Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Little Eve by Catriona Ward

14 reviews

lizreaderhold's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Torture, Abortion, Child death, Chronic illness, Gore, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Confinement, Slavery, and Toxic relationship

itsalljustsemantics's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Rape, Torture, Emotional abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Blood, Child death, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Miscarriage

This is a book about a cult

mispaintedlady's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A true gothic tale with an unexpected queer story happening. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Emotional abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Confinement, Rape, Miscarriage, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Grief, Abandonment, Body horror, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

m_ichellep's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Self harm, Confinement, Death, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Child death, War, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Death of parent, War, and Suicide

herasrevenge88's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Torture, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Miscarriage, Violence, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Drug abuse, Death, Body horror, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Domestic abuse, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Pedophilia, Drug use, Confinement, Child abuse, and Blood

_teoeo's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Violence, Child death, Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Blood, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Rape, Suicide, and Torture

lancakes's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Sexual violence, Murder, Incest, and Child abuse

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Out October 11, 2022 [Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!]

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

On the island of Altnaharra lives a clan preparing for the end of the world and the rise of The Adder. But things aren’t exactly what they seem and terrible tragedies will have deadly consequences.

I love Gothic horror, so I when I saw glowing reviews from two of my most trusted book recommenders, I immediately suspected this one would be right up my alley…and I was definitely right. Little Eve has everything you could want out of a horror novel setting—it’s grim, dreary, tense, and haunting while still feeling just mystical enough for me to understand the lure. It’s also historical fiction that manages to feel both of its time and outside of time, borderline surreal while still entirely grounded. Setting can really make or break this kind of novel for me, and Catriona Ward absolutely nailed it here.

If the setting isn’t enough, the plot here is just as rich, smart, and nuanced. It’s culty without being campy, gory without being gratuitous, and surprising without being over the top. I felt like I was peeling back layers of an onion as I read, and even though I saw the end reveal coming, I was still on the edge of my seat in the final pages.

In short, the takeaway: this was my first Catriona Ward read, but it absolutely will not be my last.

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: Gothic horror; cult-based suspense; intricate settings

CW: Death/murder/blood; suicidal thoughts/suicide; sexual assault/child molestation; confinement; physical and emotional abuse including child abuse; animal cruelty/death; pregnancy/miscarriage.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Violence, Gaslighting, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Child abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Child death, and Pregnancy

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Little Eve is a chilling tale that slowly unveils layer after layer of intrigue. This novel focuses primarily on two things: a distinctly unique cult and the power of sisterhood. Dinah and Eve's relationship is nuanced, believable, and heartbreaking. Their family's religious beliefs are deeply unsettling and unforgettable. The remote island of Altnaharra and its rugged surrounds resonate so strongly throughout Little Eve that the island eventually proves to be its own terrifying character. Overall, this novel is a truly original and fascinating look at a very one-of-a-kind family.

Catriona Ward has proved herself to be a master of the literary thriller. Little Eve is a must read for fans of dark fiction!

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Nightfire, and Catriona Ward for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Self harm, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

enchantressreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Little Eve uses alternating timelines through alternating characters to tell the story of a small cult on the island of Altnaharra. John Bearings landed there in 1898 with young women Alice and Nora in order to properly worship the Adder. I thought the history of Altnaharra and their relationship with the mainland was very interesting and really added to the plot. I also enjoyed seeing John go downhill over the years as he went further into his delusions.

One of my problems with this story, which there aren’t many, is that there’s so many characters, and with the flip-flopping chapters, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with who we’re following. We follow Evelyn and Dinah, two of the young women of the cult, as they tell the story of how the cult ended. We also see adult Dinah discuss some of the past. A few times we even meet the detective on the case, Christopher Black. When I was properly following the storyline, it was a good read. I enjoyed the setting and the characters, and the cult/John was super creepy.

This novel takes place in the late 1910s and early 1920s, with later reflections from the 30s and 40s. I’m not sure if this really helped the story; I think it could have taken place in any time period. I’d actually love to see this story written in more modern times with cell phones and better forensics.

I recommend this book for people who love twisty-turny stories, and probably more for people who take notes (especially for the characters). The twist at the end was pretty predictable, but not necessarily unenjoyable. I really enjoy Catriona Ward’s writing, and even though I wasn’t as big a fan of Little Eve as I was of Sundial, it’s still worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this advanced review copy. While Little Eve is already available in the UK, it comes out through Tor on October 11th.

CW for death, injury, vomit, miscarriage/stillborns, domestic violence, suicide, alcoholism, animal death, animal cruelty, sexual assault/violence/ambiguous reference to rape

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Death, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Alcoholism

Minor: Vomit