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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
After reading and loving "Looking Glass Sound", I was excited to read more from Catriona Ward's backlist.
"Little Eve" follows Eve, a young girl who will do anything for her clan and their beliefs. The clan is preparing for the end of the world and its rebirth, but when during the ceremony they are interrupted, everything starts to go awry.
Overall, I was very disappointed in this novel. This story lacked the magic that I loved from "Looking Glass Sound". There was just something about the narrative and the characters that I could not connect with, and because of that, I could not get into the story. This ended up being one of those novels that I had to force myself to finish.
Eve was a highly complex character that had an interesting character progression. On the one hand I did not appreciate where her character ended up going and the decisions she made specifically in the second half of the book. However, I did empathize with her because this is the only world she has ever known, and it has to be difficult to know and do any different.
Truthfully, I am not a big end of the world trope fan. So, that alone could be why I struggled to get into this story. I also think some of the scenes were a little too difficult to read because they depicted child neglect and confinement in such vivid detail.
I do think Catriona Ward is a talented wordsmith, and she is able to craft a complexly interesting story. Her characters are flawed and relatable, and she is able to paint a vivid depiction.
I am sure this novel has its audience, and I would still recommend it to someone who thinks the premise sounds interesting. Additionally, I will still be reading from Catriona Ward in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
readsandsuch's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Toxic friendship
archaicrobin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Honestly, I really didn’t like this book. It had the same excellent writing and dark atmosphere of Ward’s other novels but was lacking in every other element for me.
The characters were all unlikeable and prevented me from connecting with any of them. The story is told from two timelines, one in the past before the massacre on the island, and the other after from the perspective of the sole survivor. It’s written in first person for both perspectives but this did not help connect with the character, it just made things more tedious in my opinion.
Along with unlikeable characters the pacing was far too slow and this book was a total slog to get through. I had to force myself to read this because most of the time nothing was happening but more abusive cult bullshit with no real purpose. Trigger warnings for rape, drugs, torture, starvation, child abuse, sexual assault, pedophilia, and violence by the way because no trigger warnings are given and this whole book is focused on this mini cult where all these abuses occur. It was so tedious to pick this up and have another chapter about abuse but it’s ok because it’s for Adder, like I GET IT, they’re in a cult on this island for some reason.
I know there’s a plot in this book I just honestly can’t find it. The twist was also just confusing, there were so many questions, all of them left unanswered. The narrator is a huge part of the twist and it lies in her changing her mindset and leaving the brainwashing but it was unbelievable how it happened. She just woke up on day and decided to not believe in it anymore, after being raised and manipulated and abused her entire childhood she just one day stands up and says “nah”.
Overall, I would skip this earlier novel by Ward which was recently re-released on the states and read her newer works instead that have engaging characters, better pacing, and a clear plot line that doesn’t get muddled up in abuse and cult nonsense.
The characters were all unlikeable and prevented me from connecting with any of them. The story is told from two timelines, one in the past before the massacre on the island, and the other after from the perspective of the sole survivor. It’s written in first person for both perspectives but this did not help connect with the character, it just made things more tedious in my opinion.
Along with unlikeable characters the pacing was far too slow and this book was a total slog to get through. I had to force myself to read this because most of the time nothing was happening but more abusive cult bullshit with no real purpose. Trigger warnings for rape, drugs, torture, starvation, child abuse, sexual assault, pedophilia, and violence by the way because no trigger warnings are given and this whole book is focused on this mini cult where all these abuses occur. It was so tedious to pick this up and have another chapter about abuse but it’s ok because it’s for Adder, like I GET IT, they’re in a cult on this island for some reason.
I know there’s a plot in this book I just honestly can’t find it. The twist was also just confusing, there were so many questions, all of them left unanswered. The narrator is a huge part of the twist and it lies in her changing her mindset and leaving the brainwashing but it was unbelievable how it happened. She just woke up on day and decided to not believe in it anymore, after being raised and manipulated and abused her entire childhood she just one day stands up and says “nah”.
Overall, I would skip this earlier novel by Ward which was recently re-released on the states and read her newer works instead that have engaging characters, better pacing, and a clear plot line that doesn’t get muddled up in abuse and cult nonsense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism