A perfect read for spooky season, I was looking forward to this one and was not disappointed. A suspenseful story with folklore, witches and legends and family stories which makes for a really gripping read.

I have thoroughly enjoyed The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke. It was a little scarier than I was expecting, it had a beautiful gothic feel but there were several points where it teetered on the edge of classic horror for me.

The story is set over different time lines and is all centred around the remote Scottish Island of Lon Haven. We see women being burnt during the witch hunts and cursing the island. Liv and her three girls arrive on the island to paint a mural in the lighthouse which now sits on top of the infamous burning site. Whilst there Liv and her daughter’s Clover and Saffie mysteriously disappear leaving her other daughter Luna completely alone. Back in the present day Luna is contacted by the police so say they have found her sister Clover, she races to the hospital expecting to see her sister who should now be in her late twenties. Instead she is confronted by a young girl who looks just like her sister did when she went missing. But how is that possible?

The Lighthouse Witches is well plotted with an excellent pace. I found some of the Wildling ideas a little hard to get on board with but then I just decided to go with it and was fully absorbed in the story. I would highly recommend this book, it captured my imagination and I loved the spooky side of it.

So I was initially confused for quite a while with this book. But nonetheless engaged and invested in finding out how the book would progress. I didn’t know much about what was happening in Scotland so found that very interesting.

Definitely an unpopular opinion but this just wasn't for me. I so so desperately wanted to love it as it sounded so good but it just all felt a bit meh to me.

Not for me - I found it too contrived which is a pity as I did like the parts that were historical in tone. The plot was stretched about as thinly as it could be!

Recommended! The story is engaging and I like how the author has plotted it. Thank you !

I have read her previous novel, too and it’s also amazing! I will certainly buy the book and recommend it to my friends

A perfect mix of propulsive plot and spookiness! This was a well written, atmospheric gothic thriller that really did keep me on edge all the way through.

An absolutely cracking read. Gripping, chilling and really interesting. Couldn’t put it down and didn’t want it to end.

The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke is just my kind of book. I love it when there is a paranormal angle to a story and this one sure has plenty of weird stuff going on, Both timelines are interesting to follow and I found myself taken with the story. I recommend this book warmly!

I was really excited to pick up The Lighthouse Witches after reading and loving The Nesting by C J Cooke. The Nesting is an addictive, eerie read and I was hoping for much the same with The Lighthouse Witches. What I got was one of the most unputdownable books I’ve ever read.

The story follows Liv, a single mum to three girls – Sapphire, Clover and Luna. Liv takes a job on the remote island of Lòn Haven, where she has been asked to paint a mural inside the old lighthouse. As the family get to know the island they soon learn about the history of witches on the island, and children going missing. Liv believes this to be nothing but superstitious nonsense until one night one of her daughters vanishes. Twenty years in the future, Liv’s youngest daughter Luna is drawn back to the place where her family was torn apart. This time she is determined to find out what happened to her sisters and her Mum.

The Lighthouse is an incredibly impressive book. It seamlessly weaves together a number of different storylines – we follow Liv in 1998 during their time on the island, Luna in the present-day as she attempts to discover the truth about what happened to her family and the grimoire of a witch living on the island hundreds of years ago. The story was utterly compelling and drew me in more and more as the story progressed. This is a dark and twisty tale and I was never sure what was going to happen next. The ending was something I never could have predicted and I thought it was delivered beautifully.

This is my second book from C J Cooke and I really enjoyed her writing style. This book is so easy to get lost in and there were a couple of really eerie moments that sent a shiver up my spine. The book is full to the brim with atmosphere and I loved every second of it. This is definitely a new favourite and I can’t wait to read more from C J Cooke.

Love love loved this book.

It's witches, so of course, I was sold on this originally, but I thoroughly devoured this book. It's perfect for Halloween, it's dark and full of mysterious intrigue, with great storytelling and a fab setting. Loved it. Would highly recommend and will probably reread it come October.

Witches, folklore, wildling children, an ancient mystery??? How could you not want to read this?

This was such an engaging and interesting read that kept me guessing throughout. Extremely satisfying conclusion. I guessed a lot of the 'what' but not the 'why' or 'how' n very much enjoyed this twisty witchy folk horror coming together amongst the ever-present familial love.

I loved The Nesting by the author and this was even more up my alley - cannot wait to see what's coming next.

Big fat huge thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, and the author for this e-ARC. Available to buy now!

After being rather ill this year so far, books have been taking me a while to read until I picked up this one! However, The Lighthouse Witches have been a completely different ball game! I picked it up Friday night and finished it by Sunday lunchtime. I couldn't put it down at all. CJ had me gripped from word go, I couldn't get enough of this chilling, haunting, eery page turner. I loved every minute of it.

I struggled to get into this novel and ultimately did not finish it. Other readers I am sure will enjoy the remote Scottish setting, the gothic atmosphere and the story.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of The Lighthouse Witches by CJ Cooke.

I was really happy to have been selected for a complimentary copy of this book as it would be a book I would have purchased for myself.

The story centres around Liv and her three young daughters who move to Scotland for a short while as Liv has found work painting a mural in an old building. I was drawn in slowly, and found myself turning page after page as the story progressed. The surprise twist was the portal between different times, which finished off the story very well and answered a lot of questions for me.

I love everything to do with witches so this book really appealed to me and the cover is truly stunning!
This book was so easy to fall into and really does take you on a journey, the chapters consume you one by one and follows a great storyline that i found very unique and something that i've never read before which i truly appreciated. It was a very atmospheric read and once you've finished the story really does stay with you.
Fantastic book for anyone thats into gothic thrillers, witches and all things that are mysterious and sometimes can't be explained.

Absolutely stunning!!! I am in love with this captivating masterpiece. This book is creepy and atmosphere and draws you in straight away. Perfect for spooky season or when you’re in the mood for something dark and witchy. A beautiful written gothic thriller!

4.75 stars.

A very curious book at the early reading. I was not expecting too much for this book tbh and it turns out I was wrong.

The book is so perfect for Spooky October reading! They say that this book has the House of Hollow's vibe. I don't know since I haven't read it yet 😂. There are 2 time settings, 1998 and 2021. I am preferring 1998 time setting since the mystery starts in 1998, 2021 is just the aftermath.

Since I also kind of fond a bit to The Lamplighters, also a story which took place in a weird lighthouse hence this book attracted me to read. As it was marketed as horror, it did spooked me out at some point so this book worked with me. We have some historical views about witches in Scotland, small freak communities, Orphan vibes, time messing thingy, fae legend stuff and so i'm in! I'm in the middle of watching Midnight Mass as well so some characters in here, I did matched them up with characters from MM. Too many things unexplained hence i love it.

The thing that I don't like it is that past stories that don't mentioned when it was happened. i'm quite confused actually until they mentioned witches so it happened in 17th centuries some thing.


Overall, i love it anyway. so many things unexplained so it attracts me to knowww

A beautifully wild tale of changelings and witches, The Lighthouse Witches has a dreamlike quality to the writing that I just couldn't get enough of.

Skipping across timelines, this modern fable adds a new twist to a classic folktale and had me absolutely gripped from beginning to end.

Last year I read and reviewed The Nesting by C.J Cooke that was a brilliantly dark read, so I was really excited to be part of the blog tour for this, her new book The Lighthouse Witches. Set on the fictional island of Lòn Haven is the old lighthouse The Longing, built on land once the centre of the 1662 Witch Trials. In 1998 Olivia moves the Island with her three daughters, Saffy , Luna and Clover, to take on an art comission to paint a mural on the wall of the lighthouse. Drawn into the history of the Island, of withches, curses, wildings and omens, Liv starts to see things, both real and not that will eventually result in Liv and two of her daughters disappearing. In 2021 Luna is pregnant with her first child when she gets a call that takes her back to Scotland and ultimately Lòn Haven, where she tries to find out what happened to her mother and sisters twenty three years ago.

The Lighthouse Witches is a book that sent tingles down my spine with the undercurrent of menace throughout. In 1998, Liv is running from herself taking her daughters to Lòn Haven in the middle of the night. This is a small island, open to the elements and very different to their previous home in York, and has a heritage of myth and folklore that goes back to the witch burnings of 1662. The Longing, Lighthouse is delapidated, and stands alone rather like Liv as a single mother; her against the world. She doesn’t believe in witches, wildlings, and the occult but she is surrounded by those who do. The Island gives her work and new friends, a life she didn’t have before so the temptation is to stay. Her eldest daughter Saffy is fifteen and has the usual teenage angst, is furious her mother has taken them to the island making her leave her school, friends and boyfriend. Mixed in to their story is that of Patrick Roberts, a child in 1662 whose mother was burned for witchcraft. Through his eyes we see the fear of those women who were different, midwives and healers and the ultimate price they paid. Patrick’s story also follows his life after that time, and his love for a girl called Amy. As these stories intertwine the plot becomes very unsettling, as past and present overlap.

The Lighthouse Witches is the perfect book title for this time of year, and with not only witches but wildlings, children who have been killed by the fae who then inhabit the bodies and seek revenge on humans. Add to this to the folkore, the runes and symbols, this is is one creepy read. The Island itself adds to the atmosphere, with The Longing delapidated and alone on a rock and the bothy, the cottage next to it, open to the harsh elements of the wind and sea and of course the history. C.J Cooke certianly knows how to build the suspense and this book is bursting with it. We know from the start of the book that Liv, Saffy and Clover go missing in 1998,and as the book built up to this my heart was actually in my mouth. In the present Luna’s arrival sees a different Lòn Haven, physically at least but I could still feel the menacing undercurrent.

The Lighthouse Witches is another dark and unsettling read for C.J Cooke. With characters whose vunerability you care about, and those you don’t know if you should trust make for a compellimg combination. Witches, wildlings and the occult add an unease to this story that is full of tension, suspense and a menacing undercurrent. This is a chilling, haunting and engaging book, with its base in history and folklore, and a bit of superstition mixed with the supernatural .