The Lighthouse Witches by CJ Cooke is a hit. The novel has a strong premise combining paranormal vibes, sci-fi elements, and intriguing characters to create a fun to read novel. Yes, there are aspects missing which would have increased the intensity of the story but, as long as you know the novel is not as intense as you'd imagine for a story revolving around missing children and witches, I think you will enjoy reading this.

The Lighthouse Witches falls into the beach read category as with its ease of time point transitions that keep the plot moving, you'll zoom through this. If you want a fun novel and an easy read, this is for you.

If you read The Lighthouse Witches, you may notice that the plot lacks a touch of  clarity regarding revelations and paranormal aspects. Regardless of that, the plot is still one of excitement because of the altering viewpoints and sci-fi elements. You join Luna on her journey to discover where her missing family went and what the Longing had to do with that journey. With wildings and mystery, the plot will draw you in.

The Lighthouse Witches contain a multitude of characters. Luna is the protagonist who was found in abandoned in the woods and has never saw her family since. Luna is scarred from her past and projects it on the present but when Clover is discovered at the same age she was when she disappeared, Luna transforms into a detective searching for answers to who Clover is and if she is truly a wilding.

Clover, Sapphire (Saffy), Liv, and the "journal," from the past are all complex characters but my favourite character are the journal entries as they set up the origins of the lighthouse whose history greatly impacts the other characters. Without the journal, the characters and their actions would not have dissolved into insanity... the question is, which characters dissolve into insanity and which ones don't? I'll let you know that all the characters are worth your time but for which ones dissolve into insanity, you'll have to read to find out.

The ending may be confusing. There are moments that would have benefited upon expansion and if you decide to read this novel, you will understand where I am coming from. The ending and the novel as a whole contains an air of confusion and yet, it's still a really fun read. If you want a mysterious paranormal read with altering time periods and viewpoints, The Lighthouse Witches is worth your time.

I adored the premise but I feel its execution could have benefited from more fluidity, especially regarding the past versus the present. I think that would have helped catapult the story from a just above average read to a fantastic read. The time travel in this novel is what confused me most. It was poorly explained and even the characters couldn't understand what was happening. They went into a dark cavernous pool and reappeared in a new era and the explanation as to why? Rocks. That was poor at best and I wish there had been a touch more thought into creating the time travel pool especially at the end because I personally did not like the numbers.

Why would a pool carve numbers onto its time travellers? Why did we as readers not uncover how Amy discovered the key to time travelling? It literally could have been a physical key and I would have been fine with that. All the time travelling was not as well thought out as I wanted because the pool for me, felt like a poor plot device not a cohesive and integral part of the story. It was just thrown in there. Now, when I move away from my confusion surrounding the time travel, apart from Luna and Cassie's quick rekindling, nothing in this novel was confusing and I had fun. I really did have fun reading this.

I found the altering viewpoints and time periods flowed well, I really liked Luna as a protagonist, and I emoted towards all the characters. It was a good read that I read quickly even if it could have benefited from a touch more depth. I was also a touch frustrated with how Clover was portrayed at the beginning, throwing and burning things, when the Clover in the past was shown to be the opposite. Clover that we met in the present was the same person we saw in the past, how did she change so rapidly? I expected her disposition to be more subdued, not insane.

My overall thoughts for this novel revolve around me enjoying it whilst simultaneously wishing it was more. I wanted to read more about witches and wildings and I think my anticipation did hamper my overall reaction to this novel because when I saw the release for this, I was so stoked. I found this fun and liked it overall, but I wish we had more wildings!