Little Eve by Catriona Ward is a gothic masterpiece that showcases her exceptional talent for crafting narratives laced with deception, suspense, and relentless twists. Set on a remote Scottish island in the aftermath of World War I, the novel follows a secretive, insular cult-like family whose dark rituals and fractured loyalties set the stage for a haunting mystery. Ward’s storytelling is labyrinthine—just when the reader feels they’ve grasped the truth, the narrative shifts, peeling back another layer of deception.

What sets Ward apart is her ability to embed twists that feel not only shocking but inevitable in hindsight. Each revelation deepens the emotional and psychological complexity of the characters, especially Eve, whose voice is both haunting and heartbreakingly human. The prose is atmospheric and immersive, rich with dread and beauty, drawing readers into a world where nothing is quite what it seems.

Ward doesn’t rely on cheap thrills; instead, she builds a carefully structured narrative where every twist feels earned. The result is a novel that constantly redefines itself, keeping the reader in a state of taut anticipation. Little Eve is a chilling, intricately woven tale that confirms Catriona Ward as a true master of psychological suspense and gothic horror.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley & Tor Nightfire for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Ooof I always enjoy horror stories that have a faith-based element to them. I have fallen away from anything religious and so I kind of enjoy when they shed light on how messed up they are. This was a good one from Catriona Ward!

Great book! It had all the fears of growing up. Make a choice. Turn the page or close the book. Enter the darkness if you wish!

This wasn’t my favorite of Ward’s. I was confused and bored throughout some of it, but overall it was okay.

The villagers view them as a cult. They view themselves as a close-knit family of chosen people who are meant to bring about a great reckoning, rebirth, and cleansing to the world. There are secrets, rituals, mythological creatures, and the ability to see that which cannot be seen.

How did all of these things come together to bring about, not a new world but death to everyone involved? Well, not everyone.

Switching back and forth between perspectives and timelines we slowly learn the gruesome truth of what is really going on with the strange family who live on the isolated island amidst the brutal and beckoning waves of the sea.

Atmospheric, unique, chilling, and all at once comforting. I devoured this.

Thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my advanced reader copy.

Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mystery: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

I have tried to read this both in print and on audio and i find it wildly confusing. The writing style is dark and intense but unfortunately I am not in the right frame of mind to process something so scattered. I'm sure there are folks who would love this, including me in another season, but it's not for me now.

Leave it to Catriona Ward to be weird as heck, but still make me scared and also emotional? Like how does this even happen in a horror book? Catriona Ward, that’s how.

I will say I was kind of initially worried about picking this up because it’s listed as historical fiction and I hate historical fiction, but I do love our castles horror macabre. And well CW duh.

It was a bit difficult to get into, but the cults really got me. I got sucked in about halfway and never felt up. Twists was jaw dropping as usual.

Little Eve is an intriguing gothic historical horror with a gloomy atmosphere and setting that initially drew me in. The plot navigates familiar territory while exploring different timelines, centered around a complex family history intertwined with a dangerous cult. However, I felt the characters could have been fleshed out. While the book includes many scenes of trauma and abuse, they begin to feel repetitive over time. I also didn’t find the cult as menacing or terrifying, despite the overarching bleak themes. I believe fans of gothic horror may appreciate the book for its ambience, but note that it delves into some very dark topics.

Dnf
I always heard about this writer and wanted to read something by her since I'm a huge horror fan. But it didn't work for me, I can understand why people love her. Ii wish I had.

Such a fun dark and twisty story! Perfect for spooky season and definitely will recommend this one to friends interesting in horror.

Another book where 1/2 or 1/4 stars would be good. I liked Little Eve by Catriona Ward. It’s not my usual genre but I read a lot of similar books and I do enjoy them.

This is a cult story that contains alot of triggers. It is definitely not for sensitive readers. The story takes place from 1917 to 1946 so it could be considered historical fiction, but it felt very contemporary.

A group of young ladies/women, along with a lone young man, live on a remote Scottish island with their “Uncle.” They are waiting for “Him” to come from the sea around them.

Occasionally babies are birthed but family is not a thing on this island. And the townspeople view the group very warily.

This is a pretty dark book. But I was expecting more horror than this book contains. It was more of a mystery to me than horror. It may have some characteristics of horror but it’s not scary. Just dark.

Overall, I enjoyed but I’m not adding Catriona Ward to my auto-buy/auto-read author list.

Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the advanced e-copy of #littleeve.

"'I would have made the same mistakes if I had never known you. And that would have been the sum of me.' He smiles. 'It is a kind of privilege, to witness the darkness.'"

Oh, what a sad story! This book has sat on my shelf for such a long time because I was afraid to read it. Catriona Ward is so hit or miss for me, I wasn't willing to take another miss, but this certainly left an impression.

Eve lives on a sort of an island that can only be reached during low tide. She lives there with Uncle, two women, Nora and Alice and three other children--Abel, Dinah and Baby Elizabeth. Uncle tells teh children they have come from the see and will return to it when the Adder wills it. In the meantime, they live sparse lives with Uncle controlling all aspects of it. But Eve doesn't mind, she loves her life and wishes for nothing more than to become the Adder. The story bounces back and forth between the past and present and contains a few different povs. This is not a fast read by any stretch of the imagination, and honestly I'm not sure if very much happens, but I did enjoy it. And I think that is all owed to Eve and her character and all the feelings that came with her story.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Little Eve is the cult book we never knew we needed. Spooky and atmospheric, this tells the story of Eve and what happened when the ceremony for power goes horribly wrong and brings the rest of the world into Altnarrah.

A great gothic horror from Catriona Ward. Definitely recommend it,

Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was hard to read, subject-wise. I hadn't previously realized that books about cults could be so triggering for me.

I picked up this book thinking it is a horror one but knowing and read Ward's previous novels before, this is her forte which is mystery/thriller one. I will always read anything from Catriona Ward!

Little Eve is a remarkable read by Catriona Ward. I was taken with The Last House On Needless Street as well. This one sinks deeper and darker. It weaves bits and pieces of the storyline in unexpected places for readers to take notice.

This is a great blend of gothic horror and psychological thriller, set in a remote Scottish island. The novel delves into the world of a strange cult, and leaves the reader to wonder which version of the story is actually the truth. The island setting is extremely well developed, and the character of Eve is vividly created. The depths of psychological trauma and unease will leave the reader thinking about this book long after the last page has been turned.

This is a DNF from me.

Trigger warnings for: [child abuse, domestic abuse, cults, teenage pregnancy/sex, pedophilia (hide spoiler)]

I’m just grossed out in every imaginable way right now. I’m not enjoying myself. I’m not really intrigued by the plot, and frankly it opens with the ending so you sort of know where it’s going and I just don’t care how we get there.

There are too many books on my shelf right now that I am more interested in to suffer through this. I do not see myself revisiting. I made it to 36%.

If the triggers I mentioned don’t bother you, and you like very dark, gothic horror books set on Scottish islands, by all means, pick this up. It seems there’s some mindblowing twist at some point I just couldn’t make it to.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.