Nightrender

Jodi Meadows — 2022

Kingdoms will fall, gods will die, and hearts will be broken in this sprawling new fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jodi Meadows. In the middle of nothingness is the Island of Salvation. Reality bends easily here. Villages disappear. Forests burn forever. Pockets of inconsistent time are everywhere, their boundaries strung with yellow ribbon. And the three kingdoms of Salvation have been at war for a thousand years. But the greatest threat is the Malice, an incursion from the demon plane slowly tearing its way through the world's weakest seams. Seams that--once split--will lead to the total unraveling of night and day, light and dark, life and death. Not that the human world takes much interest. Of more concern is the upcoming marriage of Rune Hightower, Prince of Embria, and Johanne Fortuin, Princess of Embria--the serpent bride, a girl of famous cunning--which offers a possible end to the ancient conflict. But Rune has noticed the growing darkness, and he is determined to summon mankind's only defense: Nightrender, the hammer of the gods, an immortal warrior more weapon than girl. There is only one problem. The last time she was summoned, she slaughtered every royal in Salvation, and no one knows why. Will she save humanity from the Malice... or plunge it deeper into the fires of eternal war?

Reviews

June@bookedbyjune

Apr 29, 2024

Jodi Meadows cleverly intertwines the lives of three very different characters, a morally questionable princess, a celestial warrior meant to protect humankind and a prince who seeks the best for his kingdom

Hanne is a cunning and self centered character, she's constantly looking for her own ambitions without regard to anyone else. Rune is naive in many ways, though noble and good hearted in his intention. The Night Render is not quite human, she holds herself above human emotions and thinking, but still fights endlessly for humanity. Night Render has exquisite world building, everything from the Malsites and Rancor to the different kingdoms was perfectly crafted. I loved the slightly dystopian feeling in some of this book, especially with the Malsites and how they can bend reality

This book was so much fun to read, I loved everything from the political games and intriguing characters to Night Render herself

Liz Griffin@lizgriffinwords

May 2, 2023

I’m torn, but the cleverness of the three POVs being so distinct bumped up my rating.

Hanne is consistently conniving, self-centered, and calculating. She reframes everything in light of her ambition and plots.

Nightrender has an alien quality, a not-quite humanness.

Rune is in many ways naive, but equally noble and thoughtful.

And kudos for the author’s boldness in the amount of gore and death for a YA book. Yet also… like most DC blockbuster movies… the dizzying amount of wanton destruction became almost numbing.

My biggest complaint is how often “he’s a married man” got repeated as an obstacle between Rune and Nightrender. It overrode any potential chemistry between them. So mild warning for cheating (at least in thought).