Excellent… I was totally involved in the story, the characters and their lives. Emotional and poignant… beautifully written and so evocative. A truly fantastic read!

I haven't read or listened to any of Lulu Taylor's books before but something about the cover, the title and then the synopsis drew me in and I wasn't disappointed.

This is a story that, whilst it didn't have a lot of 'action', kept me engaged and keen to learn more about the various characters in the story. It's told from 2 timelines, 1939 and the present day, and uncovers the secrets and mysteries of both households from both periods.

The characters were well developed and interesting; the mysteries and family dynamics and how the two timelines came together was what kept me engaged. I also found the narrators excellent and really drew me in which made this an enjoyable listen.

Many thanks to MacMillan UK Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of The Forgotten Tower and for introducing me yet another author to look out for.

I really enjoyed the audio of the Forgotten Tower- split between present day and the past (85 ish years ago) we learnt the secrets and stories of those who live/lived there. The story is suspenseful, tragic and heartwarming, will be recommending!

Lulu Taylor is great at blending the past and present into a slowly unraveling story based around a large house, or in this case a castle.

The present day finds us with a young couple who have just inherited a castle, the wife, Georgie struggling with the thought of moving from London to a rural castle.

The past takes us back to the castle during the war, with the story primarily based around teenage twin girls. Their father has died, their mother is so tramatised she doesn't know who she is, and there's an unwelcome visitor making himself at home.

I enjoyed listing to the story (I listened to the audiobook), it kept me enthralled trying to figure out how it would all come together. Another great book from Lulu Taylor.

There's no denying, Lulu Taylor writes beautifully and evokes a sense of time and place that not many other authors I have read do.

The Forgotten Tower uses dual timelines - going back and forth from wartime to present day and follows a family that live in Wakefield Castle. Dual timelines are a favourite of mine as they help to examine different generations of a family and what drives them.

Unfortunately this novel didn't capture my attention properly as nothing really happened, no revelations, just a slow unfolding story of the generations. The narrators did a fantastic job, however.

What a lovely book! Although dealing with some dark issues (very well, may I point out), the book is gentle and sweet and I loved it.
Following two time frames, wartime and modern day Britain, Lulu Taylor introduces some clever parallels, linking the eras together.

Thank you for the ARC copy of this title

A well written Gothic tale, with dual timelines linked by Wakefield Castle.

Whilst I did enjoy this title, the story was really interesting and i enjoyed the switching between the past and the present day. The reason I have only given it 3 stars is that it wasn’t enough of a mystery for me, there were no twists or anything unexpected. There was nothing I disliked but I also didn’t love it. However the story was really well written, I thought all of the characters developed nicely and it was a nice easy listen. It had me interested and looking up some facts about WW2.

The narrators did a fabulous job and really added to the book and I would definitely listen to another audiobook read by either of them

Thank you NetGalley and LuLu Taylor for the ARC of The Forgotten Tower..

This book is wonderfully written by Lulu. Set on two timelines, 1939 at the start of the war and present day as a historical mystery fiction

In 1939, the story follows a family and children at Wakefield castle, I loved the characters in this era. The children Kathrine, Constance, Miranda and Roselind get up to all sorts while attending their day to day chores. And who is this mysterious woman who lives in one of the towers?

In the present day, Casper inherites Wakefield castle with his wife Georgie. Georgie starts to find old memorabilia which starts to intrigue her and brings to light some trauma of her own to deal with.

I love the narrators, loulou herself and Elina Jackson both have lovely voices to listen to, which gives the past and present definition. Both narrators have great pace and depth which made this book wonderful to listen to.

The narrative tackles some real life issues that were faced both in the wartime and in present. We sometimes forget how hard life can be, mixed with war and women fighting to be equal. Even in present times. Both timelines are very emotive and stirred some quite intense emotions. The Forgotten Tower has a wonderful mix of intrigue, mystery and string character development that keeps you interested from beginning to end


Solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve read several of Lulu Taylor’s gothic mystery novels and always associate them with winter reading. As you can probably tell from the beautiful cover, much of this book takes place over a very cold and snowy winter which causes all kinds of difficulties for the characters.

One thing I always enjoy about Lulu Taylor’s novels is that they are set in both the past and the present. There is usually some large building connecting both timelines which is almost a character in itself and that’s certainly the case here with Wakefield Castle.

In the past, Wakefield Castle is home to twins Miranda and Rosalind and their siblings but also home to a mysterious guest who is living secretly in one of the towers. In the present, Georgie’s husband Caspar has inherited the castle from his great-uncle and they have moved in with a view to restoring it to its former grandeur.

I felt like the two stories really were quite separate in this book until quite near the end. Obviously the castle linked both timelines but other than that, it did feel like two quite different stories. I have to say that I did prefer the historical strand in this book more. There was more mystery and more danger associated with that part of the story. The old recipe book which Georgie discovers leads her to try to find out more about the castle’s past inhabitants and that’s when the story started to come together. There were some similar themes in both parts of the book such as emotionally abusive relationships and many of the characters showed great courage.

I listened to this as an audiobook and I thought that the narrators were excellent. The author herself voiced the present strand with Eleanor Jackson reading the historical part. The both evoked a sense of the era they were reading about.

Although it isn’t my favourite of Lulu Taylor’s novels, I would still recommend this as a great book to curl up with on a chilly afternoon or a dark evening. If you enjoy dual timeline novels with plenty of intrigue, secrets and danger, then this is a book for you.