Book Review: The Lighthouse Witches // C.J. Cooke
The Lighthouse Witches
Stand alone
Format: e-arc (thank you to Netgalley and the publisher (@harpercollinsUK) for a review copy)
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: 1st October 2021
Synopsis:
When single mother Liv is commissioned to paint a mural in a 100-year-old lighthouse on a remote Scottish island, it's an opportunity to start over with her three daughters--Luna, Sapphire, and Clover. When two of her daughters go missing, she's frantic. She learns that the cave beneath the lighthouse was once a prison for women accused of witchcraft. The locals warn her about wildlings, supernatural beings who mimic human children, created by witches for revenge. Liv is told wildlings are dangerous and must be killed.
Twenty-two years later, Luna has been searching for her missing sisters and mother. When she receives a call about her youngest sister, Clover, she's initially ecstatic. Clover is the sister she remembers--except she's still seven years old, the age she was when she vanished. Luna is worried Clover is a wildling. Luna has few memories of her time on the island, but she'll have to return to find the truth of what happened to her family. But she doesn't realize just how much the truth will change her.
Rate: 4.5 / 5 ⭐
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Review:
I loved this book. The Nordic folklore and myths, the witch trials, and that amazing plot twist at the end. I had a completely different idea in mind but this twist was a more interesting and excellent addition to the story.
The story is told in three different timelines, 1662, 1998, and 2021. You might think it's confusing but honestly, it was told well. The story comes together, with all the loopholes being explained as it progresses.
The plot of the story is pretty dark and engaging. Luna (2021) gets a call stating that they have found her sister who went missing 22 years ago. When she gets there she does find Clover but she looks exactly as how she was when she was missing, a 7-year-old girl. Of course, this takes us to what happened in 1998, told through the povs of the mother and the other sibling, Saffy. the mother had driven all the way to Scotland to fulfill a painting commission at the island of Lon Haven. She is blissfully unaware of the superstitious townspeople and the witchy history that the lighthouse is involved in. This was a well-written story and I love how it wove together the myths of witches and faes. Tbh, I did get the creeps when reading about the wildlings.
The characters are amazing. I thought they were all well written out, including the side characters. My favourite had to be Luna and Olivia, the mother. Sapphire got me screaming at her whenever she got herself in scary situations due to her stupid decisions.
My favourite of the book though is the themes about the women. How women have been suffering then till now due to misogyny. In the 1662 timeline, told through a grimoire, there is a story of a lady being r*ped (it is not mentioned explicitly) and then accused of being a witch because she apparently put a spell on the man. You can clearly see how unfair this is. Even though it is the man's fault, the woman was accused. This is how men make use of the witch trials. Not so surprisingly this can also be related to current times where women are accused of seducing the men due to what they wear, instead of it being the man's fault. Another theme this book spoke about was motherhood. We could see Olivia struggling to be a single mother to three children, with barely a job or a home. And Luna, who has grown older with the trauma of losing her family and trying to give birth to one of her own.
Cooke's story set on this hauntingly beautiful island, with a fearful and malevolent presence of the witch's curse, has made this a very compelling and oddly empowering story about women. Definitely recommend!
PRE ORDER ON BLACKWELLS
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
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