Name: Liz Carpenter's review of House of Shadows by Nicola Cornick
Item: House of Shadows
Rating: 3
Author: Liz Carpenter

Nicola Cornick

The wooded hills of Oxfordshire conceal the remains of the aptly named Ashdown House--a wasted pile of cinders and regret. Once home to the daughter of a king, Ashdown and its secrets will unite three women across four centuries in a tangle of romance, deceit and destiny... 1662 A queen Bound by sex and birth to live for everyone but herself--and to love always in secret--Elizabeth Stuart entrusts a pair of arcane artifacts to her faithful cavalier to keep safe for her rightful heir. But fate will not be generous to the Winter Queen, throwing the question of succession into turmoil, the aftermath of which will resonate through the generations. 1801 A courtesan Lavinia Flyte wanted more from life than to be cruel Lord Evershot's doxy. He has brought her to Ashdown, the home of his ancestors, for reasons he guards greedily. But the maids' whispers of hidden treasures--a pearl with the power to foretell the future--consume her with a curiosity she confides only to her diary, unaware of a gathering menace. And the mystery that binds them all With her brother missing at Ashdown Park, Holly Ansell is inexplicably drawn to the clues contained in the journal he'd found of a Regency courtesan who was living at the historic home when it burned to the ground two hundred years ago. Holly is lured by the tragedy at Ashdown, and her search will soon reveal the truth about Lavinia and compel her to confront the stunning revelation about the legacy of the Winter Queen.

House of Shadows

Liz Carpenter

Cindy

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.

I was provided a promotional copy of House of Shadows by the publisher, and since it arrived in a box covered with giant Harlequin logos, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this new-to-me author. Fortunately, I was both surprised and impressed. I've seen plenty of digital ads recommending this book for "fans of Kate Morton," and I think that's a fair comparison. Cornick is a deft storyteller who obviously did her share of historical research, and was able to skillfully juggle three separate (but entwined) story lines.

House focuses primarily on the relationship of Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen, and a loyal warrior, William Craven, in the 1600s, and then on Holly Ansell and the taciturn war hero Mark. Through Holly's research into her family history, we also meet the courtesan Lavinia Flyte and a chivalrous Robert Verity, who become caught up in unfortunate circumstances taking place in the early 1800s. All three couples are tied together by the mysterious and sinister Sistren Pearl and its beautiful companion mirror. 

This is a ultimately a story of love and the choices we make because of or in spite of it, not always realizing the possible repercussions. I found both the characters and the plot to be multi-layered, and while it was not a short book, I think it could easily have gone on a little longer to fill in a few plot holes or expand more on certain elements of the story. Overall, though, a very enjoyable read.

London, 1662: There was something the Winter Queen needed to tell him. She fought for the strength to speak. 'The crystal mirror is a danger. It must be destroyed - ' He replied instantly. 'It will'. Ashdown, Oxfordshire, present day: Ben Ansell is researching his family tree when he disappears. As his sister Holly begins a desperate search, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to an ornate antique mirror and to the diary of Lavinia, a 19th century courtesan who was living at Ashdown House when it burned to the ground over 200 years ago. Intrigued, and determined to find out more about the tragedy at Ashdown, Holly's only hope is that uncovering the truth about the past will lead her to Ben. For fans of Barbara Erskine and Kate Morton comes an unforgettable novel about three women and the power one lie can have over history.

ella

When I read the description for this book I was expecting a more YA book, so I was quite surprised when I started it and the story featured older characters. The overall premise of the story was enjoyable though. It's set partly in the present and partly in the past, which creates an interesting narrative. The writing was beautiful, although it tended to be slow at times. 
I think the reason I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would, is because I couldn't relate to any of the characters at all. 
I would still recommend this book to anyone who's interested in historical fiction though.

Carla Aquino

*******Won in a Goodreads 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 figures in the novel. 

I really enjoyed this novel. The author really made this easy to visualize the different time periods in a way that made me want to be present at that time. I loved the mystery across the time periods as well. I’m giving this novel 3.5 instead of 4 because I felt the ending was missing something. Overall I really enjoyed it!! Thank you! I think I may reread this again one day to maybe catch anything I missed that lead me to feel like the story wasn’t over yet when it ended.

Jolie

I was a little hesitant to request House of Shadows. I actually debated, for a little while, on requesting this book. I haven’t read anything about Elizabeth Stuart or the Stuart Era (1603-1714). I had a feeling that there would be many POV’s. Many POV’s, for the most part, annoy me. I can’t keep up with the story. What ended up making me request this book from NetGalley was the storyline and, believe it or not, the cover. I thought the cover was beautiful. Having read House of Shadows, I can say with confidence that this cover describes the book pretty well.

House of Shadows will sweep you away from the first chapter. You get sucked into the three storylines in the book. The book came alive for me, which thrilled me to no end. It has been a long time where I was engrossed in a book.

There were 3 main storylines. There were some minor sub-storylines that were connected to each storyline. Those were wrapped up in each storyline and didn’t appear again in the book. I liked that all the main storylines were connected.

I thought the mirror and pearl being evil and reigning havoc in every storyline was great. You have inanimate objects that have the power to destroy kingdoms, houses, and lives. What I enjoyed is that they were never together after Craven separated them. Even with them separated, the havoc they did was immense and spanned generations.

Going, to be honest, here, I wasn’t a huge fan of Elizabeth Stuart. Elizabeth bugged me because she kept Craven dangling on the end of a leash. She said she loved him but she refused to go public because she was a Queen and he was a commoner. That drove me nuts (as it did Craven). I thought, as he did, that he was kept around to clean up messes that her family made.

Lavinia, oh Lavinia. I knew that she was going to show up in the story but I didn’t expect that she would show up as journal entries. I thought that was ingenious of the author because you read Lavinia’s story as Holly was reading it. Lavinia got herself in a lot of trouble with Lord Evershot. At first, he was a gentleman towards her but the more Holly read, the more twisted he was. I was shocked that the author chose to portray him as such but, looking back, I can understand why. He got corrupted by the thought of finding the pearl. That turned him into a person that Lavinia didn’t recognize. I do wish that her affair with Robert turned out better. But, as with Elizabeth, it wasn’t fated to be.

How Holly felt after her beloved older brother, Ben, went missing was awful. She adored Ben, hero-worshipped him, to be honest. She decided to follow Ben’s steps to see if she could find out what happened to him.

The end of the book was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I was sad at parts and happy during others. I know this is vague but you need to read the book to understand why I wrote that.

My Summary of House of Shadows: 5 stars

House of Shadows was a fantastic read for me. You are pulled into Stuart Era France and England, Regency England and present-day England. With plots that are taken right out of history, characters that are flushed out and 3D, and romances that span lifetimes, this is a book that you need to read.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Older Teen

Why: Sexual situations (nothing graphic but characters do have sex), language and violence. There is a very graphic scene where a woman is beaten with a whip and then with stinging nettles.

I would like to thank Nicola Cornick, Harlequin, Graydon House and NetGalley for allowing me to review House of Shadows

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Liz Carpenter &
House of Shadows by Nicola Cornick

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