This one just didn't work for me unfortunately. I found the characters irritating and their motives were cloudy. I thought that the pacing was a bit off, with the first two thirds moving at a slow pace that didn't engage me and then the final third was at such a breakneck pace. I thought the author did a great job of setting, with the Bothy and the island both well drawn. It's just a shame that I didn't enjoy the rest.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was full of mythology, and witch trials. There is a dual timeline running through the book. It is full of atmosphere and has a Gothic feel to it. A great book

This should have been the perfect book for me. Witches, wildlings, Scotland. Sadly, I couldn't adjust to the writing style. I know I'm in the minority here and I wish I wasn't.

Two sisters go missing on a remote Scottish island. Twenty-two years later, one is found - but she’s still the same age as when she disappeared. In 1998, single mother Liv is commissioned to paint a mural in a century-old lighthouse, and it’s an opportunity to start over with her three daughters - Luna, Sapphire and Clover. When two of them go missing, she’s frantic. She learns that hundreds of years ago, several women were tried for witchcraft on the island, and cursed it in an act of revenge. Twenty-two years later, Luna has still not given up searching for her missing sisters. When she receives a phone call that her youngest sister, Clover, has been found, she’s initially ecstatic. Clover is the sister she remembers, except she’s still seven years old. Luna quickly begins to think her sister may in fact be a wildling, an evil supernatural being that mimics children…

I’ll admit, for the first chapter or so, I was convinced I wasn’t going to like this, and then all of a sudden, I couldn’t put it down. The story is told by three timelines and different POVs but it was easy to keep track of things that were going on. I loved reading the parts of Patrick Roberts’ grimoire - I love reading about historical events, and although this was fictional, it was inspired by real events, and I thought the author did a fantastic job in telling a story that would have fit right into Scotland’s history. I found the ending to be a bit bittersweet - I really did not see it coming, although I do wish one or two things had gone a bit differently. I don’t want to say any more than that otherwise I’ll spoil it!

This was a fantastic book, and pretty scary at times! It’s a perfect book to read around Halloween. I will definitely be checking out C.J. Cooke’s other work!

Intense, atmospheric, creepy & well written story line, what more could you ask for in a book!
Would recommend.

This was such a gloriously gothic read, I absolutely devoured this book and found myself thinking about it when I wasn't reading it, I needed to know what was going to happen. I loved the multiple perspectives from the past and present and the remote setting really added to the eerie atmosphere of the story. I will definitely be reading more from this author

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review. I love historical fiction and witches but I DNF this book. I'm not sure why. I might give it a second chance and try again

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

I was really excited to receive an early copy of this book as the blurb sounded great. I love historical witchy books and this one was set in the back drop on a remote Scottish island - adding to the eerie ambience. Liv, a mother of 3, lives in an old leaky lighthouse that is built over a site where witch trials took place and witches were imprisoned and tortured until their execution. When Liv is commissioned by someone on the sea to paint a weird painting of symbols and lines she ends up losing 2 of her children and embarking on a journey with her 9 year old daughter Luna. Fast forward 22 years and Luna is told her younger sister is still alive but that she hasn't aged a day since she went missing.

This story is spun with so much history and mystery but ultimately is underlined with the love.

Fantastic book, thank you for the early copy

The Lighthouse Witches is told from multiple perspectives across several time lines in both first and third person aswell as via an old journal.
Although this may sound confusing the storyline is still easy to follow because the novel is formatted in digestible chapters titled by character names and dates with journal excerpts in italics.
I was especially grateful for this setup as there was very little difference in the voices of mother Liv or daughters Luna and Sapphire.

Whilst the women of The Lighthouse Witches were likeable they felt like shallow stereotypes with no real bonds to eachother. This made it difficult to care what happened to them before or after the events of Lon Haven.

New relationships forged during the book were sudden and emotionless, serving no purpose aside from plot progression. This was particularly off putting when vital decisions and behaviours were based on advice from strangers.
-Oh I should kill this seemingly innocent child because a strange townie I met last month said so? Okay then!

I had to suspend belief for the actions of Liv from the start. She had the ditsy hippy artist vibe but to write her as a caring mother whilst abandoning her children at every opportunity was annoying. Especially considering all those instant connections she made with an entire community at hand to help.
-My teenage daughter is missing! I should run off and leave my young ones alone on a cliff in the dark whilst I look for her, what could possibly go wrong?

The plot is what kept me reading. Needing to know what happened, where each member of the family was and how they got there was intriguing.
My favourite aspect was the book within a book detailing the history of the Lon Haven witches, I'd have happily read this as a standalone short story.

The historical and present day timelines are woven together in a clever and unique twist albeit not entirely explained.
The Lighthouse Witches has a good core story but I felt like the author hadn't explored the how and why of important points before writing, leaving us with clunky additions and unfinished threads.
Characters and events are thrown together in the later/present day timelines, generating a mixing pot rather than any natural progression.

The Scottish island setting is very well written, this is my second read of Cooke and I definitely give points for beautiful scene description in her work.

The Lighthouse Witches is middle of the road for me. The story was engaging, good pacing and excelent setting, but the characters were one dimensional vehicles for a plot with several holes.

Dark, spooky and all those good things. Great characters and the story was fascinating but I did find the main whys and wherefores of the plot a bit hard to follow once secrets stared to be revealed.

This book is gripping! The storyline spanning generations, the multiple POVS, the setting and secrets are just wonderful. It took a little while to get into it, but I was hooked! It's a great book to pick up over Halloween as it's very atmospheric.

This novel totally gripped me from its beginning as we learn of Liv escaping to the remote island of Lon Haven with her three girls to paint a commision in an old light house. The setting and the weather adds to the mystical feeling of the tale and this is 1998 and through different narrators we learn that in 1620 a number of the women on the island were persecuted as witches and dies a gruesome death. Slowly her three girls mysteriously disappear so that Liva is left with only Luna as first her older girl Saffy disappears and then Clover. Liv doesn't belive in witches, or dark omens or hantings but she is soon petrified by events. She is also aware that the villagers are not as she had expected. Then the novel switches to the present day and a very troubled Luna is drawn back to the island and as the last sister it is up to her to discover the truth. This engaging tale meant that I had to read into the wee small hours to complete it as it was so engaging. This is not a genre I would normally engage with but the writing was well executed and I enjoyed reading this novel.

A dark, atmospheric read that had you questioning all the way through, it was finely balanced on the right point of unsettling. Liv was both a terrible mother and a sympathetic one – I really felt for her even as you could see her making bad decisions. She was very real and her struggles were hard to watch.

Saffy, Liv’s oldest daughter was also at times hard to read, a prickly teen with past trauma she too made a lot of bad decisions in her hurt. I wanted to shake her and hug her all at the same time.

The setting was just as much a character in this novel as the people were and the remote Scottish isle was lovingly described in a way that conveyed delight at its ruggedness without shying away from the harshness of the land.

It all tied together in a very readable page turner that had what I felt was a satisfying ending. An enjoyable read.

This was mysterious, intriguing book to me I was so engrossed i hooked me , I loved the plot and the historical references and found this to be quite different it was so gripping a page turner so food I recommend to you all a good book

This book was not exactly what I was expecting but it didn't disappoint. 3 POVs- Part extract from Patrick in the 1600s, part from the family of females staying on the island to paint the mural in the 1990s and part from the preset 2021. But this wasn't at all confusing. In fact it was done very well with each part revealing something to the mystery of what happened to the whole family on Lon Haven. If you enjoy a missing person mystery but also historical witch burning by tyrannical men and insular communities you will enjoy this I am sure

This was the second book I've read from CJ Cooke after "The Nesting" and I was not disappointed. A lonely Scottish island, a family who disappeared, witch hunts - wonderful elements to create a perfect gothic thriller. As in The Nesting, the author is very good in describing the atmosphere. I was guessing the whole time what has happened to Liv and her daughters. What I also liked was the switching between times. Most of the story switches between 1662, 1998 and 2021 when one of Liv's daughters, now an adult, returns to Lón Haven, the remote island in Scotland.

I recommend you not to look to much into the plot, just start reading! This a a great read for Spooktober and other windy autumn nights.

This was mysterious, intriguing and also slightly unsettling, and I was engrossed, I loved the plot and the historical references and found this to be quite unique

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading, as I can find historical fiction based on witch trials difficult to read. This however was the polar opposite, and I devoured it.

A witches' tale set on a remote Scottish island. Liv arrives on the island with her three daughters, Sapphy, Clover, and Luna, to paint a mural and encounters a mystery. Years later, her daughter is still researching the island. But I'll stop there so as not to ruin the book. This novel draws the reader in, until the said reader cannot put it down. Highly recommended.

Liv Stay rents a Scottish lighthouse on the island Lion Haven, despite the fact that it carries a decidedly spooky reputation involving witch hunts and islanders who have disappeared. She doesn’t believe in these things, and only wants a home for herself and her three daughters. But soon, only one daughter will remain: Luna’s mother and two sisters will have disappeared without a trace.
And then one day, twenty years later, someone resembling Luna’s sister turns up - and she hasn’t aged a day.

This is an eerie, unsettling story, packed with history, ancient beliefs and paranoia.

There are three timelines: the 17th century explains the origins of the witches and their slaughter; 1998 where Liv comes to live on the island with her daughters; and the present day, when Luna returns to the island as an adult. These timelines are expertly woven together, and they explain what has happened in the past to form the opinions of the future.

I couldn’t put this down! The more ominous and creepy it became, the more I wanted to listen to it. You certainly won’t want to be visiting caves or lighthouses anytime soon after reading this!

I had trouble connecting with the main characters in the book and sometimes felt the story wasn't very cohesive and felt disjointed.

I liked it but I didn't love it, hence the 3 star review. It was lacking for me but I know others who have loved it