Book Review: The Lies that Summon the Night by Tessonja Odette
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The Lies that Summon the Night by Tessonja Odette
Published: February 3, 2026
Series: Songs for the Sinless #1
Genres: Adult // Romance, Fantasy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Explicit Open Door)
Quick Thoughts: The Lies that Summon the Night had a great premise but was kind of “meh” on execution. If you're looking for some classic romantasy vibes with vampire-like beings, some intrigue, and a few spice scenes, give this one a try. However, if you want a good, slow-burn romance or well-done worldbuilding, I’d skip this one.
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Learn more about my rating & spice scales here.
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Violence/Gore/Blood
Dark romance themes, like blindfolding and light restraints (through shadows)
Addiction/Withdrawal (Blood)
Religious bigotry
Corruption
Grief and loss of loved ones
Implied past abuse
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Shadow daddy
Fugitive FMCs
Enemies-to-lovers
Magic
Vampires
Angels and demons
Forced proximity
Quests
Superior/subordinate relationship
Hidden/Secret Identities
Multi-POV
What is The Lies that Summon the Night about?
Lies, beauty, and seduction mingle in the first book of an enthralling romantasy series where making art is considered a sin, and the shadows born from it aren't the only danger to the creators—from the bestselling author of Curse of the Wolf King.
From the art of liars, the monsters came . . .
Ever since art gave life to bloodthirsty shadows, creative works have been forbidden and talented creators sacrificed to the Sinless—the immortal royals who feast on human blood in return for their protection.
Inana’s secret storytelling nearly got her killed once, and she’ll be damned if she’s ever caught again. With a bounty on her head, she keeps to the city’s dark underbelly, where she earns a meager living from thrill-seeking patrons desperate to hear her illicit fiction. Until Dominic, a Shadowbane, catches one of her performances.
Dominic is a half-Sinless monster hunter as fearsome as his prey. But to complete his hunt, he needs an artist to summon the shadows . . . he needs Inana. Dominic delivers an ultimatum: Serve him or he’ll claim her bounty. When survival is all Inana has left, the choice is clear—at least until she can betray him and leave him for dead.
As their tense alliance leads them into the heart of danger, dark secrets unravel—about each other, their world, and the threats they face. But the greatest risk of all is the desire growing between them. There’s something more sinful than lust at play, and it could bring the world to its knees.
The Lies that Summon the Night Review
I feel pretty lukewarm about this one. The Lies that Summon the Night had all the right ideas but I feel kind of "meh" about the execution.
What I liked
There were so many parts of this book that I loved. Our FMC Inana is a storyteller in a world where art and creativity are forbidden. Art is considered a sin that attracts monsters called Shades, which attack, kill, and destroy. Our MMC Dominic is a monster hunter whose path crosses with Inana when he brings her onto his team as a summoner to lure monsters for him to kill or capture. Though this dynamic is a familiar template for many romantasies, it's the details of the world and story that made this feel refreshing and original. The pacing was also good and the story felt like it was constantly moving. This book is under 350 pages, so I never felt like we lingered in any one place or scene for too long.
What I didn’t like
Unfortunately, all of these great things were overshadowed by the overcomplicated worldbuilding. I have more patience for info-dumping at the start of a series, like this one, but I really struggled here. The magic system and lore are actually easy to understand once you process everything, but the way it's laid out makes it difficult to connect the different pieces together. One of my biggest worldbuilding pet peeves is unnatural dialogue, and this book had a lot of that. The details of the world were straightforward enough that the author could have let the worldbuilding unfold more organically, rather than relying on multi-paragraph monologues that made everything more confusing than it needed to be.
Romance
If you've read a lot of romantasy, you may find the romance similar to many other books. It's a typical setup with a mysterious, irresistibly attractive male love interest, vaguely enemies-to-lovers, and pretty insta-lusty. I'm not sure what Inana and Dominic’s connection is beyond physical attraction. I didn't mind the romance; it just wasn’t a standout romantic arc.
So, should you read The Lies that Summon the Night?
Overall, if you're looking for some classic romantasy vibes with vampire-like beings, some intrigue, and a few spice scenes, give this one a try. The cliffhanger ending was interesting, but I did not enjoy this enough to continue the series.
Check out this review on Goodreads or Storygraph.
Happy reading!
Kim
The Lies that Summon the Night FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
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No, The Lies That Summon the Night is the first book in the Songs for the Sinless series by Tessonja Odette. The good news is that it wraps up its main plot in a satisfying way — this isn't one of those first books that ends mid-story and leaves you completely in the dark. That said, there is a cliffhanger ending that sets up the rest of the series, so if you're looking for a clean, one-and-done read, this probably isn't it. If you're open to a series, though, this is a solid start.
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Yes! It's book one in the Songs for the Sinless series. At the time of writing, no release date has been announced for book two, but based on the ending, there's definitely more story to tell. The series follows Inana and Dominic as they uncover the lies at the heart of their world — so if you enjoyed book one, there's plenty more to look forward to.
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The spice level is 4 🌶️ or explicit open door. That means readers are present for spice scenes and they are told in explicit detail.
The spicy scenes are in chapters 25, 31, and 36.
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The spicy scenes are in chapters 25, 31, and 36.
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The Lies That Summon the Night was published on February 3, 2026. It's Tessonja Odette's traditional publishing debut after years as an indie author, and it's available now in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook wherever books are sold.