tension and thematic depth in the story.
The book starts with Inana Westwood, who tells her forbidden art of storytelling to a small audience in an underground club. She is a strong, creative, and vulnerable character who is trying to survive and earn enough money for her freedom. She was bought and hired by her counterpart, Dominic Graves, who is a monster-hunting Shadowbane, to be his Summoner. Between both Inana and Dominic, there is a lot of distrust, tension, trauma, and conflicting loyalty, but it gradually dissipates and evolves into a romantic relationship.
However, this story is not just another enemies-to-lovers romance. The romance in this book is the driving force behind the rest of the plot of the story and the characters’ development. The romance opens up both characters’ emotions and contributes to the final conclusion in this book, which paves the way for the next book in the series.
The book is not a 5-star read for me, even though I love it, because some supporting characters seem to be an afterthought and flat. I hope more of their story comes through in the next book, because this story is part of an adventure journey not just for two people but for a whole crew on an adventure of hunting monsters and self-discovery.
This book is for readers who love slow-burn, dark romance fantasy featuring enemies-to-lovers dynamics, morally grey characters, and rich world-building, along with perspectives from both characters.
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