butterflywitch9's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
- Characters: I found the characters to be fairly well done, but for the most part not terribly memorable. I found the older version of Luna to be annoying to read from the perspective of, I know she was in a tough situation but her decisions usually left me feeling frustrated at how illogical they were (not just in the practical, always doing the correct thing sense, but I just can't see things playing out like this in real life kind of way). My favorite dynamic was everything to do with Saffy, especially the contrast between herself, grunge and knowledgeable about witches, and Rowan, aesthetically Wiccan but lacking in local lore. The reveal of Robert, the lighthouse owner, was also a good character treat! But Saffy alone brings my character rating from a 3 to a 3.5.
- Plot: The plot was a slow unraveling of the mystery and history of witches and changelings on the island. It doesn't have a super strong narrative, it's more about the daily lives of the characters as the secrets unfold. Again, I found the present day side of the story weaker than the past. Overall, it's serviceable, but it didn't usually "wow" me, so I would also give this a 3.5.
- World Building: This is one of the story's strong suits! It's more so about how it builds the atmosphere of tension and isolation on a small, distant island village, surrounded by ocean and forest and few people you could turn to or trust. The present day version of the island also develops the world building and plot in an interesting way! I'm giving this part a 4.
- Themes: The main themes are about the struggles of keeping a family together, and the violent mob mentality people can fall into the trap of. The main family is messy, unified in dealing with one problem but with different and conflicting methods. I wasn't the biggest fan of the resolution, but I can understand it. The other theme about mob mentality is a classic one in stories about witches. The powerful members of society rally everyone against a vulnerable person for selfish gain. This idea repeats itself in the history of the island, and even some of the main characters are nearly influenced by it, too. For the well executed, consistent themes, I give this section a 4.5.
- Writing Style: I found the writing style good overall. Dark themes and descriptions are written in non-exploitative ways for vulnerable characters. It's not a super elegant prose, but not drab and unimaginative either. I was especially intrigued by the "jump scares" she wrote in, where something creepy is described vividly, but only for a line or two. It leaves a subconscious image in your mind of something "wrong" in an otherwise normal scene. I had to double back to re-read them to make sure I read it right the firs time! However, the one thing I don't dislike but am confused about is the perspective. The mom's perspective is first person, but the daughters' are both in third. It doesn't make sense for it to be a story the mom is telling when she doesn't know everything and dies before the end of the narration. Regardless, the writing is a solid 4 for me.
- Magic: This section disappointed me a bit. How much magic was real or just superstitious perception was muddied, which I suppose is kind of the point, but I really wanted a good magical book. I don't blame it for not being that, but I think it could have been a bit more clear then! I also understand why magic was used as a red herring in the horror part of the book, but once it was apparent that almost anyone involved in magic and witchcraft was innocent, and it's the witch hunters that are the real villains of the story each and every time, I wish there was more time dedicated to revealing those kinds of horrors. I don't feel so strongly that I'd go as low as a 3, but no more than a 3.5, either... 3.25?
- History: If you read the author's notes, you can see she's clearly invested in the real world history of witches and their persecution. She obviously fictionalizes the history of the island and adds some magic, but it's so clearly based on actual treatments of witches, trials, burnings, and then becoming lost to history. C. J. Cooke, you deserve a full 5 stars for your dedication to bringing buried history back to life.
- Final Thoughts: My average score for the book rounds up just slightly from 3.96 to a 4. I felt the lack of commitment to horror, magic, and strong characters (especially young Clover and Luna) held the story back a bit. We were treated to some extra intriguing moments in the plot, but those can't carry the story by themselves. However, the remote Scottish island setting, attention to historical details, and themes of social persecution and what threatens to tear a family apart are very compelling, which still makes the book worth reading. The Lighthouse Witches won't make it to the top of my re-read list, but I'm happy to have read it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Abandonment and Violence
fionamatilda's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Child death, Cancer, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Violence, Abandonment, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death and Drug use
allietriestoread's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Murder
Moderate: Death, Rape, Death of parent, Body horror, and Bullying
aj_langley's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Child abuse, and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Infertility, and Death of parent
julieyael's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
This book was a wonderful read. Not a real horror book to my opinion, more an eery and mysterious one.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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
xkwright's review
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual assault and Death of parent
hayley_mariep's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Body horror, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Child abuse
Moderate: Murder, Abandonment, and Miscarriage
Minor: Police brutality, Rape, Cancer, and Alcoholism
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.
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.
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.
Spoiler
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, Blood, Rape, Gore, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, and Death of parent
Minor: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Pregnancy
suddenlyjamie's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
Moderate: Violence, Torture, and Sexual content
Minor: Abandonment, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Cancer, and Gore
zoe_reads87's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
I picked this book up on a whim purely because I liked the cover. I’m so glad that I did. I thought it was going one way but then it went a totally different way. A really creepy read full of amazing details, at some points I felt like I was there. I even cried a few times towards the end.
I’ll definitely be reading more of her books.
I’ll definitely be reading more of her books.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment and Sexual assault