Customer Reviews

Eventide

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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Carrie, Lauren and Graham, three teens, meet in Italy for a few days in July, 1989.Three young people,whose lives would intertwine until Carrie dies at an early age.Graham learns about justice and forgiveness, and Lauren comforts the man who refused Carrie's love. Carrie did marry a man who loved as Carrie couldn't love back.
Twenty years later,Carrie's husband, son, Graham and Lauren come together to say goodbye to Carrie. A cat, a dog, a boy,a stranger meet and suddenly the unexpected happens.

This ia a story of love, forgiveness, and God's grace. You won't want to pur it down until you've read the very last line.

Eventide is a well chosen title, because it reflects everything about the book, the pacing, the emotional journeys of the characters, and Carrie's peaceful approach toward death. However, the story is told in an almost impersonal way. It feels as if the reader is watching the story unfold as a whole, and never really gets deeply involved with any one character. Perhaps this is just the style of Martinusen's narrative; but, even so, reading this book is somewhat of a calming experience. That is most likely because of the poetic phrasing. Those looking for a relaxing read will find in Eventide a peaceful exploration into death and the resurrection of memories buried but not forgotten. - Devin B. Wieland, Christian Book Previews.com

Cindy Martinusen has an elegance to her writing that draws us in slowly, embraces us, then turns our eyes to things weighty and deep. She's done this for us in previous novels, and once again she uses the sea as a symbol of life and death. As a small gift to previous readers, she even references places familiar from "The Salt Garden."

"Eventide" is a story of a man and a woman whose desire to understand the past draws them in an ever-tightening circle toward a young woman on her deathbed. Carrie, the dying woman, is a former love of Graham, and the best friend of Lauren. Their attempts to unravel old mysteries drive wedges between them, while also offering chances to draw them closer than ever. Along the way, Carrie's adoring husband and likeable son are pulled in as well.

This is a story of haunting beauty, profound insight, and intrigue. While wearing certain colors of a mystery and a romance novel, it takes on hues all its own--hues that match Martinusen's ability with words. For those longing for rich stories and characters, look no further.

"Always my free-spirited Carrie,"

It was a moment, just a brief moment that established a connection for three American teenagers in Italy at Eventide.

"Good night to the sea, to the sun and the day.....This night would be a marker in her life, the ending of one age and the beginning of another."

This is a story of an enduring friendship between two women and something buried in a far away land.

Carrie is a creative, artistic lover of life. Her life is filled with wonder and imagination. Lauren is studious and loyal with a mental file cabinet filled with realistic quotes that she frequently utilizes to bring her best friend back to reality when their conversations become to idealic.

They travel to Europe during the summer of 1989 and meet Graham Michaels s in a little village by the shore. Graham and Carrie fall instantly in love, prompting a promise between the three to

"...be together always. No matter what the future holds".

Secrets from Grahams past hold him captive. They prompt him to betray Carrie. He tells himself 'it is for her own good'. His fear filled view of love is:

"..It was vulnerability with carelessness, delivering near fatal blows.
In the end, love made secrets that no one cared to hear.It created a loneliness that no one could touch."

Years pass and Carrie recovers, with Lauren's help. Carrie marries and has a child. Now Carrie is dying and her best friend sets out to recover the buried box and offer it to Carrie in the hope it will help her bring closure to that very painful part of her past.

This is a magnificent story of redemption, friendship, and faith. Others may choose differently, but my hero in this novel was Carrie's husband, Jason Myles. In this character, the Truth of what it means to be a christian is displayed.

Rich, elegant story telling is the hallmark of Cindy Martinusen's writing. I have not found any that compare to the emotional depths and insights she presents in her novels. It was a wonderful treat to read that the location in this novel is the same as 'The Salt Garden', another wonderful read from Ms. Martinusen.

From the beginning of the novel through to the end, faith and wisdom are heralded as described in the use of this C. S. Lewis quote from 'The Last Battle':

"But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever:
in which every chapter is better than the one before."

This novel also gives a wonderful description of the last days of a dying christian, no fear, only longing. Read this story and you will take away a very different view of the last days in Christian's life.

Gina Hendrix
Vessel Project Book Reviewer
http://vesselproject.blogspot.com

This is my sixth book to read by the author, Cindy
Martinusen Coloma,and I have not been disappointed
in any of them. As an author, she has such feeling
for the storyline and the characters. She has such
depth, I feel like I'm reading about real people.
Her descriptions are beautiful. I have written down
in a notebook many phrases she has used to describe
the character's feelings or the situation they may be
in. Many great authors have famous lines from their
books. I have found those in Cindy's books. I have
been truly inspired. She is an inspirational writer,
her faith is evident in her books. That should not
stop a person without Christian faith not to read her
books. She has a great knowledge of the landscape of
Europe and northern California, her home. Her first
three books are a trilogy connected only by an heir-
loom brooch but you gain a great deal of knowledge of
the World War II years that lead to the present day.
She has co-authored a new book just coming out that
I am anxious to begin. I want to find her part of
the book apart from her co-author.

Eventide by Cindy Martinusen is the emotional story of the ending of a life. Carrie is not an old woman, but she has experienced many wonderful times in her life. Now as a rare disease is shortening her days, her best friend, Lauren, has set out to bring Carrie one of the few things that Carrie was never able to do - retrieving a box buried in Italy years ago. The mystery surrounding the box is from a summer long ago when Carrie and Lauren were young and Carrie experienced her first love. Though the relationship ended tragically, Carrie moved on, married and had a child. Now as Carrie knows her days are limited, she struggles with memories of that summer and seeks closure. It will take a miracle of grace to bring together Carrie, her family, her friend and her first love. Will her miracle happen or will all the difficulties of the situation prevail?

This mystery aspect of this book kept drawing me to it, and I think the plot was well-designed. However, I found this book to be depressing. Perhaps it was because the entire plot was based around the death of a woman. I would recommend this book to people who like mystery, but do not mind reading about death.

Eventide

By Cindy Martinusen
Review by Laura V. Hilton
Price $14.99


Italy, 1989, was a summer of young love and exotic discovery. It was also a summer of heartbreak. Carrie Myles left that summer behind but never quite got over it, even as she embraced life, married, and became a mother. But now, Carrie is dying. She is way too young. After all, her young son, Eddie, is only eight years old. But she has an incurable disease and not even a year left to live. . .

Carrie's best friend, Lauren Rendell, will do anything for Carrie, including traveling halfway around the world on a wild goose chase. Carrie needs Lauren to hunt down the man who broke Carrie's heart - the man that Lauren despises more than anyone - and unearth the secrets of the past.

But Graham Michaels doesn't want to be found. He is happy living his life on the water, not tied down to anyone or any place. And when Lauren does locate him, he doesn't want to give up the secrets that are in the past. After all, they are better left buried. The secrets have the power to hurt. But is it possible they might have the power to perform a miracle?

EVENTIDE is a sad book. The story is written in several points of view, but since it includes Carrie's, the reader is privy to how she feels about this incurable disease and leaving her husband and family behind. I sympathized best with Lauren, because even though she was the quiet, sure stability in Carrie's life, unwilling to take risks on her own, she would face adventure for her friend, to help her try to bring closure to a past that hurt.

The story is well written and will keep the pages turning though it is not riveting. Keep a box of Kleenex handy when reading this book as you will need it. $14.99. 320 pages.

It was good... but a little bit drawn out. The entire book kept referencing something that happened in the past on a particular day, but you didn't find out what it was until near the end. Otherwise, pretty good.