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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Eve and Dinah are the closest of sisters who do everything together. They live in Altnaharra, a remote Scottish island, with Uncle who is their protector and their guidance as the Adder. They learn about Him who lives in the sea and will one day cleanse the world of the Impure. The people in the nearby village think them odd, but leave them be. Until one day there is a murder in the village, and an Inspector from the city comes to investigate. His questions will be the unraveling of everything for Eve and Dinah. This is their story of everything before and after the fateful sacrifice.
This is a weird and horrifying little story, about cults, beliefs, trauma, and power. The narrators are quite unreliable due to how trauma has shaped their perception of the world and their memories. The narrative is also quite jumpy, purposefully to reflect that same trauma. It is interesting to see everything revealed bit by bit.
This is a weird and horrifying little story, about cults, beliefs, trauma, and power. The narrators are quite unreliable due to how trauma has shaped their perception of the world and their memories. The narrative is also quite jumpy, purposefully to reflect that same trauma. It is interesting to see everything revealed bit by bit.
This was such a beautifully written story! Catriona Ward writes this Gothic horror concerning a cult in the late 1910s Scotland with such a poetic prose that I would get distracted by the writing. There was just enough mystery hanging around everything that I was never completely sure what was happening. While it could become confusing at times, for the most part it kept me on my toes and always waiting for another piece of the puzzle to be doled out.
The only letdown was that the ending was just a touch too confusing. So much happened in the last quarter that I did find it a little difficult to keep track. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this read!
The only letdown was that the ending was just a touch too confusing. So much happened in the last quarter that I did find it a little difficult to keep track. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this read!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing to read Little Eve by Catriona Ward in exchange for an honest review!
This is an amazing book! I love books with an unreliable narrator. The twist at the end blew my mind, I honestly did not see it coming. I think this book did a great job of showing what a cult lived in was like and how it effects the people who live within them and beyond. The book has a great (gory) opening scene and sucks the reader right in. There is alternating points of view in this story. This is a great atmospheric read.
This is an amazing book! I love books with an unreliable narrator. The twist at the end blew my mind, I honestly did not see it coming. I think this book did a great job of showing what a cult lived in was like and how it effects the people who live within them and beyond. The book has a great (gory) opening scene and sucks the reader right in. There is alternating points of view in this story. This is a great atmospheric read.
Magical.
Disturbing.
The ending brought a tear to my eye and that gets the 5th star.
Disturbing.
The ending brought a tear to my eye and that gets the 5th star.
This is a thoroughly gripping story of a strange cult on the northern shore of England during the 1930’s. The story begins with the ritual murder of several people. From there, the plot backtracks to show how the events played out.
The story is told through the eyes of two primary characters. The interesting thing is how the characters see their lives as being completely ordinary when, in fact, they are horrible. The cult is ruled by a man who calls himself Uncle, and he rules the women and children with an iron fist. As the story unfolds and more and more clues are revealed, it becomes clear that he is a madman.
I could not put this book down!
The story is told through the eyes of two primary characters. The interesting thing is how the characters see their lives as being completely ordinary when, in fact, they are horrible. The cult is ruled by a man who calls himself Uncle, and he rules the women and children with an iron fist. As the story unfolds and more and more clues are revealed, it becomes clear that he is a madman.
I could not put this book down!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
I found this book an exciting engrossing read I loved the concept of a cult like commune on a remote Scottish island .The setting added an additional gothic horror element to the story which was at once both highly visual and super spooky .The isolation and claustrophobia of being imprisoned in this setting was a fantastic element to the book
The characters were well padded out and believable although I did struggle a bit with following which girl was which particularly at the end ,I suspect this confusion was deliberately planned by the author rather that due to a lack of concentration on my part
Setting the novel mid 20th century allowed the isolation to be more complete whilst at the same time allowing train travel whilst no mobile phones makes the story more claustrophobic
The element of fantasy initially seemed a bit out of place but as this was described in more detail it was integral to the cult leaders eccentricity .
I liked he way the book flies back and forward between time periods it made me a bit confused at times but I loved the way the story emerged using this method
If you like a gothic horror this would be the book for you but I’d recommend for those who like a thriller or mystery too as the book isn’t too horrific and is exciting and entertaining
I
The characters were well padded out and believable although I did struggle a bit with following which girl was which particularly at the end ,I suspect this confusion was deliberately planned by the author rather that due to a lack of concentration on my part
Setting the novel mid 20th century allowed the isolation to be more complete whilst at the same time allowing train travel whilst no mobile phones makes the story more claustrophobic
The element of fantasy initially seemed a bit out of place but as this was described in more detail it was integral to the cult leaders eccentricity .
I liked he way the book flies back and forward between time periods it made me a bit confused at times but I loved the way the story emerged using this method
If you like a gothic horror this would be the book for you but I’d recommend for those who like a thriller or mystery too as the book isn’t too horrific and is exciting and entertaining
I
I have no idea what I just read. Seriously. I normally like creepy books. Especially if the setting is Scotland and bonus points if there’s a cult. This sounded really good. All the boxes checked. But, I’m just confused. I was confused from the very beginning and never got straightened out. Did I need to be really high while reading this? I don’t even know for sure which character was actually which character because they seemed to just swap names randomly. Or were they actually always just one person? I seriously don’t even know. I DNF The House on Needless Street, and pretty much felt the same with that one, so maybe that should have been my clue this wasn’t gonna be for me, but everyone else loved both books, so…here I am, just lost. I guess if you like her other books you’ll probably like this one? It’s getting tons of rave reviews, so I think I’m just an outlier. But this wasn’t for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
5 ⭐️
This book held the same heartbreaking beauty TLHONS did for me. So many incredibly powerful lines, strung together by the simplest of words and I will never understand how she does it. She has always been one of my favorite authors, but this book was just so far beyond my expectations it took my breath away. Her talent for writing descriptive scenery that is somehow equally as concise as it is detailed is such a gift to read. I could see the gray skies and gloomy mansion forming around me. I could hear the waves crashing on the rocks and feel the cold power of the sea enclosing me. I could see the distant gate, with its walls made of water, and felt as isolated and alone as Eve. I was fully transported to Altnaharra within a few chapters and it maintained my full attention while I was there. To me (and I’m sure most readers), a book that can take me to a different world so completely is a high like nothing else and this is definitely in the top 3 of my book-high list now.
The inner grapple of having to come to terms with who you are, the purpose of life, and what the point of anything is was so relatable, even if the way it came about was not. Ward’s scattered metaphors for the horrors of war, and the invisible scars of PTSD/TBIs made me cry because she was able to put into words things my scrambled brain has such a hard time explaining to people in one short sentence. This book just meant so much to me and I will definitely be rereading it when I think my currently wrecked heart can handle it again.
I will add that this won’t be for everyone, and will likely be a love or hate novel. I think if you’ve been blessed to live a reasonably happy life, then you might find this book pretty boring, as the most impactful parts of this [for me] really had nothing to do with the plot. I also did not go into this as a mystery, and I still don’t believe it’s supposed to be one. I saw a lot of reviews saying it was predictable, but this is the kind of book where the “mystery” lies in figuring out how things got the way they did (from one extreme to the other, if you will), rather than relying on the characters themselves to provide some sort of twist or big reveal. I agree with others who say it starts slow, but if you stick with it, I promise the payout of being able to appreciate Eve’s full growth in herself and her relationship with the world around her is incredibly gratifying.
Lastly, this book (like all of Ward’s books) has a lot of dark themes, so definitely check the TWs before reading so you aren’t caught off guard. There are a lot of upsetting themes and absolutely zero filler; every sentence was thought out and has meaning. It is a book that demands, and rightfully deserves, your full attention so you should make sure you’re 100% in the mood and mindset for this before picking it up.
This book held the same heartbreaking beauty TLHONS did for me. So many incredibly powerful lines, strung together by the simplest of words and I will never understand how she does it. She has always been one of my favorite authors, but this book was just so far beyond my expectations it took my breath away. Her talent for writing descriptive scenery that is somehow equally as concise as it is detailed is such a gift to read. I could see the gray skies and gloomy mansion forming around me. I could hear the waves crashing on the rocks and feel the cold power of the sea enclosing me. I could see the distant gate, with its walls made of water, and felt as isolated and alone as Eve. I was fully transported to Altnaharra within a few chapters and it maintained my full attention while I was there. To me (and I’m sure most readers), a book that can take me to a different world so completely is a high like nothing else and this is definitely in the top 3 of my book-high list now.
The inner grapple of having to come to terms with who you are, the purpose of life, and what the point of anything is was so relatable, even if the way it came about was not. Ward’s scattered metaphors for the horrors of war, and the invisible scars of PTSD/TBIs made me cry because she was able to put into words things my scrambled brain has such a hard time explaining to people in one short sentence. This book just meant so much to me and I will definitely be rereading it when I think my currently wrecked heart can handle it again.
I will add that this won’t be for everyone, and will likely be a love or hate novel. I think if you’ve been blessed to live a reasonably happy life, then you might find this book pretty boring, as the most impactful parts of this [for me] really had nothing to do with the plot. I also did not go into this as a mystery, and I still don’t believe it’s supposed to be one. I saw a lot of reviews saying it was predictable, but this is the kind of book where the “mystery” lies in figuring out how things got the way they did (from one extreme to the other, if you will), rather than relying on the characters themselves to provide some sort of twist or big reveal. I agree with others who say it starts slow, but if you stick with it, I promise the payout of being able to appreciate Eve’s full growth in herself and her relationship with the world around her is incredibly gratifying.
Lastly, this book (like all of Ward’s books) has a lot of dark themes, so definitely check the TWs before reading so you aren’t caught off guard. There are a lot of upsetting themes and absolutely zero filler; every sentence was thought out and has meaning. It is a book that demands, and rightfully deserves, your full attention so you should make sure you’re 100% in the mood and mindset for this before picking it up.