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A review by cyireadbooks
The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke
5.0
What an unexpected surprise! The Lighthouse Witches is a gothic novel written in multiple points of view and timelines. It is a tale of Scottish folklore centering on the witch-hunt, curses and wildlings in an era when superstition and fear drove the town’s inhabitants to perform unspeakable acts upon the men, women, and children accused of witchcraft.
It is the year 1998 and single mom Olivia (Liv) Stay and her three daughters, Sapphire, Clover, and Luna packed up their belongings to move into the town of Lón Haven, Scotland. There, Liv was commissioned to paint a mural inside the island’s 100 year-old lighthouse. A strange request and stranger still was that the mural would depict a conglomeration of strange symbols and triangles. Little did Liv know that the lighthouse was built upon an ancient holding pen that was used to imprison accused witches awaiting trial. It was those witches that cursed the townsfolk and the island by making a pact with the fairies to give them human form so they could take revenge on humankind.
Shortly after the gruesome discovery about the lighthouse, Liv, Sapphire, and Clover go missing leaving just nine-year old Luna behind in a forest.
Fast forward to 2021. Luna now a grown woman gets shocking news that Clover has been found. But more astonishing is that Clover is still the seven year old that went missing twenty-plus years ago.
The Lighthouse Witches is a slow read. This is probably due to the world-building and character development. Traversing different timelines and developing characters for each timeline takes skill and author C. J. Cooke has done an excellent job at accomplishing both.
The plot is slowly unveiled in snippets which compels the reader to want more and continue with the story. A cliffhanger is always around each corner.
The Lighthouse Witches is not just about witchhunts and curses. It is more than that. Witches and curses provide the perfect backdrop for a startling ending worthy of five stars.
I received a digital ARC from Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
This review is scheduled for a October 23rd book tour on my blog. It will cross post to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram on that date.
It is the year 1998 and single mom Olivia (Liv) Stay and her three daughters, Sapphire, Clover, and Luna packed up their belongings to move into the town of Lón Haven, Scotland. There, Liv was commissioned to paint a mural inside the island’s 100 year-old lighthouse. A strange request and stranger still was that the mural would depict a conglomeration of strange symbols and triangles. Little did Liv know that the lighthouse was built upon an ancient holding pen that was used to imprison accused witches awaiting trial. It was those witches that cursed the townsfolk and the island by making a pact with the fairies to give them human form so they could take revenge on humankind.
Shortly after the gruesome discovery about the lighthouse, Liv, Sapphire, and Clover go missing leaving just nine-year old Luna behind in a forest.
Fast forward to 2021. Luna now a grown woman gets shocking news that Clover has been found. But more astonishing is that Clover is still the seven year old that went missing twenty-plus years ago.
The Lighthouse Witches is a slow read. This is probably due to the world-building and character development. Traversing different timelines and developing characters for each timeline takes skill and author C. J. Cooke has done an excellent job at accomplishing both.
The plot is slowly unveiled in snippets which compels the reader to want more and continue with the story. A cliffhanger is always around each corner.
The Lighthouse Witches is not just about witchhunts and curses. It is more than that. Witches and curses provide the perfect backdrop for a startling ending worthy of five stars.
I received a digital ARC from Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
This review is scheduled for a October 23rd book tour on my blog. It will cross post to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram on that date.