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A review by justagirlwithabook
The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Liv is a single mom living in 1998 and raising three daughters on her own. As a painter by trade and never having much to live by, she moves her little family around from place to place, sometimes living out of a car if necessary. When Liz is offered an unexpected commission from a mysterious man to paint a mural on the walls of a lighthouse on an island just off of the Scottish coast, she takes the opportunity and moves her family once again. But the island and its lighthouse is shrouded in secrets and a sordid past. Rumors of witches, wildlings, curses, and disappearances abound.
One night, one daughter goes missing and Liv is left trying to piece the mystery together. Flash forward 23 years later, and only one daughter is left, now searching for her two sisters and their mother, Liv, who all mysteriously disappeared after that night, not a trace to be found. But unexpectedly, a little girl is suddenly discovered on a road, bruised and dirty and claiming to be the girl who had gone missing, only she's not aged a day.
What is the mystery of the lighthouse and its island, and will the lost eventually be found?
What I Loved:
- I loved the Scottish setting, folklore, and beliefs that permeated this story (runes and wildlings and so forth), as well as the tie-in to witches that were burned on the island in the 17th century.
- The story started off a little bit slow-paced and atmospheric to set up the scene but became very fast-paced as details continued to be revealed!
- The story is written with alternating viewpoints for every chapter. There is a lot of jumping back and forth in time (from the moments when Liv and her family arrived at the island through when everyone disappeared and fast-forwarded to 2021 as events in the future unfold) -- and this is a characteristic that I really love in books.
- The story also incorporated excerpts from a grimoire that added another element to how the narrative unfolds, and I really loved that aspect, too!
- There was a cool explanation revealed in the last 25% or so that was interesting and clever (though I was sad that there wasn't more time spent exploring the concept).
What I Didn’t Love:
- The 'big reveal' happens and explains the disappearances and reappearances of children/individuals around the island, and once it was revealed I found it to be a really fascinating plot point that I wish could've been explored more, but then the story likely would've turned into something entirely different that what it was set out to be. I just found it fascinating and wish there had been some more story to go along with it.
- The book didn't start out quite as fast as I was hoping -- it took a tad longer to suck me in than what I would have wanted (lots of time spent on characters and atmospheric setting upfront, which is entirely understandable!), but it was still more than interesting enough to keep me hooked.
Overall:
I really enjoyed this book overall. I found the premise to be really interesting and loved the Scottish landscape and folklore that were seamlessly incorporated. While the book started off a tad slowly, it really picked up and was able to completely hook me (I HAD to know what was ultimately going on!). I'm excited to see this one in people's hands come October and think many readers will find it to be a solid read!
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for an e-ARC of this book!
One night, one daughter goes missing and Liv is left trying to piece the mystery together. Flash forward 23 years later, and only one daughter is left, now searching for her two sisters and their mother, Liv, who all mysteriously disappeared after that night, not a trace to be found. But unexpectedly, a little girl is suddenly discovered on a road, bruised and dirty and claiming to be the girl who had gone missing, only she's not aged a day.
What is the mystery of the lighthouse and its island, and will the lost eventually be found?
What I Loved:
- I loved the Scottish setting, folklore, and beliefs that permeated this story (runes and wildlings and so forth), as well as the tie-in to witches that were burned on the island in the 17th century.
- The story started off a little bit slow-paced and atmospheric to set up the scene but became very fast-paced as details continued to be revealed!
- The story is written with alternating viewpoints for every chapter. There is a lot of jumping back and forth in time (from the moments when Liv and her family arrived at the island through when everyone disappeared and fast-forwarded to 2021 as events in the future unfold) -- and this is a characteristic that I really love in books.
- The story also incorporated excerpts from a grimoire that added another element to how the narrative unfolds, and I really loved that aspect, too!
- There was a cool explanation revealed in the last 25% or so that was interesting and clever (though I was sad that there wasn't more time spent exploring the concept).
What I Didn’t Love:
- The 'big reveal' happens and explains the disappearances and reappearances of children/individuals around the island, and once it was revealed I found it to be a really fascinating plot point that I wish could've been explored more, but then the story likely would've turned into something entirely different that what it was set out to be. I just found it fascinating and wish there had been some more story to go along with it.
- The book didn't start out quite as fast as I was hoping -- it took a tad longer to suck me in than what I would have wanted (lots of time spent on characters and atmospheric setting upfront, which is entirely understandable!), but it was still more than interesting enough to keep me hooked.
Overall:
I really enjoyed this book overall. I found the premise to be really interesting and loved the Scottish landscape and folklore that were seamlessly incorporated. While the book started off a tad slowly, it really picked up and was able to completely hook me (I HAD to know what was ultimately going on!). I'm excited to see this one in people's hands come October and think many readers will find it to be a solid read!
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for an e-ARC of this book!