I will admit that I am not a fan of NIGHTRENDER, the first book in the Salvation Cycle duology by Jodi Meadows. Too much thinking and too little action made what I believe should have been a powerful story into an angsty teen drama. The fact that one of these angsty teens is an immortal monster hunter with centuries of experience only made it worse. 

When DAWNBREAKER became available as a review copy, I stopped to think before requesting a copy. Did I want to take the chance that the same issues I saw in the first book would remain in the second? Did I want to know how it ended? Does my curiosity outweigh the negatives? After weighing the pros and cons, I took a chance. Surprisingly, I'm glad I did. 

While the series does not rank anywhere close to my favorites, I feel DAWNBREAKER is a decent finale for what became a decent story. One of my biggest questions was how Ms. Meadows would create happy endings for the main three characters without killing off one of them. I'm impressed with her story choices. I'm even more impressed that the characters received the appropriate punishment or reward in a way that felt authentic and not convenient. 

What's more, is that DAWNBREAKER kept surprising me. While few plot twists or jaw-dropping reveals exist, there are subtler surprises. These surprises flesh out some of the characters, making them less one-noted and less totally good or totally evil. The lack of morally gray characters was one of my main critiques of NIGHTRENDER, so these changes were welcome.

I am glad I took the chance on DAWNBREAKER. Ms. Meadows did a good job tying together her subplots to create a conclusion that is satisfying. The writing is stronger; subsequently, the story is as well. There is less hand-wringing and more action, which also helps make it a better story. I don't think DAWNBREAKER will win any year-end awards, but it is an acceptable conclusion to a decent duology.