The continent of Salvation is home to three kingdoms: Caberwill, Embria and Ivasland. They have fought each other for centuries, but the biggest threat to all of them by far is the Malice, evil that breaks through into the human world from the demon plane. People learn to avoid malsites, pockets where there is thinning between that plane and the human world. But many years ago, before they themselves were forced to go away to another place, the gods created an immortal warrior to protect the humans, to clear away the malsites and fight demons. A royal from any of the three kingdoms had the power to summon the Nightrender when she was needed.

It’s been 400 years since anyone summoned Nightrender, and Prince Rune of Caberwill knows for sure that the world needs her help. Malsites are numerous, and signs indicate that the bubbles around them that form the last layer of protection are weakening. Malice will soon spill into the world, and the kingdoms must work together instead of make war with each other. It’s time to summon Nightrender. But no one wants to take the chance: Four centuries earlier, after fighting in the demon plane to protect the humans, she inexplicably came out and slaughtered all the royal families.

Caberwill’s and Embria’s leaders are focused instead on the upcoming marriage of Embria’s princess, the cunning Johanne, to Prince Rune. They plan on finally having some peace as the two kingdoms are joined; they plan to go against Ivasland, which is rumored to be working on a weapon that uses Malice, the one line the kingdoms all agreed years before to never cross.

Rune takes the leap and defies his parents to summon Nightrender. She leaves her tower where she sleeps in between summonings and finds a world that doesn’t welcome her as it has in the past. When she learns why, she is devastated and confused. Things aren’t right, and Nightrender has no idea why. She just knows she must do her duty and fight with all that’s in her to protect the world from the looming threat of the Malice.

I’ve enjoyed several of Jodi Meadows’ books, especially the Newsoul series starting with Incarnate, so I definitely wanted to try this one. For some reason, I just didn’t love it. It’s filled with action; there are elements of mystery about why certain things are happening; there are heroes to root for. I think in part it is just too dark for me, and there aren’t really any light notes to provide breaks from the impending evil. No humor, not a ton of hope; it feels that there are too few noble humans (in leadership, at least) and a savior who is broken down and not looking likely to win. The balance wasn’t right for me. Even so, it’s strong writing and there’s a lot happening. I’m still curious about where the story will go in the next book.

Rated: Moderate. There’s really no profanity; characters “curse” by saying “burn it.” There are a few kisses and a couple of instances where a married couple have sex, but there are no details. The rating comes from violence: There are a lot of fight scenes, a lot of killing, a good amount of blood shed and mentioned, and the biggest threat are some very dark, nasty demons.

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