This was quite the gothic historical fiction with a hint of magic of sorts and I didn't completely love it.

With a golden dress at the heart of the story and a prologue that sets the reader up for guessing, there were moments where I semi enjoyed the book and then moments where it just didn't completely work for me. In the historical storyline there are two narrators, the lady of the house Lady Isabella Gerard and her maid Constance. In the current storyline Fenella Brightwell takes the lead and I think it was her storyline that I liked less.

Lady Isabella Gerard is in an abusive relationship and she decides to escape to the country to possibly change her situation for the better. With her maid in tow, she goes to the country and oh the drama ensues. I love a historical storyline where the woman is trying to better her situation and since it is in the past and all of her wealth and prestige is in the man she is marrying it makes it harder to make her life better - for some reason this is all interesting to me. The use of the dress in this storyline was so interesting and I loved how it was more than just a dress, but had a purpose.

The thing that I didn't enjoy about the current situation was the magic behind the dress. I felt as though it took on a life of its own and it just wasn't entertaining. I felt as though it took away from the story and I could have liked the current storyline if the dress had just been a dress.

If you are a reader of more gothic stories that you could like this one more than I did. I wanted more from it in different places.

A spellbinding story pact with scandal suspense and the supernatural!

Beautifully told and breathtaking this story brings present and past together. A bewitched gown Whose evil powers have remain strong throughout the years. Nicola Cornick has spun a tale rich with mystery and magic!

This book was narrated by three separate characters, lady Isabella, her maid constants, and Fenella. The 1765 story was fraught with scandal and deceit. These characters were up to all kinds of no good, scheming, smuggling, and debauchery. Seriously these characters would have made for one tantalizing reality television show! Fenella’s present day story was a little tamer. Fenella has recently got out of a bad marriage, but she has now been reunited with the dreaded gown and all that it implies. We first encounter the gown in 1765 when lady Isabella’s abusive husband gifts her with it. Is it a gift or is it a death sentence? When Constance the maid figures out the true motivation behind the gown she ushers it off into hiding. But the gown’s powers are far reaching its capacity to sway compulsion is strong. Over 200 years later Fen happens across the gown at a historic home and cannot help but pinch it. What power does this gown have over whoever possesses it? And can it be stopped?

I loved how this story wove the historical, the contemporary, and the magical together. It really made for one charming tale with some pretty fascinating characters. Isabella, Constance, and Fenella we’re all very strong smart likable characters, each with their own quirks. The story had a wonderful flow to it and kept me entertained and engaged throughout. This was my first book by Nicola Cornick, but it will definitely not be my last. There was just something so mesmerizing and magical about her writing that really captivated the reader in me.

An exquisitely told tale about a bewitched gown seamlessly woven together with threads of the present and the past. Absolutely recommend!

🎧🎧🎧 The audio book was narrated by multiple narrators always enjoy this win the story is told from multiple different points of view. It really gives each character their own voice and eliminates any confusion as to who is narrating at what time. Also something that I thought was really wonderful about this book was the voices of Lady Isabella and Constance sounded much war historical while Fen’s voice sounded very today. I’m not sure if this even makes sense, but it really worked!

🎵🎵🎵 Song Running Through My Head

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sZFQiy9daY4

*** huge thank you to Harlequin and Harper Audio for my copy of this book ***

After reading The Phantom Tree last year, I was expecting The Woman in the Lake to be yet another marvelous piece of timeslip fiction by this author. I loved The Phantom Tree and was looking forward to more.

That’s not quite what I got.

The Woman in the Lake is what I call horror-adjacent. It’s really creepy with a constant air of menacing danger. Although it does “slip time” between the 18th century and the 21st, those slips just add to the air of Gothic horror.

You’ve heard about “Say Yes to the Dress”? This is a story where all of the people touched by it should have not merely said “No” to the dress, but really should have screamed “Hell NO” and run far and fast.

The dress is pure evil. Also laced with arsenic. And yes, you really can kill someone that way. The Borgias did, after all.

How the dress came to both embody and emanate so much evil is something that we only find out part of. We do learn how it was made – we just don’t ever find out how it got to be so powerfully malevolent in its own right.

What we see in this story about all the lives that revolve around and are ruined by this one beautiful, deadly, golden dress is that in the way that time slips and history almost repeats – there is a path to freedom.

But the only way to reach it is through fear, and pain. And even more fear.

Escape Rating B: This story was well and truly creepy. A bit creepier than I generally like to go. It did make the cross country plane trip go very fast – but I’m really glad I read it with ALL the lights on – and with plenty of company.

It’s not really about the dress. Well, it is, but it isn’t. The dress can’t make anyone do anything they weren’t already inclined towards, but it does seem to remove the inhibitions of conscience. We all have nasty thoughts from time to time, but conscience, or fear of consequences, prevent most of us from acting on the worst of those thoughts.

The story begins, and circles back around to, a group of men who did not have to let their consciences be their guides. In fact, the opposite. The Moonrakers of Swindon were smugglers. Smuggling wasn’t romantic, it was organized crime. Led by a group of men who would do anything to protect their illicit trade – including murder. In other words, these were men who terrorized an entire region and explicitly told their consciences to STFU.

The plan was for the gang leader to aid and abet a local lord with the murder of his wife, only for the plot to go horribly awry. And for the dress that was intended to do the deed to go skipping through history, leaving death and destruction in its wake.

Until it fetches up in the 21st century, in the hands of a woman who has no clue that she’s part of its long lost history, and a man who intends to reenact that long ago attempted murder.

One of the things that I loved about this book was the way that the story and the history came full circle in the end – and in a surprising way. Not just that history almost but not quite repeated, although it nearly does, but that everything that went around really did come around by the end.

One of the things that drove me a bit batty was the air of creeping menace that hangs over the entire story. It sucked me in. I kept looking for an exit, much as the heroine keeps looking for a way to escape her own past. As was certainly true for the heroine, the only way was through.

In the end, I’m left with mixed feelings. This is not the kind of book that I usually enjoy, but I was enthralled and couldn’t put it down until the end. And I’m still creeped out by the whole thing.

One final note, the ending of the blurb feels very wrong. The revelation at the end does not threaten the heroine’s sanity. Quite the opposite. Instead, the revelation at the end proves that she has been sane all along. It may also kill her.

I’ll be over here in the corner. Still shuddering…

The Woman in the Lake by Nicola Cornick is a historical fiction novel that spans the time of both past and present. The Woman in the Lake jumps back and forth between the perspectives of Fenella in present time, and Isabella and Constance in the past.

In the past, Isabella is a talented woman who wants to live her own life, free from an abusive husband. Constance is her lady's maid. When a yellow dress is gifted to Isabella, her life begins to change.

When Fenella receives a dress in the mail from her deceased grandmother, a dress she stole from a museum as a child, she isn't expecting her world to turn upside down. But it does. Fen's kleptomania tendencies reappear with a possessed aggressiveness that Fen begins to question. Why is Fen's losing control? Does it have to do with the dress? Fen starts to question her reality as more odd things around her begin to happen.

Along the way, Fen meets Hamish. There's more to Hamish than meets the eye, and Fen finds herself drawn to him.

I enjoyed reading The Woman in the Lake. Nicola Cornick is a master at weaving incredibly intricate tales. Really, what dragged down my opinion of this book was the pacing. It was slow.Very, very slow. And since there were very few big action events, it was a slog to get through at times.

The story itself is fascinating. I liked getting to know Fen, Isabella, and Constance as the story jumped back and forth between their perspectives. All three women were well-written and unique. My favorite character was Isabella. She comes off as a spoiled, pampered woman, but behind the scenes, her life isn't enviable. Isabella is wildly talented. With a conniving mind, she helps shape her future by manipulating the people and situations around her.

I enjoyed the ending, especially the chapters featuring Jake, Fen's deceased ex. The ending was both dramatic and interesting.

If you enjoy historical fiction or are already a fan of Nicola Cornick, check out The Woman in the Lake!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing the Kindle version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have mentioned in past posts that I am a fan of historical fiction. I don’t read it often because I am afraid of getting burnt out. I am also a mystery/thriller fan. I like reading a mystery/thriller and trying to guess what is going on. So, when there are those two genres thrown together, I will pick it up. That’s what happened with The Woman in the Lake. I saw it, read the blurb and got it.

The Woman in the Lake was a bit different than some of the other mystery/thriller books that I have read in the past. Those differences actually made me like the book more.

The first difference is that the book went back and forth between 1st person and 3rd person. I usually dislike it when a book does that. The storyline gets lost between the constant back and forth. Not in this book. The author makes it clear when the POV changes. It made that part of reading the book pleasurable for me.

The second difference is that there are 3 separate storylines. Again, something that would drive me nuts. Like the POV changes, the author handled the 3 storylines wonderfully. Lady Gerard and Constance’s storyline was intertwined. The author was able to keep them separate until the pivotal scene towards the end of the book. It was wonderfully written.

I loved the characters. There were layers to them. I loved that when one layer was peeled back, another was revealed. This kept up until the end.

The historical fiction angle of the book was wonderfully written as well. It was set in Gregorian England. The author did a fantastic job of describing everyday life in that era. She also did a fantastic job of portraying how women were treated. Lady Gerard was beaten by Lord Gerard. Everyone turned a blind eye to it. Constance was sold to Lord Gerard and forced to be Lady Gerard’s maid. She was treated like she was invisible. Which was all part of being part of a servant and catering to the nobility.

The mystery/thriller angle had me guessing also. The author did a fantastic job of keeping me on my toes with Fenella’s storyline. Was she going insane? Was she suffering a psychotic breakdown? How come she kept seeing Jake? What was she going to find out about the gown? I couldn’t get enough.

The ending was fantastic. The author did a great job at bringing all 3 storylines together, merging them and ending the book. I was surprised at the twist that the author threw in at the end of the book. I didn’t see that coming!

I would give The Lady in the Lake an Adult rating. There are somewhat graphic sex scenes. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread The Lady in the Lake. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review TheAll opinions stated in this review of The Lady in the Lake are mine.

Have you read The Lady in the Lake?

Did you like it?

Do you like it when there are 3 POVs/storylines?

Let me know!!

I listed Nicola Cornick’s last book, The Phantom Tree, as one of my favorite books of 2018 and this one also just knocks it out of the park. Something about her writing and her creative genre-blending of English historical fiction, time-traveling mystery and romance seduces me. I’ve been haunted by this book much like The Phantom Tree and I can’t wait to dig deeper into her backlist.

I loved the author’s novel, The Phantom Tree and hoped this would be just as good. The novel started out interesting, but then it started to drag. I did not care for Isabella and Fenella seemed too perfect with no depth. Still, I recommend this for fans of Lauren Willig and Lucinda Riley.

This book caught my eye on Netgalley right away, as I am a sucker for historical fiction- especially with interwoven timelines. It did not disappoint. It had a mysterious gothic fiction vibe, which I loved, and a gripping plot. I couldn’t put it down because the pacing was spectacular. The mysteries slowly unraveled and kept me guessing the entire time with some great twists and reveals. The supernatural elements were subtle and unexplained, which only added to the tension. There were three different narrators, all with unique and specific points of view, and the way they worked to flesh out different parts of the story was super compelling and addicting. Fenella’s storyline was my favorite, and I really loved her chemistry with her love interest. The parallels between Isabella in the past and Fen in the present were interesting, but I wish there would have been a stronger a connection between them and that they would have been a bit more entwined. The writing, while not super elegant, was entertaining and painted nice pictures of both the characters and the world. Overall, this book isn’t a game changer, but it is a great quick and consuming read for any historical fiction fan.

I couldn't finish the book. I made it halfway and quit. It was boring. I was expecting it to pick up but it never happened. The characters were forgettable and dialog was weak.

Despite the promise of the synopsis, this book just did not deliver. I found the characters to be lacking, merely one dimensional shadows of what I had expected. There was nothing likable about any of them, and I found myself leaving this book in favor of reading another one and then coming back numerous times hoping that "this time" would be "the time".

There was just something off about the flow of this story, that I didn't care what happened to the characters (either then or now). Even though I forced myself to finish it, I didn't feel as though it was "finished". There were too many things that I was left questioning.

Overall, this story will appeal to some people, it was just not for me.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

Duel timelines? For fans of Kate Morton? a Dress that is possessed? YESSSSSS.

A beautiful golden gown - once belonging to Lady Isabella - the battered wife of a lord, is the centerpiece of this story. From Lady Isabella, to her maid Constance to Fenella, a modern day owner of the dress ('owner" to be used loosely here)

This is the story of battered women, and the pain that breaks them. This is about fragile women and how far they will go. This is the story of a golden gown and it's power.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

3.5ish stars, rounded up. The Woman in the Lake is the kind of book that reminds me that I do, in fact, like historical fiction. It's set both in 1765 and in contemporary Swindon, and it's clear early on that the connection between these two time periods is a spectacular golden dress. Somehow this gown seems to be the link between the troubles 1765's Lady Isabella Gerard and today's Fenella Brightwell experience, and it's interesting to read the parallels in the lives of these two women more than three hundred years apart. Nicola Cornick does a good job weaving in a touch of the mystical to this story without making it unbelievable.

A captivating but uneven read. The Woman in the Lake by Nicola Cornick is a fast-paced, compelling, twisty, back-and-forth in time historical suspense novel. One plot line is set during the 1760s, and the other during 2004, and the book bounces back-and-forth between these two timelines smoothly. I found the differing timelines easy to tell apart, and it was also easy to figure out which timeline I was in while reading. The characters are different, with the 1760s ones being far more cutthroat, conniving, and just downright unlikable, and the modern characters were easier to relate to.
Back in the 1760s, our narrators are Eustace Gerard, a wife-beating, mistress-keeping scumbag, his wife Isabella, who is self absorbed and has her own affairs, and Isabella’s maid, Constance, who has some surprises up her sleeve. Luckily we don’t hear a whole lot from Eustace, as he is truly despicable. Isabella and Constance I struggled with liking. Now, don’t get me wrong, they were fascinating to read about, but they were both so unlikable with their schemes and hidden motives that I really didn’t care about them. They are both somewhat unreliable narrators, and as the book goes along I wished for more explanations for both of their actions throughout. Some things, especially toward the end, I felt came out of nowhere, and didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
In the 2004 sections, our narrator is Fenella “Fen” Brightwell, a woman who is trying to escape her mysterious past, and also has a nasty habit of stealing. I thought that giving Fen the character trait of theft was intriguing. Fen is also an unreliable narrator, and in her chapters the book shifts and morphs and I found myself flipping back in the book and re-reading scenes as the story kept moving forward. So, I was hooked into the mystery of what exactly happened way back when, and how does that connect to Fen, and what on earth is going on with this special gown that everyone seems to be obsessed with. As I mentioned above, some things at the end felt glossed over and didn’t quite come together as seamlessly as they should have, but I couldn’t put this one down and thought it was quite fascinating!

Bottom Line: Fast paced and intriguing, if a bit uneven.

First of all, I’m so bummed to even be writing this review. What started out as a book I thought I was really going to enjoy and had all the makings of an interesting and memorable read quickly took a turn and left me completely disappointed. The Woman in the Lake alternates between two timelines, one past and one present, and to sum in up in just a few short words, two women are tied together through a cursed dress, around and through which everything unfolds.

Unfortunately, about the only positive thing I can say for this book is that it had a delightful mix of all the things... suspense, romance, and supernatural elements. I loved the idea of this mysterious dress that caused negative behaviors such as murder and jealousy, and thought it made for such an intriguing storyline. It was new and different and I was here for it. Yet, it all fell completely flat for me.

Something I struggled with was that for being such a major part of the story, the dress just isn’t explained in a way that satisfies. Like, what about the creation of it? As for the plot itself, by the end a lot is left undeveloped and left me wanting so much more. There were just too many holes in it, and it felt disjointed.

Perhaps what I had the hardest time with though, were the characters. Characters have a way of making or breaking a book for me, and in this case they broke it. I honestly didn’t care for a single one of them, their motives didn’t make sense to me, and there wasn’t much of a depth to them. The characters felt forced in a way, if that makes any sense.

Overall, I just thought every aspect of this book was executed poorly, and sadly it led to an unsatisfying read that I only stuck with because it was an easy and fast read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Graydon House for the free review e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Woman in the Lake is a compelling novel told by 3 people, two in 1765 and one in present day England who is getting her life back together after a bad marriage.

The Gown is what ties these 2 time periods together. A beautiful gown that seems to possess everyon that has possession of it.

It is a novel of love, hate, greed , revenge and redemption.

Secrets prevail throughout the novel.

A great story, the characters are strong, you feel like you are in the room with them .

I am a recent fan of Nicola Cornick , have loved her books The Phantom Tree and The House of Shadows. The Woman in the Lake does not disappoint !!!

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book. Can't wait to get my hard copy for my shelves.

The Woman in the Lake by Nicola Cornick is a split time/timeslip novel 1760‘s and 2000‘s set in England. There are intricate plot twists with deceitful characters that scheme to serve their own interests impacting others for years. A pervasive evil influences the characters behavior leading to a suspenseful and thrilling story. Nicola Cornick writes unforgettable fiction that always has me wishing for her next book. I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. My thanks to the author, the publisher and netgalley for the privilege to read, enjoy and review this book.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in return for my honest review.

The Woman in the Lake by Nicola Comick. Featuring parallel historical and modern plot lines with a cursed item tying them both together, this book appeared to have been made for me but unfortunately I did not enjoy it. The plot was interesting, but I would have been more engaged in the story if the characters had been more sympathetic.

Fen is first presented as a sullen teenage kleptomaniac; but it would have been far better to introduce her as an adult when she is able to express vulnerability and regret for her past behavior. From there we get the cruel nobleman, the miserable wife, the scheming maid, all cliched and not compelling.  Later on, you come to understand that the yellow gown is heightening people's bad behavior, but by then it was too late for me to care much about what was happening to them.

Another issue I have is that while the cursed gown is set up to be this major theme in the book, there is no satisfactory conclusion for the purpose and explanation for its presence. I was much more interested in the subplot of the powerful smuggling ring, but the supernatural elements overpowered this.

On the positive side, the adult Fen shows real vulnerability and her love story carried my interest through the novel.

The Woman in the Lake is fantasy-tinged novel featuring Fenella, a young woman in present day England who has suffered abuse from an ex-boyfriend and is struggling to start life anew, and Lord and Lady Gerard who lived in the same region in the mid-1700s. What ties them together? A beautiful golden dress that seems to have an odd power over anyone who comes into contact with it. Fenella's grandmother believes it has the power to amplify a person's worst quality. Hence, the fantasy element. Whether it's anger, hoarding, thievery, jealousy or any other number of traits, the dress is bound to ruin lives.

The book shifts between Fenella, Lady Gerard and Isabella, Lady Gerard's maid, giving a slow reveal of the importance of the dress in both eras. Each of the women is struggling to find her place in the world, frustrated by ways in which she is powerless and yet each is compelled to action by the dress (as are the men in their lives).

The book then takes on an air of mystery - what happened to the Gerards and Isabella all those years ago? Is Fenella's new friend a good man or more of what she had in the past? Will her past ever let her go or has it returned to haunt her? And, of course - what becomes of the dress?

I wanted to love this book but it didn't quite hang together well for me. I enjoyed it and wanted to know the outcome but something felt incomplete and a bit messy in the execution.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review of the book.

This book has a really great premise. It has time travel, organized crime, shady characters, and a love story. Following Fen's adventures and seeing the parallels with Lady Gerard's was very interesting. Seeing how that was all wrapped up at the end was so satisfying.

This novel just seemed a little bit disjointed. I wish it had a few more pages added in some places to make transitions smoother, and plush out the story.

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Dual timelines set in present day and 1760's. ".. a delicious tale of jealousy, greed, plotting and revenge that spans the generations between decadent Georgian society and present day", I didn't find it quite so delicious.

I was never truly vested in this story. The main characters seemed linear and one-sided. The current timeline could have turned into a great time travel story with this ancient yellow dress that affected everyone that touched it.

3☆