The House of Eve is the story of two black women who dream to be someone, who dream to be bigger than their family’s history. The history of women getting pregnant before marriage and being sent away to have their babies is not something new. In the 1940’s there were not many places that would take black women who were “soiled.” It is also not new that some women struggle to get pregnant. This is that story, a story of heartbreak, love, social status, social shame, and family.



It broke my heart how Ruby was treated by society. I wanted people to see that she was destined to be someone important. She had dreams, motivation, and the will to get what she wanted. She saw a path for her and made difficult decisions to get there. Eleanor was also following her dreams. She was in college working towards the life she wanted. The she met “Mr. Back” and things changed. Her life took a different path but I really liked that she kept on with her dreams and did not let society dictate what path her life should be.



Sadeqa Johnson wrote a book that I could not put down. I am a fan for life and will read everything she writes. The research and the emotions come through in her writing. She writes real books, with real characters living real lives.

4 stars. Emotional. Moved nicely. I enjoyed both Eleanor and Ruby's stories. I thought it took a minute to get to the intersect but then it became clear it was intentional and the point. Brava

Sadeqa Johnson knows how to tell a story, but I always find myself wanting more! I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I very much enjoyed this story with relatable characters and storylines. There were moments of joy and pain and it was all handled with class. I think what gets me is that the author gave us a few scenes that sorta peeked in but weren’t explored and I feel that if they had been, for me, this would have made a much better read over all.

I loved this!

There are 2 narrators, Ruby from Philadelphia and Eleanor from Ohio who is studying at Howard University in D.C.
Both narrators with have you rooting unabashedly for them as they move into the next phase of their lives.

Sadeqa Johnson is a phenomenal writer. Her 2021 novel, The Yellow Wife, was the book that inspired me to start my Bookstagram. The House of Eve immediately ushers you in to the world of the story.

Another amazing and eye opening read from Sadeqa Johnson. Two girls, two different lives fighting for the same chances in a world that sees color over intelligence, bravery, and worth. The book is based in Philadelphia where I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s. I grew up with diversity and I’m so grateful that I did. With that said, I never understood and never will understand what it was like for my friends of color. This is such an important read, but also an amazing one with such beautiful writing and powerful character development that I was there feeling those emotions every step of the way. Ms Johnson is an incredible writer. Don’t miss out on this as you will be missing something great. Thank you to Netgalley for a chance to read this.

The award-winning author Sadeqa Johnson returns following Yellow Wife with a meticulously researched, heartfelt, tragic, and moving tale —HOUSE OF EVE —two courageous black women in the 1950s whose lives connect in unexpected ways, inspired by a true story.

Set in the 1950s, we meet two intelligent young black women, Ruby and Eleanor, from different worlds. Told from Ruby and Eleanor's POVs.

Meet 15-year-old Ruby in Philadephia. She is smart and on track to be the first in her family to attend college. She hopes to win a scholarship to attend university and become an ophthalmologist. Her mother is not supportive and she moves in with her Aunt Marie. There she meets a young white Jewish boy, Shimmy. She becomes pregnant. His family (the mother) is unhappy and makes arrangements for her to go to a home for unwed girls to get her scholarship.

Meet Eleanor, from a small town in Ohio, who arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. She wants to major in history and become a library archivist. At Howard University, she meets and falls in love with a wealthy medical student, William. With an unexpected pregnancy, she hopes that she will fit in. However, they do not let just anyone into their family.

Both these women have dreams and are disappointed by what life throws their way. Both face life-altering decisions of motherhood, class, ambition, shame, prejudice, and forbidden love.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

Your heart will go out to these young women, especially Ruby, in the horrible home that treated all the girls badly and offered them little choice about their lives, babies, and bodies. Unlike the brochures advertised.

Eleanor was desperate to have a baby and loved her tenacity at the end, which was quite humorous. I loved how the two stories connected.

Sadeqa Johnson is a master storyteller, and I believe I loved this one even more than her last book. She grabs you from the first page and holds you until the satisfying conclusion. Her characters come alive on the page. They will linger long after the book ends.

Fully immersive, I enjoyed reading the AUTHOR'S NOTE, her personal story (the inspiration for the book), and how her grandmother became pregnant with her mother when she was only 14 years old. The reimaging and what if there were homes for unwed mothers for Black girls like her grandmother.

HOUSE OF EVE is a timely, redemptive, powerful, beautifully written yet haunting novel of resilience and sacrifices women make for themselves and their families.

I highly recommend—Top Books of 2023. For fans of the author Diane Chamberlain.

Thank you to #SimonandSchuster and #NetGalley for a gifted e-ARC. I also purchased the hardcover copy.

Blog Review posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustRead Books
My Rating: 5 Stars ++
Pub Date: Feb 7, 2023
Feb 2023 Must-Read Books
Top Books of 2023

This novel was beautifully written and very engaging. A dramatic depiction of race/class/women's issues set during the 1950s. A page turning story that packs a punch. Definitely a memorable and thought provoking read.

Wow! After reading Yellow Wife, I could not wait to get my hands on this authors next book. I won a copy off Goodreads, but have not received it yet, so Audible to the rescue. The author lets us know right away she used the terms from the 50’s because she wanted it to be authentic. I cannot imagine having to write the words of prejudices that still remain in society.

Philadelphia in the 50’s where fifteen-year-old Rudy is wanting to go to college. Her single mother is not the best role model, which can be a challenge. They live in poverty. Ruby is intelligent and her future is bright. Ruby’s dream is to be an ophthalmologist. Then Ruby falls for a boy which can jeopardizes her future, a white Jewish boy.

D.C. in the 50’s Eleanor has a vastly different life than Ruby. Her parents are working class and have saved their entire lives so their daughter can go to Howard University. She meets William Pride, a medical student. His mother is a snob and is not accepting of Eleanor. Will a pregnancy change her tune?

Both ladies have a path that will have you reading non-stop to find out what comes next. I was absolutely captivated and invested in both their stories.

1948 America. Ruby is a young Black woman struggling to beat the odds and get to college. Eleanor has beaten the odds and is attending Howard University but struggling to maintain her grades and pay for her education. Neither of them expected to have a man show up that might threaten their plans. But this isn't really a romance. This is more about choices, or lack of choices for people who are both female and Black in our society, and how each of them faced their challenges. I spent a lot of time wondering when and how the two women's paths would cross. I also spent a lot of time knowing that there was heartbreak ahead for at least one of them. Society doesn't make life easy for many, and some more than others. But even though this is fiction, I think it is important for us to stand witness to stories like this and know that just because this is fiction, it really does continue to happen. In her acknowledgements the author included information about how she came to tell this story and the historical roots of the characters and situations included. Despite the heavy themes included, this was an incredibly delightful and enjoyable read! I cherished the characters and treasured every moment spent reading this book!

I was NOT a fan of the yellow Wife. But something about the description of this one prompted me to give a Sadeqa Johnson book another chance.

I'm glad I did.

Using alternating chapters, we learn the stories of Ruby and Eleanor. Ruby is a high school sophomore in Philadelphia who has been accepted into a college prep program that could lead to a desperately needed scholarship so she can become an ophthalmologist. Eleanor is a sophomore at Howard University in Washington DC, working in the university research library where she catches the eye of pre-med student from a powerful Black family.

Growing up in DC, the book had already hooked me with descriptions of my city and my alma mater ( HU!).

But it was the stories of Evelyn AND Ruby that kept me reading.

Both fall in love with men outside their race/class/ethnicity - Ruby with a young Jewish boy Shimmy, and Eleanor with wealthy and light-skinned William(a part of society that Eleanor knows will never welcome her willingly)

This book is a great look at class, motherhood, privilege, and colorism in the black community.
I definitely recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The House of Eve
✨Out 2/7 ✨

Listen. I will always sign up to have Sadeqa Johnson break my heart through her beautiful writing. It always proves worth it.

The House of Eve is a tribute to womanhood. Black womanhood and motherhood in particular. The expectations put on women, and the way they must pick up the pieces when things fall apart around them.

Taking place in the 1950’s between Philly and DC, Eleanor and Ruby are two young women on separate, but connected paths. Both of these characters will stay with me long after I finished this read. I hope you love them, and this book as much as I did!

TW: Loss of pregnancy

Thanks #NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

Rating: 4.5/5⭐️
Pub day: Tomorrow!

It’s 1948 and we’re introduced to Ruby in Philadelphia and Eleanor in DC. We follow these two young black women as their lives change due to similar scholastic motivations and their choices when it comes to matters of the heart.

Johnson has such a knack for writing powerful stories while making you feel like you’re walking alongside the characters as their lives unfold. This is an incredible story that will stick with me for a very long time.

Historical Fiction lovers should definitely add this to the list. And if you haven’t read Yellow Wife, read that one first so you get the incredible connection between the two stories!

This is such a beautiful heart wrenching story. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of reading Eleanor and Ruby’s stories. This book makes you feel like you are apart of both woman’s lives and shows such a different story of how really life’s circumstances can truly change how one deals with life. Both women go through their own struggles. They both are trying to find out where they fit in the world they are living in. Ruby wants to ignore her feelings because she knows they can come to nothing, yet when she allows love to override what she knows is right her life’s path is forever changed. Her time in the House of Eve truly broke my heart. Yet I am so glad that her story ends the way it does. Eleanor is just raw and honest with knowing that she doesn’t fit into the world her husband comes from. That she fights to try and find a space within it, yet still struggles with her demons is just so real. It is important that we hear both Ruby and Eleanor’s stories. This is a book I will highly be recommending, but honestly, I think it is just going to take off on its own.
Thank you so very much to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

4.5 starts for the House of Eve! I never had a chance to read Sadeqa Johnson's well-loved novel Yellow Wife, but after reading the House of Eve, I definitely need to go back and read it this year! The House of Eve is such a compelling yet heartbreaking story of two black women navigating their futures in vastly different ways in 1950s America.

In alternating chapters, we learn the stories of Ruby and Eleanor. Ruby is a high school sophomore in Philadelphia who has been accepted into a college prep program with high hopes for a college education so she can become an ophthalmologist. Eleanor is a sophomore at Howard University in Washington DC, working in the university research library where she catches the eye of pre-med student from a powerful Black family.

Both women come from humble beginnings, especially Ruby who is living with her aunt after being kicked out of the house by her mother. Eleanor is from a working-class family in northeast Ohio. But both fall in love with men outside their race/class/ethnicity - Ruby with a young Jewish boy Shimmy, and Eleanor with the light skinned Black man, William.

Both women are strong and resilient as they face down the racism and classism they encounter. Their stories are equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful, and I loved both of them for it. Johnson writes about their stories from personal experience and extensive research. Be sure to read her author's notes - always one of my favorite parts of historical fiction - which help illuminate the story even further.

The House Of Eve takes place in the 1950s and alternates between the narrative of Ruby and Eleanor who are both young, intellectual, black women working for a brighter future for themselves. As the book goes on their stories begin to intersect.
Sadeqa Johnson did it again - this book dealt with tough topics. Parts were heartbreaking and other parts were heartwarming. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it's characters. Thank you net galley for the ARC.

Pretty much as soon as I finished reading Sadeqa Johnson’s Yellow Wife I went online to learn what else she’s written and if she had any new novels scheduled to publish soon. Not only did I discover that Johnson has already released several novels, I learned that she has a new historical fiction novel releasing soon and I was able to request a preview copy. The upcoming The House of Eve continues to explore many of the themes that were present in Yellow Wife almost a hundred years later – colorism and privilege within the Black community, motherhood and family, secrets, love and trust, are all explored from a new perspective as the Civil Rights movement approaches on the horizon and Johnson’s heroines stumble as they strive to capture opportunities their families have worked so hard to make possible for them.

In 1948 Philadelphia, Ruby Pearsall knows that the only chance she has of becoming an ophthalmologist is scoring one of two academic scholarships offered through the special program she managed to get into. Unfortunately, a difficult home situation makes participating in that program a challenge. Thrown out by her mother, Ruby moves in with her more reliable aunt but that throws a new obstacle in her way: a doomed friendship (and dangerous romance) with the son of her aunt’s Jewish landlord. At the same time, Howard University sophomore Eleanor Quarles focuses on her goal of becoming an archivist. It’s at the campus library working that she first meets medical student William Pride and a romance of her own begins to bloom. But early on she learns that his family are from a wealthy and exclusive set of wealthy and light-skinned Black society – a part of society that Eleanor knows will never welcome her willingly and will do everything it can to break up her and William with his mother leading the charge. When their plans go sideways, both young women must decide what they want their futures to look like and what sacrifices they’re willing to make along the way.

Womanhood and motherhood saturate The House of Eve. In the early pages the focus is more on the relationships grown children have with their mothers (and the relationships between significant others and their mothers) and the clashes that arise as children push to reconcile their personal dreams with those their parents envisioned and planned for them. As the novel progresses, it delves into the ways those plans and dreams are impacted when the specter of motherhood intrudes on young women (especially compared to their male counterparts). Looking at the examples set by their own mothers and other mothers around them, Ruby and Eleanor must make difficult choices about their futures in terms of what they want for themselves based on the options before them – not just what’s best for themselves, but for their future children as well. The mothers and mother figures in the novel cover a broad spectrum in terms of involvement in their children’s lives, personal prejudices, and individual circumstance. By the end of the novel, Ruby and Eleanor have both grown to see just how complicated the different maternal figures in their lives truly are with greater understanding leading to deeper compassion and more personal confidence.

When I finished Yellow Wife, part of me really wanted a sequel that explored the lives of the protagonist’s children and how they negotiated passing (or not passing) as white as the end of slavery and Reconstruction impacted race relations in the country. While The House of Eve isn’t exactly a sequel, it does continue Johnson’s explorations of themes of colorism and privilege within the Black community (and there is a more direct connection that emerges later in the novel as an Easter egg for those like me who had been hoping for a little more of Yellow Wife and its characters). During a lot of my African American and early 20th century literature classes, we studied figures such as W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, and Marcus Garvey and learned about differences in opinion on questions of race within the Black community through their philosophies and work. What Johnson manages to do in The House of Eve is help to actually show what some of those battling ideas and philosophies actually looked like in practice and amid the realities of larger society ¬– how they played out for everyday people and the tensions and disparities that arose with time in those decades leading up to what we now recognize as the Civil Rights era.

The House of Eve will be available February 7, 2023.

I can easily see this book on my top ten list of 2023! It was so good! Johnson is so detailed in her historical fiction writing that it is hard not to fall into the pages and imagine you are part of the story.

We are introduced to two young Black women in the 1950s, one from Philadelphia and the other from Washington D.C. and we watch as their worlds ultimately collide. The young women both are trying to pave a place for themselves in a dominating white society. This book displays some of the ways this country was set up to make these women's pursuits next to impossible.

Johnson explored many themes throughout and colorism in the Black community was a big one. But for me the central theme throughout was motherhood in all its complexities. There are many different ways to become a mother, and different styles of mothering and we get many different looks at them in this book. Motherhood is full of sacrifices both intentional and unintentional, and we see many of these sacrifices throughout this heart wrenching novel.

You don't want to miss out on reading this one. Sadeqa Johnson has quickly become an auto buy author for me.

A Black teenage girl in 1950's Philadelphia faces a pregnancy that will disrupt her plans for college. A Black woman in DC who has married into a prominent Black family has just suffered a miscarriage. Johnson takes us on a journey through their lives and the decisions that need to be made while illustrating the historical constraints that existed at that time.

Since Yellow Wife was one of my favorite books in 2022, I couldn’t wait to read Sadeqa Johnson’s latest novel, The House of Eve. In both of these books, the author uncovers and brings previously hidden history to light.

Set in the early 1950s in DC and Philadelphia, two women from different backgrounds sacrifice for educational opportunities. Through vivid characters and a fast-paced plot, the book addresses options for unwed mothers and how adoptions were handled during this time period along with the factors influencing outcomes. Inspired by the author’s family history, the book examines the impact poverty, race, class, and color have on the resources available to these women.

Historical fiction fans will enjoy The House of Eve, and I think it would also be a terrific book club selection. There’s a lot to discuss here!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

In her follow up to Yellow Wife, Sadeqa Johnson brings us the story of two black women: Ruby, a teenager living in North Philly and Evelyn, a freshman at Howard University. Both women fall in love with men out of their reach.  Working class Evelyn falls in love with a medical student from a prominent and wealthy black family while Ruby falls for a white Jewish boy named Shrimpy. Their stories intersect in a very unusual way.

As she explains in her author’s note, Johnson wanted to write a book about what it was like to be a black woman in the 1950s. More specifically, what it was like to be a pregnant, unwed mother in the 1950s. Let’s just say it sucked. The racism and prejudice these women faced from whites - and other blacks - was eye-opening. It’s one thing to know about things like racism and colorism, but it’s another to see it through the eyes of a character.

Oh yeah, the characters – Johnson is a master at characterization, especially when it comes to writing strong women. Evelyn and Ruby (and the other women) jumped off the page like living, breathing people.  I tweeted that Johnson’s books nurture my imposter syndrome.  It wasn’t a joke.  She’s brilliant.

I received an advanced read in exchange for my honest review.