Three Women in Paradise

By: Victoria Avilan

Narrated by: Abby Craden

Set in Southern California, Three Women in Paradise tells the story of passionate student Elektra Brooke. When Elektra becomes entangled in a mesmerizing romance with her enigmatic medieval poetry professor, Dr. Gina Caldwell, she believes she’s discovered paradise. However, this idyllic world rapidly spirals into a nightmarish inferno. Elektra enters a world where the boundary between life and death is terrifyingly thin.

Guided by the ancient poet Virgil, she embarks on a chilling journey mirroring Dante’s descent into the Inferno, each step pulling her deeper into the shadows. Along this treacherous path, shocking truths unravel: her closest ally has betrayed her, her beloved dog turned hostile, her sanctuary of a home is no longer her own, her reflection morphed into a face she doesn’t recognize, and the very woman who vowed to cherish her forever has given her heart to another. Above all, a shadow of death looms over Elektra.

Driven by determination and desperation, Elektra vows to reclaim her lost paradise—even if that means risking everything. In this tale, love, betrayal, and redemption collide in the most unexpected ways.

©2024 Victoria Avilan (P)2024 Victoria Avilan

Incredible!

This novel is a wild ride and it literally blew my mind! Sometimes you read a book which is so singular you know after the first few pages it will become a favorite. I will return to this novel over and over in the future.

There are not enough superlatives to describe Three Women in Paradise by Victoria Avilan or the experience of reading it. This book is multi-layered, challenging and intelligently written. It is literary without pretence or excluding readers.

Avilan’s writing is sharp, witty and poetic. She guides the reader through complex, ever changing realities with a playful hand and firm command of a plot that could have easily spiralled out of control. Her characterisation of the three women (four including Peggy) is sublime. Although the novel hinges on the strength of the main character Elektra (Ellie or Ella). In her, Avilan has created a singular, tortured tour de force. This book is allegorical, romantic and fantastical!

Abby Craden’s narration is stunning. The audiobook is a flawless example of alchemy between author and narrator.

A unique and complex story with a lot of heart

I found this book fascinating. Each of the three main characters, brought to life brilliantly by Abby Craden’s narration skills, was simultaneously interesting, infuriating, and wildly entertaining. Despite the fact that the subject matter was heavy (life and death) and required both suspension of disbelief (alternate realities) and at least a passing interest in classical pursuits like painting, opera, and poetry, the writing was light-hearted, funny and endearing. I really rooted for all three women as they struggled to find and re-find each other, and I was on edge throughout the final chapters as I couldn’t predict the outcome. Thanks, Victoria, for writing such a unique story. Now I really want a t-shirt that says Aphrodite’s tits!

A Profound Masterpiece Brought to Glorious Life

"All hope abandon, ye who enter here!" [Dante Alighieri]

This story TRANSCENDS any humanly described/felt ROMANCE and TRUE LOVE that I've ever read in any fiction (thusfar!). Love IS Classical. In the PUREST sense of the word. And Avilan manages to make you realise it, feel it, experience it. In all its literary glory.

"Three Women in Paradise" is one of the most romantic love stories ever told. The longing, the everlasting, the eternal, the undying, the unconditional... When love is so deep and complex, it defies any explanation, logic, rationale. When it can only be surmised as mystical, mythical, celestial, cosmic... True, unadulterated, uninhibited, unconditional love is so beyond reality, it is mystically mythical. Those who have the rare fortune to find it are eternally blessed. This story resonates so deeply within me. It was a "through the looking glass" experience for me when I read and listened to it (at the same time). It's uncanny, really.

A few things came to mind instantly as I absorbed every word, every nuance of every word, written and unwritten, as I devoured every page. I'll just spew them here. Interpret how you want - Scythe, John Wick, Umbrella Academy, The Seventh Seal. Ingmar Bergman. Oh yes. See if you agree when you read it.

Life in the here and now, the past, the future, the parallel - This story is about one, singular, unwavering, unconditional, unapologetic, unbreakable, everlasting LOVE that TRANSCENDS lifetimes.
Love is STEADFAST.
Love is PURE.
Love is POWERFUL.
Love is an UNSTOPPABLE force, it is an IMMOVABLE object.

READ THIS BOOK. Listen to your inner voice when you read the words that Avilan has so deftly crafted. Feel the emotions that these words and phrases conjure up that will inevitably shape your inner psyche.

LISTEN TO THIS BOOK. Hear the masterfully manipulated vocals that embody the undertones, the overtones, the unspoken, that further enhance the beauty and splendour of this story. Craden's incredible performance in portraying not only different characters but the many different nuances and emotive gymnastics (due to the subject matter of this book which I won't divulge here - you simply have to listen and find out yourself!), breathed life to the story it called for. With such committed resonance in each character and atmospheric scene that she played so convincingly, I kept forgetting that I was only listening to ONE singular person playing all the parts (characters and situations) of the book that I startled myself every so often throughout the 10+ hours of aural experience that I couldn't help feeling a little schizophrenic, tbh! Bloody hell! Honestly, Craden doesn't just narrate, if you weren't aware of it already. Her audio work is in a class of its own. So the term "narration" is too limited for her, tbh. Simply put, she's a performer. A transformative one, to be precise. Each time I listen to her interpret a story with its characters (be it the intimate 1 or 2 mains like in "Alone," or a few prominent ones like the "Shadow" series ...[Blimey, don't even get me started..that trilogy took my breath away...ok, that's for another time!]), she takes the listener to an immersive experience because they're brought to life in pure 3D. So real is the journey I always feel like I'm eavesdropping on the otherwise fictional characters, like they're real-life people, ffs! Extraordinary.

Anyway, this is a love story, a story of romance, that defies the usual formula and style. A love story personified by Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy in all 3 parts: Inferno, Purgatorio and finally Paradiso. And THAT, to me, is simply INGENIOUS. To craft an everlastingly romantic love story based on Dante? GENIUS, really! It is poetry. And Craden's hypnotically spellbinding performance bringing to life every emotional nuance became an experience of transcendence that reverberated and stirred the soul... It's a truly personal one for me, unexpectedly, I must say.

"Three Women in Paradise" is A RESOUNDING MUST-READ. It's a RESOUNDING MUST-LISTEN. It's beyond 5 stars, really. I can't recommend it highly enough. This one is clearly my NO. 1 favourite book (audible and written) of 2024...and on my all-time list!

*Update: CONGRATS, Ms. Craden, for your GCLS nomination for Best Audiobook Narrator for this book crafted stupendously by Ms. Avilan!! Beyond deserving, hand to heart!!

Amazing!

I was a bit skeptical about whether or not I would like this book when the author gave me an audiobook copy. It's not my usual genre. But, I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it. Abby Craden really brought the characters to life and I found myself wanting to stay in the car longer, or popping on my headphones to continue listening while walking around my property. It is so much more than a love story, yet I can't quite find the words to describe it without fear of spoilers. Love, friendship, fear, betrayal, poetry, and most importantly "Aphrodite's Tits"! That pretty much sums it up. Great book - I highly recommend the audiobook! Bravo Victoria, Bravo!

Run don’t walk to listen to this book!

Loved everything about this work. The writing was superb. The story moved at the perfect pace! The words were clever and they took me on a most enjoyable adventure.
Abby Cradens always perfect pitch voice when narrating was great, but the story was the star!

So very different!

I had never heard of this author and didn’t know what to expect… But WoW, what a fantastic ride. And what an imagination this author has, can’t wait to listen to another, the story was brilliant, as was the narrator. As always… Abby Creighton, you killed it!