REVIEW ✨ The House of Eve

Genre: Historical Fiction
Time: 1950
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 2.7.2023
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Summary:
“1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.

Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his par­ents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.

With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.”

Review:

“The only way forward was to forget.”

The House of Eve is the second book I’ve read this month that deals with a very sad and real part of our country’s history. And unfortunately, 70 years later, it’s still present.

Sadeqa Johnson wrote with such meticulous details that with every page, I felt like I was there with Ruby and Eleanor in the 1950s as they faced their own suffering. The particular racism and classism present in The House of Eve are themes I haven’t encountered in a book before, but it was eye-opening.

While I predicted what would bring the two women together, I didn’t anticipate how perfect the ending would be. It brought the entire book together and had me applauding the well-deserved wins for both women.

Speaking of Ruby and Eleanor, I don’t necessarily have a favorite. I enjoyed both characters’ perspectives and cheered them on throughout the book. But Ruby? I wanted the absolute best for her – she deserved more than the world had given her.

The House of Eve is not a light read by any means, and it deals with some pretty heavy content; I never felt like the story was weighing me down. Johnson wrote with such fluidity that the scene would change just when I was feeling overwhelmed.

💪🏼Overcoming obstacles within society and relationships
🤏🏼 Fast-paced with shorter chapters
✌🏼 Alternating perspectives
✍🏼 Meticulous details that bring you right in

❌ miscarriage, mistreatment during labor, forced adoption.

You can find my full review on my blog (link in bio).

I recommend reading The House of Eve if you enjoyed reading The Vanishing Half.

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BOOK INFO
Format: 384 pages, hardback
Published: February 2023
ISBN 9781982197360 (ISBN10: 1982197366