The Elysean Illusion

The Holy Bloodlines #3

by D.N. Hoxa

I thought they built those walls around their cities to say that they are better than us. Special. Gods.
I was wrong.

The Elyseans have always thought themselves better than us mortals. At least that's what they've wanted the whole world to think.

I always believed it--until I complete the Elysean Trials they force me in, and I attend the Academy of Divine Light and Beauty.

Until I meet a real Olympian goddess, and she finally sheds light to the gods' biggest secret, and it's worse than I could have ever imagined.

Turns out, there's a purpose to the Elysean Trails. There's a reason why they exist, and why they choose mortals to bring to their Academy. A very good reason, just not the one the world knows.

And once again, I find myself at the center of it.

Between magic suddenly bursting out of me, and training every day with the goddess of the hunt herself, and the cutest little pup in the world choosing me as her master, I have very little time to sit still and think. But Shade is there, like always, keeping me grounded, making it all bearable. So despite being worked to death, I actually enjoy my life for once. I am happier than I've ever been...

Until I accidentally leave him on the floor, unable to breathe, and nearly destroy the Void completely.

Everything spirals out of control so fast. Shade said once that the gods created us in their image, so they're just the same as us. Unfortunately for me, the more secrets I uncover about who I am and who they are, the more I realize that he is absolutely right.

***This book contains very explicit romantic scenes.

Genres: Fantasy, Greek Mythology, Mythology, Romance, Romantasy, Paranormal Romance, Magic

450 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 28, 2023

Reviews

[Ashley]

I really loved the first book of the series but have been slowly losing interest as the books go on. My biggest struggle is with Sera. This girls tries to act like she’s this strong bad ass female, but it feels very much on par with a 16 year old trying convince a 40 year old they are a mature adult. Add the non stop gushing over Shade every 2 seconds. Girl doesn’t have a single thought in her head that isn’t somehow tied to that man. Couple that with the fact she demands answers from absolutely everyone but then holds back on telling anyone else stuff they should prob know. I understand she’s 18, soon to be 19, so I could understand that this is very much the thought process of that age, but it’s just so frustrating, cringy and annoying. I ended up skipping large parts of the book to get back to the more interesting story plots. Still gunna give book 4 a try, so hopefully we’ll see some actual maturity happening, but I’m not holding my breath.

[Katica]

✅new shadow daddy unlocked

[Dana]

DNF @30% - this book did nothing specifically wrong.. I just took so many breaks that I have lost interest.

[Charlie Pelletier]

3.75
I loved this but the only ick I have is that her BF is all her personality 🙃🙃

[Katherina]

THE ENDING!!! So much happens and goes on in this book. So many secrets and not a lot of answers. Excited to see how it all ends!!

[Sarah Richards]

So good! What a cliff hanger!

[Jodie | GeauxGetLit]

3.5 stars

[Shmindruchka]

Ну це вау як і в попередніх книгах!
Дуже захопливо та цікаво
Цікавий сюжет та сюжетні повороти
Гарна атмосфера та жарти і спайсі сцени
Ну головний герой ще той ходячий сєкс🙂‍↔️
Клас!Клас!Клас!

[Skylar Hagerman]

3 stars is generous

Okay, let’s start with this: I wanted to love this book. Really, I did. But, much like Sera herself, I found myself struggling to make it through. The first two books in the series had me hooked from the start—fast-paced, action-packed, and with just the right mix of emotional depth to keep me on the edge of my seat. But this third installment? Let’s just say it felt like a marathon, and not the fun kind.

Things did happen in this book, sure. Sera uncovers a major secret that everyone’s been keeping, people die, and Sera gets endowed. Shade is still… well, Shade—brooding, mysterious, and swoon-worthy, as always. And Sera even confronts Allan, which sounds like it would be huge, but the problem is… it dragged on and on.

I’m not here for filler, especially not in a series that’s already delivered fast-paced, high-stakes drama. This book seemed bloated, like it tried to stretch out plot points that could’ve been wrapped up much quicker.

But here’s where it gets personal. Sera, who I once adored, started to fall into some frustrating habits that drove me up the wall. For one, her savior complex. And the denial? Ugh. It was unbearable. Sera’s sudden inability to fight for what she wanted or trust in her own strength felt like an odd, forced shift. It’s like she was just spinning in circles, afraid of hurting someone she loves, when in reality, she’s hurting multiple people because of her actions. I couldn’t help but shake my head. It all felt like unnecessary drama that didn’t add any value to her character development.

Now, don’t get me wrong—the ending did manage to pull some of the pieces back together. It wasn’t a total loss. But after such a long, drawn-out ride, it wasn’t enough to redeem the journey. I was left with mixed feelings, a bit disappointed, but still holding onto hope that maybe the next book will bring back the magic of the first two.

[Sophie]

This one opens in the Goddess Artemis’s POV in 2010. When we flash back to current day, we learn about how the Gods and Goddesses have been separated and drained of much of their power thanks to a thief that showed up at Dionysus and Ariadne’s wedding. The thief stole Zeus’s lightning bolt and Poseidon’s trident and Hade’s helm of darkness and kidnapped the Seasons when everyone was drunk on wine, so no one is able to leave or return to Olympus. He also opened up three of the seven portals to the underworld (where Apollo is now trapped after following him down there), releasing the Daemons that the Elysean have been fighting since. Or rather, enlisting mortals to help them fight since it’s the mortals who possess the godlight required to kill them. Sera is faced with a proposition to help Artemis defeat the Daemons and reach the underworld to rescue Apollo and reveal the thief who stole their powers all those centuries ago. This one was back to feeling a bit juvenile like the first book for me - there’s this goofy, childish energy with Sera going into town with Max and Mave and then discovering Oreo, the Cerberus puppy. The first 50% felt super uneventful and repetitive too. And then for a good chunk of the second half, there’s just spurts of things happening and then Sera complaining about how much she misses Shade because shes dangerous to him. Even when we do finally reach Sera’s endowing, I just didn’t find it that interesting. The twist of Eeda being Gaea was cool - her visiting Sera and feeding a diamond to Oreo, and Sera learning she’s the first of “House Diamond”, which is why she had broken all the previous godstones she tried to direct her power into. The last 10% of the book is honestly the only part I actually enjoyed. The rest of the students are being endowed, when all of a sudden the video of Sera going to visit Alan starts to play on the screen, and then chaos breaks out as Carmine orders her attack and then Shade releases the Void and then… the book ends.

[Nickole]

Rcvd an advanced reader copy from the author for giving my two cents. This book makes you sit on the edge of your seat with anticipation on what's happening next. The previous book ended with thr Goddess Artimis coming thru the window of the infirmary. Sera is still shocked on what she's learned....basically she is the one to save them all from thr daemons and help Artimos save Apollo and close the portals. Sera believes they have the wrong girl but nonetheless decides to help Arti out. Training begins and Sera is bone tired of Arti kicking her butt not to mention her cerebus hellhound Mors..scares the crap out of her. After one training session, Sera is laying in the arena and she looks up to see a cute 2 headed dog above her...omg! What's cerebus doing following her. When Arti fills her in on how a cerebus chooses their person...Sera can't help but fall in love with thr adorable Oreo. Arti takes Sera down below to see the battlegrounds and watches Shade in action. At that moment Sera decides she wants to help and decides to do her ceremony. However it didn't go as planned. It's a first for most Elyseans and Sera godlight is too unpredictable and no gems can contain her light....Sera loses all hope. There are forces at play, that allows Sera to uncover some truth about her accident 13 years ago, and fighting with herself to control her light. Sera will have to deal with the fallout of her godlight and the truths that have come to light. But will she survive what's thrown at her?

[Emma]

I wrote this review after finishing the whole series so I'm using my notes as a reference but I don't really have much to say about this book. Despite being several hundred pages long, there were only a handful of scenes that impacted the overall storyline. It felt like a lot of unnecessary filler.

Arti is kind of the worst. Her relationship with Sera didn't really make sense to me. Having grown up with no respect or reverence for the gods, and a naturally defensive personality, it's interesting that Sera just takes everything the goddess says as fact and acts accordingly. The author is obviously setting up the character to be a villain but I'm not sure how yet.

The other big plot points were Sera finally getting endowed (in a wildly manipulative ceremony) and the process of finding a suitable godstone. Sera also learns about Arti's plan to go into the underworld and we meet Hector who will steer the carriage into Hell with his fiery steeds. We also learn more about Sera's backstory and meet the mysterious Alan.... who stays mysterious.

My favorite part was Sera bonding with a hellhound named Oreo who quickly becomes everyone's favorite.

Questions that never got answered for me:
1. What's the deal with the wings?
2. Why did the nectar taste so bad to Sera?
3. What is Arti hiding and why does Sera just ignore the red flags?

[Laure]

When Sera is confronted by the reality of the Olympian goddess after being knocked out, she will learn some very important truths. The goddess Artemis, "Arti" for short, will confirm that the Elysean's are indeed keeping secrets, the real reason why mortals are chosen to attend the Academy, and it isn't what they are told. She is determined to continue, to train with the goddess, and learn to control the deadly magic that bursts out of her. When her magic nearly kills Shade and devours his void she is heartbroken at their forced separation which everyone insists will keep them both safe. The only bright spot in her days and lonely nights without Shade is the adorably cute puppy that has chosen her. Unfortunately, on the happiest night of her friends' lives, Sera's life will be turned upside down once again.
As always, this author's characters are absolutely fascinating and are also very well written. Their interactions are always fast paced and believable. Magic, mythical beings, battles, plenty of steam, and surprising twists in the plot make it hard to put this book down. I highly recommend this book and series to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Marina]

3 stars- better than the last book.
 
  We meet Artemis, and she is as arrogant as one might imagine a god/goddess to be. Basically Sera (who might continue being the stupid self that has become since the last book) is a strong used of godlight and that power has been the main reason behind the Elysian Games of book 1.
 
Sera remains her dumb down self of speaking in her mind instead of replying to others, having no reactions sometimes (except the ones in her heads) and when she can manage throwing a reply it’s like she forgot how to speak “ I… I…”, “But….but…”.
 I did love the pup. So… Shade and the pup keep me from dropping this series at the moment.
 
I give credit to this book to spend the first half building dialogue and a more meaningful relationship between Sera and Shade (and good spice, yes!) and, of course, that meant that something would need to get in their way. The dynamics between the Light and Shadow magic were interesting but not nice (to our main couple). Of course…. then there was Hector and OF COURSE Sera had to be EXTRA IDIOT when it came to certain dialogues, or the inability of engaging it. Shade was patient beyond words. Again, he and the dog carried the book for me.
 
The ending was another cliffhanger.
 

[Angie]

2.5 stars

Sadly the only character development we've had in 3 books is that the FMC is not crying, puking or sweating in every chapter. However, if it's possible the FC has become even more annoying.

The plot doesn't start until way over the 60% We are still at the academy, but we lost the special fun aspect of it, and only had training scenes. Book two and three should have been combined into one, and heavily edited to remove all the unnecessary, repetitive scenes.

The choices made by the protagonist are so completely stupid, they were obviously made to cause conflict. But the worst thing this book has is the denial of the FMC. She has been working to become an elysian, she has done the process to become an elysian, she is still saying she is not an elysian. She has been working non stop with multiple Goldstones to find one that can contain her powers, and when she finally does it, instead of being proud, happy, or relieved she wants to run away. I honestly had to stop multiple times because I got so mad.

I will be finishing this series because I'm invested, but I am honestly dreading the last book since it had 600+ pages.

[Vyshareth]

She acts like a child. She refers to themselves as “teenagers” no. You’re 18. You’re an adult. Young adult, but still an adult.

FMC has no personality. She’s “nice” but then also incredibly self centered.

Half her problems would be resolved if she just communicated.

There are lots of holes in the plot. Other parts of the plot are just predictable.

The FMC is incredibly dumb. She is also a hypocrite. Her boyfriend suggested something that might be true and all is fine (she doesn’t like it but all is fine). A healer suggests the same thing and the FMC suddenly does not like her at all.

The ending? Oh man why is a full grown adult acting like an immature child? Yes, I understand having a negative reaction to the situation but her response (coming from a freaking headmistress) is beyond me.

I might be wrong but I also felt like I read “liquid heat” too often.

Oh and don’t get me started on Oreo. Make it make sense to me because I do NOT understand how it makes sense for Oreo to be scared when she goes downstairs for the first time,knowing what she is. Realistically, she wouldn’t be scared.

[Eileen Hittle]

I'm disappointed tbh. Sera is ungodly (see what I did there) annoying and comes across as very immature. I realize she is young and I can chalk up her thought processes to that for the most part. However I'm struggling with her character in general. On one page she is mouthy and rude, but on the next she's so scared of hurting other people she's being idiotically self-sacrificing for the sake of people who've only ever been horrible to her. Those two personality traits don't make sense together. I love DN Hoxa's writing style and I loved the other two series of hers that I read, so I'm going to stick it out and read book four. But I'm skimming through a lot of it. Also, and this is not necessarily a bad thing about the book, more of a personal preference, but I'm not interested in reading about Shade and Sera anymore because their relationship is very two dimensional now. They both are obsessed with each other, they both idolize each other, there's no more angst or depth to them. All in all I love the storyline but am disappointed in the characters and their relationships.

[Sarah Bell]

At this point I’m starting to feel like we’re just dragging stuff out. To be halfway through the third book and not have answers for our MC is wild. Also why wasn’t the MC trying to figure stuff out? She should have been up in that library everyday. She somehow just accepts something is different about her and has no clue why and now can’t be with her boyfriend but just moves on. I mean she’s sad, sure but I needed more action from her. And not talking to Max before seeing his dad in secret is messed up. And feels at odds with someone who supposedly has a pure heart. And that ending feels completely unrealistic. How in the world did someone happen to be at the right place, at the right time, outside of the right window? And who? This feels like something the author wrote to alienate the MC and make more obstacles to resolve in the next book but in a disingenuous way. I still binged it so 3 stars. But definitely parts I had to skim and tell myself to keep going and not put it down for a different book because if I did I might not pick it up again.

[Paige Parlato]

Once again I don’t have words to explain how perfect this book was! It picks up right where book 2 ends so if you’re reading them together it’s just like one giant book.

You wouldn’t believe the character growth Sera goes through, you would think by this point she would be a fully evolved but no. She’s not perfect, she has so much to learn still and some of the changes she goes through I would not have guessed. There were moments where I gasped and dropped my phone!

This book still has a mid/mid high spice level, there is multiple detailed scenes throughout that does not take away from the story or plot.

We get to learn more about other characters in this book, some back stories and we learn so many secrets! Sadly once again the author leaves us with a massive cliffhanger which was not nice at all. The lead up to the ending really got going and then, bam.

Now to impatiently wait for the next book!

[Courtney Esper]

By now, y'all know what sort of chokehold Greek mythos has on me, and if you add a bit of smut to it, it's game over for me.

I annihilated these three books in 3 days. It's 'Hunger Games' meets 'Neon Gods', and I was completely absorbed. Each book ends on a cliffhanger, and the next picks up exactly where the previous ended. As if they're one giant book. Each book getting gradually more smutty than the next, too.

The detail and plots are so well written that you have a hard time knowing where to stop! Stopping only once you've finished the book. Knowing I'll have to wait until mid-December for the fourth book is pure anguish.

I was left constantly questioning who the villain was, thinking I had it figured out until there was another plot twist. By the end of the third book, I'm still not sure who the bad guy is! But there is a delicious shadow daddy who made me drool on my kindle!

I can't recommend this series enough. I'm so glad December is right around the corner so I can see what happens next!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶🌶/5

[Cassandra]

This book was great, and picked up right where the last one left off. Just like the others before it, I enjoyed the writing and story so far.

Very much like the previous books, this one just seemed slow in the beginning. For all that she is looking for answers, she isn't doing much to find them. I can't believe it took her months to actually go visit Alan. Months where she was separated from Shade. Either it didn't bother her that much to be away from him, or the timeline on this was stretched out so much just to get to the end of the first year.

I did come across one typo. Overall, there have been very little grammatical issues with the series, though, so I can't even complain about it so much.

I will certainly be continuing the series to finish it up, and I would certainly recommend these books to others.

[Karen Oakley]

I'm loving this series with its mix of Greek Mythology, romance and danger! I've loved the stories of Greek myth at the start of each chapter with the reveal of each different Greek God. Sera's story continues as she learns how to handle her godlight and her relationship with the sexy brooding Shade heats up to epic proportions. The spicy times are a bit repetitive and even though I do love romance, their lovey dovey talk is a bit long-winded lol! That being said, Shade is always there for her, which is just as well because there are plenty of others who are not on her side. She also learns what is at stake with the threat from the Underworld and her role in it. I'm not sure whether I fully trust Artemis and what her endgame is for Sera. The ending ends on another cliff edge and I can't wait to see what happens in the final book.

[Tiffany]

She attends the school and learns the truth that the gods use the humans to fight demons. The gods are separated from Olympus and their tools because of trickery/deceit. her job is to close the portal to hell that are letting demons through, to free Apollo, to find out who stole from the gods and restore the order. She gets a ceberus and harnesses her magic. She finds out she is the first in the house of diamonds. But her secret is revealed and it seems like she might lose her friends forever over the lie. But it appears as though she might have misunderstood, and she was always magical, and perhaps he didn’t do more than bring her back, or did he bring her back at all? The goddess she was seeing is mother earth who gave her the diamond to harness her powers. Shade saves her with them, her dog, and shadows

[April Mollenkopf]

This book picks up right from the end of book 2, where Sera meets the goddess Artemis.

Sera discovers there is more to the school than the humans are told and that she is the one they have been waiting for. With her Godlight, she will be the one to stop the demons from coming through. Sera begins training with the goddess to help with another task. Only Sera is more than everyone thinks.

Sea and Shade become even closer and when they are together they give me chills. There are a few obstacles in their way that they have to overcome in order to be together. Her friendship with Max and Mave strengthens as well.

The book ended with me gasping “no…it can’t be the ending now…”. Definitely looking forward to book 4.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.

[Sierra]

ARC Review
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 5/5

This series keeps getting better and better! I absolutely loved this book and devoured it in a few days. This book test Sera and Shade’s relationship to hard and breaking points, but their love is so strong that they keep fighting for each other. Along with challenges of their love, Sera faces some major challenges as she tried to satisfy others while also fighting what she’s becoming.

This book has some amazing plot twist that I didn’t see coming and leaves us with a major cliffhanger. I can’t wait until the next book comes out to see what happens next. This has become one of my all time favorite series and I absolutely recommend this for anyone looking for Greek Gods meets Hunger Games meets Harry Potter with spice!

[Tamara Baker]

Sera and shade did it to me again, ripped my soul out, put it back and did this over and over. Artemis you sly goddess! Hellounds spitting out diamonds which could be what? Have we heard of all the Elysian houses, are there details we don’t know? These are questions I found myself asking. How long will sera be in Idaea before she can see her friends and Max. Will Sera have friends at the end of this? Grab a cooy for yourself and find out. You will want the answers to these questions as much as I did.
Dori Hoxa, you hooked me yet again. My last question.. Will we get all the answers. I can’t get enough of Sera and Shade. Thank you for this great read.

I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nes Y. M.]

Honestly writing in hopes of the author reading this comment. This is a very well written book that flows so naturally. The story is great but I couldn't keep on reading .. and yes I know it's for a VERY VERY weird reason and it's my own weirdness. I started the series with the audiobook :/ and truly hated the voice of the narrator (this is also very rare for me - i'm not that picky normally). I immediately stopped the audiobook and switched to reading the books but I really like being able to switch back and forth so it was slower than my usual pace too. I also couldn't stop hearing the FMC with that nasal voice in my head and .. just couldn't continue. Until this series I didn't realize how important the narrator could be.

[Carole]

The Elysian Illusion is the third book of this remarkably engaging series that keeps the magic and suspense fast forwarding as new revelations and truths make themselves known to MFC Sera in a narrative that thrills while it holds the reader spellbound with excellent writing woven within a captivatingly realized world. This high powered mythological adventure of old Gods and their never ending manipulation of mortals again graces the page with adventure, intrigue,romance,secrets,and amazing characterizations.
The next book can’t come soon enough!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Esther]

“𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓢𝓮𝓭𝓸𝓻𝓪𝓱 𝓢𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓵𝓪𝓲𝓻, 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓼𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓗𝓸𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓭.” 💎🏛️

D.N Hoxa, I dropped my nook the moment I finished the last sentence of this book. My mind is running wild.

I’m an absolute sucker for 𝓖𝓻𝓮𝓮𝓴 𝓶𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓰𝔂; but add the perfect amount of smut & perfectly placed plot twists, I am at your mercy. ✨

The amount of self growth and strength that flourishes out of Sera has been one of my favorite parts of the storyline. And how there’s more to look forward to/learn. Her relationship with Shade, Max, and Mauve intensifies as well as gets tested.

I’ll say this again…𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝑹𝒉𝒚𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍 hot.

I really thought I had this story figured out, but I got left in shambles and I cannot begin to explain how excited I am for book 4. I NEED ANSWERS!

[Melissa]

I have been reading these books since I got my hands on the first one and they continue to be my favorite. Sometimes there are books that are still good but decline as they continue to make a serious, but these books are all amazing. We continue to see growth in our characters but we also see just how young they are and how much it affects them. It's crazy to think that everything is happening within a short time period. Both Shade and Sera are going through something that just makes their life worse, puts them in more danger, and challenges them beyond belief. I cannot wait to read the next one.