The Illusions of Eventide

The House of Crimson and Clover, Volume 1

By: Sarah M. Cradit

Narrated by: Kate Udall

Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Nicolas Deschanel was betrayed by the only two people who matter to him. Their disloyalty stung and an overwhelming sense of loss lingers. Nicolas has lived the high life professing to not have a care in the world, and now this illusion is calling his bluff.

Determined to take control of an existence now devoid of purpose, he sojourns to his family's holiday home on the Gulf of Mexico. Resolved more than depressed, he plans to privately say goodbye to a world which no longer needs him. Of questionable fortune, he finds a woman, Mercy, sitting alone on the shore at eventide. Nicolas is conflicted between an obligation to help, and annoyance at her intrusion.

Mercy has many layers of secrets. Deepest of all, she cannot tell this Child of Man she is thousands of years old and very powerful. In her presence, Nicolas’ own dormant powers begin to surface, triggering a sequence of events that cause both of their lives to spiral further out of control. When old friends from both sides come to help, together they all learn a painful truth: new life can only begin once you’ve set free what means the most.

©2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Sarah M. Cradit (P)2016 Sarah M. Cradit

Visions of Grandeur

Nick was betrayed by his two best friends. In retaliation, rather than depression, he decides to take his own life. Fitting end for the rich playboy who has always cultivated a don't give a f*ck persona. But then he finds Mercy on the beach. Mercy, who spins a tale of abuse to persuade Nick to allow her to stay with him until her ascension, an event she has been waiting impatiently for for three thousand years. Little do they know, their meeting will set in motion events that will impact not only themselves but everyone they hold dear in the world.

This book was felt long and by the end I was waiting for it to end. Maybe because I didn't read the prequels. It took a long time to get going and then, for me, there were not enough questions answered at the end. I was invested in the characters. I wanted Mercy to not ascend from the beginning and I wanted to Nick to find love, mostly because he was trying so hard not to. I never did get what was so wrong with Anna Sophia who slept with any and every male who came close to her. There was never a very good explanation for her behavior and obvious angst.

The narration was just OK for me. Kate Udall over delivered on the erotic parts, sounding forcibly sexy, and under delivered on the narration which was just boring and it wasn't always obvious who was speaking or whose thoughts were being explored. I did listen on 1.5 speed which seemed perfect for me.

I received this book for free through Audiobook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

Very Slow Start But Give it a Chance

This book is clearly the start of a series because there is a lot of information given and world-building that I think will be important for future books in this series. Overall, I enjoyed the story and am interested in listening to volume 2 but I have a few comments.

This book is VERY slow to start out, I was confused and wondering what the point was for the first few hours. One of the main characters, Mercy, was always lying to Nicolas because she had to hide her real identity but we would hear her the truth, albeit a limited version of the truth, in her thoughts. Then, finally, the story slowly started unfolding, some truth was revealed and things started to make more sense. There was world-building and a lot of information given out that was helpful for this book but I think it will be crucial for future books in the series.

The relationship between Mercy and Nicholas is such a small piece of the story, once you get past the beginning of the book, but it does end sort of wrapping up their relationship while preparing you for what is to come in book 2. I’m sure we will see Nicholas and Mercy again but I’d be surprised if either of them are primary characters again.


I am interested enough in the story to want to continue on with the next book in the series before I make up my mind about it. It was an enjoyable listen once you get through the incredibly slow start.

I recommend you give this book a chance but I would ask that you commit to at least trying the next book before making up your mind about the series because I have a feeling it will be a good series to listen to. The biggest problem with this volume is that it just took too long for things to get started and for it to catch your attention. But stick with it and hopefully you’ll enjoy the fantasy world that Sarah M Cradit created. I deducted one star, I would have given it 3.5 stars if I could have, because of the slow start but I was curious enough to see what would happen that I stuck with it and I’m glad I did

Kate Udall’s performance was pretty good. I have pretty high standards for narrators and she won’t be making my favorites list but I would certainly listen to another book narrated by her.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Great story

Wow! What a storyline! I had no idea where this book was going to take me. I was curious for Nicholas book, I wasn't sure where his character was going to go now that Anna is with Finn. What a wild ride. I loved Mercy and the depth her character brought to the book. Masterfully written intriguing with great characters in a beautiful plantation setting in New Orleans. Great book, great series

And intriguing premise

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes

Which scene was your favorite?

As for this story itself it is definitely worth your time

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I think the ending was especially good

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

This is a good but confusing series

Any additional comments?

I really enjoy this series. It is not chronologically posted so it does get a little confusing keeping up with what's current and what's happened. I do recommend this series to readers that enjoy fantasy style stories of magical beings. I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

And intriguing premise

Would you consider the audio edition of The Illusions of Eventide to be better than the print version?

I had both the Kindle and audio version and I finished the book primarily on audio as I thought the narrator was excellent. Her accent was just perfect, her pronunciations were really good and she made the story come alive. I'm not sure I would have got as much from it by reading it.

Which character – as performed by Kate Udall – was your favorite?

Definitely Nicholas - I thought Kate Udall did a fantastic rendition of him.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I think the ending was especially good, although it got there a little too quickly. So much happened in the last hour of so of the book that it was almost too much to take in.

Worth The Credit!!

Any additional comments?

Beautifully well written, complex, interesting and entertaining story.

The story starts off a little slow and is confusing at times. At the same time you can't help but get sucked into the story.

Even though this is listed as Book 1, I went to the authors website and looked up the reading order of her stories. She gives you 3 different ways in which order you can read her books in. This book, is Book 1 in the "Down to Business" order. In the chronological order it is Book 9.
If you go to Mrs. Cradit's website there is a bonus content section that explains the family lines, abilities, the Deschanel curse timeline and much more. This helped me understand the fantastic and amazing world she has created for her characters. Some may not want to put an effort into "research" on a book series, but just the fact that her characters and stories are so well written and interwoven that she has these charts speaks for itself of how beautifully each story is crafted and interconnected.

As for this story itself it is definitely worth your time.

Don't know exactly how I missed Sarah M Cradit's books before, but I will definitely be continuing with the series as well as reading all the books associated with the series.

Kate Udall did a great job with the narration. Character voices, accents, emotions and feelings. Nice even pace, smooth transition between character voices. She really brought the characters to life .All around great job.


This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Boom

The Illusions of Eventide

After listening to the prequel books, this is really enlightening to the family powers. So many answers come to light in this story. Once you start this it really draws you in and it's hard to put down. I look forward to more of the series.

should not be in any sci-fi collection

This not a science fiction / fantasy novel. I wouldn't even call it paranormal romance. I read the prequels and got through half of this book before I gave up.

this is a group of stories about dysfunctional people who use sex as a tool. sex as reward for doing good things (her words, not mine). sex (rape) as punishment for upsetting a relationship between brothers. mystery? it tries to be a murder mystery but doesn't succeed because you learn of the obsession in the beginning. all references to powers (up until I quit reading the book) seemed like an after thought. EVERYTHING felt like filler between sex "scenes". if you believe sci-fi/ fantasy should be the primary focus of the story this is not for you.

Received free- FB group Free Audiobooks for Review

What would have made The Illusions of Eventide better?

I was unable to finish this story. I'm not sure what the problem was because I love anything paranormal, characters with special powers, etc. I can say that it didn't feel like this was the first book in the series. I swear it was like picking up a book, randomly opening to the middle page, and reading from there. I was lost and because of that, the story just didn't call to me.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Kate Udall?

Again, back to the narrator issues. Please, for the love of someone, make it mandatory that there to be at least two narrators. A female for the female characters and, obviously, a male for the male characters. Strangely, I’ve come to realize that the male narrators do a better job when it comes to speaking for both male and female characters. The female narrators, when they’re doing a male character voice, simply sounds like a female trying to do a male voice. It’s very unbelievable. The narrator really annunciation the curse words which was really annoying.

A perfect example of my issues is the following:

When Nicolas tells the lady that he’s going to call the cops, the narrator reads this line: “Nicolas, please don’t!” Now, based on the narrator spoke it, it sounded like she was upset and/or scared. But the narrator goes on to say how Nicolas thought she spoke the above line in a monotone, as though she had no personality or soul. So how the narrator says the line and what the writer wants the reader/listener to hear don’t match up.