Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor Forge for the chance to read this ARC. This book has already won The Shirley Jackson Award in the UK in 2018 for Best Novel and now the rest of the world gets a chance to read it when it is released.

This is one twisted tale, much like the beautiful cover. It takes place during WW1 in Scotland, on an isolated eerie castle. It opens with a brutal murder scene and then flashes back to the events leading up to it.

I would call this a historical gothic story, although one with no holds barred gruesomeness and horror. FYI: there are many scenes of child abuse and torture in this story so be aware this is not a delicately presented gothic like "A Turn of the Screw". "Little Eve" details ever horrible act in almost reverent tones.

Basically, it is a story of a family cult centering around a man the children call "Uncle", two adult woman, and four orphaned children along with a police detective and the villagers who live near them. The location and the time period are crucial to the story which I appreciated. All good Gothics should have a location as a character.

Be patient reading the first few chapters. They are confusing since they are in the voices of the children and the villagers. You won't know what is going on, or what the heck the children are talking about, but that is what will goad you to read on. As the story unfolds, you will find out about the history of the main characters and the truth behind the murders. It is convoluted, confusing, and intriguing to learn. The deeper you get into the book the more you will want to read.

I recommend this novel for lovers of Gothics with the caveat that there is quite a bit of child abuse described. Rating: 4/5.

Little Eve was absolutely brilliant. A gothic tale set on an isle in Scotland, focusing on two girls, Eve and Dinah, who are entwined in a familial cult and all of the trauma and abuse that goes along with following their male chauvinistic leader. At its core, Little Eve is about family and our bonds to them and who we are once we break free from those bonds. Very powerful stuff in this book.

Catriona Ward is working her way to becoming the next huge name in horror literature and she doesn’t seem like she’s slowing down. Each of her novels are so different from the last. It takes incredible talent to create these stories with high emotional stakes for its characters while blending in various horror elements all the while delivering exceptional writing and prose. Highly recommend you pick this up at launch. Thanks to NetGalley and TorNightfire for the opportunity to read in advance of its release—October 11, 2022.

This is a dark, Gothic book. The atmosphere, the descriptions put you right there. Quick read , couldn't put it down.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

DNF…this one was rough. I enjoyed The Last House On Needless Street. But this one was soooo slow and not captivating. A lot of stream of consciousness with a story that did not seem like it was going anywhere. Life is too shorts to plod through books that do not hold your appeal. A shame considering I like gothic novels. Not sure if I will give this author another try.

I received this book free from Netgalley and in exchange for an honest review.

first of all I absolutely am obsessed with the setting which is like around the coast of Scotland it’s one of my most anticipated travel destinations so this book hit it right on the nail with the setting for sure. The plot was also absolutely incredible and you feel all of the Gothic a Scottish vibes as well as so many creepy things.

I haven’t read the authors other book the last house on needless Street but this puts at the very top of my TBR.

A full-out Gothic take of bleak landscapes, abusive guardians, weird religions, horrible rites, and a nice twist at the end. Sometimes the different narrative voices weren't individual enough, and there was some messy writing here and there, but overall a solid tale.

Unfortunately, this book did not interest me much. I did not care to continue reading and when I reread the synopsis, I realized I wasn't interested. Thank you for the opportunity.

There is a remote isle off the coast of Scotland and on that isle lives a cult preparing for the end of the world. Eve along with the others has been abused, disfigured and made compliant by Uncle who demands absolute loyalty. When a very bad thing happens for very good reasons an Inspector is called in to solve the case and find the truth. The truth might be better off if it stays a secret. Brutal, gory and absolutely terrifying this is horror with a capital H. Her fans as well as those who delight in dark gothic tales that keep them up at night will be overjoyed. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

This is a gothic story that’s a slow burn, that isn’t my favorite but in this case it worked for me. I have loved everything I have read of Catriona Ward so far and this was no exception. I loved it.

I get a kick out of Catriona Ward.

She draws you in with such a filmy, poetic atmosphere – and then stabs you in the guts while still using pretty words.

I won’t let you in on any of the secrets here – I’ll just tell you that Ward surprised me more than once when the storytelling took unexpected turns.

Admittedly, I did feel for much of the book that some of the characters felt too…wispy (?)…to really get a hold of. I’ll just tell you that in the end, everything was clear.

Overall, a satisfying and very atmospheric read!

• ARC provided via Publisher

Gorgeous cover, beautifully poetic writing given the dark subject matter, and an intriguing premise: an end of the world cult in early 20th century Scotland gets a reckoning when a ritual goes murderously wrong.

I've been trying to get into this author since The House on Needless Street had such great reviews. Unfortunately, that book was a DNF--something just didn't sit well with me that I can't even explain, but I didn't want to read on. But Little Eve sounded so different, and I loved the Scottish setting.

And while Eve does have much of that disturbing element that put me off of Needless Street, I really liked the lovely prose in it.

And yet, that was also what fell a little flat for me. It's a fairly quick read, but the writing seems to be trying so hard that I was often left so confused. It's one of those books that makes you feel stupid, no matter how long you went to school or how many books you read in a year. I still can't wrap my head around it all to make a sensical review.

Maybe this author just isn't for me.

Special thanks to Tor/Forge for making a copy of this book available to read in exchange for a review on NetGalley.

This was such a WILD RIDE. Honestly I did not know what was happening until the final few chapters. And even then, this book and these characters will live in my head for the foreseeable future.

The positive: the novel set the gothic tone well and this did thread through the whole novel. There was definitely a sense of unease, a confusion, a rawness of feeling that was authentic.

The less positive: The description was compelling, but the novel did not deliver for me. While the prose had depth of feeling and did convey a gothic eeriness, there was not enough texture to the story to connect me to the characters. There was not enough context to show me the larger picture, the depth of the insanity that was unfolding. What was the relationship of the Uncle to the children or the children to each other? Why had they been picked for this? What was the history of this location? What was the origin or the context of this magic they believed in? I needed that up front to establish a desire to read on. There was a hint that there was an Indian origin to this madness, but then that thread evaporated. I needed to know the purpose behind the ritual, the snake, etc. If there were symbolic signifiers that I missed, then I missed them.

Dinah and Evelyn were strong characters, but I needed to know more of them and their history to understand their role in this. I couldn't muster enough feeling for them to relate to their suffering.

As a result of this absence of connection and context, the novel dragged for me. It became a repetitious description of suffering and loss, but without reason.

The perfect release in time for spooky season. I was hooked after the first chapter – so many questions I wanted answered! This was extremely well-plotted. The events of the book start with what seems like like magic, but the magic is gradually stripped away to reveal the psychological horror lurking beneath. Chapters alternate between the past and present, and while this strategy can fell clunky in the hands of less adept writers, Ward’s movement between past and present only adds to the tension and suspense. To round out the experience, Ward’s writing evoked such vivid scenes in my mind as I read. I could smell the sea air, see the standing stones, feel the causeway water around my ankles as I read the descriptions of Altnaharra. This is the first book from Catriona Ward that I’ve read, but I’ve already downloaded The Last House on Needless Street to my Kindle and will be looking forward to further releases from this author.

This ARC was provided to me digitally from Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review.

Little Eve takes place on the Isle of Altnaharra on the coast of Scotland, and follows a small group of 7 people who live together in a large castle. The story is written during the early 1900s and is a spectacularly-developed gothic horror with cult themes. I am very interested in Scottish history, and this story certainly gave an intriguing glimpse at the country.

The book starts by showing the readers a scene that leads us to believe that Eve killed her entire “family” in some form of extreme religion-driven sacrifice. The rest of the story unravels to show us exactly what led to this outcome. We learn all about Eve, her siblings, and her odd guardian who is referred to as “Uncle.”

This story was very atmospheric from beginning to end and I never had trouble imagining the setting. It was a bit creepy and gory at times, but I couldn’t put the book down! At the end, there are many twists that surprise us and show readers who the characters truly are.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more stories by Ward in the future. I’d recommend this book to anybody interested in cult horror, gothic horror, and historical fiction.

UMMMMM?!? I have to admit that when I started this book, it was different enough (the time period kinda turned me off initially) that I thought I wouldn't like it even though I've loved Ward's Sundial and TLHONS. The doubt was misplaced as I loved this one as well.

A slow burn about four children and three adults living in a commune, headed by a man they call "Uncle". The children are allowed to go to school initially but you can see that the outside world is hardly real for them, as they think everyone outside of their community is grossly misguided. The book jumps around in characters (a large cast!) and time but I eventually got into the groove of it. Our story centers around Eve, who should be Uncle's favorite, as she shows great promise in following in his footsteps and is so, so dedicated to preserving their family. However, Eve also sees things the others don't and eventually starts questioning Uncle's view of the outside world.

Have you ever read a novel and wondered about the mental health of the writer who could come up with something like this? This book is all kinds of creepy, but major points for originality.

Set on an isolated island off Scotland starting in 1917 (but it bounces between a few characters points of view in different years), the man Dinah, Eve, and their other siblings and the man they call “Uncle,” the Adder is coming to bring a chosen one powers, and they will do anything to earn the distinction. The book calls this a clan, but it read like reading about a cult from the point of view of cult members who are absolute believers. I’ve read books on cults before, but that’s always from the point of view of a member who escaped a cult. This setting is important in this book, and it unfolds in a way that is fascinating.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES OCTOBER 11, 2022.

Little Eve is only the third book I’ve read by Catriona Ward, but she’s quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. She just doesn’t disappoint. Her books are simply incredible. They have everything I want from a horror novel: incredibly unique storylines, creepy, and absolutely dripping with atmosphere. Her newest release isn’t technically her newest book, it’s actually her second novel, only it’s now getting a release here in the states. I hesitate to even try to tell you what it’s about for fear of giving anything away, and maybe it’s just me but I’ll say there were times when this creepy tale of a family/cult living off the coast of Scotland gave me an almost Lovecraftian vibe, and it kept me enthralled from start to finish. I can’t wait to see where she takes us next. I’d like to thank Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for allowing me a chance to read and review an eARC of Little Eve.

Little Eve is an unputdownable gothic thriller. It's no wonder the author won awards because she continues to write unique and mesmerizing reads like this one!

Since Catriona Ward blew me away with THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET, and then she doubled down with SUNDIAL, I knew I had to read LITTLE EVE as soon as humanly possible. Now that I've read it, I feel comfortable in saying that soon, if not already, Catriona Ward will be a household name.

Off the coast of Scotland there is an isle inhabited by a clannish family. There, where the island is only accessible at the whim of the sea, they worship the Adder. The family isolated there believes all of the outside world will soon be gone, and only those familiar with the Adder shall survive and therefore rule. A small contact with the outside world leads to an investigation, which brings inspector Black to come calling. Nothing is ever the same on their isle again. Will the family survive? You'll have to read this to find out!

I'm being deliberately vague here because I don't want to spoil anything. However, I do love me a good cult story and this one is a doozy. I'm fascinated with cult psychology-specifically those led by one man, (because it's always a man, isn't it? Why is that?) In this book it's easy to see how the isolation of the family makes it easier for the leader to make his followers believe...well, whatever he wants.

Another part of cult psychology that interests me is the vying among the followers to be the most favored. Even though this group is a real "family," that doesn't stop the children from competing among themselves for attention and that hard-won favor.

Ms. Ward covered these subjects thoroughly; she sewed them all up in feelings and characters, framed it all in beautiful writing and use of language, and then presented them in a tidily wrapped package that holds its secrets until nearly the final page.

Once again, Catriona Ward shows herself as a force to be reckoned with, and I am here for whatever she decides to write next.

Highly recommended!

*Thank you to Tor Nightfire for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*