The House of Eve follows two different women in the 1950's whose lives collide in the most unexpected of ways. Ruby is a 15 year old living in Philadelphia. She is on track to be the first in her family to attend college. But a love affair that she has tends to threaten that. Elenor lives in Washington, DC and attends Howard University. While at Howard she meets William and they fall in love. William comes from a wealthy black family in DC. In order to fit in with his family Elenor tries to have a baby. But having a baby and fitting in is easier said than done. Both women are just trying to figure things out and belong.

Trigger Warnings: Miscarriage

I was really excited to read this because I loved The Yellow Wife. And this author lives in Virginia and I love reading books from authors that live in my state. I did like this book. But I think The Yellow Wife was better. I felt like the first half of this book was a little slow for me. However, I did like the second half. I think this was a good historical fiction novel. But I don't think that this is one I am going to want to reread. I will say this book also did deal with some deep topics. But overall a solid read and I would suggest both this one and The Yellow Wife. And I would like to read more books by this author in the future.

Thank you Sadeqa Johnson, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Quick and Dirty⁣
-dual POV historical fiction⁣
-BIPOC author/own voices story⁣
-infertility/pregnancy loss triggers⁣
-incredibly rich characters⁣
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Synopsis⁣
Ruby is determined to get that scholarship if it's the last thing she does! She's desperate to be the first of her family to go to college, so everything she does is in service of that goal. Until she meets Shimmy and things go barrelling off the tracks. Meanwhile, Eleanor is focused on finishing her degree when she's sidetracked by William, a handsome young medical student. They come from different worlds, but life has plans for the two of them whether his mother likes it or not. Both Ruby and Eleanor will make mistakes and hard choices along the way, some of which will link them forever.⁣
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Musings⁣
This was my first Sadeqa Johnson novel, and it will NOT be my last. I adored her writing style, even if I found her choice of narration styles a little odd at first. Ruby's story is told from a first-person narrative while Eleanor's story is told from a third-person narrative. When I finally let go of the confusion and ran with it I was sucked in! I absolutely adored the cast of characters and the dialogue in the book. There was so much tension and raw emotion in the lives of the characters, particularly Ruby, that you can't help but feel as though you're walking in their shoes and seeing through their eyes. And while the love stories of both women are compelling, one becomes a cautionary tale while the other becomes a fairytale. Still, both are fraught with suffering and sadness, and any human with a beating heart will be moved by the experience of these characters.

The House of Eve by was easily a five star book for me. Yellow Wife was one of my top books of 2021 so I was eagerly anticipating Sadeqa Johnson's newest book.

Set in Philly and Washington DC in the early 1950s this book looks at motherhood and life aspirations through two women and the tough decisions they make when faced with an unplanned pregnancy.

This book is so well written. While the story isn't new, the way Johnson writes her characters and makes you think about the choices and dreams of these women you are drawn in. This book looks at tough and sensitive topics such as sexual assault, miscarriage, infertility, racism, classism, antisemitism and adoption with grace and told in a well written and wonderful story. I loved the mini tie in to Yellow Wife at the end.

Sadeqa Johnson is a must read author for me and I highly recommend reading The House of Eve and Yellow Wife.

I was excited to get my hands on an advanced readers copy of this book as I had previously read Yellow Wife, also written by this author, and loved it! The House of Eve follows the lives of two very different women living in the 1950s. Ruby is a 15 year old teen living in poverty in Philadelphia but doing her best to fulfill her dream of going to college. She ends up having an affair with a white teenage boy, which is taboo in those days and which nearly derails her dream. Eleanor is a freshman at Howard University when she meets handsome William Pride They fall madly in love with each other and end up getting married. William’s mother is against the relationship from the start believing that Eleanor is beneath William and that he can do better. Without giving anything away, Eleanor’s constant struggles not only with her mother-in-law but with her feelings of insecurity negatively effect her life and marriage.
The author does a tremendous job of researching and writing this story. Both of these women are portrayed as strong women, trying to overcome tremendous obstacles. I have to admit I felt more of admiration for Ruby and all that she endured as I felt that Eleanor became this very whiny woman as the story went on. The connection between these two women is a bit predictable but overall it is a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book but I will admit that I liked Yellow Wife better.
Special note - be sure to read the author’s note as her explanation as to why she wrote this story is incredibly interesting!
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Some content warnings that some may need before reading this book:




Infertility
Infant loss
Miscarriage
Forced adoption
Poor/abusive parenting


Two POVs, historical fiction, a storyline that is riveting and pulls the reader along, and two lives that unknowingly intertwine... Sadeqah Johnson has another hit on her hands! I have loved this author since Second House From the Corner (that one was a dramatic nail biter for me)- only because I haven't yet found time to read her debut, Love in a Carry-On Bag.

Ruby and Eleanor, our dual POVs live almost opposite lives- one poor and scratching to survive, the other privileged but whose money can't bring her the thing she desires most. I thought, for about a chapter or two, that this book was going to turn into something I didn't want to read- an interracial romance where couple has to fight racist relatives to be together. To my surprise, the book took a swerve into a compelling direction.

I know endings are hard... I feel though like it's rushed and like the near-miss is a smidge disappointing. The ending was OKAY, but it would have been interesting if the tie between both lives could make contact and bring things full circle. Ruby, in the end seems accomplished but sad?


I think Historical fiction might be Johnson's lane, because right behind Yellow Wife, this book was a hit. A great read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this arc of The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson!

I really liked this story of the two parallel lives of Eleanor and Ruby. In the beginning I kept reading because I really wanted to know where this was going, but by 25% I was just so invested in both women equally I couldn't put it down. Themes of racism, family planning, and adoption are the most prevalent and I love the way Johnson just gives everything to you straight without a ton of overly descriptive language that makes the story drag on.

This is out 02/07 and I highly recommend. This would also make a fantastic book club pick for this year.

Sadeqa Johnson has a powerful voice in historical fiction. I loved "Yellow Wife" and "House of Eve" was just as strong of a novel.

In "House of Eve" the story alternates chapters between Ruby and Eleanor. Ruby is a high schooler living in Philadelphia. Her mother kicks her out of the house so she lives with her aunt. She is working hard in a high school program to secure a college scholarship so she can pull herself out of poverty once and for all. But her plans are threatened when she falls in love with a caring boy named Shimmy.

Eleanor is a first generation college student working toward her degree at Howard in Washington, D.C. She meets and falls in love with a man named William who is from the elite class of Washington. While they eventually marry, she never truly feels accepted by William's family or community and her complications with pregnancy make this even more difficult.

I equally enjoyed both characters. The chapters are relatively short and I found myself not wanting to leave one character behind while also wanting to pick back up with the other character's storyline. These parallel characters feature strong, ambitious, and conflicted women.

MILD SPOILERS BELOW!!
As a mild spoiler I think it is important to mention that a good portion of this book deals with pregnancy loss in different forms. I appreciate Sadeqa Johnson as a writer for not shying away from tough issues, but the reader should know that there are detailed descriptions of miscarriage and second trimester loss. Later in the book, Ruby is at a home for pregnant teens that places the babies for adoption. There are some realistic and difficult scenes during this portion of the book as well.
END SPOILERS HERE

This book is heart rending but powerful and imagines a part of history that hasn't frequently been touched on. Johnson is an auto-read author for me and while her books have tough subject matter I can't wait to see what else she has in store for her readers.

It's the 1950s and two young, ambitious young women find themselves pregnant in very different circumstances. Ruby falls hard for Shimmy, the son of her aunt's landlord, but he's Jewish and well, she's both black and very poor. She's been dreaming of and working toward a college scholarship through a program for young people but finds herself cast adrift by pregnancy. Eleanor's parents scrimped and saved to send her to Howard, where she's become entranced by archival documents and now by William the handsome medical student scion of a wealthy and pale Washington family. Her unexpected pregnant leads to marriage but then.....How these two women meet and the result might not be a surprise but the characters are well formed and very sympathetic. Johnson has good storytelling skills and she's hit a sweet spot exploring life in the 1950s. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I enjoyed the dual perspective of this narrative. The two main characters are Ruby and Eleanor, both compelling. Their stories pulled me in from the very beginning. Sadeqa Johnson beautifully wrote about two topics that, during the 1950s, were covered up and not discussed. I love how the two main characters were both well-developed black women who were intelligent and determined to go after what they wanted. The ending was everything was so well done.

Johnson does an amazing job of bringing 1950s to life and the live of Ruby Pearsall, a poor teen girl, and Eleanor, who marries into the Black Elite, and how the House of Eve brings them together. So well paced and memorable!

A Compelling Page-Turner of Two American Girls

Sadeqa Johnson is an original voice and writer. If you read The Yellow Wife, this book will enhance your understanding of racisim and separation within the Black communities. The author presents her story introducing us to two girls, Eleanor and Ruby. They are very different but despite their backgrounds, they had similarities. Both girls are academically bright with solid goals for accomplishment.

Ruby’s mother was very young and ignored her. She received some care and solace from her aunt. Eleanor came from a family with a mother and father; both parents worked hard and wanted Eleanor to have a better, easier life than they did. It was harder for Ruby to even get to school on time. No one really helped her. She has a goal of winning a college scholarship to become an ophthalmologist. It’s an elusive goal, she often does not have the money (car fare) to get on a bus to arrive on time for school.

Eleanor is at Howard University. If you believe this university was without a social pyramid, it was somewhat shocking to learn that this hierarchy is based on skin color and wealth. The lighter skinned blacks who have money are on top. Their families separate themselves from dark-skinned blacks without wealth. I have read about this separate group for years.

Eleanor fell in love with William Pride, a med student, and he introduces her to his self-segregating family. Ruby, looking for some human privacy, falls for a Jewish boy, Shimmy, of all people. William’s mother is not accepting of Eleanor, and Shimmy’s Jewish mother has a plan to separate her son from the Negro girl. Ruby’s strength and fate is the center and focus of the novel. All you need to know about segregation and cruelty can be discovered when Ruby becomes pregnant. Having children is a focal point for both Ruby and Eleanor.

As a young girl during the historical 1940-1950’s timeframe of this novel, I saw racisim in restaurants, buses, schools, restrrooms, neighborhoods and the workplace. Even then it was ghastly. Blacks were called Negros and segregation was acceptable in the South. Other races were reviled, but the Blacks were abused and insulted.

Read the author’s epilogue to learn about her own background and earnest goals for this novel. Ms. Johnson has an original view of her race placing her characters in supberb, honest narratives.

My gratitude to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this pre-published copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC,
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐯𝐞 is told from the alternating points of view of Ruby Pearsall and Eleanor Quarles. Ruby is 15-years-old and set to be the first in her family to go to college. Eleanor meets a handsome aspiring doctor at Howard University and they fall madly in love. These women’s stories collide in the most unexpected of ways.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:

• I can honestly say that I think this is going to be one of my top reads of the year
• the story is told from the alternating points of view of Ruby and Eleanor
• Johnson does an absolutely incredible job of bringing her characters to life. I cried for them. I felt joy and love for them. Reading this book was an experience
• the idea of the Magdalene House was absolutely astonishing (and not in a good way)
• the Author’s Note was a vital component of the story. The research that was done for this novel was evident. Johnson includes the staggering statistics of forced adoptions in home for unwed mothers
• there will be 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 for some readers concerning miscarriages and motherhood
the ending gave me chills. I had goosebumps. I can’t wait for other to read this one so we can chat!

This book is heartwarming and heart wrenching at the same time. Both amazing women not having the rights they should.

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. This book was so well done. I felt for all of the characters, especially Ruby, and I loved the little twist at the end. I also loved reading about Johnson’s research process. No one is doing historical fiction like she is. I will read anything she writes.

Sadeqa Johnson has uniquely woven the lives of Ruby and Eleanor, two woman who struggle to achieve their goals of graduating from different historically black colleges in the 1950s. Heartwarming and heart wrenching, these ladies will keep you rooting for them to the last page and beyond.

After absolutely devouring the Yellow Wife, I was excited to have a chance to read the authors next book, and I am so glad to say that her sophomore novel did not disappoint. She crafted a story that is at the same time gut wrenching as well as emotionally charged and hopeful. Told from two very different POV, the story will have you burning through the pages. As predictable as it was in what was going to happen, the journey to getting there for each of the sets of characters was vastly different and gripping.

The story takes place in in the 1950s and alternates between the lives of Ruby, a high school sophomore in Philadelphia and Eleanor, a sophomore at Howard university in DC. They are both African American women in taboo relationships that aren’t socially acceptable for the time and will affect their futures and decisions they make will connect them in an unlikely way.
Ruby is from the “wrong” side of the tracks and is working to be the first in her family to go to college when she falls for the young Jewish boy from the family who owns the shop across the street and who also owns the building they live in.
Eleanor comes from middle class but falls in love with William, who comes from very a wealthy background and is on track to be the third generation physician.
The challenges these relationships face are similar and yet different and involve several triggers so please be aware.- stereotypes, poverty, sexual abuse, miscarriage, adoption are just a few.
This story captivated me and I enjoyed reading about her research at the end of the story as well

Thanks to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

I really enjoyed the book Yellow Wife by this author so I was extremely excited to read this book because I knew it would be amazing….and it was!

I finished this book a couple of weeks ago and I am still thinking about it today. Not many books/authors can do that, but Sadeqa Johnson writes in such a compelling way and her books are so well-researched that they do it to me every time!! Make sure to read the author’s notes at the end for a more detailed description of her research methods.

Dual timelines, The story alternates between the lives of Ruby, a high school sophomore in Philadelphia, and Eleanor a sophomore at Howard University, in DC both African American women in the 1950s.

Both women have humble upbringings and are aspiring to make something of themselves. Johnson writes strong likable MCs and I was fully immersed in the story.

The women find themselves in taboo relationships that don’t fit the social norms of the times and their decisions will shape the trajectory of their lives.

The story shows the struggles and the ugliness of racism/classism that the characters faced. I found myself reflecting on life today for black women and women of all races/colors and how far we have come, and yet in some instances, how much further we still need to go.

This book deals with many heavy themes and at times is heartbreaking, but that is also the reason why it’s a story that will stick with you long after you have read the last page. If unwed mothers, motherhood, racism or taboo relationships are a TW for you, you may want to pass on this read.

Johnson writes stories with well-developed characters and thorough research. Her books are both thought-provoking and heartbreaking. This story revolves around racism, but it is so much more….it is also a story of love, motherhood, courage/ambition and the heartache of forbidden love. The ending is magical and well worth reading just for that!

I savored reading this book. Johnson’s books are like wine, ingested with flavor and highly memorable.
I thought I had figured out the connection between Ruby and Eleanor but then doubt it, only to have it confirmed.
Both women found themselves in the same predicament that many women prior to 1973 did: pregnant and unmarried. The description of treatment the girls received at the “home”is appalling, but sadly not surprising.
The author details their journeys in a compelling manner. There is a connection to Johnson’s previous book, but I won’t reveal what it is.
I read the book the author references in her historical note many years ago and I’ve never forgotten it.
I’m eager to read her next book to see if she picks up the thread of some of the characters from this book.

The House of Eve is a dual narrative story which takes place during the 1950's against the backdrop of racial prejudice. Ruby is a teenager living in Philadelphia. She is in the We Rise Program, which offers the chance of a college scholarship and the start to a better life after a world of struggle. Eleanor is the first member of her family to attend college. She is hard working, going to school and working two jobs to make ends meet. She meets and falls in love with William Pride, a black medical student and the son of wealthy parents.

Both women are working hard for brighter futures, forbidden love and unplanned pregnancies present obstacles to their futures.

The author did a great job in creating compelling characters that you were able to connect with and found yourself rooting for them to succeed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this fascinating story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own!

After reading Yellow Wife last year I am so thankful that I was able to read an advanced copy of this story! I really love this author writing, and this story was no exception. Hard to read at times, this is just a reminder how far women have come and still how far we have left to go!