Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - The House of Eve

𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤!
𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠.
𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭!
𝟏𝟎/𝟏𝟎 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝

Content Warnings

helenehannailona's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book explores female strength, motherhood and race - in the setting of the segregated US in the 1950s. Heartwarming, sad and profound, this book is an inspiring read.
<Spoiler>And the way you see Eleanor‘s and Ruby‘s story slowly interlacing… the ending, when they finally meet, didn’t leave me, even after I closed the book. Do they know how they are connected? Will they know?

Content Warnings

meghan8715's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

micalyia's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I ate this book tf up. It was so interesting to me. I was hooked from start to finish, I wanted to know how Eleanor and Ruby would affect each other so badly and the twists and turn along the way kept me on the edge of my seat.

I didn’t read the blurb so I really had no clue what to expect which I think helped in the intrigue of the story.

I loved that we saw background on the characters as this helped them to feel whole. I was able to truly empathize and understand their decisions (even if I didn’t agree with them).

I would 100% recommend that you read the authors note cause when you do you’re going to want to cry for all the women this novel was inspired by.

This book could be highly triggering for some though, so check those out.

Content Warnings

kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

✨️ The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson ✨️

Ms. Johnson, excuse me, I think you dropped this ... 👑

I absolutely loved Yellow Wife and The House of Eve was no different. Sadeqa Johnson is 💯 an auto-buy author for me!

In the 1950s, we meet two main characters. Ruby, a 15-year-old in Philadelphia, striving for a full-ride scholarship to college and the first in her family to attend, and Eleanor in DC, who marries into an elite wealthy Black family who doesn't let just anyone in. Eventually, these two characters' stories come together in an unexpected way.

I loved both POVs and could not stop reading! If I had to take a break, I was thinking about when I could get back to reading it again. There are so many layers to these stories, these characters. You know when you receive a gift, and it's wrapped so nicely, and you open it, and it's another box to unwrap, and inside that box is another box, and another box, until you get to the final box with the gift? Reading The House of Eve is like that, except each unwrapping is another gift itself.

(Also, hi, it's me, I wrap gifts like that sometimes to trick the recipient 😂)

The characters were complete, whole characters with flaws. Many harboring secrets, many with unresolved trauma, and all fighting a battle of their own. The writing was excellent, raw, and beautiful. This book is unafraid to explore heavy, taboo topics and dark pasts that we choose to ignore.

This book will stay with me. I will be thinking about it for a long time.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

⚠️CWs: sexual assault of a child, classism, racism, alcoholism, infertility & miscarriage, pregnancy. Check StoryGraph for others mentioned.

Content Warnings

kelly_e's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Title: The House of Eve
Author: Sadeqa Johnson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: February 7, 2023

T H R E E • W O R D S

Redemptive • Haunting • Luminous

📖 S Y N O P S I S

1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.

Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his parents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.

With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.

💭 T H O U G H T S

As a lover of historical fiction, it will come as no surprise that The House of Eve was one of my most anticipated 2023 winter releases, so when it was chosen as an Aardvark selection for February, it was an easy choice. I went in without having read the synopsis, and I was blown away by this novel.

The writing provides everything the reader needs to know without being excessively detailed, making this novel highly readable. I honestly could not put it down! Sadeqa Johnson managed to bring the story to life through her memorable characters, and by hooking my attention from the very first page, straight through to the satisfying end. She explores many themes - womanhood and women's rights, motherhood and ambition, poverty and classism, race and colourism, as well as a snippet of wealthy Black history. And she does all of it with great knowledge and care.

Historical fiction is genre I typically gravitate towards because learning about new aspects of the past while reading is something I absolutely love. And this book certainly opened my eyes (and my mind) to an area of Black history I have very seldom encountered in my reading life. Even though it is a more of fiction, it's very important to read the author's note at the end. Sadeqa details her family history and the authenticity of the content.

I must say The House of Eve was the historical fiction novel I needed to get out of a streak of mediocre reads. Ruby and Eleanor, combined with the exploration of the price women pay for love, completely enraptured me, and I know this story will stay with me for a long time. It was a book that reminded me why I love reading so much - to find stories that need telling, to learn and have my perspectives broadened. I've definitely moved Yellow Wife up my priority list, and am already anticipating whatever Sadeqa publishes next.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of dual timeline/dual perspective
• readers looking for women's right historical fiction
• bookclubs

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Knowing about racism and being abused by its wrath were two different things."

"And this trip downtown had shown me that we even had to fight for what should have been free: our dignity."

Content Warnings

ohsonoelle's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

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