Many thanks to Netgalley, Headline and the author for the ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have come across the term Voynich Manuscript may be once before this book and so that was my only knowledge going into this book.

The book follows the story of a convent librarian Beatrice who prefers the company of the manuscripts in her library to the people around her. She lives in a world where women are the most insignificant beings and everything is run by men (much like the real world). When injured two women carrying the mysterious book of Eve die after passing the book to Beatrice. At first both confused and intrigued Beatrice, takes the book with her. Even though she doesn't know what she wants to do with that book she does know she needs to protect it. When a Godman graces the city and starts creating havoc mobilising against anything and everything that denotes towards choice and freedom, Beatrice slowly realises the power of the book she holds.

This is a hauntingly beautiful narrative, an alternate universe which is so very much like ours. A world where everything and everyone is trying to possess, control and kill women. This book portrays through myth and mythology, the resilience and strength of women and how inadvertently this world still stands because of us. There is heavy narrative and criticism of religious systems and how patriarchal and controlling they have become culturally. That kind of gave his dark materials vibes. The Voynich Manuscript lore was an brilliant touch to start the story off with.

The book made me feel a lot of emotions and had me tearing up towards the end, a.k.a. all the makings of a good book. The narrator was brilliant, especially since the beginning of the book is very slow paced but they kept up the narrative intrigue that held my attention. Definitely one of the best books read this year.

TW: Religious criticism, Misogyny, violence, arson, sexism, book burning, murder, riots

This feminist story based on the Voynich Manuscript was a welcome success!

The book does take a little bit of time to warm up, but once it does I found I couldn't put the book down! There are heavy criticisms of the patriarchal form of Christianity and the church throughout this book, along with discussions on how other women can be instrumental in furthering this and causing more suffering to their own gender. Unfortunately there was no discussion on how this would impact transgender individuals in this universe.

I loved the book within a book aspect of this read, this is something I always seem to enjoy. As well as the caring community that has been built up by these women! I'll be keeping an eye on future books from this author! The book was closed out nicely, but at the same time I would love to know more! I need to know about the magic of the book and of the Mother! Would love to see a series or just neighbouring books make out of this world.

Excellent audiobook which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my review.

I really enjoyed this book- its focus on the magic of books and the women who read and understand them was enthralling.
I always enjoy a strong female lead character. This book was gifted to my by NetGalley and publishers- I am very grateful for this copy as I was able to listen to this book as it whisked me off to another time and place. Magical escapism.

Well this is one of the most beautiful books I’ve read recently (or sorry, technically listened to on audio but my point stands!).

Whilst this book is heavily centred around religion, and can therefore be enraging at times as men try to use religion to keep women down and abuse them in whatever way “god” instructs them to, it’s also just a really powerful and feminist novel as the women of the convent take back their power thanks to this magical book which is far more than it looks like!

I loved Beatrice and so many of the other women within these pages, and the connections they formed were one of the things I enjoyed so much, especially as they started defending each other and getting a bit rowdy! But really it’s all about the exquisite writing - this story is captivating AND haunting, and I was even more hooked than I expected to be.

I requested this audio-ARC from NetGalley because it's a story based on the Voynich Manuscript and told from the perspective of a fictitious convent librarian who takes custody of a mysterious book (the eponymous Book of Eve) when the women transporting it from Albion to the Pontifect's daughter are attacked, brought to her convent for care, and die of their injuries.

I would give it 3.5 stars if I could, because there were things I really enjoyed about it, but also a few things that rankled me. I'll start with the negatives and then end on the positives.

For me the pace was too slow throughout. And I didn't like the way that it was worked in the style of historical fiction when actually it is fantasy. Perhaps the author wanted to write historical fiction, but that would always have been a nightmare, since so much is still unknown about the Voynich and its custodians. Better, I think, to have gone all out fantasy sooner, speeded up the action, and simply taken the Voynich as a seed. The attempt to stay close to history when we know it just slowed things down.

I also did not like the crudeness and lewdness on display. Yes, I'm sure than some nuns and other religious people were sexually active, but, quite honestly, I have no interest in that. I know Umberto Eco had some lasciviousness on display in The Name of the Rose, but he managed to make that part of the plot, whereas it really was not needed in The Book of Eve. Any woman accused of witchcraft was going to be accused of being a whore, supposing she was as pure as the day she was born, and so the actual details were unnecessary.

However, apart from those two issues, I really liked this book. I liked the character of Beatrice, the relationship she had with her (now deceased) mentor Sophia, with her bookseller Thomas, and with the other nuns Diana and Hildegard. (Hildegard, in particular, was a favourite secondary character of mine - every convent needed someone like her, who would take care of the less clean jobs while maintaining her good cheer and equanimity). I also liked the rivalry between those vying to succeed Chiara.

Finally, even though fantasy is not a preferred genre of mine, I enjoyed the fantasy elements when they did come, and would like to have seen more of them earlier in the text. The ending, in which we have the spirit of the book coming to life worked really well, I thought.

All in all, this was an enjoyable listen (albeit with uncomfortable places where the misogyny of 'The Shepherds' was at its cruellest and most dangerous). Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to hear it.

The start was so slow burn that I wasn't sure I'd like it, however Beatrice's character was so multi layered and engaging that I quickly became hooked. This had dystopian vibes although in point of fact, you can't tell where or when its set, In that respect it's more of a modern fable which examines power, the gender divide, dogmatic religious control and the importance of thinking and questioning. It's one of those dark fantasies where the fantasy is very low key and feels as if it could happen. Despite a lot of dark, gritty story told in the most exquisite if sometimes a little choppy prose, this nevertheless ends on a note of true optimism, which is something I really appreciate in these sorts of books. (All too often anything which looks at women resisting the patriarchy is too black and white and ends horribly for those who resist, presumably as a salutary lesson as to what could happen if we don't all trim our lamps.) A bit like Lorraine Wilson, Meg Clothier will drag you through hell then lead you out into the light and you'll be glad you took the trip.

I found this a difficult audiobook to get through. The writing is exquisite and the narration good, but the book has an intricate plot and I wanted the ability to flick back and check details as I worked through the novel. This is so difficult to do as an audiobook.

This is a book about power and male domination. A magical book which needs to be protected at all costs, when it falls into the hands of Beatrice, a librarian at the convent. The book has a startling, mysterious beginning which got me totally hooked, but as I moved through the novel I found it increasingly difficult to remember who was who and wanted to flick back to be clear about earlier events.

I have been left feeling a little underwhelmed, but feel this is a fault of me as a listener. I will definitely be reading this in hard copy to enjoy this mysterious, dark tale.

There have been a good few novels in recent years flaunting similar ideas to 'The Book of Eve'. Since I'd enjoyed books such as 'The Dance Tree' by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy, I thought I'd enjoy this, given it's premise.

However, the novel is very slow to start. It eventually falls into a kind of dawdling pace once the company of characters are established. Yet, I continued to feel various aspects to be problematic, despite Clothier's evident talent for writing.

There are plot points that hum with promise in 'The Book of Eve', but which are, disappointingly, swept away or skirted around. For instance, the tension and intrigue when the two strange women are brought to the convent gates, or the push-and-pull relationship alluded to between Beatrice and her mentor Sofia. I wanted more character development for many members of the cast: Sofia and Thomas the bookseller, in particular, as well as Ortolana and the Mother Superior herself, Chiara! Perhaps 'The Book of Eve' suffers from characterisation spread-too-thinly. Maybe less characters with more substance would have satisfied me.

Similarly, I'm left asking myself, why was more not done with the effect of the book, as a point of interest? It seemed that the power of 'the book' was wedged in inconsequentially; 'the book' appeared just to whisper sporadically and mildly to Beatrice and then fired off at the end like a damp squib. Even the big reveal about who's in the 'book of Eve's club' in the finale hits with very little impact.

I was turned off by the amount of anachronisms in the text. Even though the book presents itself outside of any actual historical period, there was too much modern slang in the dialogue to affect the timelessness that I assume Clothier was aiming for. Likewise, Clothier's second-person addresses and asides to the reader, proliferating towards the novel's close, were jarring.

My overall judgement is that this novel doesn't seem to know what it is, or what it's doing. Ultimately, it just felt like part one of a three-part novel and I was left unfulfilled at the end.

The narrator, Amalia Vitale was marvellous, by the way. Pitch-perfect, flawless delivery. I'll listen to anything she voices! Extra review star added for her contribution.

My thanks to the author and to Headline Audio for an advanced pre-release audiobook through Netgalley.

I was immediately intrigued by this one and didn’t know too much how this was going to unfurl. It was a slow but steady plot, I wasn’t quite sure where it was going! I was invested to carry on and see what would happen and the beginning was enough to hook you.

Two women, A mother and daughter in possession of a book, end up with the sisters as misfortune befalls them. This special book passes hands and Beatrice, the sister librarian, is unsure what to do. She’s enchanted by the book and loathed to give it up, so instead, delves into its secrets..

I liked the characters and the premise of the story, but I had to admit I did zone out a few times. There was enough to draw me back in but it was maybe a little slow for what I was feeling. Occasionally at times I wasn’t too sure what was going on or it’s relevance to the main story.

The audiobook narration was fab though and brought the words off the pages with ease. It had a really great atmosphere and was slow and melodic at times. I had to see it through to the end as I felt invested to finish the story. The ending was great! Hard one to attribute starts too but it was a solid 3.5.

Give me gothic books with libraries and mysterious books and I’ll be extremely happy, add in some magic and it’s perfection.
Beatrice is a librarian in a convent who comes to possess a mysterious book which appears to be completely blank, there are men who are after the book who are wanting to be in control of the women
This book is historical, mystery, magical realism and is inspired by the Voynich manuscript-the worlds most mysterious book. It is helpful to read up on this before reading if you aren’t familiar with it.
This is a very feminist novel which gives a feeling of female power and sisterhood.
I loved the intriguing plot, the captivating writing and the realistic characters as well as the slow building of tension. The second half really picks up the pace and it’s hard to put down
Really loved this!