Sadeqa Johnson: The House of Eve [2024] paperback

'Amazing' Reese Witherspoon
'Heart-rending' Taylor Jenkins Reid
'Luminous and moving!' Kate Quinn
'Unforgettable' Kristen Harmel

The heartbreaking and completely unputdownable instant New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick about the pain and sacrifice of forbidden love, the lengths a mother will go to protect her child, and survival against the toughest of odds.

Philadelphia, 1948: Fifteen-year-old Ruby's dreams are almost within reach. She's going to be the first in her family to attend college, despite having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising her only daughter. But falling madly in love with the one boy she is forbidden from threatens to pull Ruby back into poverty and desperation. When she's imprisoned in a home for unwed mothers - locked in the House of Eve with other 'fallen girls' - everything she's worked so hard for starts slipping through her fingers.

Washington, DC, 1948: Eleanor arrives in the city with ambition, hope and a past she's trying her hardest to run from. When she meets William at Howard University, with his inky black eyes and broad shoulders, it's love at first sight. But William hails from one of Washington, DC's elite Black families, who don't let just anyone into their inner circle - especially not a girl from 'the wrong side of the tracks'. Eleanor hopes that a baby will mean they finally accept her, and that her secrets won't see the light of day - but fate has other plans in store...

In the dawn of the 1950s, Ruby and Eleanor are complete strangers - until their paths unexpectedly collide. Forced to make the most heartbreaking decisions of their lives, will their choices save them... or be their undoing?

Fans of Kate Quinn, Lisa Wingate and Kristin Harmel will fall head over heels for this totally gripping and heart-wrenching historical-fiction page-turner.

See what readers are saying about The House of Eve:

'All the stars!!!... It absolutely blew me away. I finished it several days ago and am still thinking about it! It packed one powerful punch... I still don't have the exact words to describe how it made me feel... So many emotions... It will hit your heart hard... Will have your heart breaking time and again. I could not put it down' Goodreads reviewer, *****

'5 brilliant stars! I'm definitely not crying right now. That's a lie. I totally am. This book was A LOT!' Goodreads reviewer, *****

'Everything. This book was everything. The House of Eve will not only be a favourite of the year, but a favourite of all-time. I ADORED THIS BOOK. You can't tell me that Ruby and Eleanor aren't real people because they're real in my heart, and I will never forget them. I'm jealous of you all who get to read this for the first time. ALL THE STARS' Goodreads reviewer, *****

'I read this book in one sitting and loved it!!... I was blown away... I couldn't read this fast enough' Goodreads reviewer, *****

'WOW! I'm still processing this book! I devoured it in three days' Goodreads reviewer, *****

'I LOVED THIS BOOK!... Grabs you from the first page and holds you until the satisfying conclusion. The House of Eve is a timely, redemptive, powerful, beautifully written yet haunting novel of resilience and sacrifices women make for themselves and their families' Goodreads reviewer, *****

'I really gobbled up this book. PAGE-TURNER! Pick this book; you won't regret it... I absolutely loved this story... Amazing... This book was impossible for me to put down' Goodreads reviewer, *****

'I LOVED THIS BOOK!' Goodreads reviewer, *****

'I was completely captivated' Goodreads reviewer, *****