4.5 stars rounded to 5. Trigger warnings include gaslighting, abuse, drugging of minors, etc. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Little Eve is a local legend; she killed her while family before sinking into the sea where she preys upon naughty children and wayward drunks. But what if the truth is something more sinister all together? Find out the truths and lies in this spooky tale of faith and power.

Man, I have read a lot of books surrounding cults and men lording over women but this one is haunting. Eve lives on an island with Uncle and her family of sisters & one brother where they are preparing for the emergence of an eldritch being from the sea. Of course as our tale unfolds and horrific truths beging to be brought to light Eve finds herself lost and desperate to help her family. The author gives us few chapters that alternate characters/timelines that allow the reader to piece more together without spoiling big reveals. I didn't see the massive reveal coming, perhaps because I was so invested in how everything played out with certain characters or simply because this author is a master at what she does. I totally get why she won awards for Little Eve and look forward to seeing what she has to offer us in the future.

Overall, 4.5 rounded to 5 as I have been overwhelmed with cultish stories lately, but this one is not to be missed. Trigger warnings for drugging of minors, sexual abuse(off page), body gore, gaslighting, and abuse. Recommended for readers 15+ due to some of the mature content.

Thank you to NetGallely, Tor Macmillan, and most especially Catriona Ward for the opportunity to review this e-ARC.

First thing first - content warning: This book does contain child abuse and gore that some may find upsetting.

That said, it's a fun read and Little Eve is a master class in dialogue and a Spooktacular gothic dive into eclectic character development and exploration. A fun read indeed!

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

No, thank you. I didn't get sucked in like I want to from a thriller. I want to be immersed and be terrified to go to sleep because I feel like I'm in the story myself. I often don't enjoy any type of "gothic" thriller, so that may be the cause for this. For me, this wasn't my type of spooky and creepy, but others may very well enjoy it.

Thank you, Macmillan, I guess, for an ARC of this horror ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Don't read this one before bed! Not so much horror, although there are horror elements. Not for nothing did it win the Shirley Jackson Award. It's more creepy/atmospheric like Ward's bestseller, The House on Needless Street. This one has a compelling narrative that sucked me right in and made me want to put it down due to how dark and bizarre it was, although I kept compulsively picking my Kindle back up after I recovered, and stayed up late to blast through the final 150 pages. Then I had a nightmare. You'll want snacks.

This is an older U. K. novel from 2018 soon to be published in the U. S. Little Eve features an incredibly sick and twisted family in a castle on a remote Scottish island of Altnaharra where, cut off from reality, they have created their own weird little world and religion. It will surprise no reader that this religion favors the powerful lord of the manor at the expense of the other inhabitants, including Little Eve/Evelyn. She and her sister Dinah have a strong bond and rely on one another to survive their own fervent, unquestionable beliefs. There's a Detective Black who is obsessed with the family and would like to pin a crime on somebody, and he keeps turning up in Evelyn's life to question her and break the hold that her family has on her mind. The injection of a mystery element reminded me of Piranesi by Susannah Clarke.

A couple of great twists at the end are very satisfying, and the psychological fallout from the experiences of the island are very believable.

I wasn’t familiar with Catriona Ward when I saw this title. I loved the artwork and I’ve never been disappointed with a Tor book. I love the 1920’s gothic, horror, cult aspect. It almost hit my Lovecraft nerve, which is a good thing. There things in the story that made me feel really uncomfortable (the point of reading horror) that I’m still thinking about (no spoilers).
I look forward to more books by Ward and will definitely be added a physical copy to my self.
Thank you Tor and NetGalley for this wonderful book.

Fun, twisty gothic story. Based on publication date (Oct '22) this is a perfect spooky, Halloween read. Primarily, the scariness in this one is psychological but be warned that there is definitely some gore + (CW) animal mistreatment. It's engaging and well paced, and the twist made me audibly gasp. Definitely worth a read.

Thank you to TorNightfire and Catriona Ward for an ARC of Little Eve

Little Eve follows the story of two close sisters, Evelyn and Dinah and their life in a cult in remote northern Scotland. Worshipping the Sea, they follow the strict rules of their "Uncle" and cult leader, claiming that one day He will come and wash the world of the Impure and they will all be reborn in the ocean.

There are two things I have come to expect when reading Ward.

One: You are in for a smart ass read.

Two: Trust that Ward is about to take you on. a. ride.

Because this is so much more than a cult story. It is a story about two sisters at its core but add in a lot of mystery and a hard look about what defines a persons reality and ones sense of self is a taste of what Little Eve touches on.

Ward delivers an atmospheric, creative read that I promise you won't leave you once you finish this book.

This book has a lot of things that I hate. Gothic atmosphere, a cult, and child abuse. I was also not a fan of the writing and the overall story.

Catriona Ward is a master at rivetting inner dialogue. She has a gift for creating troubled characters that hook us as much by what they don't know about themselves as by what they reveal through their thoughts, dreams, and hopes.

Little Eve follows a doomsday cult on an isolated and dismal Scottish island, led by the mysterious and ruthless "Uncle". One of the young children victimized by the cult, Evelyn/Eve, lets the reader into a chaotic world of ritualistic abuse, manipulation, fear and wonder. By the time the final twist is revealed, we are so caught up in the madness and brutality of her experience that it is difficult to be shocked. Instead, murky relationships become clear and the sequence of events leading to a horrific act seem inevitable. Much like The Last House on Needless Street, Little Eve takes us into the darkest places of a protagonist's mind, where not everything is as it first appears.

Haunting and deliciously gothic, Litte Eve is beautifully crafted horror that bleeds into literary fiction. I would recommend this title for fans of Shirley Jackson and psychological mind bends. This was an easy 5-star, two thumbs up review!

If I can have one word for Catriona Ward’s books it would be memorable. Whether you like the book or not, she will write the hell out of a book and you will not forget it. These aren’t your classic thriller books where you go from A to Z in a nice and neat set up. Good lawd the creativity, the depths of the mind she goes to, and the story itself is just other worldly. I. Am. A. Fan.

This book. I don’t like to give too much details for her books because going in blind is part of the thrill and the ride. Initially I was skeptical because it is written in the 1920s 30s era and I wasn’t sure if the time travel would hit right. But oh it did. I was sucked in and swallowed into the characters and their way of life. The synopsis is really all you need. You hear the story and chaos from different point of views that are blended so beautifully yet horrific. The authors note at the beginning really stuck with me - she said “I love my family. That love remains one of the strongest forces in my life.” I resonate with this so much. The power of family and the clutches it has on a soul can be so powerful and she has written this so graphically.

What another gold shining star for Catriona Ward once again. Read it!!

Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I'm reeling from how good this book is. Catriona Ward is a game-changing author. If you aren't reading her yet start now!

I was really excited about this book after reading Last House on Needless Street. Unfortunately this one fell a little flat for me. I felt it had a lot of potential when reading the synopsis but felt the plot was slow and slightly scattered. It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Little Eve by Catriona Ward is an atmospheric horror novel that is being published in the US for the first time! The story revolves around Eve, who lives with her terrifying uncle in a home of neglect. Her uncle leads a cult-like family of orphans and believes that the end of the world is coming to an isle off the coast of Scotland. When Chief Inspector Black arrives, Eve is taken in by the kind stranger. Is this the start of a new life for Eve? Or is the horror just beginning?

Here is a captivating excerpt from the opening chapter, which is from Dinah's perspective:

"My heart is a dark passage, lined with ranks of gleaming jars. In each one something floats. The past, preserved as if in spirit. Here is the scent of grass and the sea, here the creak of wheels on a rough path, here a bright yellow gull’s beak. The sensation of blood drying on my cheek in the wind. Abel crying for his mother, Uncle’s hand on me. Silver on a white collarbone. The knowledge of loss, which comes like a blow to the heart or the stomach. It does not reach your mind until later.
She is there, too, of course. Evelyn. Somewhere along the rows, behind glass, she floats in the dim air. I do not seek her out. My survival depends on that."

Overall, Little Eve is a creepy horror novel that will appeal to fans of Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House or its sequel series. One highlight of this book is the silent terror that occurs in the book's setting. If I had to complain about 1 thing, I would say that there isn't as much action as in the author's newer books, like Sundial. That is completely understandable though, since this book was written before Sundial. I'm sure many readers will appreciate the atmospheric horror in this book. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes in October!

This is an gothic story which is not a light read but when I paid attention, could keep track of who and sort of why. Little Eve joins a mis-fit family on a mysterious island.. the story is engrossing and all encompassing.

When I received this ARC from NetGalley and saw that it had won the Shirley Jackson Award I knew I was in for a treat. This novel blew me away. a five star read for sure. Little Eve is a terrifyingly beautiful tale about a group of characters living under the thumb of their "uncle" in castle on a remote island. This is a very disturbing, but intoxicating tale that grabs the reader and will not relent. All is not as it seems and it slowly becomes apparent that there is something very sinister going on in Altnaharra.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4775903390

Little Eve tells the story of a family of orphaned children raised by their charismatic uncle who tries to shield them from the outside world. As the story unfolds, their idyllic island home starts to feel more like a cult-like compound with their uncle as an unhinged leader with outlandish beliefs. This is a beautifully written book that brings the seaside location and characters to life.

I got this free from Netgalley because it's being published in America for the first time this October. It won the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel.

This is a dark, gothic story complete with everything that you could want: a cult, a castle, constant storms, and atmosphere up the wazoo. Girls in white dresses. Couple of murders. It's all there. Good bit of mystery as well.

I really liked it.

Review Copy

Catriona Ward's first book LITTLE EVE is a soon to be released in America Gothic psychological thriller that gave her her writing beginning. Replace the word "psychological" with "those people are batsh*t nuts" and you have the story in a nutshell.

It was FANTASTIC!

Another place, another time, people are the same, aren't they? Always there, always taking advantage. And Ward's crating of the story was perfection. Once you figured out what was who and where was what, she took a turn. And then another.

Scotland will never be the same.

Add this to your tbr now.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the eARC.
Well, this is one book I can honestly say I was totally confused by. The first chapter was promising, but after that I got lost. It's as if my brain shut down and couldn't comprehend what was coming at it. After reading reviews and learning the book got 2 awards I was looking forward to it, but couldn't finish it. Sorry!

Written with a similar grit as Sundial, Catriona Ward gives us a new haunting tale. told mostly through the naive and innocent eyes of Eve, a young girl who grows up in a strange family on their own little island. However, her interactions with the ‘impure’ folk of the nearby town throw her worldview into turmoil as she separates fact from fiction. There is a reason the family does not speak of the past. And she uncovers those layers with twists and turns. Not everything is as it seems.