Nice, cozy mystery book.

I received this as an ARC through Netgalley. I decided to check this story out mainly as it covered a part of British history I don't read much about. It also has an appealing cover. Firstly, I must say I was a little disappointed by the mix of this story. I honestly wish that it had been more 50/50 between modern day and historical fiction. It felt like the story in modern day could have held its own without the historical fiction part, but it also made the historical fiction side seem almost pointless. I get that in the scheme of things, all of the characters and how they're intertwined is important. I just don't think it was handled as well as it could have been. I was a big fan of Holly though. Her personality, her profession, etc. She was the best part of the book. Overall, the story was fairly interesting, just needed a little work.

House of Shadows tells the stories of three women whose lives have been affected by the magical properties of the Sistrin pearl and the crystal mirror of the Order of the Rosy Cross. The pearl and the mirror were made to be a force for good, but were corrupted by the Knights’ use of them to scry for personal gain, thus unleashing death through fire and water. The story begins with Elizabeth of Bohemia, the Winter Queen, in the 1600’s, moves to courtesan Lavinia Flyte in the 1800’s, and finally to Holly Ansell in the present day. We move back and forth through these 3 perspectives for the length of the novel. These three women are connected in many ways, including through tragedy wrought by the crystal mirror, including the present day’s mystery: What happened to Holly’s missing brother, Ben?

At times, the book moved a bit slowly, getting bogged down in secondary storylines, but the author always found her footing again. If you’re a fan of historical mystery, you will likely enjoy this book.

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley.

I honestly didn't remember requesting this galley book, but apparently it did. I was a bit confused when it arrived in the mail (but really, who's complaining about a free book showing up, who cares where it came from?). It just happened that when it arrived I was finishing another historical fiction novel and was in the perfect mood for this book, House of Shadows. So I got started reading almost immediately after it arrived in my mailbox.

And then couldn't put it down. Such a great book! It features three storylines that tie together three fabulous women from three time periods. All three were interesting and extremely well told. I felt there as just the right about of reference between all three time periods - enough that they obviously tied together and you could easily see the cohesive whole, but not so much that you didn't get a great sense of each time period, and each major character, as they're own stories.

They mystery elements were exactly my cup of tea, especially with hints of the supernatural thrown in. It wasn't the biggest part of the story, in my opinion, however, so I wouldn't let it turn anybody off from reading the book if that's not their thing. I felt the story was just an extremely effective tale of strong women, the men in their lives, and how they lived and dealt with the situations presented to them. Of course, the romance elements weren't too shabby either. Again, nothing harlequin-esque in my opinion (intimate encounters do happen but they're not overly explicit and certainly aren't the driving force of the story) but the love stories were just well done. The historical sections were so heartbreaking and wonderful!

I especially loved how the story of Elizabeth Stuart was so based in fact. I found myself constantly researching her online while reading this book; finding paintings of her that are described so well in the book, looking up portraits of the people she encounters, finding pictures or paintings of the houses she lived in, going through the timelines of her life to get a better sense of when and where everything was taking place outside the confines of the story. It just added a fabulous sense of realism to the entire book that I found so interesting. As if everything in it could so easily have happened, because so much of it actually did!

Overall, this was a fabulous read that I'm so glad to have received from NetGalley. I'll most certainly be checking out other books by Nicola Cornick.

Overall, not worth reading.
This book tried to do a dual timeline and it just didn't work. The past timeline was great but the modern day one tried to make the mystery compelling and failed. Would not read the author again.

This was a story told at three different eras. First we have Holly, whose brother goes missing. So she stays at their holiday cottage and tries to figure out what he was researching and where he can be.

And there is a sort of curse, and dark objects.

Through her research we see the POV of Lavinia, a courtesan in the early 1800s. Her story is at Ashdown and what might be hidden there.

But the beginning is with Elizabeth of Bohemia. A mirror and a pearl, hidden magic, and she is the connection to it all. I did like her POV. I have actually never read a book about her and even though I knew a few things, I'd love a book about her. I always want to dig deeper.

The mystery of how these women are connected is slowly shown. Will she find her brother? The objects? Oh and there is this part where she meets the locals and this man. That has to be mentioned.

I liked the mystery of it all, the women's lives (tragic and interesting.) And of course I hoped Holly would find the peace she needed.

That would make is historical fiction with a mystery thread through out it. Interesting.

My favorite kind of book. :)

I feel like this is what so many women's fiction novels set in multiple time periods wish they could be. Nicola Cornick is the best.

Truly enjoyed this mix of contemporary and historical fiction with a touch of romance. Lovely story about a young glass engraver who returns to a childhood town when her brother mysteriously disappears. Threaded through with a touch of magic/otherworld, it also features a wonderful architectural aspect. Most important is the mystery of Holly's brother's recent explorations of family history combined with the historical story within and the slow (but delicious!) revelation of the answer. Great read! Thank you for the galley Harper Collins!