#Bookreview – Eventide by Mae Clair

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Book reviewsToday’s book review was a buddy read with prolific author, James J. Cudney. This was the first time I have read a book and then discussed it with someone else prior to writing my review and it was an interesting and fun process. I hope that Jay and I will read some more books together in the future. You can find Jay’s review of Eventide here: https://thisismytruthnow.com/2020/02/15/book-review-eventide-by-mae-clair/

What Amazon says

The darkness is coming . . .  

The old house near Hode’s Hill, Pennsylvania is a place for Madison Hewitt to start over—to put the trauma of her husband’s murder, and her subsequent breakdown, behind her. She isn’t bothered by a burial plot on the property, or the mysterious, sealed cistern in the basement. Not at first. Even the presence of cold spots and strange odors could be fabrications of her still troubled mind. But how to explain her slashed tires, or the ominous messages that grow ever more threatening?

Convinced the answer lies in the past, Madison delves into the history of the home’s original owners, only to discover the origin of a powerful evil. An entity that may be connected to a series of gruesome attacks that have left police baffled. No matter where she turns—past or present—terror lingers just a step away, spurred on by a twisted obsession that can only be satisfied through death…

My review

Eventide is the third book in the Hode’s Hill series by this author. The book is written on two timelines, the first of which features the current life of Madison Hewitt and to a lesser extent, her boyfriend, Roth, and her sister and her psychic boyfriend, Dante. Madison has recently recovered from a lengthily period of complete withdrawal from the world following the violent murder of her husband which she experienced with him due to her empathic abilities. Madison appears to have recovered psychologically and has bought her own house, a charming but run down house that is quite far out of town. The house features its own graveyard where the remains of three members of the Steward family are buried. The gravestones show that Sylvia Steward and her son, Nathaniel, both died on the same day. Sylvia’s husband, Darrin, and Nathaniel’s father died a number of years before them. Within a short period, Madison starts have unusual and paranormal experiences in the house and quickly discovers that that there was a second Steward son, Tristan, who no-body knows what happened to or how he died. One thing is obvious though, his body is not buried in the family graveyard.

Madison was an interesting character and I enjoyed her rediscovered strength following her breakdown in the previous book. She has good survival instincts although she works against them some of the time and does some rather unexpected things. Her boyfriend, Roth, quickly shows himself to have some undesirable characteristics which Madison glosses over due to a lack of confidence and a forgiving nature.

The second timeline features Hollande Moore, a gentlewoman who is compelled by her brother to take a live-in position as a companion to Sylvia Steward. Soon after her arrival at the Steward Mansion, Hollande realises that Sylvia is a most difficult and jealous woman who enjoys making the lives of those around her miserable. This selfish and unpleasant attitude also extends to her son, Nathaniel, who lives with her in the house and sees to the accounts and administrative requirements of the family business. It does not, however, extend to her other son, Tristan, who comes home at night after his days at the family business in a neighbouring town and on whom Sylvia dotes.

When Hollande and Nathaniel start to develop feelings towards each other, the full extent of Sylvia’s madness starts making itself known.

Hollande is a lovely character and, on the whole, behaves sensibly and reasonably. I really admired her right up to the end of the book. Nathaniel and Tristan, on the other hand, were rather weak characters and I didn’t feel that Nathaniel deserved Hollande’s affections.

There was a feeling of familiarity with my reading of this book in the first half, but it picked up tremendously in the second half. My reading experience for this book was not quite as smooth as it was with the first two books and book 2 is still my favourite of this series.

This story is darker than the other two and has some rather unnerving and graphic parts. It was an enjoyable story and tied up all the loose ends creating a satisfactory conclusion to the series.

Purchase Eventide by Mae Clair

Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

Published

60 thoughts on “#Bookreview – Eventide by Mae Clair”

  5. Robbie, thanks so much for your wonderful review of Eventide. I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and I think it’s a really fun idea that you and Jay read it together. This was an intriguing series to write, especially with the dual timelines. I’m delighted by the reviews Hode’s Hill and Eventide have received. Thanks,again!

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    1. The dual timelines really worked for me as a reader, Mae, although I preferred the past parts to the present in many ways, probably because I love history and the dark things occurred in the historical parts. A great start to my reading of trilogies, this was my first you know.

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      1. I’m honored I was your first trilogy!
        It was interesting to write the dual timelines. Hode’s Hill was my first experience doing that, and I have to say I really enjoyed it!

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    1. Thanks for reading, Jacqui. I was very pleased with Robbie’s review and I found it fun that she read it the same time Jay was! It’s good to hear you’ve enjoyed Hode’s Hill as well. Thank you!

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  8. So glad to see Eventide getting some “facetime” here today, Robbie. Nice analysis! For me, I loved all three books in this series, but this one was actually my favorite. I totally enjoyed the scary bits, even though I did yell “Do NOT open the cistern!” at one part! 😀 Overall, I felt it was a great way to tie up the trilogy, and am looking forward to seeing what Mae comes up with next . 🙂 Thanks for sharing! 🙂 ❤

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      1. Reading is such a subjective thing, isn’t it? We each bring our own ideas and beliefs–and sometimes baggage–along as we turn those pages. What one person loves, another can’t finish, but that’s fine. Every book doesn’t have to be loved by every reader, which is a good thing, because it will never happen. 🙂

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    2. Your cistern comment made me chuckle, Marcia. 🙂 Eventide seems to be the favorite of most readers, but I know of several who have liked Cusp of End of Day better. It’s always interesting to see which books appeal to different readers. I’m just thrilled to have everyone enjoy the entire series. I’m kind of partial to the last one too, but I also have a special fondness for book 1 because of the research that went into it. And well, you know…blue people 😉

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      1. Yeah, it’s really hard to top blue people, all right. I’m still mind-boggled over that, and have no idea why I’ve never heard of them “in all my whole life,” as Rabbit would say. I thought that was absolutely amazing! 😀

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    1. Thanks for the great comment, Denise. I’m thrilled by all of the positive reviews for this series and comments like yours! And I agree, reading a book with someone is fun. I remember when my mom and I used to do that and then compare notes!

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    1. Thanks H. Yes, it was lots of fun. I enjoyed having someone to chat to about this book. I have always been a lone wolf, mainly because none of my friends read the same books that I do. I finished The Screwtape Letters today and Screwtape proposes a toast by C.S. Lewis, have you read it?

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          1. I haven’t read that one. I did get through the “Out of the Silent Planet” trilogy; I liked the first in the series, but I will never get back that time spent on “Perelandra” and “That Hideous Strength”.

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  15. Pingback: Robbie Cheadle reviews Eventide by Mae Clair | Sue Vincent's Daily Echo

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