Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Little Eve by Catriona Ward

15 reviews

horrorandscience's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Little Eve uses alternating timelines through alternating characters to tell the story of a small cult on the island of Altnaharra. John Bearings landed there in 1898 with young women Alice and Nora in order to properly worship the Adder. I thought the history of Altnaharra and their relationship with the mainland was very interesting and really added to the plot. I also enjoyed seeing John go downhill over the years as he went further into his delusions.

One of my problems with this story, which there aren’t many, is that there’s so many characters, and with the flip-flopping chapters, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with who we’re following. We follow Evelyn and Dinah, two of the young women of the cult, as they tell the story of how the cult ended. We also see adult Dinah discuss some of the past. A few times we even meet the detective on the case, Christopher Black. When I was properly following the storyline, it was a good read. I enjoyed the setting and the characters, and the cult/John was super creepy.

This novel takes place in the late 1910s and early 1920s, with later reflections from the 30s and 40s. I’m not sure if this really helped the story; I think it could have taken place in any time period. I’d actually love to see this story written in more modern times with cell phones and better forensics.

I recommend this book for people who love twisty-turny stories, and probably more for people who take notes (especially for the characters). The twist at the end was pretty predictable, but not necessarily unenjoyable. I really enjoy Catriona Ward’s writing, and even though I wasn’t as big a fan of Little Eve as I was of Sundial, it’s still worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this advanced review copy. While Little Eve is already available in the UK, it comes out through Tor on October 11th.

CW for death, injury, vomit, miscarriage/stillborns, domestic violence, suicide, alcoholism, animal death, animal cruelty, sexual assault/violence/ambiguous reference to rape

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit

rachelunabridged's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC!

~ ~ ~

On the isle of Altnaharra, Uncle and his young acolytes await the coming of Him, the snake from the sea.

~ ~ ~

My mind has been blown by Catriona Ward yet again! I've loved everything by her that I've read so far and had a hunch that this read would be equally fantastic. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this book exceeded all of my expectations. Even though I've been absolutely swamped with college classwork, I found myself sneaking in as much of this read as I could. Every time I had to put it down, the story stayed stuck in my head until I picked it up again.

Additionally, this book has one of the best opening chapters I've ever read. It hooked me right from the beginning, and Ward did a fantastic job building on that intrigue as the plot progressed. This was one of those reads where I found myself completely immersed in the events of the story and desperate to see how it was going to turn out. Unlike the other works I've read by this author, I was able to guess where this book was going, but it didn't make the experience of watching it unfold any less enjoyable, in a messed up kind of way.

When I started this review, I thought about not including a summary of the plot at all. I think that this book is best experienced with as little prior knowledge as possible, which is why I ultimately settled on the single sentence above. I will, however, let you know that this is a cult book. There is murder. There is intrigue. And it's a hell of a ride from start to finish. If any of those things sound enticing to you, you should give this a read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Kidnapping and War

bookishbrenbren's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Evelyn is raised in a mysterious, reclusive family unit on a secluded isle in rural Scotland. Along with other adolescents Dinah, Abel, and Elizabeth, there are three adults: Nora, Alice, and Uncle. Uncle is the Adder, an intimidating leader imbued with powers by the ocean-deity they worship and serve. The story begins with a shocking act of violence that has left everyone on the island except Dinah dead. 

This was an awesome ride. I have never read anything by this author before but I have heard good things and wanted to try this one even though horror/thriller is not my typical genre. And I am so glad I did! This is a strong book, well-written, with excellent scenery, leaning a little gothic although I thought she could've committed more to the house-as-a-character vibe, but what really stands out is how engrossing the story-telling is. I well and truly felt like I was being read a ghost story or watching a spooky movie, I could feel the rain falling and the stonework crumbling around me. Even though you know (from chapter 1) more or less how the characters' stories will end up, there is still a great sense of mystery, foreboding, and feels like a big 'reveal' is coming. Perfect for spooky season! 

On the down side, I felt the story dragged a bit after the 50% mark. It definitely slowed down in pace and I was more likely to put the book down and pick up my phone. I also wish there had been a bit of the actual "big reveal" feeling written into the characters' narration (does that make sense?). A lot of really shocking things happen we, along with Eve, find out that the truth about

Him and the benison, and the honey, the truth about Uncle's past, the ceremonies, Dinah's betrayal, about her mother! twice!,

but our narrator delivers most of this information in a flat affect, letting their sadness and mourning wash over us, but none of the shock. Even when

Abel has killed himself

, she sort of gives us this information in a way that makes it feel as though it was an inevitability. I'm torn on this subject because I like the way it was given to us, in this slow-moving gothicky sort of tone, rather than in earth-shattering revelations, but looking back on it, it feels untrue to the character and I think is part of what made the story drag a bit. 

Also, this is just a personal preference, but I kind of wish we had been left with one or two questions about Eve's character/motivations at the very end. I would like a hint that perhaps things did not go exactly as she has said they went... perhaps she is hiding something, in the end? But anyway the ending was nice and neat and can't complain about that. A good book and a great story! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Car accident, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Vomit, Death of parent, Colonisation, and War

amy_lynnn's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual violence

sorcha_rosa's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Pedophilia, and Death of parent