This is pure reading bliss for Halloween season replete with gothic horror, secrets and folklore. There are two protagonists, Mabel whose story is set in 1959, and Pearl – her story is set in 1965 and is the opener to the mystery of Mabel.

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For twenty-first century readers the notion of women being sent away to have babies in secret full of guilt and shame is chilling enough, the horrors of these institutions lately exposed and already trickled into contemporary folklore. Then the author adds another layer, the mystery of the supernatural.

The descriptive prose depict intense emotive scenes of childbirth and loss, yet written in such a compelling way, the story is richer for it. Even more so is the story behind these babies, the power of the patriarchy, a society in which women were seen as second class citizens (arguably this is still the case) and unless in wedlock, full of sin and shame. A true horror story.

Themes include: shame, guilt, patriarchy, unwanted pregnancy, manipulation, exploitation, abandonment, grief, loss, love, trust, supernatural, fungi, folklore.

I highly recommend this second novel by C.J. Wood.

This was the second book I read by C. J. Cooke and once more I was not disappointed..!

A great story about social and important issues, with interesting characters. I loved the eerie feeling and the gothic background!

A perfect book for a dark rainy afternoon..!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review!

The Ghost Woods by C.J. Cooke.
In the midst of the woods stands a house called Lichen Hall. This place is shrouded in folklore – old stories of ghosts, of witches, of a child who is not quite a child. Now the woods are creeping closer, and something has been unleashed. Pearl Gorham arrives in 1965, one of a string of young women sent to Lichen Hall to give birth. And she soon suspects the proprietors are hiding something. Then she meets the mysterious mother and young boy who live in the grounds – and together they begin to unpick the secrets of this place. As the truth comes to the surface and the darkness moves in, Pearl must rethink everything she knew – and risk what she holds most dear. Praise for The Ghost Woods . . .
I really really enjoyed this book. Dark and twisted. Haunting too. 5*.

This is my second C.J. Cooke book and I am obsessed! I love the gothic, spooky vibes from this story.

This story turned out to have way more depth than I expected. At first I just expected a spooky tale but the story touched on so many issues like women's bodily autonomy (something which is particularly relevant right now), stigmas around pregnancy and having children, the expectations placed on women by society, being part of the LQBTQ+ community, and so much more.

The story was a little confusing at first with the shifting of timeliness but I quickly wrapped my head around it. It was wonderful watching this story unravel as I tried to make predictions for what would happen next. It really kept me on my toes right up to the last page!

This was a perfect spooky season read and I'm definitely going to be picking up the rest of this author's books.

Dundee, 1959 and Mabel Haggith is seventeen years old and pregnant. She claims she’s never had sex but she has ghosts inside her so maybe they’re to blame. She is packed off to Lichen Hall where she will have her baby and give it up for adoption. Six years later Pearl, 22 and a nurse, is heavily pregnant upon her arrival to the crumbling estate.

Lichen Hall is an old Manor House in the Scottish Borders owned by the Whitlock family. There are stories of strange happenings in this place and of a curse placed by Nicnevin, a fairy queen who stalks the nearby woods. Pearl can sense that something is not quite right but no one will talk about the mysterious boy she sees running around or the fact that Mrs Whitlock sometimes seems like a different person.

This is such an atmospheric book and CJ Cooke manages to create a suspenseful and unsettling gothic tale. Motherhood and what it was like to be pregnant and unwed is a big theme here and I loved the way Cooke explored different reactions from the women. The lack of choices these women faced was frightening and what was even more frustrating was that some were in that position due to rape.

The characters are so easy to empathise with and Pearl stood out for me due to her intelligence, determination and compassion for others. The storyline involving Mabel took a direction I really wasn’t expecting which meant that I enjoyed it all the more.

After reading and loving Cooke’s previous book The Lighthouse Witches I was eagerly anticipating this one and it did not let me down.

Okay, I’ll admit it, I was officially creeped out by this book. It is set in the late 1950s - mid 1960s in Scotland where being an unwed mother and her unfortunate illegitimate child was still very much a stigma. We’ve all heard of the horrific Magdalen laundries which only closed down far too recently for any reasonable person’s thinking. In this story, Lichen House, a truly massive gothic mansion in a remote Scottish location abutting some very dense woods seemed like a humane alternative for many families. The house has a dark past but we don’t believe in witches and ghosts - do we?

Mrs Whitlock runs the house now. Her older husband, who is obsessed with fungi and the symbiotic relationship between some fungi and animals, is slowly developing dementia so his actions are somewhat erratic. Mrs Whitlock herself is alternately charming and friendly and then cold and mean. Also living there is their grandson, Wulfric, another very strange individual. Into this weird environment the young, pregnant women arrive. Some of them do not stand a chance.

There is no midwife, they must fend for themselves. When a problem arises no doctor is called. The red flags are already flapping madly in the wind! The story focuses on Mabel, Pearl, Morwen, Rahmi and Aretta.
Mabel feels she has ghosts inhabiting her body and her baby, Sylvan, is rejected by the couple that comes to adopt him after only a few days. Mabel is happy to have him back but struggles to make a life for them in a crude shack on the grounds of Lichen House. Sylvan is indeed a very different child, he has ‘the sight’ and can see things that others can’t.

Pearl is the last of these women to arrive and she tries to help them as she is a qualified nurse. But it is all too little and too late for most of the residents. This would be a perfect Halloween read - spooky but not violent per se. The story is very gothic and unsettling and quite mysterious.

Do read the author’s notes at the end of the story. She has successfully explored the themes of motherhood, the different views of it, women’s equality and rights and the freedom to choose their own se*uality. Many thanks to Netgalley for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

CJ Cooke writes my favourite kind of thriller— gothic, a little paranormal, and using the narrative to critique societal issues. The Ghost Woods was no different and I found the plot and characters refreshing and immersive.

Set in dual timelines, 1959 and 1956 respectively, the story follows two women at a home for unwed mothers. The Lichen House on the Scottish Borders offers a place for women to escape the shame that their pregnancy has brought upon them. The two POVs, Mabel and Pearl, both find themselves at the home years apart. Though they come from different family and life circumstances, they’re united in their shared independence and belief that something about about the Lichen House is *definitely* not right.

As both of their pregnancies reach their date, the plot is simultaneously unwinding to a folkloric, creepy head, involving Scottish legend and family secrets. As the dual timeline dates draw closer and closer, leading to Mabel and Pearl finally meeting, I found myself at the edge of my seat and racing towards the end. I loved the gothic atmosphere and found the paranormal elements to be right up my alley (mushrooms are always a great villain).

Perfect for fans of VE Schwab’s Gallant and Silvia Moreno Garcia’s Mexican Gothic, The Ghost Woods will appeal to readers looking for a pacey, gothic thriller for their autumnal TBR. A great addition by CJ Cooke and has more than proved to me how much I love her work!

The Ghost Woods by C.J. Cooke

Set in Scotland the book opens in 1959 with Mabel and then a skip forward a fee years to Pearl in 1965. Both women have been sent to the infamous Lichen Hall in The Scottish Borders to give birth in relative secrecy, to avoid the shame and judgment from society that comes with being unwed and pregnant in those times. And, of course not all is what it seems, Lichen Hall along with its inhabitants are hiding secrets, something dark lingers in its halls and stirs within The Ghost Woods and it soon becomes clear that once you enter Lichen Hall you may never leave....

This book is gloriously gothic! Dark and enticing, cloaked in folklore and quite simply the perfect autumn read!

Witches, ghosts, a big old creepy house and a multi timeline/POV mystery that quite simply had me hooked instantly.

I absolutely loved The Lighthouse Witches, devoured The Nesting and this one has me declaring myself officially this authors biggest fan! Her writing style is so dreamy and delicious and C.J Cooke has completely stolen my book loving heart.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins Publishing for my advanced copy of this book to read and review before publication date on 13/10/22

I loved The Nesting and The Lighthouse Witches so I was really looking forward to this next book.

It being “spooky season”, it’s a perfect time for it to be released. As usual, the writing is fantastic and atmospheric, I was very invested in all of the characters, even though Pearl and Mabel are the key players (or so the chapter headers have us believe!)

The story has a lot going on, shame, forbidden love, friendship, and of course, ghosts, creatures, and incredible sadness.

Overall, if you’re a fan, then this book will not disappoint. If you’re not a fan, then you should be!

My thanks to Netgalley. My review is based on an advance copy that I received from the publisher.

One of my favourite reads last Halloween was The Lighthouse Witches, and author C.J. Cooke has done it again with her latest release, The Ghost Woods.

This was another perfect read for the spooky season! There is witchcraft, fairies, zombies, creepy children, a remote house, gruesome body horror, tales of folklore, and a tense gothic vibe, all set alongside themes of feminism, motherhood, and nature. What more could you want?

Atmospheric and mysteriously alluring, The Ghost Woods is a beautifully obscure and fantastical gothic historical fiction full of imagination and dark curiosity.

So much about the story kept drawing me in - the setting, the characters, the research that went into making everything seem authentic - I wanted to visit every part of the house and grounds and question every character about their past to find out everything going on. Because you definitely won't have read a story like this before, and Cooke does a fantastic job of bringing the wildness of nature indoors (literally).

Set in the puzzling Lichen Hall and told through two timelines, the past (1959) and present (1965), there's a lot to uncover, but I definitely couldn't predict what was behind it all. I was gripped throughout, as the compelling characters who come together in their desperation helped lead me through this maze of peculiarities.

The themes of sexuality, gender equality, and motherhood are explored brilliantly in both the setting and time period, showing how we have progressed in certain areas but also discussing the different ways in which a woman's body can often not feel like their own.

There is so much to love about this book and it was easily a five-star read for me. It's the perfect read over the autumn months and C.J. Cooke is most definitely an author I now get excited about!

The Ghost Woods is told from two viewpoints and alternates between two timelines. The main characters, Mabel in 1959 and Pearl in 1965 are unmarried mothers sent to live at the isolated Lichen Hall. It is immediately apparent that all is not well in this unsettling house.

The author has a real gift for creating a compelling atmosphere which draws the reader deeply into the story. The writing is so skilful and imaginative. The characters and their relationships are very well developed. The mystery of the story is laced with folklore and mythology. This is a novel which is impossible to put down. A really rewarding read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC in exchage for an honest review.

Set over two quite close time lines - 1959 and 1965 - Pearl arrives at Lichen Hall in the Borders - a private establishment, rather than an institution, for unmarried, pregnant women. They give birth to their babies and they are adopted by childless couples. The young women then leave and go back to their own lives. But this establishment is so much more than this. There are secrets; there is witchcraft; there is evil.
This is so well written - atmospheric, well drawn characters, the shame of pregnancy out of wedlock, female relationships. Compulsive reading.
Many thanks to Netgalley/C.J. Cooke/HarperCollins UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Ghost Woods was a gothic tale that had me on edge throughout with a strong creepy atmosphere, but it was a lot more than that. There was a strong historical fiction feel to the writing too as we explore a 50s/60s mother and child home.

I absolutely adored Cooke's depiction of pregnancy, of child birth and of newborn babies and new mothers. I don't think I've honestly read a depiction that captured such magical baby moments like when a wee baby is weighed not long after being born. The depictions were both raw and magical, just like the real thing. The emotions the girls and women had to go through before, during and after birth were powerfully rendered.

However that doesn't take away from the overall story that is strongly rooted in a cursed house and mystery of the woods and what is happening at Lichen House, beyond the obvious. My heart is just about settling down now that I finished reading it 30 mins ago and would recommend it to lovers of gothic tales that are also feminist, queer and diverse.

The Ghost Woods is a dual timeline novel based in a home for pregnant, unmarried young women in Scotland. Near to the house at the Ghost Woods (which live up to their name) an array of fungi profilerate in the forest and appear to have spread to the house, causing half the house to be uninhabitable. Almost all the children are adopted by married, heterosexual couples, often against the will of the birth mother.

Sylvan is one young boy who remains in the grounds of the house with his birth mum, and he has the special sight to see the future and find lost people, which starts to take a toll on him. It's not long before Sylan and others at the house, including one of the owners, develop mysterious illnesses, but who or what is behind this...?

A darkly gothic beauty of a novel addressing difficult topics such as rape, incest, still birth and murder.

Mabel & Pearl enter Lichen Hall to have their babies 6 years apart. The two timelines eventually merging together.
I do love a gothic novel & equally a book set around real events/historical times. Sadly, for me, this book didn’t quite hit the mark on either. The promised folklore fell a bit flat, only really coming out at the end & there just wasn’t enough about a house for unmarried mothers (there didn’t seem to be any other women staying to give birth except at the beginning?) There were a few unexplained events too?
Great idea that started well but just didn’t keep up the momentum?

This was really nothing like I expected whatsoever! I liked the duel timelines although I did struggle to keep up with which characters went with which period at times. It wasn’t that action packed but I was still hooked and loved the twists. The ending wasn’t the best as it left things unanswered but it didn’t spoil the book. Only issue I really had was I couldn’t understand how the title fit in at all and one character had ‘ghosts’ living in her which was never explained. Good read though!

I've been a fan of C.J. Cooke's atmospheric gothic thrillers ever since I read The Nesting back in 2020, so of course I couldn't resist the invitation to read her newest story The Ghost Woods early. It's such a perfect read for this time of the year as well! The premise itself sounded fantastic, and I have been looking forward to start this historical fiction slash gothic horror slash paranormal read. I have to say that The Ghost Woods definitely lived up to expectations for me! Highly atmospheric, dark, ominous and the perfect gothic vibe: if you are looking for your next creepy Halloween read, this story is perfect!

One of the things that I love of her books is just how well she is able to set the perfect creepy and ominous gothic atmosphere both through her descriptions and the setting itself. Lichen Hall is an excellent example of this: the house makes for the perfect backdrop, and its background and reference to the folklore add an instant creep factor. I really liked the 1950s-1960s time frame this story was set in, with the focus on single mothers, gender inequality and (LGBT) discrimination. The fact that not that long ago it was not only frowned upon to have a child out of wedlock, but women even lost their jobs as well as their reputation is a scary thought... The different characters represented different social issues, and they each gave the story more dept.

The Ghost Woods is one of those stories that is hard to put into a neat little genre box as well. True, it is historical fiction with the focus on single mothers and the challenges they face. But it is also a thriller with gothic horror vibes... And there is most definitely a paranormal element to it as well mixed with folklore and even witches. The different genres and elements are blended together perfectly, and the result is a story that will stay with you for a long time. The fungus element itself was fascinating, and especially how it was incorporated into the plot. It gave me Mexican Gothic vibes actually; a book I loved as well.

The story switches back and forth between two POVs: Pearl in 1965 and Mabel first in 1959 and then in the years leading up to 1965. There is some overlap and they are both set in Lichen Hall, so you will have to keep your wits with you and pay attention to keep the two apart. I liked how the plot was built though, and how you slowly learn more about what is actually going on at Lichen Hall. I did guess one of the major plot twists right very early on, but I personally wasn't too bothered by that because the journey was well worth it on its own.

All in all The Ghost Woods turned out to be a well written and atmospheric blend of historical fiction, gothic horror and paranormal elements, and the gothic vibe is done splendidly. It's a fantastic option if you are looking for something to get you in the mood for Halloween!

Atmospheric and bizarre! I loved it! This book was amazing from start to end!
The story covers difficult concepts (pregnancy, loss and servitude) really well.
It will be staying with me for a long time and it’s a great read for spooky season too!
I hope this is made into a film as it would be dark and twisty.

Done on goodreads too.

This is an intersectional exploration of human rights wrapped up in a gothic tale. Women’s rights, gay rights, gender equality, the transitional nature of motherhood, it’s all there. The story draws on the powerful imagery of folklore villains to symbolise how society can isolate, marginalise and manipulate vulnerable people to such an extent that they feel they deserve the terrible things that happen to them.

Lichen Hall is supposed to be a safe haven for unwed pregnant women in the 1960s. It appears as the lesser of two evils compared to the mother and baby institutes scattered across the country. We read about the experiences of Mabel and Pearl, both very different people from very different backgrounds. Lichen Hall is run by the foreboding Mrs Whitlock who initially appears sympathetic but there are rumours from the surrounding area that she and her husband have been involved in experimenting on their own family with mushrooms and fungi. Lichen Hall itself is said to be cursed by the queen of witches, Nicnevin who haunts the Ghost Woods by Lichen Hall.

I admired Pearl from the start. She was brave, compassionate and a headstrong heroine who was not prepared to accept any cruelty from Mrs Whitlock. I was impatient with Mabel but as the story unravelled I then saw how her experiences had shaped her and realised that she was in fact brave in her own way and extremely kind in the face of so much adversity. This is the last of a ‘thematic trio’ as the author puts it, exploring the relationship between nature, motherhood, memory and trauma. The nature of motherhood was delved into in The Lighthouse Witches but I preferred the scene setting in The Ghost Woods, which made for a more immersive read and a deeper connection to the characters.

I’ll definitely be reading The Nesting to complete the trio and I'd highly recommend The Ghost Woods for fans of Mexican Gothic. Weird and wonderful.

Thank you netgalley for this advanced reader copy. This review will appear on www.instagram.com/gothicshelf on 13th October 2022.

Unfortunately, this book is not for me, I DNF'd this book as the writing style is not one that I enjoyed and I wasn't a fan of the "not like other girls" voice that came through