House of Shadows

3 stars to Nicola Cornick s House of Shadows, an ARC I received through NetGalley last week in exchange for an honest review I realized it takes time to build up a good rating before publishers choose you to read new releases by famous authors, and so I set about choosing books by new authors or unknown authors that I might enjoy Little did I realize, Cornick has several published series I could have gotten familiar with While this book s plot and setting initially attracted me, I feel it could [...]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 HOUSE OF SHADOWS by NICOLA CORNICK is a romantic, fascinating, suspenseful and a compelling historical fiction novel that was an enjoyable and entertaining read NICOLA CORNICK delivers an atmospheric and vividly descriptive novel here with interesting and complex characters told in three different time periods from three different women I found all time periods equally intriguing and enjoyed the journey as I was transported into this fascinating tale of romance, discove [...]

Thanks for Netgalley and respective publishers.O o o o o o o o o o MY GOODNESS.Magnificent , Wonderful, Incredible and Mysterious Historical Fiction.Highly highly recommended not only for Historical fiction lovers, but Romance lover and mystery lovers too It would be became a great movie, A perfect Drama movie.If screenplay would be great, it would turned a psychological mysteryLOVE MAGIC GRIEF EXPECTATIONS PASSION MYSTERY It had persuaded me with its cajole writing and theme.This book possess h [...]

This book tells the story of three women, and three relationships, linked by a crystal mirror and the Sistrin pearl, which were used by the Order of the Rosy Cross an order which believed in the rebirth of the spirit There is Elizabeth Stuart, wife of Frederick of Bohemia, sister of King Charles of England and known as the Winter Queen, as her husband s reign lasted only one winter before she found herself exiled Then we have present day Holly Ansell, who idolises her brother Ben and is devastat [...]

A house with old furniture has no need of ghosts to be haunted Hope MirrleesNicola Cornick, an English international best selling writer, pens her new deeply touching yet intriguing historical fiction, House of Shadows, that unfolds two stories layered over one another centered around an old house with three women from three different timeline connected by an antique mirror, an old diary and with their same pattern of love stories This is the perfect kind of tale which demands a readers to get l [...]

Reviewed on 5171 Miles Book Blog.They say not to judge a book by its cover, but the beautiful cover of House of Shadows immediately caught my attention, making me want this book in my hands The image alone could sell the book without the interesting blurb or story inside Upon flipping this book over, readers will learn it is set throughout the hills of Oxfordshire and partially in London, England I don t know about you, but I was sold Since airfare is quite pricey to hop across the pond, I have [...]

The historical part was good The story was okay I was almost going to give it three stars, but then by the very end suddenly it was not okay any.The novel suffers the main character is a helpless fawning ditz syndrome that many a historical novel has, and that on its own would be okay I can quietly roll my eyes every time the room temperature goes up when the love interest enters Who is apparently good at everything, by the way, and is also instalove But one thing I can t tolerate And I spoiler [...]

4 Stars Romantic, fascinating, and exceptionally absorbing In Cornick s latest novel, House of Shadows, she immerses us in an incredibly intriguing historical time slip tale of love, life, duty, honour, friendship, family, passion, desire, and mystery.The writing is fluid and vividly descriptive The characters, in all time periods, are complex, independent, and strong And the blended plot is a captivating, sometimes dangerous journey, from the Winter Queen s exiled court in The Hague to the beau [...]

A beautiful story set in 3 timescales, starting in the 1600 s, then 1800 s and up to the present day It really is beautifully written and truly atmpospheric.In the present day Holly is looking for her brother who has disappeared, whilst researching their family tree She travels to the Old Mill house and finds a diary from the 1800 s written by Lavinia She looks for clues in the history that might help explain She s also drawn to a beautifully decorated mirror just what connection does that provi [...]

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 [...]

Intriguing History, family secrets mysteries, royal entanglements, historic buildings, love affairs this book has a little of everything I love to read about There are 2 main storylines with a third told through a diary Holly is our modern gal who is glass engraver Her brother Ben whom she is very close to has suddenly gone missing and her world is turned upside down Elizabeth Stuart of Bohemia, also known as the Winter Queen, is the historic voice I knew little to nothing about her, so this boo [...]

This book tells a story in three parallel timelines All three connected by a house in Oxfordshire, Ashdown, and by 2 magical antiques, a mirror and a pearl.The first timeline tells the story of a 19th century courtesan, Lavinia Lavinia wants to find a way to live a life free from being a courtesan The second timeline tells the story of Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen in the 17th Century When her husband s land is taken from them and they must take refuge in the Hague, he takes the instruments [...]

It is fast paced, intriguing, well written and thoroughly researched and it includes all the elements to make it my cup of coffee yes, I like coffee than tea fascinating historical eras, beautiful English landscapes, gripping plot and, last but not least, passionate romance.Three parallels narrative threads unroll in three different time settings keeping the reader hooked and, little by little, interweaving to form the tapestry that is the solution of the initial mystery the sudden, inexplicabl [...]

This is a departure for Nicola Cornick, who is best known for her big sprawling historical romances The story crosses three timelines, interweaving three separate stories, three different heroines A fascinating mystery and a touch of the supernatural underlies the artefacts that tumble down through history, spreading mayhem and disaster wherever they land Which of these heroines passionate love affairs wins through to happiness I will not reveal, but they are all heart rending in their own way.I [...]

The story begins in the 1600 s and centers around a very famous Elizabeth She is gifted a mirror and pearl that would be the downfall of generations of her bloodline and almost all who had anything to do with them In present day a woman called Holly gets a phone call from her niece saying that Holly s brother Ben has vanished and she is in need of help From here we almost work backwards in learning all about Elizabeth s life as well as Holly s family history If you are a fan of Kate Morton like [...]

Evocative, enthralling and historically rich, Nicola Cornick s House of Shadows captures the attention from page one and never lets go The stories of three women across three different time periods interweave to tell an intriguing tale of romance, hope and destiny Those who love romance mixed with mystery and a touch of the supernatural will not want to miss this latest offering from USA Today bestselling author Cornick Advance Reading Copy obtained by request from NetGalley.

Fun, interesting book Switches from Elizabeth, a Queen in 1631 to Lavinia Flyte, a Courtesan in 1801, to Holly present day London to Ashdown Park, manages to deftly handle the time changes, keeps things interesting a very well written novel The mystery that ties them together is a pear shaped mirror set with diamonds a pear shaped Pearl hung on a heavy gold chain The legend goes that when the two are together they can predict the future Strong women are the story some are fey strong women I hope [...]

House of Shadows tells the story of two beautiful and dangerous paranormal objects across three different time periods.In the 17th century, Cornick fictionalises the story of a real historical character, Elizabeth of Bohemia Elizabeth Stuart was an English princess who married Frederick V, Elector Palatine Frederick lost his kingdom, and Cornick s story starts as Elizabeth and Frederick are in exile in The Hague Cornick s addition is that Elizabeth inherited two powerful objects from Mary Queen [...]

I really enjoyed this book It had everything a book lover could want a gorgeous, atmospheric setting in Ashdown House a plethora of strong female characters and a history spanning storyline that took in everything from magic to star crossed lovers Hooray The story is about three different women Elizabeth Stuart, the daughter of James I of Scotland and whom I knew very little about beforehand Lavinia Flyte, a prostitute who moves in with her benefactor, and, in the present day, Holly Ansell, who [...]

Can not say enough about how much I enjoyed this book Great book for mystery and historical fiction fans I enjoyed the three time periods and could not put this book down as I wanted to know what was going to happen in each I would recommend this book to friends and looking forward to the next book by this author.

Received from NetGalley for an honest review This was a fantastic story that swept me through time and place Even with the dual POV, there was never a question of who was narrating and who s story was being told This is a story about finally finding your own happiness and of closing the patterns of life I related well to both Holly and Elizabeth, and I would recommend this wholeheartedly to anyone looking to take a glimpse into history, while knowing some things are never as far away as the pres [...]

Booktrail your adventure to the house of Shadows hereThis book is the perfect read to get engrossed in and to keep you there With three time periods, three heroines and their love stories, and two objects defining their fate an their journey in life, I was hooked I ve always been chilled by history and wondered whose hands have touched the objects I see in museums, the people they ve affected and how they came to be in our possession now This book gives you some of those answers and as I passed [...]

Ci troviamo davanti a una lettura molto particolare, che sicuramente ha il grande pregio di non dare tregua, inizi la lettura e non puoi mollarla, vuoi scoprire, capire, arrivare a una soluzione, a una spiegazione.La narrazione si snoda su tre periodi temporali, tre eroine e tre storie d a, in comune hanno due oggetti che segneranno il loro destino e cosa ancora pi importante l ineluttabilit dei loro sentimenti.Passare da un periodo all altro ricostruendo pian piano le tre storie ti porta a non [...]

Once , I ve stepped out my comfort zone and taken the plunge into historical fiction, and this time I ve stepped even further as House of Shadows is a story of majesty and royalty, awash with Kings and Queens and courtiers and finery I ll admit that one of the reasons that made me accept this Blog Tour was the time slip element of the novel, one of my favourite ways of telling a story, and Nicola Cornick has done it incredibly well Funnily enough though, the present day part of the story was not [...]

This was really disappointing it had been promoted as great for fans of Kate Morton, but whilst borrowing some of the devices e.g linking past to present this book could not be further from the quality of writing from Kate Morton The plot of House of Shadows could have been really interesting but it was badly written and really lacked depth Certainly the sections which dealt with Elizabeth of Bohemia, known as the Winter Queen, and her squire William, Earl of Craven were the most in relative ter [...]

I am a real history geek, so when I was offered an ARC of this book by the publisher I jumped at the chance A cleverly constructed time slip novel, telling the story of a crystal mirror set in the 1600 s, 1800 s and the present day, I was reminded of the likes of Barbara Erskine and Pamela Hartshorne I was drawn in immediately by the plot line, and supported by good, strong characters both likeable and not the story really hooks the reader from the beginning The three separate storylines weave t [...]

This is one of those books where you can t stop reading in order to find out what happens, but at the same time you desperately don t want it to end because you re enjoying it so much I absolutely loved it The characters are still in my head, I can t let go of them, and I want to keep rereading the ending A time slip book with not just two, but three parallel stories, and so much history partly my favourite period before after the Civil War , magic, destiny, twin souls, tragedy, romance and hon [...]

I loved this mixture of mystery, history and timeslip based around the story of Elizabeth of Bohemia, The Winter Queen, and her connections with Ashdown House A present day mystery links to Elizabeth s story and that of another love story in the early 19th century All are engrossing and suspenseful and I loved the way that the characters in each time period had their own distinct voice and style Great read.

With one phone call in the middle of the night Holly Ansell s life changes forever Her brother has vanished from his country home without a trace, as though he simply stepped outside for a breathe of air With her own personal life in shambles, Holly moves into his house to find out what she can to find him However as she begins to unfold his last moments, Holly begins to realize that the man she thinks her brother was was only a mirage He had started the search for an ancient jewel tied to the W [...]

Won in a Giveaway 3.5 stars This was a historical fiction that spanned multiple times periods and characters There is mystery surrounding a pearl and a mirror throughout the time periods It s begins with Holly searching for her missing who happened to disappeared when he was researching their family history and the Winter Queen I am always intrigued with historical fictions and find myself having to do a little research of my own to sift through what was true and untrue about the historical figu [...]