Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke

18 reviews

gowlstick's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-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? No

2.75

Overall I felt mostly disappointed with this book. I have not read anything else by C.J. Cooke, but I do still feel open to reading something else written by her. I was particularly drawn to the blurb and gorgeous cover art, and based off the brief description I thought it'd be something that would suit both my tastes and my Mums. 

The mystery of the lighthouse, witches and wildlings was decent at first but I found the last third of the book to be pretty dissatisfying.

I did enjoy that the 'wildlings' were only children who travelled by mistake and had no malicious motive was refreshing, though I do love an evil little kid. Or someone who is supposed to be another but just isn't quite right.

The POVs were managed well enough imo, but I felt that clarification that it was a Grimoire section would've been nice (despite the italics). I did find that particularly with chapters written in Luna's POV, the segments dedicated to her memory or flashbacks were unclear and I did find myself confused a few times in those instances.

I generally did not like any of the characters and found some of their building to be a bit weak, and throwaway. 

Somehow this entire book felt like a man trying to write 'strong women' or a 14yo girl writing fanfiction. As mentioned previously I have not read anything from Cooke before, and won't be against it. But I will be more careful to read a chapter or two before investing. And I'd be hesitant to recommend this to people who have similar tastes to mine. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

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

Minor: Miscarriage

pollyhall's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? No

4.0

The atomsphere was done well, at times it had me wanting to visit the Scottish Highlands and other times I didn't want to have anything to do with it. I picked up the book and didn't put it down till I was finished.  I loved the character of Basil and his interactions with the girls and the fisherman. Emotionally this book will have you all over the place there are funny sweet parts and other parts that will have you scratching your head in disbelief that people can do things like this to each other.
At the being it was a little confusing with all the points of views. I had to go back and look at the heading of the sections do see who was speaking. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

tamara_joy's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Infertility, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Blood, and Death of parent

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A book about a lighthouse on a Scottish island and witches with a beautiful cover? I had to give it a try. But this was so much darker than I expected. 

The story is told from multiple points of view in 3 different timelines.
In 1662 several women on a small Scottish island are accused of being witches and executed. Before dying, one of these women curses the island and its inhabitants.
In 1998 Liv and her 3 daughters Clover (7), Luna (9) and Sapphire (15) come to the island, where Liv is hired to paint a mural inside the Longing, the 100 years old lighthouse built at the spot where the witches were imprisoned during their trial. Soon after their arrival, strange things begin to happen and Liv's children start disappearing. 
In 2021 Luna is still searching for her 2 lost sisters, when she gets the message that Clover has been found...

I really enjoyed the atmosphere on the island, it's history and the mystery. But there were some really dark themes here, and a lot of scenes were very hard to read, even for me. So definitely check trigger warnings beforehand. 
There were aspects of the story I did not expect at first but was pleasantly surprised by them. I think they are handled really well and lead to a satisfying conclusion. I liked how the story is plottet, and how you slowly realize what is happening. But it's heartbreaking. I think I cried straight through the last 20-30% of the book just thinking about it. 
This story shows perfectly how the irrational fear of something you don't understand can cause a lot of pain for a lot of people, even generations. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Terminal illness, Blood, and Medical content

Minor: Drug use, Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Murder

lydiavsbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This was just really great. I loved the witchy aspects, both in the supernatural spooky vibes way and in the historical witch trials way. I loved the sisters and their relationships, the different timelines that slowly came together and the very satisfying ending. 

One I just really enjoyed the whole way through that I expect will stay with me for a while (update: I changed my rating from 4.5 to 5 stars - I keep thinking about it and it's got to be a favourite)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

petrareads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I couldn't resist buying this book after I saw a YouTube review, and I definitely didn't regret it. I thought it was thrilling and sometimes scary but also very sweet a lot of times. I didn't really see the twist coming but maybe I should've, and maybe I would've if I'd read more in this genre. I liked the writing and at times it was even pretty poetic. But sometimes it felt awkward somehow, but that might have been on purpose, don't know. I finished the last 243 pages in a single day because I couldn't put it down, so I definitely do recommend this.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, and Child death

georgiakirkegard's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury