Could only give this 3 stars, due to the narration during the Winter Queen segments. Honestly, had this not been suggested by a reliable friend (who was reading it, not listening to it), I would likely have given up after the 1st chapter ... Glad I didn't ,as the story was interesting. Read it, do not go with the audio.

A book with two intertwining stories and also for once managing to connect all the dots together nicely.

This story has three periods where it is set in. Firstly, the 17th century for Elizabeth’s story. The the early 19th century for Lavinia’s and present time for Holly’s. One important thing to note, this story connects everything and also everything about a curse very nicely and managing to tell a full story, one that comes full circle and goes through so much torment and tragedy. Centered around a pearl and a mirror, everything is set into motion from the moment Elizabeth was born and the jewel bequeathed to her.

I find Holly rather okay, her character easy to read through. Although I was much more intrigued by the mystery than the love romances, and I greatly enjoyed the ones that ended in tragedy. But not between Holly and Mark, just didn’t feel like it. I guess I’m a little weird for liking romances that didn’t end well, but it was just so much more exciting. Elizabeth choosing to marry someone when she wanted to, and Lavinia falling in love with the one decent guy there was.

They to me, were the strong women of this. Holly just lacked something to make me really like her.

Especially when Elizabeth towards the end, found out about what her husband did. And also, what Lavinia did and eventually do when she left Ashdown Park. I like them for their strength and the fact that they are sensible enough to keep things secret yet at the same time when things change, aren’t afraid to pursue their hearts desire.

But the author did a fantastic job intertwining these three stories to tell a tale, about a curse and love. And well, managing to make me become incredibly invested in it too was difficult. Especially when Holly was reading about the past and Lavinia, I never liked another character more in this book.

Overall, I really like this book for what its tale and stories which all comes full circle and delivering a satisfying mystery if you ask me. Check it out if you want a good mystery, with quite a bit of poignant endings for the historical figures.

Centering on Ashdown House and trailing over three somewhat parallel timelines, the story focuses on three women and their lives and struggles. I think it's fair to say the story leans towards the romantic, but other aspects of history and their lives are covered as well. The story starts in the modern era and works to resolve a current mystery which leads to working through historical questions and mysteries.

Knowing nothing about Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen, I read bits and pieces on her life as I read through the story which helped enhance her tale but also to determine where fiction and reality parted. I'm always awed by a writer who takes a bit of real history and weaves something into fictional intricacies as Ms. Cornick did with the pearl and the mirror in this story. They were the props she used to help tell the tale, and although they present a bit of magical realism (fantasy?) and a treasure hunt, they also help to tie together the stories and the lives of those portrayed.

Ms Cornicks' Elizabeth Stuart was depicted as strong and stoic, fierce in her pursuits for her family's place in the world and finally for love. The second piece of history is told through Lavinia's diary, which provides interesting insights and details into the woman's life and times. Also portrayed as a sharp, self-aware and resilient woman of her time, we're given additional missing pieces of the puzzle. And in the current day, we have Holly, who's working to solve the current mystery of her missing brother by trying to retrace his steps and piece together what historical fragments he might have discovered prior to his disappearance.

While I found all the main characters likable, I couldn't help but find Holly to be the weakest character of the three. It's also possible she grows the most as she finally sees some of her own shortcomings towards the end and seemingly adjusts her view accordingly. But maybe unsurprisingly, I had more difficulty suspending disbelief in the modern day portions of the story - for example, the lack of action/concern by the village towards finding her brother, the two-dimensional sister-in-law, and Holly's original jerk of a boyfriend, Guy. Given all the details of the story, those seemed like short-sighted details that didn't fit quite as well into her story line.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the mystery and the historical aspects and the way the author worked to converge all into a conclusion. I'm a big fan of historical fiction and enjoy learning previously unknown (to me) bits of history; attaching characters and events only helps complete the picture, even if part of that history is fictional.

I am a sucker for a time travel books. The plot was really interesting and I found that I quickly became absorbed in the story. I like how the story went from past to present seamlessly. Overall a very good book.

Wow, this actually didn't suck!



Sometimes palm-sized adult novels make me want to hurl myself bodily into the ocean, but, wow, this was a pleasant surprise.

To me, the weirdest thing about reading this book was how it did not start off strong at all. Cliched historical fiction dialogue, a vanilla main character, and two incredibly lame supernatural objects made me think I was going to suffer through this novel (because I bought it with, like, actual human dollars, and it's the principle of the thing), then sell it to Half Priced Books and never think of it again.
But then! Boom! It just inexplicably got better.
The three intertwining plot lines were way more fluid and logical than they had any right to be, and the author managed to get me to care about all three of the romances. Unheard of.

If the synopsis interests you even slightly, I'd recommend giving this book a try.

3.5 stars
This was a pleasant palate cleanser after the struggle that was the book I read before this and a nice blend of history, romance, and the supernatural.

(I received a complimentary ARC of this book via Netgalley but all opinions provided are my own.)

4.5 out of 5 stars

Ghostly visions of the past. A dangerous magical mirror and pearl. Family secrets coming to light like monsters in a bedroom. *Sings These are a few of my favorite things. To read about.

Nicola Cornick’s House of Shadows was a delightfully eerie surprise when I discovered it nestled deep in my Kindle history the other day. Told from different perspectives—historical and present-day—and containing the gothic and romantic elements that I adore in Susanna Kearsley & Kate Morton’s books, House of Shadows had me enraptured from the word go to the final, satisfying lines.

I’ll try to keep the plot’s description simple though Cornick grandly pulls off a big story. Part of the book surrounds Queen Elizabeth Stuart, a 17th-century monarch who’s been sent off to royal exile and dreams of a better world, one she and her husband hope to create through the use of a magical mirror and pearl. And then we have Holly Ansell in the present-day, whose brother Ben is missing, and who runs into other mysteries as she looks for him: like the aforementioned mirror and pearl, the diary of a courtesan she discovers on her search (that’s the novel’s third perspective), and the ghostly visions she keeps seeing as she lives and works in the village her brother was last in.

House of Shadows reads like a detective novel of sorts, with Holly on the search for her brother, feeling like every clue she solves in this larger mirror & pearl historical mystery is taking her closer to finding him. Cornick’s historical descriptions are lush and lovely and her depictions of complicated women interesting and astute. I love how she captures different personalities in this book and how she not only makes aha connections between the characters but also links them to moments in time. These women feel the weight of their personal (and sometimes global) histories, and that’s part of what makes them so compelling to watch—and root for.

Like Morton’s books, Cornick’s features a “historical” romance and a “contemporary” one. I had some slight issues with the pacing of the contemporary one but then it turned suspenseful in the way that I adore.

House of Shadows is a scrumptious treat, and one I heartily recommend as we run headlong into fall. Give me all the ghost stories (with romance and magic and mayhem!).

I want to thank the publishers and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this in advance.

This was a nice story, intermixing the past and the present in a way that didn't aggravate me (!!), where I cared for both sides of the story equally. That's not an easy thing for me to do, I usually choose sides and get bored with the side that doesn't peak my interest as greatly.

I enjoyed the historical aspects of this novel, the English peerage and royalty that spanned nations and empires, marriages rarely for love, almost entirely for political purposes. I liked the romance between the Winter Queen and the Earl of Craven. This tale of forbidden love was very enjoyable, albeit tragic. I also enjoyed the relationship between Holly, Ben and Mark, and how that played out. It wasn't anything that I expected at the end there and I like to be surprised.

This story did have a touch of trade paperback romance where a long-haired, tanned shirtless hunk named Fabio graces the cover and is off to save his damsel in distress. There is NOTHING wrong with that, it's just not for me. It's not very believable, in my opinion, and it moves too fast, somewhat out of nowhere. Again, not hating on this genre or those that enjoy it, it just isn't my preferred reading material.

Overall, House of Shadows was a good read. Definitely would recommend for any royal/history/romance buffs.

Three stories intertwined, loved it