I really want Catriona Ward's books to work for me, but there's always something missing. I really love her creativity and the plot construction, but at times it feels like she's juggling a little too much and isn't able to get the story across the finish line in a completely satisfying way. Either way, she's a fascinating writer and I am really happy for the mainstream success she has been experiencing. More popular horror is good for everyone!

Catriona Ward is an exceptional writer, and with this one it is no different. I normally do not like gothic stories, but the way Ward writes and creates a story is phenomenal and always pulls me in completely.

Such a different story but it just pulled me in from page one right to the end. The story flows and comes together at the end. Oh I would recommend this book to everyone.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

I could not get into this story at all. I found it quite boring and it did not hold my interest or attention.

Sadly this one didn't work great for me. It was a lot slower than the previous two books I have read from her. I wanted to be interested but nothing really gripped me or pulled me in

Little Eve is the third book I’ve read by Catriona Ward, and the thing that keeps pulling me back to her is her unique plots, her hypnotizing prose, and the emotions her stories bring forward. I’m happy to say that’s still the case with this one.

Admittedly, I do tend to have a hard time starting her stories - the first couple pages or so almost always confuse me a bit but once you get into the story, it all makes sense and you’re sucked in.

Ward is amazing at twists, too, and I wasn’t disappointed with that aspect in this one either. One of my fav things about her books though is that she writes her characters and their relationships in such a way that takes her stories from a creepy classic horror novel to a story about love and family and how they can simultaneously hurt and heal you.

I did feel a little unsatisfied with the end of this one, but overall the story was really great and I can’t wait to pick up another by her.

Unfortunately this book did not do it for me. I felt like I was dragging my feet trying to get through this book. I think Catriona Ward’s writing just isn’t for me. There were so many moments I wanted to DNF, but every time I was about to put it down something interesting would happen, so I just kept reading. I wasn’t shocked by the ending. In fact, it ended in the exact way I thought it would.

I love Catriona’s books but unfortunately I couldn’t get into this one. I may try again at a later date.

I love Catriona Ward's writing, and this might be one of my favorites of hers. Dark, immersive, and page-turning. SO GOOD!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of "Little Eve" by Catriona Ward. I became a fan of the author after reading "The Last House on Needless Street," which was truly exceptional. "Little Eve" centers on the title character as she navigates what can only be described as indoctrination into a cult-like "familial" entity at a young age. It starts following a grizzly murder of 5 of Eve's family members and backtracks through the events that lead the characters to their end. I really enjoyed this read and finished it in about a day because I couldn't put it down.

LITTLE EVE, though not my favorite book by Ward, is delightfully dark and carries her usual gothic flare. It is tense, well-crafted, and moves forward at a decent pace. Something was missing for me, but even after I read the book, I could not put my finger on it. Ward continues to be an author I will look out for, but this one wasn't my favorite.

Rating: 1/5 Stars
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It took me forever to read this book. I finally finished. All I can say is what did I just read? All that I have gathered from this one is that there was some kind of a cult with weird abuse and self mutilation?
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Granted there were points I was intrigued…. but then it went off on some other tangent that I didn’t get… It’s set back in the 1800s; it is an extreme slow burn, it has a dual timeline and shifts between the POV of two different characters. I feel like I needed some extreme focus in order to even remotely comprehend what was happening - which I didn’t because I didn’t care. And I couldn’t have cared less about any of the characters.
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I absolutely love Catriona Ward, and I will continue to highly recommend two of her other books, but this one, this is just not it. Let me just say, if you want to DNF a book, do it. I just wasted too much time trying to read a book I hated because I felt like I needed to. It took me over a year to get through this one and I should have left it as unread.
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Thank you to Netgalley, Catriona Ward and Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire for the eARC in exchange for the brutally honest review.

This is my third book by Catriona Ward, and I absolutely love how she's able to create such engaging characters and such interesting stories, no matter the situation or time. This one takes places in coastal Scotland and has very dark, gothic horror vibes - which I normally find slow in books, but LOVED here. The character of 'Uncle' really creeped me out, and the atmosphere in this one is just on another level! The descriptions of the sea and weather and everything just got me, really recommend reading this one when there's a bit of a chill in the air!!

This was a very interesting gothic story. The family and their strange cultish traditions, took me a minute to understand what was going on but the story had me hooked. It wasn’t a typical book I would go for but I’m glad I did.

For people who are fascinated by cultish things, Little Eve explores a “family” dynamic, with a leader referred to as Uncle and the isolation and separation that the few others under his reins feel. With dual timelines, we encounter the survivor of the mass casualty event, Dinah, who tells us about how things went horribly wrong with Little Eve, which we get flashbacks of. This book is compact but packs a big punch, cataloguing extremely traumatic events with compassion and intrigue, a hard balance to strike. Ward’s writing is so beautiful in a world of such ugliness, it really shines.

This is the first Catriona Ward book that I have ever read, but it’s definitely not going to be the last. I had an amazing time with this book and I’m so glad that I got the chance to experience it. I read this book at the perfect time, as it was exactly what I was in the mood for at the time. I love when that happens. Anyway, let’s actually move onto my thoughts on this book.

I would recommend looking up content warnings for this story before reading it, as there are some heavy topics and themes within this story.

The story alternates between the past and the present. I found this an amazing way to tell this story. We get the aftermath of the events that happened and then the details of the events as they were happening. This made me very engaged with the story, I wanted to know what was actually happening and how everything played out. At some point in the story it felt like too much was going on, at least to me. That took me out of the atmosphere this book created and it’s probably the only thing that bothered me about this story. If it weren’t for those few instances this would have been a five star read.

An aspect of this book that I completely adored is the atmosphere. I love the cold, gloomy and windy setting of the castle. Catriona Ward has managed to create the perfect gothic setting for this horror story. The characters in Little Eve were really interesting. I was doubting everyone and trying to figure out what was actually going on and how much everyone knew about the happenings. There are quite a few traumatic things that happened that really made me feel for the characters. The character that stood out to me the most was Evelyn, or little Eve. Right from the beginning we find out that she is the villain of the story, I found it fascinating learning how she ended up that way. I couldn’t help but sympathise with her, despite the things that we learn about her.

Overall, Little Eve was a dark, atmospheric and mysterious story that I very much enjoyed. I would definitely recommend checking this book out, if you have the chance. Though definitely look up content warnings for it, after all this is a horror novel. I look forward to reading more from Catriona Ward in the future.

What a great book to pick to read (actually, I listened to it), on the lead-up to Halloween! I had never read author Catriona Ward before, but I will be looking for some of her other books after finishing Little Eve.

This is an atmospheric, moody book set in an island off the wild seas of Scotland. The castle it takes place in is a crumbling edifice called Altnaharra. The book's opening starts at the end of the story, when a towns person stumbles upon a gruesome scene in the castle. Then we go back in time to discover how this came to pass.

This Scottish setting is so evocative, and as we meet the small band of "family" that inhabit Altnaharra, a thoroughly menacing and dark atmosphere is created. It turns out that this is a cult, led by a man called Uncle who all the various women there both adore and fear. Two "sister", Diana and Evelyn, are the main focus of the story and we learn of their lives through their viewpoints.

If you've watched movies by M. Night Shyamalan, this has that kind of foreboding aura. In fact, this would make a great movie! Some have called this horror, but I would disagree, unless we're talking about the horror of what man can do to each other. But it is not horror in the sense of ghosts and noises in the night.

I give this author full points on the setting and mood of the book, which is carried throughout. Where I had a bit of trouble was keeping the story straight. Maybe if I had been reading instead of listening, this would not have been an issue. But there were three times I had to backtrack and relisten to parts of the book to be sure I understood what was going on. Also, at the beginning, it took me awhile to understand the situation in the castle. It is a dense book with lots of layers and information. But the writer's prose is so beautifully written, as if each of the many words was planned and cannot be changed.

This book was a 4.25 for me, five for atmosphere, but 4 for a story that took a little longer to totally engage me. What is indisputable is that Catriona Ward is one very talented writer.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and MacMillan Tor/Forge for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Catriona Ward is the next wave of horror writers. Her books are consistently fresh, yet creepy. In Little Eve, she tells the story of a doomsday cult led by a charismatic man who is harsh and evil. Little Eve is one of his wards, and she fully believes in the cult's, and her, connection to The Great Serpent. When he comes, the world will end, and all of the wicked will die. But where does the true evil lie, and will Eve be among the chosen to remain after the end times?

I feel like I'm the minority in this one but I wasn't a fan. I just couldn't get into it. I was bored and had no interest in picking it up. I DNF'ed after 30%.