A book with two intertwining stories and also for once managing to connect all the dots together nicely.<br>

This story has three periods where it is set in. Firstly, the 17th century for Elizabeth's story. The the early 19th century for Lavinia's and present time for Holly's. One important thing to note, this story connects everything and also everything about a curse very nicely and managing to tell a full story, one that comes full circle and goes through so much torment and tragedy. Centered around a pearl and a mirror, everything is set into motion from the moment Elizabeth was born and the jewel bequeathed to her.<br>

I find Holly rather okay, her character easy to read through. Although I was much more intrigued by the mystery than the love romances, and I greatly enjoyed the ones that ended in tragedy. But not between Holly and Mark, just didn't feel like it. I guess I'm a little weird for liking romances that didn't end well, but it was just so much more exciting. Elizabeth choosing to marry someone when she wanted to, and Lavinia falling in love with the one decent guy there was.<br>

They to me, were the strong women of this. Holly just lacked something to make me really like her.<br>Especially when Elizabeth towards the end, found out about what her husband did. And also, what Lavinia did and eventually do when she left Ashdown Park. I like them for their strength and the fact that they are sensible enough to keep things secret yet at the same time when things change, aren't afraid to pursue their hearts desire.<br>But the author did a fantastic job intertwining these three stories to tell a tale, about a curse and love. And well, managing to make me become incredibly invested in it too was difficult. Especially when Holly was reading about the past and Lavinia, I never liked another character more in this book.<br>Overall, I really like this book for what its tale and stories which all comes full circle and delivering a satisfying mystery if you ask me. Check it out if you want a good mystery, with quite a bit of poignant endings for the historical figures.

Historical fiction at it's finest, this book is brilliantly laid out featuring three time periods, strong characters and a touch of mystery and magical realism to keep it interesting. The book follows the timeline of a modern day sister searching for her brother that went missing while researching their family history and mirrors it with timelines in both the 1600's and 1800's. It reminded me of a Susanna Kearsley's work, of whom I am a big fan.

This book for me was a perfect mixture of history, modern day mystery and romance. I really do not like sloppy romances, it just bores me to a degree that I just stop reading, give me murder mystery and adventure anyday, however, I am a fan of romance , so I am paradoxical. However, what that has to do with this review, I have no idea, I just go with the flow and type what flows from my fingers, so lets get on with the business at hand...

I had not long finished 'The Phantom Tree' by the same author and had enjoyed every minute I spent with my nose in the pages, hence the very reason why I wanted to read this too. Unlike the previous book, this is not a time slip, but it does sucessfully tell three differing storylines all interlaced together in perfect harmony, but seperated via thier timestamps, it is not complicated to read and it flows with the ease of a smooth river, but underneath has some undercurrent, which was exciting.
The writing style was the same, which was great, as I love Cornick's ease of reading, your mind can wonder off for a moment whilst reading, but you do not miss anything, as she packs her pages with just enough info to keep you reading and turning those pages, she keeps you ticking over, so that if you do, drift off - I mean, I am still reading but sometimes my mind just goes AFK for a moment - when I come back from my zone out, It is really easy to continue reading without having to backtrack; for me this is a good thing, as my brain goes off on tangents all the time! (Nicola Cornick, if you are reading this, IT'S A GOOD THING, TRUST ME!)

As I mentioned earlier, Cornick is very good at keeping the plot ticking over and placing clues in plain sight, but cleverly not emphasing them, as not to draw suspicion and ruining it for you upon conclusion of the book.

It is plain that she knows her stuff and that her research is well done, you can really tell. I love reading historical books, both fiction and non fiction and have read ALOT over the years, so it is really nice ( eugh ..that word..) to read a book that you know has a good historical foundation.

I totally recommend this book, go and read it NOW! 
full review on blog :)

Four-star review posted on Goodreads and will be cross-posted to Amazon and BN.com.

Word of warning before you dive into this book – be prepared to stay on your toes!

House of Shadows is really 3 stories told in parallel.  The chapters flip between modern day and 17th century England, with an early 19th century story woven in via a diary.

The historical story focuses on Elizabeth, The exiled Queen of Bohemia (aka the Queen of Hearts) and her supposed lover/2nd husband William, the Lord Craven and follows them from their initial meeting through more than 30 years of interactions leading to a clandestine romance.

Our modern story focuses on Holly and begins when she receives a frantic phone call from her young niece saying that her brother is missing. While Holly’s story has a romantic element via her interludes with Marc, she is more the vehicle for the introduction of the diary and a paranormal/suspense element that reaches through history to impact events.

While I enjoyed the overall story, it felt like we spent a little too much time learning the minutia of Elizabeth and Craven’s story at the expense of Holly and Marc’s. The suspense portion of the story was well crafted and closure was brought to all of the story lines of the book, but I would have enjoyed a little more relationship building in the modern era. My only other complaint was that there were a couple of modern day characters that were seemingly brought to the forefront of the story, but then very little was done with them.

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Enjoyable read. Good storyline and likeable characters.

The outline sounded interesting but I couldn't stay interested enough to finish it.

Great multi-period piece. I really enjoyed the parts about the Winter Queen, who doesn't get enough notice in the historical fiction community.

Three generations of women, each mired in their own separate sets of turmoil, centuries apart, enliven the pages of this novel as the similarities in their circumstances are slowly revealed. At the center of each woman's life is Ashdown House in Oxfordshire, a house that was once home to Elizabeth Stuart in the 17th century and later to courtesan Lavinia Flyte in the 19th century. In the 21st century, Holly Ansell travels to her family's mill home in Ashdown Park when her brother Ben goes missing.

At the heart of each woman's woes are a diamond encrusted mirror and a pearl, both of which were rumored to have magical powers. Yet as Cornick's narrative unfolds, she highlights the death and destruction that follow the powers of the mirror and pearl  no matter the time period in which they are found.

Cornick has penned a page-turner that expertly captures the life of each woman in mesmerizing detail as she links the women through time and tragedies. Cornick's latest is not to be missed, especially by fans of novels which span different eras and are imbued with a touch of magic.

A masterful weaving of three different love stories in three different time periods into one enjoyable whole.  Very well done!

I've made it to the end, and I still have no idea what this book is about. I knew there was a character named Holly, but I just couldn't get into this story. The split narrative was hard enough to understand, and I just could not figure out what was going on throughout this whole book.

House of Shadows by Nicola Cornick
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 4½/5 stars
My Review: 

For 350+ years, the ruins of Ashdown House has been a source of speculation, mystery, and perhaps the greatest and saddest love story in the whole of the country.  

In centuries past, there lived a woman known as the Winter Queen, a woman born and bred to rule, but not allowed to so because of circumstances beyond her control.  She was a Queen without a kingdom, wed to a man incapable of restoring her to her destiny.  Through it all was one man, a man unequal to her in social standing, but certainly worthy of her strength and love.  As an act of his love and devotion, he built his Winter Queen Ashdown House, a site she never visited as she could never publicly acknowledge her ties to and love for this man.  

One short century later, another destined-for-tragedy woman, Lavinia Flyte moves into Ashdown House, a place she hopes will change her fortunes forever.  Her fortunes are indeed changed, but not at all in the way she imaged.  Lavinia, like her predecessor the Winter Queen was a strong and intelligent woman who was a victim of the circumstances she was born into. Looking to improve her circumstances and her station in life, Lavinia ties herself to a man who is both selfish and cruel.  Like the Winter Queen, Lavinia finds a measure of happiness with another, but her happiness is short-lived.

By the twenty-first century, Ashdown House is nothing but a memory, a legend, a place steeped in mystery and tragedy, a place that has claimed yet another victim and that is why Holly Ansell has come to town.  In the wake of her brother’s disappearance, Holly has taken up the investigation into his circumstances which leads her to the history of Ashdown House and one of the greatest unsolved mysteries associated with the site.  As Holly’s search progresses, she learns of the tragic lives of the Winter Queen and Lavinia Flyte and how Ashdown House is responsible for the fate of both women and her brother.  Unlike the two women who came before her, Holly is determined to find the light at the end of the tunnel and by the time she’s done, she’ll have laid to rest a great mystery. 

The Bottom Line:  I am, historically speaking, a big fan of past meets present reads and House of Shadows is no exception to that rule.   All three women, all tied to Ashdown House are linked through tragedy, but Holly Ansell is not so much a victim of her circumstances, but a woman of action interested in changing her fate.  Though this story does, ultimately, have a happy ending, it is largely a sad read.  Overall, I found this book to be intricately woven together, smartly plotted, and interesting.  There is just enough at the end of each chapter, that little tidbit, that made me want to keep going and not put the book down until I got to the last page.

This is a seemingly well-researched historical fiction about Elizabeth Stuart.. The author intersperses the narrative with stories from the 1600's, a diary/memoir, and present day search for a missing brother. It is magical realism, time travel and romance rolled into a fantastic tale.

Thank you Nicola Cornick and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Wow this has to be one of the best historical history romances that I have ever read. Then to find out that it is pretty much true.... Wow. After finishing it I spent just as much time trolling the internet looking at actual paintings featured in the book and at photos of Ashdown house that is still standing Thank God. 
Thank you Nicola Cornick for giving me a history lesson intertwined with a beautiful piece of romantic fiction,
I highly recommend this book .

A joy to read.  This is a great holiday read with substance. It follows Holly's search for her missing brother and the break-up of her engagement.  As the search involves researching two periods of history, it is much more than just a romance novel.  The part set in the 17th century is based on real historical figures and events.  I will certainly look out for more of Nicola Cornick's books

Evocative, enthralling and historically rich, Nicola Cornick’s House of Shadows captures the attention from page one and never lets go. The stories of three women across three different time periods interweave to tell an intriguing tale of romance, hope and destiny.  Those who love romance mixed with mystery and a touch of the supernatural will not want to miss this latest offering from USA Today bestselling author Cornick.

I received this as an ARC through Netgalley. I decided to check this story out mainly as it covered a part of British history I don't read much about. It also has an appealing cover. Firstly, I must say I was a little disappointed by the mix of this story. I honestly wish that it had been more 50/50 between modern day and historical fiction. It felt like the story in modern day could have held its own without the historical fiction part, but it also made the historical fiction side seem almost pointless. I get that in the scheme of things, all of the characters and how they're intertwined is important. I just don't think it was handled as well as it could have been. I was a big fan of Holly though. Her personality, her profession, etc. She was the best part of the book. Overall, the story was fairly interesting, just needed a little work.

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What a book! Really enjoyed!  Highly recommend.  Perfect book club pick!

When I read the description for this book I was expecting a more YA book, so I was quite surprised when I started it and the story featured older characters. The overall premise of the story was enjoyable though. It's set partly in the present and partly in the past, which creates an interesting narrative. The writing was beautiful, although it tended to be slow at times. 
I think the reason I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would, is because I couldn't relate to any of the characters at all. 
I would still recommend this book to anyone who's interested in historical fiction though.