DRC Review: Eventide by A. M. Daylin
Release Date: 22 September 2026
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: The annual human sacrifices are all that is stopping the Astral Spirits from killing mortals without limit.
Selected by the Honored Saint, Lesadia Eiderstone will be among the many to appease the Astral Spirits this year. However, when her father offers himself in her stead, he charges her to not simply live on in his honor, but to pursue her neglected call from the Starbreather—a call which leads her into the dangerous wilderness beyond the protections of their kingdom’s pact with the malevolent spirits.
As someone once raised from the dead, Relic Arlin is the only person who can wield the power to seal the Rift between their world and the realm of the spirits, thus putting an end to their invasion and the sacrifices. However, fulfilling his purpose comes at the cost of his life—an unfair price Relic was more than willing to pay until his unexpected reunion with his childhood friend, Lesadia.Now, in order to save Lesadia’s father and stop the sacrifices, Relic must leave behind the person he loves most.
Review
I usually love books by Daylin, and Eventide is no exception. The aforementioned author also has taken her place among the heartwrencher authors on my ever-growing list and pile of books I must read only when I'm in the right mindset and amply prepared for emotional damage. The characters in this one put their hooks in me and set them so deeply I was worried there for a bit. I'm still a bit worried. I have another book of Daylin's on my shelf, and I need all my darlings to be okay when I get to the last page.
Eventide is one of the more emotional books I've read this year. Despite my deceptively measly Goodreads read count, I've read a fair bit of them. Stakes are pretty high in this one, and it's tragic the whole way through. Daylin can build anxiety and fill a reader with an oppressive sense of impending doom like nobody's business. The good thing about her books, though, like a good weight training session, they break you down before building you up stronger.
I'm not sure if I was more attached to Lesadia, Relic, or Lesadia and Relic. The latter of the options makes it feel like the story is simply a romance, but the characters (my favorite parts of any story) by themselves provide an intricate frame that one can hang on a wall and still get something supremely enjoyable, just as hanging the poster of the two on the wall by itself would. It takes a great storyteller to make characters independent and interdependent simultaneously. Relic must pursue his own path just as Lesadia must pursue hers. I can't get into specifics without absolutely spoiling the whole thing with all the rambling thoughts and exclamations I have. I mean, the book put me in a fugue state for a bit there.
All melodramatic reader funk aside, and though it is a bit heavy for the most part, Eventide is such a fulfilling and cathartic read. It asks readers to imagine putting the fate of the world in their hands and then asks them after they choose to save it, would they choose the same if it meant letting go of something they've wanted for so long and just got.
My thanks to the author for the DRC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion with some sniffles and nose blows for accompaniment.
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