Eventide is a cracker of a Eventide is a cracker of a debut by Sarah Goodman!
(Pub day Oct 6, 2020)

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Eventide follows two orphaned sisters, Verity and Lilah and their journey to a remote town where the youngest (Lilah) is adopted by a single woman with a mysterious background forcing Verity to find refuge with an older couple as a farmhand.

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Separated by woods that hold a warning of foreboding doom, Verity discovers that all can not simply be explained away by science and logic. What lurks in its shadows is other worldly dark magic that beckons Verity to come closer. Verity struggles to reconcile her past including what she has been led to believe of her parents and face new truths unfolding before her that tell a very different tale. One with roots that bind and tear apart.

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Goodman created good atmosphere and imagery for her debut novel. Personally, I would I would have liked more expansion on the elements of magical realism and spellbinding and I felt it's ending was a bit rushed. But that is likely attributed to my wanting to know more and read more. Just more. Which is not a bad thing at all, really!

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Eventide is a fast paced, quick read that was enjoyable and held my attention from its first to final pages. A perfect start to October's spooky TBR stack.


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My thanks to @netgalley and @torteen and @macmillanusa for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

#eventidebook @sgoodmanbooks #octobertbr2020 #favefallreads #favefiction2020
#spookyreads
#witchbooks #thrillerbooks #debutnovel

Verity Pruitt takes her sister Lilah with her into rural Arkansas in 1907 when their father goes insane after their mother’s death. Lilah is adopted right away, but Verity is not. To stay close to her sister, she indentures herself as a farmhand. There are superstitions and oddities in the town, however, and Verity’s parents had been history there. Trying to discover that history can be dangerous for her, especially when someone will go to violent lengths to keep that secret.

Rural Arkansas has its own laid back way of doing things compared to New York City at the turn of the century. The forest nearby has strange fog and Verity saw a young girl there as well as a woman that looked like Miss Maeve, the woman that adopted her sister Lilah. Maeve is kind enough to let Verity visit with her sister; no one had told them prior to their arrival that the girls would be separated, and the orphanage staff that accompanied them only let her know last minute and kept saying that she should be grateful that they were being given a chance. Their mother is dead and their father had been in an asylum in the city, unable to care for them and leaving them essentially orphans when no other family members stepped up to help. Of course, Verity would be drawn to any hints of family connections, as she's still determined to get back to New York and take care of her sister herself, even though Lilah really likes Maeve.

The second half of the novel moves rapidly. I couldn't put the book down and had to keep going because of the intensity of the story. There's so much happening, so much emotion and pain, and none of it is excused or waved away. The spiritual aspect is important and proves to be the ultimate way for Verity to get to the bottom of Maeve's plan and change it. She doesn't get the future that she thought she would, but ultimately it's one that she knows will work for her.

Oh, I quite enjoyed this novel! It gave me slight Winterwood and The Wicked Deep vibes, so if you've enjoyed Shea Ernshaw's novels, you might like this one.

It started off a little bit slow as Verity, our sole protagonist, establishes herself on the farm. But once she ventures into the woods and the creep factor heightens I couldn't put it down and kept reading until I finished this book at almost 2am.

The pacing here (after our slow start) was excellent as the reader is given bits and pieces of the story in small chunks. The setting was interesting as well, and the side characters were fully fleshed out and added their own little aspects to the story. The author did a great job in making us love Verity and her sister and friends, and hate the antagonist. The addition of the townspeople added an extra level of believability to the novel.

Really great debut from Sarah Goodman. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Eventide is an completely fascinating and fast paced read for young adult.
The story is about a small town with a a dark secret in the forest. A spooky, paranormal book which is a perfect read for Halloween season. This historical fiction fantasy makes the reader wanting more and pulls in really easily. The beautifully written settings, the mystery that goes all the way through the book.

I received this advanced reader’s copy from NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge. Thank you for allowing me to read this.

Eventide follows two sisters aboard an orphan train bound for Arkansas from New York. The year is 1907 and the sisters have just witnessed their father being taken to the asylum. Having lost their mother years ago, the sisters have nowhere to go but Arkansas with a group of other orphans. Soon, the youngest sister, Lilah, is adopted by a nice young woman and the oldest sister, Verity, is taken in as a farm-hand by an older couple. Pretty soon after, Verity begins to realize that the woman who adopted her sister may not be who she seems. And the woods are never a good shortcut to take.

The atmosphere of Eventide was something I really enjoyed. The woods were silent and creepy, and the rest of the town was so vivid. The characters were all written very well, and I especially loved Della. Verity was a really awesome main character. She fought for what she wanted and she never gave up. I love reading main characters that are smart and resilient. The ending of this was also very sweet and it wrapped everything up quite nicely.

The only thing I wanted from this book was more. I wanted more magic and more mystery. Verity was smart but this meant that she often came to conclusions very quickly. I wanted to have a little more conflict between Miss Maeve and Verity.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot! It was a perfect read for spooky season! This book will be published on October 6th of 2020. I encourage you to pick up a copy as quick as you can!

With their father locked away in an asylum and their mother long-since dead, seventeen-year-old Verity Pruitt and her younger sister, Lilah, are shipped off to find a new home in Wheeler, Arkansas as orphans, only to be separated when Lilah is adopted and Verity is not. So, in an effort to stay near her sister, Verity accepts a job as a hired hand at a local farm, working alongside a charismatic boy named Abel Atchley. Though, everything is not as it seems: the townspeople have their fair share of troubling superstitions and the nearby woods, with their creepy old well and rumored powers, are truly an eerie sight to behold. Soon, Verity realizes that this unassuming small town has some pretty insidious secrets, and trying to bring them to light is not just a daunting task—but a dangerous one.

From debut author, Sarah Goodman, comes a new YA historical fantasy thriller just in time for fall. Set in a small southern town in 1907, EVENTIDE is an atmospheric tale full of twisted family secrets, supernatural happenings, and a touch of romance. Just glancing at the cover, I felt the sudden urge to curl up with a cup of cider, nestle myself under a warm blanket, and read into the night. Though, in the end, I felt a bit underwhelmed by the execution. The beginning is kind of slow-to-start, spending most of the first hundred pages introducing Wheeler, the townspeople, and Verity’s new place there, instead of really diving into the spine-tingling paranormal aspects of the story—which I found myself wanting even more of. And while Verity proves to be a plucky heroine who cares deeply about her sister, her romance with Abel is a little too predictable and instantaneous for my tastes.

Overall, EVENTIDE is a spooky and lyrically written debut.

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing us with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

Set in a small town of the early 1900’s Arkansas, this story was a perfect start to my fall season with all its paranormal activities and splashes of magic. This young adult historical fiction/mystery novel kept me up late at night reading, and I could not get enough of its atmospheric setting and all the amazing characters. I even dare to say that I got some Anne of Green Gables vibe at the beginning of this book, before all the spookiness started. The mystery of this book was slowly and skillfully unwrapped by the author, and I was mesmerized by the story's plot and setting.

Eventide is a wonderful debut novel and I can’t wait to read more books by this author. If you love books that blend multiple genres together and create a perfect blend of mystery and paranormal themes then this is a perfect read for you.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillina/Thor Teen, and the author for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Seventeen-year-old Verity Pruitt knows she is perfectly capable of caring for herself and her younger sister, Lilah. But after her father's very public descent into madness, The Children's Benevolent Society is far less certain.

In June, 1907 Verity and Lilah are sent west on an orphan train to Wheeler, Arkansas where eleven-year-old Lilah is quickly adopted and just as quickly begins to adapt to her new circumstances.

Verity does not. Desperate to stay close to her sister, Verity signs on as an indentured farmhand to an elderly couple where she soon learns that her aspirations of attending medical school have done little to prepare her for the manual labor of farm life despite her kind employers and their charismatic nephew, Abel. Worse, Verity's plan to get herself and Lilah back to New York seems more impossible every day.

Folks in Wheeler are friendly enough but local superstitions, a strange aversion to the neighboring woods, and even Lilah's mysterious new adoptive mother all suggest that something is wrong in this small town.

As Verity learns more about Wheeler and her own parents' history with the place, long-buried secrets threaten to once again send Verity adrift--or worse in Eventide (2020) by Sarah Goodman.

Eventide is Goodman's debut novel.

Evocative prose and snippets of fairytale-like passages come together to bring both Wheeler and its mysterious past to life. Verity's obstinate pragmatism contrasts well with this western gothic's small town superstitions and secrets. While Verity is rash--often jumping to conclusions readers may realize are wrong before she does herself--her heart is in the right place and her compassion as she tries to protect her sister and her new friends shines through on every page.

Eventide is an atmospheric, spooky story filled with old secrets and ghosts. A meditative, melancholy story where nothing is quite what it seems. Recommended for readers looking to unearth old ghosts in an atmospheric and sometimes bittersweet setting.

Possible Pairings: Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson, Blackfin Sky by Kat Ellis, Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton, All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry, 13 Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby, Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick, All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater, A Treason of Thorns by Laura E. Weymouth

In 1907, Verity and her younger sister Lilah are sent to rural Arkansas as orphans to be taken in by separate families. Verity, angry at being separated from her younger sister, is determined to find a way to stay together. But after seeing several strange apparitions in the woods, which everyone in the town claims are haunted, Verity can't help but get wrapped up in the town's secrets, which prove to be far more dangerous than anyone imagined.

Ok, so this book honestly had it all for me. So many elements I love in a story, and they were all done beautifully. The historical setting was immersive and charming and drew me in. The fantasy thriller/horror elements were just the right mix of magical and disturbing. The romance had all the right tension and butterflies and pining. And the mystery plotline was paced perfectly. All the pieces were revealed at the exact right moment, never revealing too much or too little at a time, and always having an impact that made me need to turn the next page to see what happened. And of course a brave and intelligent heroine, plenty of female friendships, and complex relationships between the girls and women in the story. Chef's kiss.

Even though it got off to a little bit of a slow start for me, once the plot started moving I couldn't put it down. This was an incredibly well done book, and I will literally read whatever this author comes out with next.

Disclaimer: I received this arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Eventide

Author: Sarah Goodman

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: fantasy, ya, historical fiction, horror

Publication Date: October 6, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, DNF-ed

Publisher: Tor Teen

Pages: 336

Synopsis: Wheeler, Arkansas, 1907

When her father descends into madness, Verity Pruitt and her little sister Lilah find themselves uprooted from New York, on an orphan train to rural Arkansas.

In Wheeler, Lilah is quickly adopted by the town’s beloved schoolteacher—but Verity is not. Willing to do anything to stay close, she pawns herself off as a farmhand, but even charming farm boy Abel Atchley can’t completely distract her from the sense that something is not quite right in this little town. Strange local superstitions abound, especially about the eerie old well at the center of the forest. The woods play tricks, unleashing heavy fog and bone-chilling cold…and sometimes visions of things that aren’t there.

But for Verity, perhaps most unsettling of all is the revelation that her own parents have a scandalous history in this very town. And as she tries to unearth the past, sinister secrets come with it—secrets that someone will go to violent lengths to protect.

Review: DNFed at 20%. I felt like I could get into this book but it just wasn't grabbing my attention right now. I do want to retry one day though!

Verdict: Not for me but maybe for you!

2.5 STARS - Eventide, with its eye-catching and eerie cover, is a mix of genres - Historical Fiction and Fantasy geared towards Teen readers. The story begins with a strong Historical Fiction vibe that is very reminiscent of The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline and The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham as we witness two sisters being sent by train from New York City to a small town in Arkansas in 1907 to find a new family to take them in.

I thought the Historical Fiction aspect was the strongest part of the book - the descriptions of the era and small-town America - but overall, this was a case of great concept/poor execution. When the Fantasy layer was added, the story felt disjointed, leaving readers without enough background about the forest's supernatural elements (which weren't all that eerie for a Teen read, to be honest). I also would have preferred experiencing the big reveals with the main character instead of having other characters slide in to explain plot points towards the end.

While Eventide is touted as a Teen read, for the most part, it had a Middle School feel to the writing and dialogue (and a case of Insta-Love. Argh.). I wanted more atmosphere and conflict, but it was so slowly paced that tension-building seemed to be a struggle. Even the sisters' transitions from big city living to small-town Arkansas seemed to go off without a hitch and as their connections to the town come to light (in a bit of a convoluted way), the reasons required this reader to suspend disbelief.

Overall, this debut had a good premise surrounding small-town secrets and scandals, but it may have been trying to do too much and it lost its magic for this reader.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to the publisher for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked this book! It kept me hooked the whole time. I liked the supernatural element and the actions of the people were explained in a satisfying way that made them believable.
The writing style was good and captured the creepy atmosphere in a good way. I liked the characters especially Verity, Big Tom, Hetty and Della. I really liked the friendship between Verity and Della.
What I didn't like was that it was so slow at the start and the ending felt a bit rushed.
Overall it was a really good book.

This book surprised me. I admit I went into it with lukewarm enthusiasm, but that was quickly swept away. The languid setting of a sun-drenched southern town is set in stark contrast to the spooky woods steeped in mist and hidden magic, and I was totally immersed.

Eventide is a fantastic blend of magic and mystery. So much conflict is brought seamlessly together for a fresh and fun read.

Review by my 12-year-old daughter:
Eventide follows the story of the orphan Verity and her little sister, Lilah, as they move from New York to Arkansas, and what happens when they are split up and sent to different families. I do wish that the story had been a bit creepier, but I still found the things that did happen in the forest interesting. I really enjoyed Verity as a character, and I thought that most of the other characters were fleshed out and complex. I do wish we had learned a bit more about what Lilah was like, since she was central to the plot, but you honestly didn't see her that often. The plot was entertaining enough, but it does feel like a combination of many books that I've read before. There were a few info-dumps towards the end, which I found odd, since I felt like the story could have been done in a way where the main character didn't learn everything at once. I also felt like the end should have been a bit different, because some of the things that happened in the forest weren't explained as well as they could have been, and I was confused how some of the things were happening. But overall this is a quick, seasonal read that I recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for providing a copy for review.
The mysteriously haunting atmosphere makes for an intriguing read; so grab a blanket and a cup of hot cocoa or tea and enjoy this light thriller on a chilly fall night.
The cover and blurb first caught my eye but shortly in to the story I was completely sucked in. Well defined characters, a setting that I could easily capture in my mind, and a storyline that had just the right amount of little twists and turns made for an entertaining read. If you want something different to keep you guessing with a little creep factor and light thrill I would recommend you to read Eventide.
I give it 3.5 of 5 stars. I could have done without the "instalove" and some events that took place seemed liked after thoughts rather than integral parts to the plot and could have been explored or explained a little more.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan-Tor/Forge for the ARC of Eventide in exchange for a review.
Eventide is a spooky YA historical fiction novel with a bit of romance. I did enjoy the book although I didn't love it.. A haunting tale of long-buried secrets, small-town scandal, and single-minded vengeance by debut novelist Sarah Goodman - for fans of Jennifer Donnelly and Libba Bray.

Eventide was a really fun and spooky read. I am a historical fiction nut, especially stories set in the early 1900s, and I also love fantasy, so this book was right up my alley. It got off to a bit of a slow start but did a great job setting up the world and atmosphere. The old, rural setting was perfect for this small town ghost story. The close relationship between the two Pruitt sisters was apparent from the very start, and my heart hurt for them when they were separated. Verity's strength was admirable, and I connected with her need to protect her loved ones after all that they had survived. The cast of characters in Wheeler was a great ensemble and made the town come alive. I especially loved Hettie, Della, and Abel (whose budding relationship with Verity added a wonderful romantic element). The plot turned creepy and really drew me in when Verity starts to see things in the forbidden woods and tries to discover the long-hidden secrets of the town and its inhabitants. The mystery was plotted really well and involved a bunch of characters that kept the plot turning and the secrets revealing. The bits of local superstition and magic were weaved seamlessly into the historical context, adding a level of spooky mysticism that pushed the story forward. The ending was exciting and surprising and left me with a bittersweet feeling. Part small town historical fiction, part chilling ghost story, Eventide is an excellent read for the Halloween season.

When she can't be adopted with her younger sister, Verity becomes indentured and a farmhand, so she can stay close to her in Wheeler, Arkansas of 1907. A small town with a supposed haunted woods and secrets that may even have to do with Verity's family!

Verity is a straightforward, but full of compassion and a sense of wonder, despite herself. Intelligent, fiercely loyal and smile-worthy stubborn. I adore stories where characters discover the strength they didn't know they had in them.

The narrative is to the point and simultaneously charming, ideal for this kind of story. It can also be spooky and intriguing when it needs to be. Especially those intervals between chapters that peak your curiosity. Feeling a now in my stomach means the suspense is written quite well, palpable and intense.

A slow burner, there are parts you wish the protagonist didn't mull over some things so obsessively and repetitively. Also that the scales would teeter more to the spooky side and less to the "oh my gosh" secrets of the town. But the truth is the story is a lot more complex and interesting than just a simple haunting.

You end up really liking that it's not the haunting you thought it would be, and applaud the author for her originality. This is a more than promising debut that I would recommend to anyone who loves eerie secrets and unexpected twists with emotional gravitas.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't often find books set in my home state of Arkansas, so I was pleasantly surprised to come across this YA magical realism book set in the fictional town of Wheeler, Arkansas, in the early 1900s. Verity and Lilah are sisters who have been remanded to state custody after the death of their mother and the institutionalization of their father for insanity. Verity is just months from being 18, so she is not yet legally able to care for her younger sister. They are sent on an orphan train to Wheeler, where Lilah is adopted by the town's schoolteacher, Maeve Donovan, and Verity is indentured to another family. Reeling with the unexpected separation and determined that they will soon be able to return home to New York, Verity tries to make the best of the situation. She is told by several people to not go into the woods that are near the farm where she now lives, but no explanation is given. One day soon after arriving at the farm, Verity is thrown from the horse she is riding and decides to take a shortcut through the woods. What she finds there soon makes her begin questioning her own sanity, wondering if she has inherited her father's inability to tell what is real and what is not.

This was a quick, enjoyable, read and is a book I would recommend.

always love when a book crosses over into multiple genres, and this book definitely hit the mark. It’s historical fiction with a dash of mystery and fantasy mixed in. I completely devoured this book!

Verity was likeable and I liked seeing things through her point of view, especially since she was confident enough to say when she is wrong and apologize, which happened a few times throughout the book. I enjoyed the way she grew and became a different person by the end of the book. I also loved her sister Lilah even though we don’t see her too often, we still get a sense of who she is as a person. And I’m so glad that the friendship that Verity formed with Della was so wholesome, because it DEFINITELY could’ve fallen into the girl hate stereotype.

As for the setting, I can’t remember if I ever read a book set in Arkansas, let alone Arkansas in the early 1900s, so that was surprisingly refreshing after so many famtasy worlds. The woods in the little town of Wheeler were talked about just enough to eat you know that there’s something not quite right going on there, and all the strange happenings around it give this book a really eerie and creepy vibe which I wasn’t expecting!

I think the pacing was good, the mystery slowly unfurled throughout the book and every answer we got made me ask two more questions. That does mean that the ending of the book felt a little bit rushed and the answers to some pretty big questions got squeezed in at the end and we didn’t get to explore the consequences of the characters actions as much as I would’ve liked.

Overall, I thought this was a fun quick read and with a November release date it will be perfect to read during the spooky season for people who want creepiness but not scare the shit out of you creepiness.

Review will be posted September 4th on my blog, meltingpages.wordpress.com