Liv: An artist haunted by loss and trauma who is just trying to do right by her three daughters. We follow four main characters in this novel: Writing it out looks confusing, but Cooke does an incredible job of weaving the threads of these time jumps together in a way that isn’t confusing and is very easy to follow. We have characters telling us their perspectives in 2021, in 1998, and in the 1600’s through the reading of grimoire. This book is told from the perspective of a few different characters and in different time periods.

I absolutely love when a book can act as a bridge, transporting you to a specific place. I could see the darkness around me, could feel the ice cold wind on my skin, could see the tall, decrepit lighthouse as I read. She weaves together the accurate history of the Scottish Witch Trials with perfectly spooky elements that indeed creeped me out as I was reading. Her descriptions of Scotland made me feel like I was back driving around the highlands.

Cooke does an incredible job painting the dreary Scottish atmosphere that I know and love. The setting of this book could not be any more perfect. When they arrive, Liv soon realizes that things aren’t what they seem as she begins to learn about the Scottish Witch Trials of Lon Haven and the deep and tangible connection they have to The Longing.

Liv hastily leaves York, bringing her three daughters, Sapphire, Luna, and Clover along with her as they embark on this new journey, and hopefully a new start, in Scotland. The Lighthouse Witches follows Liv, an artist who has been commissioned to paint a mural in The Longing, an old lighthouse set on the remote island of Lon Haven in the Scottish Highlands. It just so happened that one of the books on the Indie Press List for this month was not only a spooky book about witches, but it was also set on a remote island in Scotland. Edinburgh is one of the most haunted cities in the world and as our trip was quickly approaching, I was searching for a book in Scotland that I could bring along and read while I was there to add to my enjoyment of the trip. At the time of listening, I was planning a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, my favorite city. As I was listening to the most recent Patreon only Indie Press List episode from the Currently Reading Podcast, Meredith and Kaytee mentioned a book that piqued my interest. Over the last month or so, I’ve been leaning more towards horror or witchy reads as we find ourselves in spooky season. I am the moodiest of mood readers and it seems to only amp up around this time of year.

The lighthouse witches book