An interesting read, based on the Voynich Manuscript which I'd not heard of and more reference material on this at the beginning would be helpful for the enjoyment of the story which unfolds slowly but beautifully. Set in a Covent where Beatrice is the librarian this is dark and mysterious with a sprinkling of magic.

A unique feminist interpretation of the Voynich Manuscript, following a convent librarian's struggles with religious fanaticism and the patriarchy. Enchanting and fun to read.

I found "The Book of Eve" difficult to get engaged with. There were a lot of characters but what I struggled with was the slow pace of the book, which had me skimming several sections. I think it is a good fit for people who are interested in libraries.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

‘The Book of Eve’ follows a young nun called Beatrice as she comes into the possession of a mysterious book, passed to her by stranger unable to share its secrets before they succumb to illness. It would appear that the book has strange powers and writing that even Beatrice, the convent’s librarian, has not seen before; but can Beatrice hold on to it long enough to decipher its messages before it attracts the attention of those who want to see it destroyed?

I thought that the premise of this novel sounded intriguing and in the same genres as I usually really enjoy, historical fiction with magical realism. However, it didn’t capture my full interest as much as I had hoped.

I thought the plot was original and had the potential to be really exciting and possibly even incendiary but I struggled to warm to Beatrice and many of the other characters felt only partially formed. The characters of Chiara, Archangela, Hildegard and Diana were more fully formed but I’d have liked much more from Hildegard and Diana – two very interesting, strong female characters.

The scene setting was particularly good and I enjoyed the contrast between the ordered life within the convent walls and the celebrations and rioting going on outside in the city. The story starts to pick up pace within the second half and there are some revelations that certainly captured my attention but I found these quite brief and left me with the feeling that I wasn't sufficiently invested in Beatrice's fate.

Four stars for the original idea, sense of place, attention to detail and overall execution.

Many thanks to the publisher, Headline, for the advance copy on which this review is based.

I had a hard time with this one because there was downloading issues. When it was finally taken care of though I did very much enjoy this book

You know when you have a few books lined up to read and one of them sounds ok, but it doesn’t quite excite you as much as the others? That was The Book of Eve… but I enjoyed it much more than my original expectations.

It’s an enchanting book from Meg Clothier, full of religion and magic. There are plenty of biblical and classical references, but it’s never heavy… it’s historical fiction with added mysticism.

Beatrice is the convent librarian, burying herself in her manuscripts, shunning the company of her sisters.

One carnival night, two women are left dying outside the convent’s walls. As she dies, one gives Beatrice a book whose pages have a dangerous life of their own.

But the men of faith want to destroy the book, and a fanatical priest is coming for it. Beatrice must choose - save the women or the book?

At the heart of the story is a man who wants power and to gain it he will happily trample the women in his way. More than that, he enjoys it, and shows signs of a typical abuser.

It’s not really his story though. It’s the story of the women who stand up to him and the men around him. The story of women bound with the mysterious book. Their characters are rich and varied, their backgrounds slowly unwinding. And it’s a story to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and publishers Wildfire for an early copy, which I have reviewed honestly and in my own words.

This one was just not for me although I see others have found it really engaging. I came back to it several times but , sadly, it just didn’t capture my interest.

This book sounded really interesting so I was excited to start reading.

However, I really struggled to get into it. I found there was too much going on and too many characters. It’s also written very much in the style of the times or situation they’re in so sometimes was hard to get a nice reading rhythm.

This is just personal preference.

This is such an interesting historical read. I did find the pace a little slow, and the cast of characters quite convoluted. But overall I'm pleased istuck with it

Unfortunately, this one was a DNF for me. The beginning was a little too slow and too confusing for me to get into it. I enjoyed the prose though and the unique idea.

“I’m not raging,” she rages…

There are parts of this that are beautifully written. You can clearly tell the writer has spent a huge amount of time researching words and etymology in order to create a world that is linguistically situated in the historical moment she was trying to recreate, brilliantly done.

However I do think the narrative chops and changes too quickly too often by the end. It feels fragmented and almost unsatisfying at times, but also farfetched. The writer had gone to such extreme care to make this feel like historical fiction that the twists felt really conspicuous and jarring, especially as I found this a slow burner (it got exciting halfway through).

The protagonist is 3D and complex, and the horrors/dilemmas that women face feel pertinent. Overall, well written.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like "The Book of Eve" by Meg Clothier as it had been likened to The Binding and Handmaid's Tale. Sadly, I didn't find it as engaging as those books. It is interesting at the beginning as the story sets up, and with glimpses of Green Mary, I really wanted to find out much more about this cult/religion than was revealed in the book. At times, it did remind me of Kate Mosse's style of writing (epic and historical) but sadly for me not as engaging.

A very slow read for me. I felt the plot crept along, which while is keeping with the tone of the book, was not something I enjoy to read. Felt like drawing blood from a stone. But I understand why it's written that way
However I think it will be a big hit for a book fan centred around special books and libraries so much
So much mystery and intrigue I imagine it'll be a hit for many people

I love a book that features a religious setting and I love stories about books so this one ticked so many boxes before I even opened it!

I did find it a bit slow to begin with as I worked out what was happening and wrapped my head round the characters but once it got going I really enjoyed this one.

The writing style really adds to the sense of the time period (renaissance Italy) and I loved the glimpses in to who the women were before they came into the convent

Life in the convent offers the community of women protection from much of the world but they are still ultimately at the mercy of the men outside the convent. When their way of life is challenged by these men, the women come to realise their power not only as individuals but as a community. I loved watching this element of the story unfold.

Thanks to Headline for the chance to read an early copy

The Book of Eve is historical fiction set in a convent where Eve, recently elevated to librarian, takes receipt of a mysterious book. The way of life for Eve and her Order is well depicted and Eve herself is an intriguing lead character. At times the book's plotting seemed at the expense of propulsion but the world building is worth sticking with.

Now I try not to give negative feedback on books, this book had a good storyline but I felt it a little slow at times, it had a mixture of characters that seemed to flit quite a lot so difficult to keep up, but I felt like the story hadn’t as much about the book as I would have liked, but it has potential in places and a happy ending for Bea so there’s always a bonus there.
I think for those that will read it find out about the Voynich manuscript beforehand as this may help with the storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wildfire for the ARC.
The premise of this book is so gripping, as are the first few chapters, but I’m afraid I can’t say the same about the middle of the story. I got a bit lost in some details that I don’t think added anything to the plot, and it was hard to become attached to any of the characters. Beatrice is a finely crafted first-person narrator, but I felt as though I wasn’t getting enough of her internal dialogue (thoughts, emotions, etc.) and so things happen with a 1P perspective and not much of a follow-through. The ending wrapped everything up nicely. A totally okay novel if you are into mysticism, occult, old books, religious themes, and so on, but nothing to write home about.

Thank you to Headline for the opportunity to rate and review this book which is out March 2,2023.

This book was a powerhouse of a read. It was haunting, brutal and would not release its grip on me. Pacing was steady. Characters grabbed you. The entire premise was excellent and executed to perfection. I thoroughly enjoyed every single second of it

In hindsight I should have found out a little about the Voynich manuscript before reading this book. The manuscript is an early 15th century text in an as yet undeciphered script with many illustrations. Meg Clothier takes this as the foundation of her novel. I would have found some form of prologue or author's note useful to help understand the story. Without this I found it very difficult to know what the book was trying to do. I struggled to maintain interest in the first half of the book which is set in a convent in an unspecified time, a probable Italy and a slightly masked Catholicism. The book picked up pace in the second half and appears to be a feminist expose of the misogyny of organised Christian religion. As such it should have appealed to me but I felt the author could not decide what approach to take: fantasy, historical, fictional biography .... The overall message of sisterhood is powerful took a long time to be made clear.

First of all, let me just say: wow! I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this book, but I’m fascinated by stories about religious orders, so when I saw ‘The Book of Eve’ I just had to read it.

It’s hard to talk too much about the story without giving key plot elements away, but I will say the setting was incredibly detailed, the writing style so evocative, and Beatrice was a brilliant protagonist. I’m not a fan of characters the author clearly wants us to like— Beatrice is, thankfully, not that. She’s a wonderful protagonist and narrator, misunderstood, a little bit difficult, single-minded. I loved reading from her perspective.

The last 25% or so of the book was unexpectedly dark, with some rather disturbing imagery — but as I enjoy that sort of thing, I’m not complaining! Certain scenes and descriptions are still haunting me a day later.

Honestly amazing. I look forward to reading this again.