While not quite as strong as her previous Gothic thriller, The Nesting, this is still a compelling and atmospheric paranormally-tinged mystery. Loved the Scottish setting, the chilly, foggy atmosphere, and the interweaving of fae mythology in the plot. The premise -- lost sister returns twenty years later, but she's still 7 years old! -- sure is quite the hook, and it definitely pays out in the end. The commentaries on the bonds of family, the historical (and contemporary) persecution of women, and how society tends to label folks as "hysterical" or "unreasonable" are powerful/well-done. Overall, a thoroughly spooky and twisty read, and an easy recommendation during the Halloween season to fans of folk and witchy horror.

I tried reading this book previously but the pace is slow and I didn't have the time to delve into it. I am glad that I waited. It is slow paced but delightfully so. This is a gothic story that has just the right amount of thriller and creepy atmosphere and plot to entrance the reader. Anyone who enjoys a gothic tale and is okay with slower pace, this one is for you.

#TheLighthouseWitches #NetGalley #BerkleyPublishingGroup

The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke is a chilling and atmospheric Gothic thriller that will captivate readers who crave a dark and mysterious tale of witches, family secrets, and supernatural suspense, perfect for fans of eerie and suspenseful stories that explore the mysteries of the past and the power of the unknown.

Who wouldn’t want to read a book about witches and lighthouses? Well, it kind of disappointed on that trait. While I thought the storyline had potential it was a very slow paced book. There wasn’t alot of world building or a magic system like you would expect.
Luna is the only one from her family of 4 not to disappear. Her mother and 2 sisters did in 1998. Flash forward to 2021 Luna gets a call they found Clover. She was expecting to go to the hospital and see a 29 year old woman, but when she walks in she sees her 7 year old sister in the hospital bed. But something isn’t really right about her Luna realizes when she gets home at Clover.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Middle of the road - felt as though the story was drawn out in order to establish background but I didn’t feel like it was necessary.

I found this book rather difficult to stay focused on given the different time jumps and POVs. Which is such a shame because I've read other books by this author and loved them.

Liv, is a single mother to 3 little girls and a surprise request to paint a mural becomes a life line. The opportunity has everything Liv needs. A place to live, space from where they are living and money. She needs a break and this is it. She moves with the girls to the lighthouse and she starts work on her commission. Things aren’t what they seem and after a short time, she isn’t sure it’s the place for her and her girls. Luna, Sapphire and Clover mean everything to her and she can’t decide to leave or stay. One day, two of her daughters go missing and Liv becomes distraught. The remote island they are living on, becomes alive to search for the young girls. The islanders can’t help but retell stories of witches and wildings. Twenty Two years later, after years of searching for her sisters and her mother, Luna, gets a call about her younger sister, Clover. This call, will permanently change her life again and set in motion the craziest and wildest truths she could have ever imagined. This was such a good story. It was very original and I loved how the other put this whole thing together. It seemed that with all the new information she was given, the courage to go back to the island and uncovering the truth about her family, Luna would fail to piece it together. The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke is a very good book. I want to thank Netgalley and the author for my copy of the book for an honest review. It was my pleasure to read and review this book. It was a 4 star read for me. I hope you like it as much as I did.

I read this book about a year ago and why am I reviewing it now? Because I still think about it! This one stays with you. In The Lighthouse Witches two sisters go missing on a remote Scottish island. Twenty years later, one is found--but she's still the same age as when she disappeared. The secrets of witches have reached across the centuries in this chilling Gothic thriller (with some historical fantasy mixed in).
The atmosphere throughout this book is incredible. I could imagine Lon Haven, the Longing and the cottage all so vividly. The story is told from multiple points of view, and across a dual timeline of 1998 and
2021. There's also excerpts from a grimoire found at the cottage, which gives real historical context to the storyline, and also how the UK's Witch trials were carried out.
This book is wonderfully atmospheric with a Scottish setting that felt so dramatic, dark, and wonderful. Set primarily in a remote and isolated island off the coast of the Black Isle I found myself fully immersed in the Scottish scenery. I highly recommend this book for anyone craving a darker twisted history of witch trials in the Scottish Isles. This is a 5 start read for me!

This thriller is the story of a family three young girls and their single mother, who is commissioned to paint a mural in a remote 100-year-old Scottish lighthouse. The family explores their new island residence, attempting to settle in, but then two of the girls go missing. The locals warn of wildlings, supernatural beings who mimic human children, created by witches for revenge. There's nothing like a good ghost story! I loved the references to witchcraft, as I enjoyed the classic "The Crucible" and tours of Salem in childhood. And I definitely appreciated the tiny bit of child psychology thrown in at the end (the sister turns up 22 years later, but turns out to be the young age of seven). Is she a wildling or the true missing sister? Read to find out!

Thank you to Netgalley, Berkley Books, and C.J. Cooke for my egalley!

Extremely well written with engaging characters! The book does have alternating timelines but Cooke is able to present this in a way that flows nicely throughout.

This book was interesting to me. I likes the new way this author thinks about witches using different timelines to tell the story. The way this story was intertwined into different times and places was a work of art. What a masterpiece of weaving over time and the characters were likable and interesting. The story is compelling and well written. I was caught from the beginning to end. *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

Scotland? Yes. Witches? Always. Time-traveling? Not opposed. C. J. Cooke’s The Lighthouse Witches had me hook line and sinker from page one. I was slightly concerned this would have too much of an Outlander vibe, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. A story about fae, wildlings, grimoires, and unexplained disappearances and re-appearances, Cooke creates such an interesting gothic-mystery-thriller-witchy-extravaganza. It is one of those books you want to read again right after finishing it.

Cooke seamlessly incorporated both Scottish and Nordic mythologies, mostly Scottish leaning, on this small Scottish isle. Mom, Liv, comes to the island with her three children Saffy, Luna, and Clover, clearly trying to escape something and end up finding themselves wrapped up in the mysteries of the lighthouse and the centuries-old witches’ curse cast on the island.

Liv brought her family to the island under the pretenses of a commission to paint a mural in the lighthouse. In the month that her family is on the island, Liv begins to experience strange occurrences and has to come to grips with some of the superstitions that the locals have been peddling to her in the wake of the disappearance of two of her children at different times.

Cooke tells the story through four different narrators, Liv, Saffy, Luna, and Robert, all taking place at different times, 1998, 1998, 2021, and the 17th-century, respectively. I thought Cooke did a great job of navigating timelines in The Lighthouse Witches. This narrative structure allowed Cooke to be able to unravel the mysteries of the story in a way that had me guessing until the very end.

Cooke creates such an interesting puzzle in The Lighthouse Witches. The “present” is set with Luna, who was nine when the family moved to the island, as a woman in her early thirties with vague memories of the island and the knowledge that both her siblings and her mother have been missing for 23 years. She suddenly finds herself back on the island with her recently found youngest sister, who is the same age she was when she disappeared.

17th-century Robert, through Saffy reading his grimoire, reveals part of the history of the island. Eventually, through his narrative, we learn of the origins of the curse and the role of the cave, called the Witches Hide. We also learn that perhaps Robert plays a bigger role than first meets the eye.

The Lighthouse Witches draws you in and involves you in this well-paced narrative. I enjoy reading mysteries that drop little nuggets of information allowing you to feel a part of and invested in solving the mystery. Cooke feeds these bits here and there, which at times feels like elucidation and at other times more like obscuration.

If you cannot tell, I truly enjoyed reading C. J. Cooke’s The Lighthouse Witches. It was well thoughtout and executed. The characters and their stories were so compelling. The mystery was truly a mystery. And the incorporation of Celtic and Nordic lore, witches, and time-travel was *chef’s kiss* magnifique.

DNF. I tried but the story just didn't engage me. Reading was a struggle. It didn't interest me enough to give it a second chance,.

Thoroughly enjoyed this and it had some unexpected plot twists that were not over the top (just for "twist's sake). It had some supernatural elements that were super interesting and I had not seen that done before. Really enjoyed.

A great read by this author. I definitely recommend checking this one out!
Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow. Wow. Wow. Do not let this one sit on your shelf for as long as I did.
What an incredibly creepy and wildly interesting book!
I loved the magic the witches created and how it all came together.
Love, love, loved this one.

First I would like to start by thanking the author, Berkley Publishing Group, and Netgalley for the opportunity to receive the advance readers copy of this amazing novel! I am not usually a fan of novels that jump between time period, but I feel as though it gave this particular novel a marvelous aspect and really brought the storyline to another level. The characters were also amazingly designed and thoroughly thought out, with also gave this novel another compelling aspect! Overall, I highly recommend and enjoyed this novel, and during encourage you to read of add this thrilling read to your TBR!!

This book went in a direction that I definitely wasn't expecting. It ended up being more heartbreaking than horror.

The Lighthouse Witches by CJ Cooke is directly up my alley - Set in Scotland, spooky/atmospheric setting, a healthy dose of historical backstory, general witchiness and mystery - amazing, I'm in. If you are a fan of Jennifer McMahon (particularly The Invited and Winter People) you will really enjoy this book. Also bonus points for creepy children.

The storyline starts in 1998 with a single mother, an artist trying to make ends meet with her 3 children when she gets an opportunity to create a mural in a lighthouse on a remote Scottish Island. We then flash forward to one of her daughters as an adult in the present day and flash far back to the origins of witchcraft and witch trials on the very island where the lighthouse resides.

A very fun and quick read, especially on a rainy day!