The Book of Eve is about a nun in 15th century Italy named Beatrice who comes into possession of a mysterious book that seems to have powers that she never expected. I found the first half of the book quite slow and I almost gave a up a couple of times. The story picked up from there and it did become more interesting. I found Beatrice to be quite pretentious at times, using uncommon words to show she was smarter than the other nuns (and maybe the readers), which annoyed me a little but she did slowly grow on me by the end. I liked some of the other characters liked Diana and Mother Chiara and thought Brother Abramos was a good villian. I also liked how the book showed women were controlled by men and how women had to be smarter to get around the rules imposed on them. Overall I enjoyed the book, but it was a little too slow for me.

The Book Of Eve by Meg Clothier is a feminist imaging of the mysterious Voynich Manuscript- I manuscript I haven’t heard ( thank you google for enlightening me).
I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.
Beatrice is the narrator and accidental keeper of a mysterious book that everyone is after but particularly the religious men who control the local town and have a real need to keep the women in the convent in their place. Beatrice was particularly hard character to get to know, there were times when I really didn’t warm to her but eventually we learn the story about her past and can understand why she is so closed off to people. Beatrice story and her eventual growth as a woman was the highlight of the book for me. The complicated relationship between her stepmother and the rest of her family forms the heart of the story.
The writing was descriptive, and I have to confess felt very wordy for me at times, the book and the story comes alive when the women in the book talk to each other and I wish there was more of this.
The book captures the hold religion has on society especially women in the past.
The book ends in a magical and explosive ending which was truly spectacular and brings the book together.
This book is more literary than fantasy which isn’t my sort of thing, but I Imagine will appeal to readers who enjoy a well-written and thoughtful book.

I am a bit of a newbie when it comes to the fantasy and mythology genre, but, I am widening my perspectives and so far loving it. The author has done this brilliantly. The story is beautifully written, the characters come alive on the page, the settings pop and all characters have believable voices.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

I really enjoyed this book! I’m a sucker for anything with libraries and special books. I became invested in the main character, Beatrice, and also the intrigue surrounding the book. At times I felt like too much time was spent on random details that didn’t matter to the story and I would find myself skimming to get to the good parts. Other than that, it was a solid read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the ARC.

3/5 stars! The premise of this book was so unique and special. I was really excited to start it. After finishing the book, I can say that the story was powerful and interesting, but extremely slow. There were several areas where chucks could have been removed to pick up the pacing and get us to the same result. Overall, enjoyable but could use some improved pacing in future works.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

There is a lot of characters and a lot of information to retain in this book. And at times it can be confusing and ruin the experience but overall I enjoyed my reading of this book. Definitely looking out for the next book from this author

An excellent story despite being somewhat slow to start and at times rather confusing. Beatrice is beautifully portrayed showing the way she matures and becomes more understanding as all the while the 'holy' men of the city become more threatening. The final third of the book is compelling and utterly gripping but it was a bit of a struggle to get to this point.

Firstly I thank Headline for a copy of ‘The book of Eve by Meg Clothier.

I really wanted to like this book and I liked the premise of this story. But I found this book to be really slow and confusing due to the amount of different characters in this story. So, I started losing interest.
I also think that I am not the right type of audience for this book. So it is three stars from me.

The Book of Eve is the perfect average three star read for me.

The mix of characters and plot seemed 50/50 but I could not find myself connecting with the MC or sides. The writing is descriptive, yet there was quite a bit more dialogue than I am used to when reading a first person POV story, which is generally my preference. The story comes across almost like reading a screen play. It was a bit slow paced but in the end I cannot say I disliked it or loved it. just perfectly content.
TW: body horror & sexual harassment

A convent in 15th C Italy sounded like just the place I wanted to be. It was a chilling and unique place to be sure and once the nun had found this mystical script I was intrigued.

Secret books, forbidden texts and this is all based on true fact!

Veers off into the weird sometimes but on the whole I really enjoued this.

While I ultimately enjoyed this novel, I found the story telling and narrative style to be a bit confusing. I had a hard time following parts of the plot early on, which made major points in the end a bit foggy. Overall, I liked the ethos of the book, though, and the female-led cast.

The Book of Eve is historical fiction with a mystical touch. The story is told by Sister Beatrice, the convent's librarian. When two badly injured women are left at the convent doors Beatrice finds a mysterious book hidden among their possessions; a book some want to destroy. The suspense of what would happen next kept me turning pages. Thanks to the author Meg Clothier, publisher Headline, Wildfire, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The premise of this story held so much intrigue - a magical book that women were ready to protect and even die for. A book that male zealots want destroyed.

The story centres around Sister Beatrice, librarian in a convent, who is tasked with protecting the book after it arrives one night.

I found this a difficult book to read as it felt disjointed. The story had a lot of characters who appeared surplus and didn’t add to the storyline. I felt as though the potential for The Book of Eve and the magic contained was not used to full potential.




Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in return for an honest review

The description of this book sounded absolutely fascinating and the book started off really well, I was hooked by the end of the first chapter,
Unfortunately this book lost me very quickly thereafter.
It felt like a chore to keep reading, I found none of the characters interesting and while the story was an interesting one, I felt that the writing made it slow.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a great book! Nicely flowing and some great characters. The plot comes together as more is revealed to the protagonist and I was up well past my bedtime as the twists and turns keep up the pace! The convent setting is perfect and the mystical elements were spot on. I read this on the recommendations of a trusted blogger and he wasn’t wrong!

A convent in 15th C Italy. The Queen has sent the pontifex’s daughter a forbidden book accompanied by two women. After being attacked and shortly before they die, they entrust the book to Sister Beatrice, the convent’s librarian.
This novel is about dogma, heresy, bigotry, misogyny, sisterhood and… magic.
I will not claim to have understood it in its entirety - I think it would require a stout knowledge of the Classics - but I enjoyed it.
The plot is inspired by the 15th C Voynich manuscript, a book that, to date, has not been deciphered.
The register slips a few times: no 15th century nun would say “(…) nice one, Sister Librarian. When you going to do me?”. I could not picture the many protagonists, nor the layout of the convent.
All in all, an interesting story of a convent under siege.

I sped through this book in about two days. It’s full of mystery and suspense with plenty of likable characters, and one EXTREMELY unlike el character (who is so terrible you love to hate him!). I’ve read similar books, but nothing from this particular time period or location. While I am a little familiar with the ‘book’ (manuscript) that is the basis for the story, it only made me want to learn more about it! A VERY interesting take on myth and mythology and the power of women when they work together for the greater good of all of them.

Enjoyed this very much. It's an historical book full of magic, mystery and suspense. I really engaged with the characters especially Sister Beatrice the librarian but also the other inhabitants of the convent who were equally convincing. Beatrice is given a book by two women who are being hunted down and subsequently die leaving her to find out the mysteries contained in the book and the power it holds. Set in an era where most men were misogynists, especially so called religious figures, it is a tribute to female strength, power and resilience.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the chance to preview this book.

Rounding up to 3 stars

I found this book so slow to start going anywhere, and then I struggled to give it the attention it probably needed due to this.
At times I wasn't entirely sure what was going on.
Despite that, I read to the end, as parts of it captured my attention.
It's a case of wrong book, wrong person this time.

The concept of this book was great. The pacing was just too slow - very little seemed to happen in the first 100 pages despite such an exciting start.