Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke

28 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

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

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

ghostams's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I really enjoyed this book! It was a really interesting take on folklore, magic, and science! I have to say up until the last 50 or so pages, I wasn’t sure which way the plot was leaning which is really impressive! This was a book equally heart-wrenching and heart-warming. One that, in my opinion, is a truly unique take on the subjects it contains!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Drug use, and Abandonment

Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, and Car accident

caitlin_123a's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

narsere's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Torture

pkc's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

This book had a touch of everything and I loved it. It was a rip-roaring plot, fabulous character development and a really great mystery that seemed to be one thing but masqueraded as something else. Just brilliant. I had a rare time reading this book and I’d like to look at more that the author has released!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

spookyaz's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

lavenderbluestories's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Cancer

chopspy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A mystery horror thriller with themes of witch trials and family. As well as the inescapable passage of time. 

The mystery itself had me hooked and I only understood it when the story wanted to.

It blends multiple character perspectives really well and overall is well paced.

The characters themselves feel human, especially those that make mistakes and grow from it.

Talking about you Liv

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail