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ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Lighthouse Witches in Books
Nov 27, 2022
Liv Stay rents a Scottish lighthouse on the island Lion Haven, despite the fact that it carries a decidedly spooky reputation involving witch hunts and islanders who have disappeared. She doesn’t believe in these things, and only wants a home for herself and her three daughters. But soon, only one daughter will remain: Luna’s mother and two sisters will have disappeared without a trace.
And then one day, twenty years later, someone resembling Luna’s sister turns up - and she hasn’t aged a day.
This is an eerie, unsettling story, packed with history, ancient beliefs and paranoia.
There are three timelines: the 17th century explains the origins of the witches and their slaughter; 1998 where Liv comes to live on the island with her daughters; and the present day, when Luna returns to the island as an adult. These timelines are expertly woven together, and they explain what has happened in the past to form the opinions of the future.
I couldn’t put this down! The more ominous and creepy it became, the more I wanted to listen to it. You certainly won’t want to be visiting caves or lighthouses anytime soon after reading this!
And then one day, twenty years later, someone resembling Luna’s sister turns up - and she hasn’t aged a day.
This is an eerie, unsettling story, packed with history, ancient beliefs and paranoia.
There are three timelines: the 17th century explains the origins of the witches and their slaughter; 1998 where Liv comes to live on the island with her daughters; and the present day, when Luna returns to the island as an adult. These timelines are expertly woven together, and they explain what has happened in the past to form the opinions of the future.
I couldn’t put this down! The more ominous and creepy it became, the more I wanted to listen to it. You certainly won’t want to be visiting caves or lighthouses anytime soon after reading this!
The Sight of Heather
Book
For centuries, the fae folk and spae women of Scotland were feared – and persecuted. Life in...
Historical Fiction Women's Fiction Scottish Folklore
ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Whistling in Books
Aug 3, 2023
Elspeth Swansome is escaping her past in Edinburgh and taking up a post as a nanny on the remote Scottish island of Skelthsea (it’s fictional, but I would really want to visit it if it was real!).
Elspeth is going to nanny Mary, a child who is clearly suffering from trauma. Her twin, William, is dead and her former nanny has disappeared. Elspeth is told that if she can’t get Mary to talk, she will be institutionalised.
I loved this - it’s the right kind of spooky, and you can’t beat a haunted house: lullabies are sung by someone who isn’t there, poppets keep appearing in random rooms, and whistling can be heard at night. It all added up to a book that sent shivers down my spine!
The characters were sometimes likeable, menacing, disconcerting and some most definitely had something to hide!
I listened to this on Audible, and the narrator, Lois Chimimba, kept me glued to my headphones. Her different accents were all spot on, and helped me to tell the different characters apart. I was never confused as to ‘who’ was speaking.
The tension built and built to the climactic ending - a truly delicious ghost story!
Elspeth is going to nanny Mary, a child who is clearly suffering from trauma. Her twin, William, is dead and her former nanny has disappeared. Elspeth is told that if she can’t get Mary to talk, she will be institutionalised.
I loved this - it’s the right kind of spooky, and you can’t beat a haunted house: lullabies are sung by someone who isn’t there, poppets keep appearing in random rooms, and whistling can be heard at night. It all added up to a book that sent shivers down my spine!
The characters were sometimes likeable, menacing, disconcerting and some most definitely had something to hide!
I listened to this on Audible, and the narrator, Lois Chimimba, kept me glued to my headphones. Her different accents were all spot on, and helped me to tell the different characters apart. I was never confused as to ‘who’ was speaking.
The tension built and built to the climactic ending - a truly delicious ghost story!
Merissa (12061 KP) rated Brae MacKenzie (Romances of Mythic Identity #1) in Books
Jun 8, 2023
In this story, Brae MacKenzie has to learn that just because outwardly you may appear to have everything, it doesn't always satisfy your soul. Also, if you are feeling something, then it is undoubtedly real, even if no one else understands.
Brae seems to have everything that she could want. Even her best friend thinks so and even goes as far as to say that Brae's husband's death furthers that. It will remain the perfect, fairytale marriage. However, Brae feels lost inside and doesn't know what to do. On a trip to London, she makes an impulsive decision and boards a train for Glasgow. What follows is almost trance-like, as she meets her guide and follows the journey on her grandmother's map.
Very well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that I found, this book was full of surprises, with snippets into Scottish history as an added bonus. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 1, 2016
Brae seems to have everything that she could want. Even her best friend thinks so and even goes as far as to say that Brae's husband's death furthers that. It will remain the perfect, fairytale marriage. However, Brae feels lost inside and doesn't know what to do. On a trip to London, she makes an impulsive decision and boards a train for Glasgow. What follows is almost trance-like, as she meets her guide and follows the journey on her grandmother's map.
Very well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that I found, this book was full of surprises, with snippets into Scottish history as an added bonus. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 1, 2016
Andy K (10821 KP) rated The Isle (2018) in Movies
Oct 12, 2019
Not much happens
Three men survived the destruction of their sailing ship in 19th century Scotland only to find themselves in the middle of the ocean with no where to go. Alas, they discover a small island with the mist of the open sea and decide to try for it. The make it ashore and are relived to be on dry land. The island does have a few residents one of which comes to greet their weary bodies and welcome them to his home.
After drying off, resting and tending to their injuries, the men are eager to return to the mainland which they query their new acquaintance about. He dodges the question several times making mention of other inhabitants of the island. The men decide to explore on their own since their new friend. Additional residents are found, some nice some aloof and maybe not so eager for conversation.
Eventually it is discovered the island has an unsettling curse upon it whereas men are lured to their deaths by the female natives due to an event which happened years earlier involving another female island resident now deceased. The surviving men now have to figure out how to leave The Isle without succumbing to its evil vices.
The best thing The Isle has going for it is the beautiful Scottish countryside, forested landscapes and gorgeous ocean views. At first, you may feel like you are watching a period Scottish episode of Lost or the recent film The Witch when you hear the Sottish accent dialogue; however, this film doesn't have the depth or screenplay of either of these. I read online the script for this film took years to complete, which is unfortunate since not much happens for the first two thirds of screen time. Once on the island, the three ship survivors mostly lounge around getting spooked by the natives and not much else.
Once the "curse" has been revealed the film picks up a bit and the 3rd act is mildly interesting; however, I was out of it by then. The resolution is interesting and entertaining, and saves the film somewhat. I just wish the set up would have been more exciting.
The film was definitely very low budget, which doesn't bother me if still done well. Sometimes, really great films can come with diminutive price tags. That just usually means filmmakers have to be more creative with what they spend their money on and make sure each dollar counts.
In the end, I was left wanting more and was disappointed.
After drying off, resting and tending to their injuries, the men are eager to return to the mainland which they query their new acquaintance about. He dodges the question several times making mention of other inhabitants of the island. The men decide to explore on their own since their new friend. Additional residents are found, some nice some aloof and maybe not so eager for conversation.
Eventually it is discovered the island has an unsettling curse upon it whereas men are lured to their deaths by the female natives due to an event which happened years earlier involving another female island resident now deceased. The surviving men now have to figure out how to leave The Isle without succumbing to its evil vices.
The best thing The Isle has going for it is the beautiful Scottish countryside, forested landscapes and gorgeous ocean views. At first, you may feel like you are watching a period Scottish episode of Lost or the recent film The Witch when you hear the Sottish accent dialogue; however, this film doesn't have the depth or screenplay of either of these. I read online the script for this film took years to complete, which is unfortunate since not much happens for the first two thirds of screen time. Once on the island, the three ship survivors mostly lounge around getting spooked by the natives and not much else.
Once the "curse" has been revealed the film picks up a bit and the 3rd act is mildly interesting; however, I was out of it by then. The resolution is interesting and entertaining, and saves the film somewhat. I just wish the set up would have been more exciting.
The film was definitely very low budget, which doesn't bother me if still done well. Sometimes, really great films can come with diminutive price tags. That just usually means filmmakers have to be more creative with what they spend their money on and make sure each dollar counts.
In the end, I was left wanting more and was disappointed.
Lords of Scotland
7.0
Rate It
Tabletop Game
The throne lies empty and the clans are restless. As a lord of Scotland with land, men and money at...
CardGames CelticGames PastedOnThemeGames
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Wicker Man (1973) in Movies
Feb 18, 2018 (Updated Feb 18, 2018)
British folk-horror film is part of the mini-boom in 'British civil servant travels by seaplane to sun-obsessed Christopher Lee's remote island in search of missing girl, discovers Britt Ekland waiting for him' movies that happened in 1973-4. Devout Christian copper (Woodward) visits Summerisle (off the Scottish coast) after receiving a tip-off about a vanishing schoolgirl, is appalled by what he sees as the immorality of the islanders. The lord of the place (Lee) assures him that there's nothing to be worried about, they just have different ethical standards (they're all Pagans), but Woodward is not convinced. Is something nasty lined up for May Day?
Books have been written about the tortuous distribution endured by The Wicker Man and its producers; rumours persist that the original much longer version is buried under a motorway somewhere in England. But all the available cuts are excellent, if not superb: the film is not particularly scary per se, more a queasy examination of how society, morality and religion intersect with one another; manages to make moral relativism seem more disturbing than devil-worship, somehow. Has one of the greatest non-endings in cinema history. Great performances, banging tunes, thoughtful and playful script; a film for all seasons, but goes especially well with a barbecue.
Books have been written about the tortuous distribution endured by The Wicker Man and its producers; rumours persist that the original much longer version is buried under a motorway somewhere in England. But all the available cuts are excellent, if not superb: the film is not particularly scary per se, more a queasy examination of how society, morality and religion intersect with one another; manages to make moral relativism seem more disturbing than devil-worship, somehow. Has one of the greatest non-endings in cinema history. Great performances, banging tunes, thoughtful and playful script; a film for all seasons, but goes especially well with a barbecue.
ClareR (5726 KP) rated Now We Shall Be Entirely Free in Books
Oct 18, 2018
A beautiful yet brutal story.
A man is brought home to a house in Somerset, unconscious, from the ongoing war in Spain against the French. He is very ill, and consequently nursed back to health by his maid. Once he is feeling better, he decides to travel to the Scottish Islands to collect traditional songs. As the story progresses, you can see that there is a sense of urgency involved with this trip: he isn't properly better, but he has to get moving. John Lacroix' story is told alongside that of two other men: a British Infantryman and a Spanish cavalryman, who have been sent to find an officer who is supposedly responsible for the sacking of a aSpanish village. They are to kill him. The Englishman is brutal in both word and deed.
John Lacroix (who changes his name to Lovell) meets a family (two sisters and their brother) who are free thinkers who want to live a free life. Just what Lacroix needs, I think.
I liked this. The writing style had a peaceful, reigned air to it, even in the more unpleasant parts. It's a brutal story, gently told, in fact.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
John Lacroix (who changes his name to Lovell) meets a family (two sisters and their brother) who are free thinkers who want to live a free life. Just what Lacroix needs, I think.
I liked this. The writing style had a peaceful, reigned air to it, even in the more unpleasant parts. It's a brutal story, gently told, in fact.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Hunting Party in Books
Jan 7, 2020
I. Absolutely. Loved. This. Book.
I thoroughly appreciate a book that keeps me guessing at who both the victim and the murderer are right up to the end! And to be honest, it couldn’t have happened more deservingly to a group of such thoroughly unlikeable people. They’re all entitled, self absorbed, spoilt, oversized children. Can you tell I don’t like them? I’ve come to realise that really horrible characters are my crack. The more deviant they are, the more I enjoy the book. This delivered in spades. I LOVED to hate them. The staff at the remote Scottish lodge that they spent New Years at, had my complete sympathy.
Everyone in this novel has a secret, and some of them are huge. They were all so cleverly revealed, and the suspense was immense! This is one of my top books of 2019(the list is hovering around the 20 mark) - it just snuck in as I read it over Christmas!
Oh, and I’m not saying that this book was necessarily responsible, but we’re going to stay in a (much smaller) lodge in Scotland for our summer holidays. Just no snow and/ or murders please!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, and Lucy Foley for reading along!
I thoroughly appreciate a book that keeps me guessing at who both the victim and the murderer are right up to the end! And to be honest, it couldn’t have happened more deservingly to a group of such thoroughly unlikeable people. They’re all entitled, self absorbed, spoilt, oversized children. Can you tell I don’t like them? I’ve come to realise that really horrible characters are my crack. The more deviant they are, the more I enjoy the book. This delivered in spades. I LOVED to hate them. The staff at the remote Scottish lodge that they spent New Years at, had my complete sympathy.
Everyone in this novel has a secret, and some of them are huge. They were all so cleverly revealed, and the suspense was immense! This is one of my top books of 2019(the list is hovering around the 20 mark) - it just snuck in as I read it over Christmas!
Oh, and I’m not saying that this book was necessarily responsible, but we’re going to stay in a (much smaller) lodge in Scotland for our summer holidays. Just no snow and/ or murders please!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, and Lucy Foley for reading along!
Complete Masonic Library
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This rare collection of 20 books is a must have for any Freemason or for those interested in...