What do you think?
Rate this book
Rivers of Eden
1890 Dakota Territory, the pioneer settlement of Edenis a righteous town full of righteous people...and two young women in love with one another who harbor a dark secret. Margaret Hatch is a good woman. She has a husband, a homestead, a baby, and always heeds her preacher. But when things inEden begin to go awry she can't help but feel guilty. Guilty for that night five years ago. Guilty for kissing her best friend. Guilty for wanting more. Emma Johansson is not a good woman. She is loose, unmarried, and employed. Three things a woman should not be. She also happens to be in love with her best friend Margaret, a fact both of them have kept buried all of their lives. Now, the two women must reconcile their hidden history with the terror that has taken hold of Eden, a malevolent forcekeen to expose their truths to the world. Emma and Margaretmust face what they unleashed five years ago before it takes both of them, and their secret, to the grave.
- GenresQueer
92 pages, Paperback
Published September 25, 2020
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 2, 2020
If you like horror with a lot of atmosphere and just as much queerness, then Rivers of Eden is the novel for you.
November 2, 2020
4.5 ⭐️
📣Listen. LISTEN. Historical, Midwestern, gothic horror novella with queer women.
That’s it. It’s all I needed to know to read this and it’s probably all you need to know also. I was sold. Are you sold yet?
This is spooky, I had moments of shivers and teeth gritting out of stress. A truly perfect book for this time of year, demons and witchcraft and 1890s Midwest frontier and SAPPHIC WOMEN. I don’t know what else to say to you to convince you. It’s a short novella so I really don’t want to give anything away but I’ll say this— everything I wanted to happen in this book happened. This is not a “bury your gays” trope, there is no queer baiting, and it’s not a coming out story. (amen, hallelujah) This is a solid queer horror novella.
Seriously my only complaint is that it’s short and I NEED more from these characters because I love them so much. But this is always my complaint with novellas, it’s always *just* enough to make me fall in love and then they are gone. 😂
Thank you so much to the author for sending me this copy directly, this is exactly my type of book and I’m so thankful!
📣Listen. LISTEN. Historical, Midwestern, gothic horror novella with queer women.
That’s it. It’s all I needed to know to read this and it’s probably all you need to know also. I was sold. Are you sold yet?
This is spooky, I had moments of shivers and teeth gritting out of stress. A truly perfect book for this time of year, demons and witchcraft and 1890s Midwest frontier and SAPPHIC WOMEN. I don’t know what else to say to you to convince you. It’s a short novella so I really don’t want to give anything away but I’ll say this— everything I wanted to happen in this book happened. This is not a “bury your gays” trope, there is no queer baiting, and it’s not a coming out story. (amen, hallelujah) This is a solid queer horror novella.
Seriously my only complaint is that it’s short and I NEED more from these characters because I love them so much. But this is always my complaint with novellas, it’s always *just* enough to make me fall in love and then they are gone. 😂
Thank you so much to the author for sending me this copy directly, this is exactly my type of book and I’m so thankful!
November 7, 2020
Thank you to the author for the review copy of this book.
In 1890 Dakota Territory, two young women fall in love, but our forced into different paths by the society they live in. After a rebellious ceremony in their youth, something they have done comes back to haunt them 5 years later, and the individual lives they have built will be torn apart as they come back together.
I loved this western queer horror novella! This was so spooky and terribly creepy. The horror slowly built as the story went on, and I was drawn in and compelled to finish in one sitting!
Without giving anything away, I absolutely loved the ambiguity of the ending!
CW: rape, domestic violence, death, animal death, slut shaming, gore
In 1890 Dakota Territory, two young women fall in love, but our forced into different paths by the society they live in. After a rebellious ceremony in their youth, something they have done comes back to haunt them 5 years later, and the individual lives they have built will be torn apart as they come back together.
I loved this western queer horror novella! This was so spooky and terribly creepy. The horror slowly built as the story went on, and I was drawn in and compelled to finish in one sitting!
Without giving anything away, I absolutely loved the ambiguity of the ending!
CW: rape, domestic violence, death, animal death, slut shaming, gore
December 19, 2020
Thank you to the author, who gave me a copy in exchange for review!
TW: gore, animal and character death, rape
In 1890, Margaret and Emma are on the Dakota territory. They were lovers, but obviously during this time period it wasn’t allowed. Margaret gets married and has a baby.
Years later, Emma and Margaret have to come together to get rid of a malevolent spirit.
This novella had so much potential, I really wish we could have lingered more in the past with Margaret and Emma, and seen more of the tension between Margaret and Ruth and Joseph. I wasn’t quite clear on if they actually got rid of the malevolent spirit and would have loved some more scenes of it in the present day, rather than just dreams.
But I loved Margaret and Emma!
TW: gore, animal and character death, rape
In 1890, Margaret and Emma are on the Dakota territory. They were lovers, but obviously during this time period it wasn’t allowed. Margaret gets married and has a baby.
Years later, Emma and Margaret have to come together to get rid of a malevolent spirit.
This novella had so much potential, I really wish we could have lingered more in the past with Margaret and Emma, and seen more of the tension between Margaret and Ruth and Joseph. I wasn’t quite clear on if they actually got rid of the malevolent spirit and would have loved some more scenes of it in the present day, rather than just dreams.
But I loved Margaret and Emma!
November 8, 2020
Thank you to the author for gifting me this ARC in exchange for a review.
Rivers of Eden has a unique story line that I haven’t read before. I was really intrigued by the sapphic romance and wondered whether the women would come together in the end.
By the end of the novel I didn’t feel like I had an understanding of why the women were drawn to one another. I wanted to learn more about their motivations and how their journey began.
The story has a lot of potential so I hope the author will follow up with a sequel that offers more backstory for Margaret and Emma.
Rivers of Eden has a unique story line that I haven’t read before. I was really intrigued by the sapphic romance and wondered whether the women would come together in the end.
By the end of the novel I didn’t feel like I had an understanding of why the women were drawn to one another. I wanted to learn more about their motivations and how their journey began.
The story has a lot of potential so I hope the author will follow up with a sequel that offers more backstory for Margaret and Emma.
February 4, 2022
Such a great little novella! I would have totally read a full-length novel of this, to know more details about Margaret's and Emma's relationship, with each other and to others too, how their lives went, etc. But in itself, I think the novella did an awesome job showing their situation and the things they were going through. It was haunting, it was sad, but ultimately and it was a full experience that didn't leave me wanting. Loved it.
October 15, 2020
This novella was fantastic! And it was so amazingly written. It had threads of spookiness that slowly crept up on you. But I felt that the absolute creepiest part was just the wide-open stillness of this book. It gave me the feeling that something terrible was right there, in broad daylight, and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. And that feeling creeped me out more than the actual gore and deaths did. Levy does an amazing job of building the story with an economy of words and still had me care deeply about what was happening. I was very invested in what happened to Margaret and Emma. And I was worried for them through the whole thing, despite the author assuring me that this wasn't a "bury your gays" story.
I thought that this was a really well-done novella and the story came to a satisfying conclusion, but as a testament to Levy's excellent writing, I just wanted more time with these characters! What happens next??? I also want to point out that this book is short but it's also pretty intense and I urge everyone to really check out the content warnings below before reading. There are some really tough scenes in this one, but I also felt like the subjects were handled well and are outright condemned by other characters in the story.
If you're in the mood for a quick read that is gothic, spooky, and queer this is a great one to check out!
I received this as an ARC from the author for a fair and unbiased review.
I thought that this was a really well-done novella and the story came to a satisfying conclusion, but as a testament to Levy's excellent writing, I just wanted more time with these characters! What happens next??? I also want to point out that this book is short but it's also pretty intense and I urge everyone to really check out the content warnings below before reading. There are some really tough scenes in this one, but I also felt like the subjects were handled well and are outright condemned by other characters in the story.
If you're in the mood for a quick read that is gothic, spooky, and queer this is a great one to check out!
I received this as an ARC from the author for a fair and unbiased review.
May 18, 2023
My only complaint is that I want more!!! I loved the mysterious supernatural being that was haunting the women and wanted more explanation. Did they cast a spell? Did they summon a demon? I was hooked right away by this broken love story. Give me more!!
November 23, 2020
This was sooo good!! And quick! I wanted it to last longer, wanted to see them live out their days remembered by history as “best friends”
July 3, 2024
Low level horror, set in a realistic setting with believable and likeable characters.
I enjoyed this1
I enjoyed this1
October 17, 2024
suuups’ deserved it~
October 15, 2020
I received an ARC of Rivers of Eden from the author @r.e.levyauthor in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Synopsis: 1890 Dakota Territory, the pioneer settlement of Eden is a righteous town full of righteous people... and two young women in love with one another who harbor a dark secret.
The two women must reconcile their hidden history with the terror that has taken hold of Eden, a malevolent force keen to expose their truths to the world. Emma and Margaret must face what they unleashed five years ago before it takes both of them, and their secret, to the grave.
Review: The genre of this novella is Midwest Gothic Horror, something I've never read before and was very interested in trying out. I definitely wasn't disappointed. Large, open fields on a farm and a small quaint town paint the setting of this story and set it up for some spooky disasters.
Levy describes everything in such beautiful detail, that you can picture the scenery with ease. Their writing style kept me intrigued throughout, and since it's a short novella, almost everything felt like it had a purpose and direct impact to the storyline.
There are a few TWs included at the beginning of this novella: animal death, gore, character death, physical abuse, sex, intimate partner rape, and swearing.
With that being said, none of the scenes containing these TWs were very explicit, but you should be aware of the TWs beforehand. The abuse and rape is also not condoned, but rather challenged by one of the characters.
And to end on a positive note: despite the short nature of this story, Levy still created characters with depth, and it felt like I had known them longer than the short amount of time I spent reading about them. We get a variety of personalities within the characters very early on, and one of my favorite things about the characters, we also get to see some cultural aspects of them as well. Two of the characters speak Norwegian, and I highly recommend translating what they say to each other. You won't be disappointed.
Rivers of Eden is out October 24, 2020 in both physical and e-formats. Visit the author's insta page for a preorder link!
Synopsis: 1890 Dakota Territory, the pioneer settlement of Eden is a righteous town full of righteous people... and two young women in love with one another who harbor a dark secret.
The two women must reconcile their hidden history with the terror that has taken hold of Eden, a malevolent force keen to expose their truths to the world. Emma and Margaret must face what they unleashed five years ago before it takes both of them, and their secret, to the grave.
Review: The genre of this novella is Midwest Gothic Horror, something I've never read before and was very interested in trying out. I definitely wasn't disappointed. Large, open fields on a farm and a small quaint town paint the setting of this story and set it up for some spooky disasters.
Levy describes everything in such beautiful detail, that you can picture the scenery with ease. Their writing style kept me intrigued throughout, and since it's a short novella, almost everything felt like it had a purpose and direct impact to the storyline.
There are a few TWs included at the beginning of this novella: animal death, gore, character death, physical abuse, sex, intimate partner rape, and swearing.
With that being said, none of the scenes containing these TWs were very explicit, but you should be aware of the TWs beforehand. The abuse and rape is also not condoned, but rather challenged by one of the characters.
And to end on a positive note: despite the short nature of this story, Levy still created characters with depth, and it felt like I had known them longer than the short amount of time I spent reading about them. We get a variety of personalities within the characters very early on, and one of my favorite things about the characters, we also get to see some cultural aspects of them as well. Two of the characters speak Norwegian, and I highly recommend translating what they say to each other. You won't be disappointed.
Rivers of Eden is out October 24, 2020 in both physical and e-formats. Visit the author's insta page for a preorder link!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews