fionamatilda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Pregnancy, Child death, Cancer, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Violence, Abandonment, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death and Drug use
chopspy's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Spoiler
Talking about you LivGraphic: Blood, Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
julieyael's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The setting is quite ominous, and we feel something is off but the plot twist is hard to guess.
The characters have enough background to be interesting and the story is well written.
Some typically Scottish words were sometimes hard for me (I am not a native english speaker), but it was interesting to learn things😉
I did not rate this book with 5 stars because in my opinion some parts of the plot remains blurry. Also at times, some characters are acting in a not so logical way and I found it annoying.
But other than that I fell in love with this book and probably will read it again in the future.
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent, Infertility, Miscarriage, Violence, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Murder, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness
Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Grief, Torture, Rape, and Alcohol
blklagoon's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Genocide, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Drug use, Blood, Rape, Gore, Cursing, Abandonment, Terminal illness, and Sexual violence
pollyhall's review
- 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
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.
Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Deportation, Gore, Infertility, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Abandonment, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
amelia_d's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I also wasn't a fan of how the plot developed, I won't explain how as I would have to spoil things that happen late in the book. But overall I was quite disappointed. Loved idea of it from the description before I read it but the execution just wasn't for me I suppose.
Moderate: Cancer, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Murder, Child death, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, and Drug use
lilifane's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Confinement, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Drug use, and Murder
tigerlilliereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Honestly, I put this book off for way too long because I am in love! I picked up the book based off of the cover (I know!) and the fact it had witches in the title. Little did I know this book would have so many more levels than I could ever imagine. I’m not one to read a thriller book, and I loved it.
This story tells of some characters narrating from different time zones about their time on a Scottish island called Lòn haven. I’m trying to not give too much away as the story is very cleverly written with lots of interlinking. The story features Liv and her three daughters, Saff, Luna and Clover as they arrive on the island and Liv is tasked with painting a mutual in the lighthouse. Whilst there the family learns about the dark secrets and mysteries, witches and wildings that haunt the suspicious and cruel towns people.
I love a witchy story but this one had so many more levels and so much more grounding in reality. The poignant message the story brings is still relevant now as it was back in the 1600s. The focus on the Scottish witch killings that are barely known about is, not only interesting, but also vital for those stories to be given a voice. I recently read A kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll and it also features this topic too.
Honestly, this book is great and mirroring and interlinking of past and present and that ending! I am looking forward to reading more from this author!
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Terminal illness
tericarol21's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Blood and Rape
Minor: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Miscarriage
georgiakirkegard's review
- 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
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Sexual assault, Rape, Death, Terminal illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping