Welcome to Wheeler, Arkansas, a small and average town with a shockingly dark secret that lay nestled in the haunting forest. Verity Pruitt is about to discover that something is not quite right in the town she and her younger sister have been sent to. While Lilah is adopted, Verity must indenture herself as a farmhand in order to stay close to her sister.

EVENTIDE by Sarah Goodman is an atmospheric young adult fantasy thriller that drops its readers right into the story and engulfs one into the feeling of “wrongness.” Wonderfully told, eerily dark, this tale is sure to hold readers glued to each page as the mystery unfolds ever so slowly. Highly recommended for all ages! Powerful storytelling, perfect for YA readers!

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Tor Teen! This is my honest and voluntary review.

After reading some heavy fantasy books, I was in the mood for something different, and the atmospheric cover and intriguing description of Eventide immediately caught my attention.

With Verity and her sister arriving on an orphan train in Wheeler and then sent to different families, you immediate sympathize with them.  Small towns always seem to hold the biggest secrets, and this one is no exception.  With the locals warning Verity not to venture into the woods, it immediately reminded me of the movie The Village, which excited my supernatural-loving soul.  From the first page, the author does a wonderful job establishing an atmospheric setting, and fans of this genre will be thrilled with several spine-tingling scenes.

The characters are all well-written, and Verity finds some very likeable, supportive friends, but I especially adored Big Tom and Hettie, the couple who take her in to work on their farm.  The found family dynamic between them is so heart-warming, and one of my favorite parts of the story.

All of the long-buried secrets and scandals are revealed by the end, but the author holds back just enough to keep the reader guessing until almost the last page.  With this book releasing in early October, it would be a perfect one to curl up with on a chilly autumn evening.  

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Wow. I’ve only recently stepped into the world a mystery/thrillers and this is by far one of the best I’ve read this year.

After their mother dies and their father is declared insane, Verity and Lilah are orphans. After Lilah is adopted, Verity takes up work as a farmhand to stay close to her sister, set on taking Lilah back to New York as soon as Verity turns 18. However, the sisters’ new town is full of mysterious people and even more mysterious stories. To save her family’s future, Verity must first confront the ghosts of her family’s past.

I though Goodman did an incredible job with this story! The pacing was great for a YA novel. I think the writing and setting also helped with the creepy factor of the entire story. I loved the relationships in the novel. I think Verity’s romance cane about rather quickly, but it’s the same pacing as most YA novels.

As far as the plot, I thought the storytelling was unique. There were plenty of twists in the middle of the story. It definitely kept me interested and guessing. I also loved the ending, but we won’t talk about that here! This is a great book for the upcoming spooky season!

Eventide was a fast paced, thrilling YA historical fiction novel! I loved this book. There was just enough creepiness to make the book feel like a wonderful supernatural thriller without it being too scary for chickens like me to enjoy.

Thank you so much to MacMillan-Tor/Forge for the ARC of Eventide in exchange for my honest review!

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

I loved the concept of this: a gothic historical fantasy, a mad father, secrets and a small town. And it was good. This is what I would call an easy read; the writing is okay, but nothing super special. Not really 'voicey', but a quick read, and I know alot of people like that. The pacing was kind of all over the pace, sometimes I couldn't stop reading, others I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep going. I had hoped for more atmosphere, I love some good gothic atmosphere, but it wasn't quite enough for my taste. I kept feeling like all the big reveals/the secrets, kept being told by characters rather than the reader discovering it. It always felt like we ran into someone who suddenly divulged paragraphs of backstory.
I will say I did not see that ending coming though. Overall, a decent book.

First of all, Eventide had me hanging on, in hopes to uncover how this novel would end. Goodman creates a suspenseful tone and draws on the mystery of the woods and the magic they hold.

This was definitely a different type of novel than I am used to reading, but it was entertaining and I felt I could relate to my own acreage upbringing (though not on a farm and not in the early 1900s).

The main character Varity was well-crafted, brave, hard working and determined. It was easy to like her and want to see her succeed in fulfilling her dream of saving up enough money, retrieving her sister and returning to her homeland in New York.

Although there were some parts of the story that didn't feel as well thought out or as believable in accordance with the setting, Eventide was still an interesting read.

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

This book felt like being a young teenager again, hungry for "scary" (but not too scary) books 'a la' "Nancy Drew Ghost Stories" - ah, nostalgia. For that most pleasant nostalgia, I definitely bump this up a star. The book itself was a decent tale of recent orphans, shuttled from New York City to Wheeler, Arkansas on the Orphan Train, where two sisters, one 17 and one 11, are sadly split up. Verity goes to a farming couple who were hoping for a boy ("Anne of Green Gables" anyone?), with a gruff man, Big Tom, and wiry, hard woman, Hettie, both with warm gooey hearts ("Anne of Green Gables" anyone?). But that's where the similarities to "Green Gables" disappear. The woman who adopts Verity's younger sister, Lilah, has sinister intentions, and there's witchcraft/spells, a bullheaded sheriff who won't believe anyone, friendly kids Verity's age who quickly become confiding best friends, and a romantic interest farm boy. In the vein of younger reader literature, the book on the whole doesn't get too deep, but it works for this story. My only gripe is that I did not like the ending at all. All I will say without giving it away is that it is way anti-feminist for really gearing us up for forward thinking Verity's future.

I was so excited about this story however the longer I read it the less and less interested I became. The characters I found were very hard to relate to and the story was so slow paced that I had to keep reminding myself what was even going on. I also felt that this book didn't leave the reader with anything compelling them to pick the book up again after they set it down so it was a bit of a struggle. I found the characters very forgettable and the story line moved so slowly that you even forgot it was supposed to be building the suspense of the reader. Not my favourite book by far and it was a bit of a challenge to finish it. I did like the idea behind the story however so I might check out another book by this author just to find out for sure where I stand on her writing.

I really wanted to love this book, especially after seeing its cover and reading its description. However, I was sadly disappointed. The book was very slow-paced and I get that the author wants to build mystery and suspense, but for me, it just didn't work since I already had figured out what would happen early on in the book. The romance felt like insta-love and I really didn't understand what drew the characters together besides both being physically attractive and available. Everything about this book was promising, but it just wasn't executed well.

What a tale! From the start I was behind Verity wanting to hug away the cruelty of the life she faced. Once in the town though, the creepy atmosphere shifted the story into something shrouded in a foggy dread that I enjoy. There were two sides to this story that held me in their grasp, forcing me to read way too late into the night. The first was the hidden secrets, past coming back to haunt you sort of thing. Of course, I had no idea the depth of those secrets and wow, did they get twisty in the most delicious ways. Some of those twists turned into the second side, that one laced with the supernatural, which I always love. I was as drawn to the woods as Verity and urged to to ignore the warnings and run headlong into the fog LOL.

I enjoyed the way the pace matched the different parts of the story in a nice melody. The characters, aside from Verity who as I said I loved, were all wonderfully rounded, each feeling like they had a strong reason for being in the story and reaching me in their own ways. I love Abel. He had me at hello. Strangely enough though, my favorite secondary character was Maeve. She was brilliantly fleshed out, sweet and utterly horrifying in places. Perfect for her part.

The story was complete, no cliffhangers and totally satisfying for me. I will be looking for more from this author. With a beautifully creepy atmosphere, twisty plot, and and a cast of characters that come to life on the pages you can't go wrong with this paranormal suspense.

Wow... at first I was a little apprehensive. I honestly had completely forgotten what the synopsis said so I was going in blind. When we start out on an orphan train bound for nowhere Arkansas, i got worried that this was going to get very boring and sad. But as the story went on...wow. The author did an amazing job with some misdirection and twists. I dont dare go into to much detail lest I spoil something. But I can say,i stayed up way to late finishing the story and then couldn't sleep because my brain was going back over the story over and over.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This suspenseful historical thriller keeps you guessing all along. I really liked the magic in the book, the characters, folklore and knowledge brought to the United States by people from different emigrant backgrounds and illustrates the different groups that settled in the area and the history of the town. This helped the story more lifelike. It was a fun read full of twists and turns sprinkled with magic to add thrills. The story follows Verity and her sister Lilah as they are sent on a train to the country to be adopted. Lilah is quickly chosen but not Verity and that is where the trouble begins. As Verity tries to figure out how to keep them together she discovers secrets of her families past and that of the little town where they have settled. A good read if you like historical fiction/thrillers.

This evocative southern gothic novel is set in 1907 and begins on an orphan train that is heading to Wheeler, Arkansas. Sisters Verity and Lilah have had their lives ripped apart by the death of their mother and subsequent decay of their father’s sanity. Verity is determined to keep Lilah with her and return to New stork, but things go wrong when her sister is immediately adopted out and Verity herself is indentured to a local farmer and his wife. All the while the ghosts of the past, and the treacherous secrets of the dark forest bordering the town begin to make themselves impossible to ignore.

The hauntingly atmospheric story twist and turns into a proper mystery, while incorporating elements of the paranormal, that enlivens its complexity. The author captures both the starkness of a turn of the century farm town, and the beauty of small town life and relationships. The traces of spookiness that pepper the plot make this a fascinating read.

The main character, Verity, is single minded but is fleshed out enough to make her likable. There are supporting characters that are sinister and ones that are caricatures of the small town denizens of the early twentieth century. The reader will find the doubting sheriff, the uppity mean girl, and the dangerously handsome farm boy with a heart of gold and ambitions to match. All of these blend together into a story that has wonderful historical elements and realistic relationships.

This is not a scary read at all, and since I am a total scaredy cat, I would know, but it does give the reader delicious chills with its eerie imagery that pulls one into the plot. Merging a historical mystery with the preternatural, and adding a burgeoning romance, makes this book have something for just about everyone.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. A little bit creepy, a hint of mystery, perhaps a little haunting, and lots of small town drama and family history rolled into a page turner that will keep you up finishing it. Historical in setting. The work of farm life during a different period reminds you that even though time passes, some of the basics of human necessity do not change.

An unexpected and expected story. When all of the details of the mystery begin to unfold, it’s easy to guess what may happen. But getting there is a wonderful journey that is thoroughly enjoyable

I love this haunting gothic tale! I got completely wrapped up in the atmosphere of this fantasy thriller and finished the book in one sitting, eating up every delicious twist and turn as the mystery unfolded. Sarah Goodman has written a smashing debut with well developed characters. I can't wait for more from her.

Thank you so much to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest feedback. It was a pleasure.

First: love the cover! This book was really good! So much so that I ended up staying up most of the night reading it. Just the right amount of everyday small town/farm life mixed with mystery and the supernatural. Sarah Goodman did such a good job writing the conflicts in this book that I actually felt upset or happy when it was needed in the book. I think this would be a good addition to any YA collection.

Thank you to Tor Teen for giving me a free digital galley in exchange for feedback.

I love when I take a chance on an author/title I've never heard of, and it turns out to be fantastic!

It's the early 20th century, and Verity is on a train. She's on a train because her mother is dead and her father has been hospitalized, leaving her and her younger sister Lilah in the care of the state, which has taken them out of New York City and put them on an orphan train to a small town in Arkansas.

Things aren't SO bad there. They are separated from each other, but Lilah's in the loving hands of the town schoolteacher, and the farmers who apprentice Verity as a farmhand expect her to work hard, but are pretty nice.

The friendly warnings that maybe Verity might want to stay out of the woods are so low-key that you might miss them, if the cover's spectral woman by a creepy well surrounded by trees hadn't already alerted you that there's more to this book than a story of two girls making a new life in a hard situation.

I really appreciated the pacing in this book. The first 80% is a lovely slow creep, as Verity meets people, learns more about her new home, and starts to realize that there's probably a good reason to stay out of the woods. Then the ending blows all the doors off at once, moving from a slow creep to an explosion of action and explanation.

This is not my first 'stay out of the woods' story, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually was surprised by several of the book's twists, which weren't at all what I predicted. I enjoyed the secondary characters, especially Della.

Totally recommended for a read that's my favorite kind of horror, pleasantly creepy rather than upsettingly bloody.

This was a great read. The prose, dialogue and cover had me at hello. I loved this story. My attention was held the entire time. I flew through the story in one sitting. The character arc was very well done. I recommend this one.