Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke

46 reviews

emilyliest's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

An interesting concept, really liked the history behind the book and following different characters kept it exciting and mysterious. The twist wasn’t as gripping as expected, mostly because I found it harder to follow towards the end as everything got faster-paced in each section of story. Didn’t find any of the characters particularly loveable. In particular I found Patrick annoying - not much time spent on him, then he suddenly turned dark and disappeared into his ‘happy ending’ without much further comment.
The end was nice at tying everything together but felt a little rushed and convenient. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, Torture, Death of parent, and Abandonment

karenschlesser's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death and Drug use

bookish_hollyx's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, and Murder

bella_finlayson's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Abandonment

lauriej's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Absolutely loved this book! Really atmospheric and set on a wild Scottish island which adds to the book.
It is sensitive to the dark and brutal history of Scotland during the witch trials, and highlights a need for this to be remembered. 
Loved the element of folklore with the wildlings, and how nature is very much part of the story. 
Would 100% recommend this book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Minor: Miscarriage and Car accident

Spoiler: My only reason to not give the full 5 stars is that I found the social services too relaxed which was a small gripe! Other than that, loved it!

grunbean's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I had bought this on a whim, and hadn’t heard anything about it before I bought it. I was so pleasantly surprised. I’ve been wanting to read spookier books as we come in to autumn, and it did not disappoint! 

I have a soft spot for stories about girls and their mums. The author captures this and all the nuances of growing up as a girl so well. Paired with the darker side of this beautiful Scottish isle, it’s heart warming. Sometimes also heart wrenching, and enough to have your heart racing! I couldn’t put down the book towards the end. I think all the pieces of the story fell into place beautifully. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

thegouldfish's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

The themes of this book - Scottish witch trials, false accusation of innocent people, single parenthood - are good and important. The story is largely compelling but for me it lost intrigue when the main mechanism was revealed. The writing is choppy in places (landscape features are described four times throughout as ‘muscular’, for example, and the use of tenses and persons is a bit incongruous) but nice in others and effectively builds the setting and tension.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Torture, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic

anapthine's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Blood

echolliot's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Blood, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Drug use, Miscarriage, Grief, and Alcohol

friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Captivating story, distinct characters and a very original and well executed idea. It's exactly what I was looking for!
Medieval witches, eerie but not horror scary. Just my thing. I recommend this to people looking for a mystery, the vibes of stormy shores and creepy small isolated island. Also joy and hardships of single parenting. Enjoy!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Torture, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Creepy kid behavior Children missing