The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke is marketed as a gothic thriller but this one does have a touch of horror in it. The story in this novel is one that is told in two different timelines with one in 1998 and the other in 2021. It also changed the point of view between three of the characters during the story.

In 1998 Liv had taken a job on a remote Scottish island to paint a mural in an old lighthouse on the island. Liv was a single mother and had brought her three daughters, Luna, Sapphire, and Clover, to the island with her. While on the island Liv and the girls learn the stories of witchcraft and the supernatural on the island but soon Liv’s worst fear comes to life when two of her girls go missing.

In 2021 Luna has grown up alone when her sisters and mother went missing all those years ago at the lighthouse on the island in Scotland. Luna has always looked for answers to where her family may have gone but she can’t helped but be shocked when she gets a phone call letting her know one of her sisters may have been found. Luna immediately goes to see Clover but instead of another young woman Luna finds a seven year old who very much resembles her sister and seems to have memories of their family.

The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke is a story that is very cleverly layered to unravel as you read. While changing points of views and timelines may sound complicated the story really flowed well back and forth from the past and present and progressed at a nice pace. As I peeled back the layers getting to to know the dark past of the setting I found I didn’t want to put the book down until I found out what really happened all those years ago. Just like any good thriller read the author tossed in a twist or two that made the ending not at all what I expected it to be.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Loved the witches/magic system of the book. I’m not a huge fan of dual timelines but this was really well done and I’d love to read another witchy book by Cooke. Thank you NetGalley for my first NG arc!

I loved C.J.'s previous book, The Nesting. I felt like this one was just ok for me, but I for sure will recommend to customers bc I believe the author's writing is phenomenal. I didn't love the story but felt like the characters were well developed and that the story proceeded at a good pace, there wasn't any lagging.

CJ Cooke is one of my favourite authors and she continued to deliver excellence with The Lighthouse Witches. Her character work is perfection, I was so invested in that family and I felt like I actually knew Luna. She truly was a character that leaps of the page and and entices you.

I loved the lore of the wildlings that Cooke created in this book. I don't want to give much away, but it really read like a real folk tale that has been told through generations.

"A wild place with a Viking soul, Lon Haven's violent and tragic history had clearly infected the minds of its inhabitants, creating beliefs rooted deeply in fear. And they were prepared to slaughter innocent children in order to protect their community."

On a remote Scottish isle in 1662, multiple women are accused of being witches. Their confessions lead to their deaths, but not before they curse the island and all its inhabitants.
1998: An artist and her 3 children temporarily move to the island to complete a mural in the old lighthouse. The locals tell them tales of wildlings and about the children who have disappeared over the years. A few weeks into their stay, the artist and 2 of her daughters go missing as well.
2021: Luna, 32 years old, is still searching for her lost sisters. It's been 22 years since she lived on the island. She hasn't had any success in finding her sisters until the day she received a call from a hospital many hours away telling her that her sister Clover was just admitted. But Clover is still the same 7 year old child who went missing all those years ago. How is that possible?

I'm having a hard time classifying the genre for this book. To me, it feels like a blend of historical fiction, mystery, and magical realism with a hint of horror. The mix of genres made this story more intriguing -- I didn't want to put this one down.
I really liked how I went into the story with minimal knowledge (I'll read just about anything witch related), early on I thought the story was going in one direction but then it turns out to be something completely different (but still totally cool).

Witchy vibe stories set in Scotland are just so cozy and magical to me! I adored The Lighthouse Witches!! It was atmospheric and very magical realisim, which is something that I am drawn to. I felt it was a little different take on time travel and fairy switches, and it worked really well in this book!

This was a well-written book with interesting characters and a decent premise. I was expecting some magical content and supernatural vibe and this one delivered.

Thank you #NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read this.


#TheLighthouseWitches

𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥–𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥…

This was the perfect #spookyseason read!

THE LIGHTHOUSE WITCHES has a little bit of everything: mystery, folklore, an atmospheric setting..and of course, witches. I had a lot of theories running through my brain while reading this one 🧠

Although I figured out a couple of the plot points, I still binge read it because I needed to find out how all the pieces fit together! (You know it’s a good book when 👀)

This was my first C.J Cooke read, but it definitely won’t be my last.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

"Life continues outrageously...in whatever form it can. An unstoppable circularity, the past always in the present."

"Maybe time is like that. Maybe we always move exactly to where and when we belong, even without realizing it."

"Forgiveness is a kind of time travel, only better, because it sutures the wounds of the past with the wisdom of the present in the same moment as it promises a better future."

For a large part of this book, I wasn't sure what to think - was it supernatural? Were the witches real? Were wildlings? What happened to Liv, Saffy, Luna, and Clover? And then in the last 10% or so of the book it comes together perfectly, like pulling a thread through fabric to bring it together. I felt like the end was a little bit rushed, but by the sheer nature of the story, it makes sense.

There are a lot of time jumps and a lot going on in this book. We have Liv in 1998, but also sometimes her daughters Saffy, Luna, and Clover in that time. We also have Luna in 2021, 32 years old and dealing with her own frustrations in life as well as sudden upheavals when Clover resurfaces. We also have flashbacks to the 1660s and stories of village life at the time and the women accused of witchcraft. Each timeline is its own story, and I think that's why things feel so separate for much of the book, but then about halfway through you begin seeing how things are fitting together. And then at the end it all knits together beautifully.

I'm a little sad this story wasn't the beginning of a series, because I want more of the characters. But the story is so good I'll definitely be rereading this one.

This novel was not at all what I expected, and I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. I’m a fan of duo timelines and in this case it worked really well. As did the supernatural elements that were involved. However I think this is a case of “it was good, but not completely for me”. It was unique and atmospheric, and everything came together well. Let me be clear my feelings for this book are overall positive, but I did find it to be slow and fairly anticlimactic. My final rating is 3.5 stars rounded up.

I so enjoy books that involve isolated places with dark history. I literally felt claustrophobic at times trying to unravel the mystery while the story got spookier and spookier. Witchy vibes in a remote lighthouse with dark secrets? Count me in! Try this atmospheric thriller if you enjoy a touch of supernatural folklore.

4.5 stars

The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke is a mystery/thriller/sci-fi novel.  Yes, it really is all three.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Berkley Publishing Group and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
In 1998, Liv brought her daughters to a remote Scottish island, where she was commissioned to paint a mural on the inside of a lighthouse.  The girls are aged 7 (Clover), 9 (Luna), and 15 (Sapphire - know as Saffy).  She desperately needed a fresh start, although what she got was hardly that.

There is a cave beneath the lighthouse that Liv is painting.  That cave is said to be the place where witches were imprisoned before burning at the stake in the 1600's.  The locals are sure that those witches cursed them throughout eternity.  Occasionally a young child goes missing.  Sometimes the child returns with a number carved into them.  But that child is not quite the same.  The locals call them wildlings, and deal with them in a rather unconventional way.

Two of Liv's daughters go missing,  and then Liv herself disappears.

In 2021, Luna is in her early 30's, and pregnant.  She has been searching for her mom and two sisters for years.  When she gets a call that Clover has been found, she is so excited.  But when she reaches the hospital, she is confused.  The girl looks exactly like Clover, but this girl is still 7 years old.  She also has a number burned into her hip.  Is this girl her sister, or is she really a wildling?


My Opinions:   
I loved this book.  I'm not really sure what genre this is classified as, but it is part mystery, part thriller, part sci-fi.  Although it was rather creepy, I didn't feel that it hit the horror genre.  The plot, writing, and characters were all really good.  There were some good twists.

The book alternated between time-lines and points-of-view, and since often the same people were involved in multiple time-lines, it got a little confusing at times, but no major issues.

The book was about family and love.  It was also about witches, curses, mythology and folklore.  Great combination of topics.

This was a really engrossing book, and it will stay with me for a while.  Highly recommend it.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

I absolutely loved this book! I was so engrossed by the characters right off the bat. C. J. Cooke's writing is out of this world, if you've been in a reading slump this is a great place to start, it absolutely blew me away!

I love Gothic thrillers and this one is so well done. I enjoyed learning more about Scotland and I found the island fascinating. It wasn't a scary thriller to me, but more of a mystery that inspired my imagination and left me pondering the what ifs at the end. Thoroughly enjoyable and I can't wait to go back and read The Nesting now!

Fall means changing leaves, the scent of a roaring fireplace, frost on the morning grass. It’s also a time for witches and Halloween. Since witches have been a staple of storytelling literally since Biblical times, the best stories build on that past while also offering something original and new. In the latest offering by author C.J. Cooke (we reviewed her previous novel, The Nesting, here), The Lighthouse Witches, a desperate mother brings her daughters to a Scottish island that centuries ago burned witches. It’s a perfect tale for the season.

To read the complete review, click on the link below.

I've thought about this book for days since finishing it! It's a few characters/timeline alternating story - there's the owner of the lighthouse (more toward the end than the beginning), Liv in 1998 (a woman who moves herself and her three daughters to the bothy next to the lighthouse so she can paint commissioned art inside it), and Luna in 2012 (Liv's surviving daughter, trying to get on with her life after her mother and both sisters vanished in 1998).

Around the half-way point or so, it started feeling a little confusing, but pushing through that was an excellent idea - the ending was so fascinating, as everything fell together. Unfortunately, that makes this the sort of review that can't give away too much. Let's just say there's a happy-ish ending for the characters we know.

Overall, I'd give this book 4 out of 5 stars and would consider reading it again. The magical part was super interesting, if a bit scary. I'd recommend it for those who like witch stories, as well as those into interesting family dramas, as Luna tries to untangle what she can't remember of what happened to her family.

An interesting blend of folk tale, gothic horror, supernatural elements, witchcraft, magic, time travel and a menacing setting.

Olivia (Liv) Stay arrives on the Scottish island of Lon Haven with her 3 young daughters in 1998. She's meant to paint a mural on the walls of an old lighthouse. The inhabitants live in a sort of time capsule with the entire place steeped in folklore and a dark history. Liv learns about the prison beneath the lighthouse, once used to house women accused of witchcraft and about the wildlings that were part of their curse on the islanders. Then two of her daughters vanish.

Fast forward to 2021: one of the Stay daughters, Luna, has been searching all these years for her missing family. She gets a call that her youngest sister, Clover, has been found. Luna rushes to the hospital eager to be reunited, except when she sees Clover she is shocked to find that Clover is still 7 years old -- the same age she was when she went missing. In an effort to make sense of everything and come to terms with her past, Luna and Clover travel to Lon Haven. No spoilers.

This is a great story for anyone in the mood for something a bit spooky. Although I don't tend to read a lot of gothic horror, I found this enjoyable. The narrative shifts in point of view and in time as the story evolves. The characters were well drawn and each voice gave another dimension to what happen on Lon Haven. It is a bit "out there" as far as believably, but an entertaining tale.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Unfortunately, I found this story lacking the thrill. Several different POVs and timeframes didn’t work for me.

This story wasn’t bad but was a miss for me. Fans of sci-fi/paranormal may find this tale quite delightful.

Don’t put too much stock in the title as it doesn’t give anything away about the story. It makes sense but remains mysterious.

This story is detailed and well written, you can follow along easily enough.

Liv has been commissioned to paint a mural inside an old lighthouse in Scotland. While she is there, she discovers the strange history surrounding the island and the lighthouse. The lighthouse was once a prison for witches.

Liv is a character which broke my heart with her struggles. She is trying to raise three daughters with very little money and no family to speak of. So when this opportunity arose…Liv jumped on it. And this job changes all of their lives!

This story is a little weird in places…or rather…not my usual genre. I love to read about witches but there are a few things in this tale that are just “out there”. However, there is a lot of history in the novel. That kept me reading and enjoying. Add in the creepy lighthouse on an island in Scotland and I was hooked!

Need a good story about witches for your creepy October read…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.