I loved the gothic vibe of this historical horror thriller: castle set on an isolated island in Scotland, a cultic prophecy of rebirth and the adder, and dark magic performed by a chosen few. All wrapped up in tense atmospheric undertones. But at times, I felt like the story went over my head - a gothic horror literary fiction novel where details matter. I retraced my steps many times and continually asked my buddy readers if we could summarize, so I fully understood the story's nuances.

I enjoyed the themes centered around the cult: power, manipulation, persuasion, strange sense of family with obscure love and devotion found in many cults. But I’m not sure I fully grasped the good vs. evil theme as my fellow buddy readers did. I could only see the evil, so these themes produced some good discussions.

TW: Cult, violence towards animals and abuse

On Altnaharra, a small isle off the coast of Scotland, lives Evelyn with her “family”. They all live under the watchful eye of “Uncle” and his teachings that one day the Adder will come to claim the world and one of them will inherit all his powers. They all want to be the one to claim the power of the Adder but none so much as Eve. One day a shocking murder shakes the small community of the nearby town causing attention to be turned onto Eve and the others threating to expose all that happens at Altnaharra and all its secrets. When Eve meets Inspector Christopher Black it sparks the beginning of the unravelling of all that Eve knew causing her to question everything and reveal the shocking truth of the place, she calls home.

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I have read two previous books by this author, “The Last House on Needless Street” and “Sundial” and out of the three this one is hands down my favorite. The author does an amazing job of casting this very heavy and dark setting for the story with lots of detail and a way of story telling that is almost mesmerizing. I will warn you though, this one is DARK and is very cult heavy depicting some very graphic violence. I really enjoyed the twist in this one, I didn’t see it coming at all. This gothic Horror was the perfect read for this Halloween season, it gave me goosebumps and kept me on edge throughout. This author is a go-to for me for spooky season because she always absolutely nails the creepy vibes in her books. Right off the bat this story starts off with a disturbingly grisly scene as the story bounces back and forth from the past and present to reveal the truth of what happened one dark and stormy night on the isle of Altnaharra. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This title is now available to purchase!

For a dark and spooky fall read this gothic story is the perfect fit for those who crave just a tad of spookiness and horror.

Set in Scotland in the 1920’s, John Bearing comes from a place far away to claim his inheritance on the rocky coast at a castle called Altnaharra. Readers never learn too much about John. He lives at the castle with several women and children who call him Uncle. The people in the nearby village believe that the children were foundlings that he has taken in to raise.

The family has many qualities of a cult or fanatical religious group. Readers will not be certain which of the family members are actually related or how they came to be at Altnaharra. Their way of life was very odd and the uncle controlled almost everything they did.

I must admit, at first this was too dark and creepy for me, but I was curious and kept reading. I’m glad I stayed the course because this turned out to have more twists and layers than I had originally expected.

Readers who are in the mood for a dark, gothic tale will love this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to offer my honest review.

If you’ve had the previous pleasure of reading a Catriona Ward novel, you know her ability to create a living world.

Every page of Little Eve breathes. You can smell the briny waves lapping against the lichen covered rocks. You can feel the dampness seeping out of the castle walls. The bite of a snake clamping down on the webbing between your thumb and forefinger, and the poison slithering through your veins.

It’s all atmosphere, and I enjoyed spending time in its pages.

The only problem here is that I’ve read the Last House on Needless Street and Sundial. You can see Ward developing her style and storytelling in these pages, and how far her writing has come since Little Eve’s initial release.

Comparing her novels to each other is maybe not fair. This book is still wonderful! But I expected a more impossibly knotted plot that gets tighter as I pick at it’s ends.

If you’re looking for a dual timeline, super moody cult thriller though you should definitely pick this one up.

Thank you to NetGallet and TorNightfire for a galley of this title.

3.5 stars rounded up.

3.5⭐️

The ambiance! We follow the storyline between Eve and Dinah, both girls that live on the isle of Altnaharra, off the coast of Scotland.

We listen to their lives as they live a life controlled by a man who they love. They will do anything to be seen as more special.

This book is dripping in a convoluted storyline where as the reader you know that what you’re reading may not actually be so…but you can’t quite figure out what’s going on until Ward slowly peels back the curtains. The only way to get there is to keep reading. I love how Ward is able to manipulate the story and slowly reveal what’s really going on. As the reader, by the end it all makes sense and the clues fall right into place.

A bit of horror with a few graphic scenes but it wasn’t too bad. I liked this one more than Sundial. I’m still amazed at her ability to build the world she creates so well in each of her books. I’m ready for the next one!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Tor-Forage for the advance ebook.

I should just plan to stay up all night when I start a Catriona Ward book. Her writing pulls me in, and I just can't stop reading! Little Eve was heartbreaking and horrifying and as I was reading, I could feel the pain of what the characters were going through. This is an atmospheric, gothic thriller that is set off the coast of Scotland and will give you chills and keep you reading.

I admit, Little Eve is really not my kind of story. But occasionally, I step outside my comfort zone. Little Eve ended up being that reading challenge.

So, first things first. This book is so well written, that I kept reading despite my discomfort. The author’s style is at once simple and lush, evoking a starkness to the narrative that is rich with disturbing characters and menacing landscapes. This book is very accessible and the plot developed at a pace that prevented me from putting it down.

Ultimately, the things that evil characters do to other characters is what turns me off of this type of novel. It probably seems odd that I am giving a positive review to a book I ultimately did not like, but I know there is an audience for this book and I want them to find it. Fans of gothic horror stories will devour this book and then look for more books by Catriona Ward.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book. My review is my honest opinion.

I really really enjoyed this. I think Catriona is great at writing horror and I’m now working my way through her other books.

I tore this baby up in a little over a day.

What I loved:
- The gothic setting. Very atmospheric and eerie
- The psychological horror and how it’s fleshed out
- The beginning grabs your attention immediately
- The different ceremonies and how Ward paints the picture

What I didn’t like:
- I did predict the end but still enjoyed how it came to be
- Perhaps more from outside characters and learning more about how others viewed the family
- Many unlikeable characters

Overall, this is a great book and I highly recommend!

4.5/5

I was looking forward to this one after reading Sundial.

Unfortunately, while I love gothic horror and mysticism, this book’s many twists, dips and layered plot left me puzzled as to what I was reading. Often requiring me to read it several times. Perhaps I’m just not in the right reading place to fully appreciate Little Eve. Nevertheless I will continue to look out for Wards future offerings.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this digital arc.

I become a massive fan of Catriona Ward. She is a master of the creepy, and queen of the strange.
Little Eve is a book about isolation, and what it can do to the impressionable. There is a strong cult vibe within the story, with old world Pagan rituals thrown in. Things are not always as they seem, which makes the big twist come as a shock.
I envisioned this book in a sepia filter and can see it becoming a movie. I was surprised this is one of Ward's first books and is now getting recognition. It's a brilliant novel that should have been a hit when it was released.

Hole-y sheet ghostman! That’ll teach me to reserve my kindle time to just before my eyelids drop. This book went places I wasn’t expecting…and not just because I didn’t read the synopsis.

If you’re a fan of gothic horror cult reads, then don’t wait until spooky season ends to pick this Shirley Jackson Award-winning novel up.

On the wind-battered isle of Altnaharra, off the coast of Scotland, a group is preparing for the end of the world and a glorious rebirth where the Adder will choose the one most worthy to inherits its powers. Ominous indeed.
Little Eve will do anything to be the chosen one, but when Chief Inspector Black appears to investigate a murder, soon all of Altnaharra’s dark secrets will be revealed.

At the very beginning Catriona Ward throws readers into the heart-thumping depths of the aftermath of a sacred ceremony. Working both backward and forward through time, Ward continues to unlock secrets through multiple perspectives, the thrills and chills only increase, terror mounting, with a climax that will leave you breathless and just might even give you nightmares. It’s atmospheric and twisty and will take you on a heart-wrenching journey through the lives of the little group that lives on Altnaharra.

This book is incredibly dark and even made me tear up a few times, so be sure to check out trigger warnings if you need to.

This was my first novel by Catriona Ward and certainly won’t be my last. Little Eve is a psychological horror-thriller that I won’t soon forget.

Thank you to @tornightfire for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the first book I have read by this new to me author, and I will definitely be looking for more of her works. There were so many twist and turns and edge of your seat reading, I couldn’t seem to turn the pages fast enough. It is dark and goth, but it is very intense reading.


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Catriona Ward is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine after loving her last two and now loving this. Little Eve has the best setting of almost anything I've read this year. I was on the edge of my seat this entire atmospheric read and Ward surprises me every. single. time.

I'll just go ahead and say it - I'm going to read anything Catriona Ward puts out into the world. After reading The Last House on Needless Street and loving every creepy minute of it, I was thrilled to see Little Eve become available on NetGalley. I understand it's a rerelease, and I completely understand why. I will say that Little Even deserves every moment in the spotlight that it can have!

It's a dark and broody gothic thriller, with just the right amount of gore and shock value. I was immediately drawn into the story of a found family that wasn't a family anyone should hope to find. The cult and their devotion were chilling. The writing of the children's attachment to the man who essentially was their captor was chilling. I was along for every moment of the ride! I hope Catriona Ward keeps writing because I'd love to keep reading her work.

4 Stars!

When I picked up The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward, I did not know what to expect. I found a strange and compelling tale that was a fresh voice from an unexpected source. I was happy to see that Ward had a new novel coming out, Little Eve, and looked forward to seeing if this novel could be even better.



The small island of Altnaharra, just off the coast of Scotland, was the only world Eve had ever known. She was pulled from the sea by her “uncle” and raised with her siblings, none of whom were blood related, they waited on the wind-battered isle for the Adder to come. When the Adder arrived, it would bring about the end of the world and the beginning of a new one. It was a harsh life but Eve knew nothing different. That all changed when Chief Inspector Black arrives to investigate a murder.



With the arrival of Chief Inspector Black, everything Eve had believed is thrown into question. She had been isolated, deliberately, on the isle by her uncle and never questioned the world around her. She was firmly in the grips the the cult of the Adder and knew no other way. Black brings in a glimpse of the wider world and suddenly a life full of intrigue and deception comes to light. Her uncle changed from her guardian to her captor and her siblings seemed full of dark motives to further their standing in the cult. Eve begins to wonder if everything she thought was true was actually a part of a grand illusion built to serve her uncle’s desires. Even more pressing, though, is whether or not Eve will be able to find the answers she seeks in time to survive the darkness that the Adder represents.



I anticipated a strange and dreamlike story when I started Little Eve and I was not disappointed. Much like The Last House on Needless Street, Ward keeps the reader on edge and makes it difficult to sort out the real from imagined. The story takes place both inside and outside the mind of the characters and it can be difficult to determine what is real and what is a product of imagination (or paranoia?). With shifter perspectives and times, there is no time for the reader to get a firm footing. In fact, the characters seem to be as confused as the reader as to what is real and what is illusion. All perspectives in the story are biased. It is this changing of perspectives, and the questioning of truth that comes with it, that makes the story work so well. The reader is never sure what is really happening. Ward shows the reader what is right in front, the pulls back the curtain for a quick peek, and always leaves the question of whether the wizard is a man behind the curtain running the machine or the machine that makes all the characters run in circles.



Little Eve was not as good as The Last House on Needless Street but that does not mean it was not a good novel. Far from it, in fact. While it is not a true horror novel, it is dark enough to keep even the most jaded fan of the genre on the edge of his seat and wondering what will happen next. Much like life, Little Eve works outside the world of black and white in realm in which everything is a shade of grey. No one is completely evil. No one is truly good. It is, instead, the motives that change the perception of right and wrong so that even the purest deed can lead to disaster and the darkest of acts can bring about redemption. It is difficult to force the novel into a specific category and even more difficult to discern the true meaning of the story. The reader is sure to finish the novel with more questions in mind than at the beginning. But even if it is difficult to figure out the truth and meaning behind the story, it is even more difficult to forget.



I would like to thank Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for this review copy. Little Eve is available now.

A fantastic cult novel.

An unrealiable narrator,The End Times and a gloomy seculusion make this gothic historical a fast pace read.This a vivid novel that sucked me in from the beginning.I highly recommend it.

The cover and the brief synopsis captured my interest for this read. From the gory opening scene to the ending plot twist I never felt truly engaged with this one. It was a fairly intriguing plot. Eve tells the reader how she lived on the island of Altnaharra with Uncle and several others as they prepared and awaited for the coming of the Adder. The secluded island provided everything a reader might wish for: a small tight knit clan community with limited interaction with others, a suppressive and abusive leader, creepy rituals, and secrets galore. The unravelling of the story was sluggish at times. Many of the plot twists could be deciphered early on. Some of the story didn't really seem to be necessary and in my opinion only added confusion. Overall the book felt unfinished, so while there is a seemingly satisfying conclusion it didn't provide comprehensive closure.

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley.

This one was surprising in such a good way. I had no idea of the twist until it was revealed and it got me.

Things I love: Cult stories
Authors I love: Catriona Ward
Mix them together and you get one fantastic, creepy read!

Little Eve is the story of a Scottish isle that is home to a downright creepy cult that has “found children from the sea”. It was clear from the start that this book was going to have some unsettling moments and it certainly delivered on those. While I was creeped out by several character’s actions, it was the claustrophobic and isolated vibe of the isle that really made this book a winner for me. Ward does such a fantastic job of making Altnaharra come to life that I could feel myself there. The pacing for Little Eve is a bit slower than I’ve come to expect from Ward’s previous books, but it didn’t stop me from being invested in what was happening. 

One thing that I think could potentially bother readers after having chatted about this story with a fellow bookstagrammer is the non-linear timeline. The story alternates between narrators, but with each new section, the reader finds themselves in a different year, sometimes with a substantial time jump. I found myself flipping back to the start of a few chapters to confirm I knew where in the progression of the story I was. 

Overall, this is another solid story from Catriona Ward and while it didn’t take over Sundial’s spot at number one for her books for me, it is definitely one I will remember for quite a while. Needless to say, I’m not going to look at honey the same for a bit (IYKYK).

A huge thank you to Tor Nightfire for my gifted copy!

I absolutely love Catroina Ward. Everything I’ve read from her so far has been riveting. It was so atmospheric and left me guessing and wondering about the next steps. Highly, highly recommend.