My, what a grim read this is! By the end, I came to dread it, lol.
Eve and Dinah are just two girls who are taken from their home when they were little by “Uncle.”
Them, alongside Elizabeth and Noah, live under constant physical and mental abuse from this despicable man. That is until one day, they’re all found brutally murdered and there is only one survivor left to tell their story. That survivor is Dinah.
This is one of the most depressing reads I have read in a long time! Don’t get me wrong, it is perfectly set because you end up feeling such despair; but it is a downer for sure. ( )

Although perhaps not as well developed as Ward's later novels, Little Eve won the Shirley Jackson Award in 2018 and has recently been republished for American readers. Set in 1917 and 1921, the story takes place in a crumbling castle on an island off the coast of Scotland where a man known as Uncle has created a cult for himself out of women and children. When it begins, the bodies of most of the island's inhabitants are discovered in a circle outside the castle, apparently murdered by the title character. Flashbacks relate the events leading up to the murders, and things get increasingly more disturbing while our sympathy for Eve, the narrator, gradually takes root and grows. There's a lot to like about this novel. The setting is claustrophobic, wild, and unfamiliar. The characters have more to them than it seems at first. There are twists, some easily guessed, others surprising. I certainly felt compelled to find out what actually happened to these people, and the ending didn't disappoint me. ( )

Little Eve is the third book I've read by this author, and it's definitely my least favourite of the three. While House on Needless Street and even Sundial had some intriguing moments, with some half-decent character development, this one left me shaking my head and wondering if it was even written by the same author. Unfortunately, the story line was quite muddled, jumping from time line to time line with no apparent purpose that I could see, and for the life of me, I couldn't understand the huge importance the author put on Chief Inspector Black in this story. What this book did show me is how much an author can develop their writing skills as this one is an earlier book, published before the aforementioned ones, and I hope she continued to write more in the vein of Needless Street rather than this one.

First of all, I really wanted to connect with the characters as I found them intriguing. However, that never did happen as they were never developed in such a way the author made you care for them. Even Eve, through whose eyes you witness a lot of the events, there was a distance that kept you from caring about what happened. When a couple of events happened, I should have been shuddering, but I was more upset over the horse than I was over the children and that is poor character development in my eyes, and even then I should have been in tears as I have an issue with any animal death in books, even humane ones. I think the author was trying so hard to be mysterious and to show how the children were in this 'cult', being descriptive without actually giving too much information to the reader, that it took away from the empathetic connection I wanted to feel.

Which leads me to the story line, one that bounced around and didn't seem to have a clear focus. I felt like the author was trying to show what it is like to be trapped in a situation, to understand they are trapped, the growing awareness and horror of their situation, and the risks and dangers of trying to be set free. And while that was definitely interesting, it just didn't work very well in this book, and what we got was a bit of a muddle, with characters that were one-dimensional at best, time lines that jumped around, and secondary characters that often served no purpose and felt like a cheap way to advance a story line because the author couldn't think of another way to do so, hence Inspector Black. By the time I was three quarters of the way in, I felt like I had been reading the book forever. That being said, I did like the atmospheric setting as I am always intrigued by old houses and I definitely love it when books are set in Scotland. It's a shame the author didn't make use of some rather intriguing secondary story lines in this book to really up the horror element, such as Elizabeth's story, as I feel she lost the opportunity to really give her readers some scares and shocks.

Verdict
Little Eve had promise, but unfortunately, fell flat for me. I wasn't a fan of the story line as it felt too underdeveloped for me to feel connected to the characters; I should have felt really chilled and unnerved by their situation, but I didn't really know what to think as the muddled story line kept pulling me back from any connection I would have made with them and left me wanting to just finish the book and get it over with. And while the book was definitely atmospheric, with creepy moments, I don't feel like the author handled the themes in this book very well, using various forms of abuse to shock the reader, but not really addressing the issues and the horrors as many other authors do, something that left me feeling unsettled. I read a lot of horror novels, but I think this author may not be for me. ( )

Ward’s popularity soared after The Last House on Needless Street, positioning her as an exciting newcomer to the crowded horror genre. Given her rise in followers, Tor Nightfire has recently re-released some of the author’s earlier efforts in the U.S. Little Eve is her second book, and in her prologue, Ward admits that it was a challenge to corral her thoughts into a cohesive work. The reader may experience a similar sense of distress, in this case due to the plot’s sinister slow build, jaw-dropping reveals and wince-inducing violence. Eve’s story unfolds within two timelines taking place between 1917 and the 1920’s. The misguided and confused young woman describes a childhood of adoration and obedience for her “Uncle,” despite suffering from his continual abuse. Secondary characters consist primarily of fellow captives, and all are voluntarily marooned together on an isolated tidal island in Scotland. From Eve’s deluded perspective, the reader is left to piece together the cult-like belief system that has been constructed to control and manipulate them. Eve’s story is heartbreaking and grotesque, at times so extreme that it stretches plausibility. It is a testament to Ward’s talent that the reader willingly accepts these conditions, mirroring how her characters bow to the illusions around them. Little Eve is a disturbing read and probably not for the squeamish, but the novel is rewarding for those who are able succumb to its twisted chaos.

Thanks to the author, Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. ( )

For a dark and spooky fall read this gothic story is the perfect fit for those who crave just a tad of spookiness and horror.

Set in Scotland in the 1920’s, John Bearing comes from a place far away to claim his inheritance on the rocky coast at a castle called Altnaharra. Readers never learn too much about John. He lives at the castle with several women and children who call him Uncle. The people in the nearby village believe that the children were foundlings that he has taken in to raise.

The family has many qualities of a cult or fanatical religious group. Readers will not be certain which of the family members are actually related or how they came to be at Altnaharra. Their way of life was very odd and the uncle controlled almost everything they did.

I must admit, at first this was too dark and creepy for me, but I was curious and kept reading. I’m glad I stayed the course because this turned out to have more twists and layers than I had originally expected.

Readers who are in the mood for a dark, gothic tale will love this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to offer my honest review. ( )