First off thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book.

I devoured this book.

The House of Light and Shadows is a wonderful story about family, love and forgiveness. Not everything is as it seems when Kate arrives at Rookswood to look after her niece and nephew while her sister recovers from an accident.

Kate starts to really grow in confidence and come into her own in this new life in the country versus her career driven life in London.

The plot is both cosy and mildy thrilling at once. The pace is just right. I do think the book may be a difficult for all readers to enjoy. At times i felt the descriptive words in the book had been conjured from a thesaurus. That aside I really enjoyed this book and felt it was well written. The historical facts on photography were well integrated without being too dry or too much.

I just loved the whole growth of Kate as a person and the wonderful group of family and friends that come together through a series of events.

I feel this book was such a wonderful tale and really a beautiful lesson for all of us on forgiveness.

This is a story about sisters, mistakes, love and forgiveness. In the present day, Kate and Emma are estranged, but as events unfold, it seems both of them were ill treated by the same man. In the beginning, I found Kate a bit pompous and quick to jump to conclusions, so it was good to watch her character evolve. Equally intriguing is the story of the sisters Ada and Camille and their photography career, which went pear shaped after a fire incident. They lived in an old house that Emma now owns, and strange things are happening. All in all, it was an interesting story, with lovely characters and a strong message about the value of family. Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC to read and review.

The House of Light and Shadows has everything I could ever want - strong, independent female MC. Spooky old mansion. A centuries-old mystery. A forbidden lesbian romance. Creepy Victorian photography. Positive autistic representation. GHOSTS!!! This book has it ALL. I got chills... I cried happy tears... I am OBSESSED with this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

Kate hasn't spoken to her sister Emma in 15 years, ever since Emma stole her fiancé Philip from her. She is now a hotshot lawyer in London, about to make partner, so when a call comes in from Dr Matthew Whitford, the grumpy headmaster of the posh school Emma's two children Izzy and Max attend, she isn't happy to have her routine interrupted. Emma is in hospital and has apparently offered Kate's name up as next of kin. Reluctantly, Kate drives to the dilapidated big house that Emma and Philip unwisely bought in order to renovate it. Not only is it unfit for habitation (the family live in the small gatehouse) but it's also spooky. Oh, and Philip is nowhere to be seen.

In 1880 something, Rookswood House was occupied by a photographer, his wife and two daughters, Ava and Camile. The Victorians loved the macabre and it was a craze back then to have photos doctored so bodies would appear headless or with their head under their arm. Photos of dead people in alive poses were also popular. Ava got her father to teach her the art of photography, so when their parents died, they had a means of supporting themselves. The Weird Sisters, as they were known, swore to always stay together, but then something happened to tear them apart forever. Now Ava is a trapped spirit who haunts the big house, not able to move on, and strange things happen to Kate and anyone else coming close to the house.

We get two stories here of two pairs of sisters, all brought together by a crumbling manor house. I'm not normally one for ghost stories but I was drawn in by the cover so I downloaded it. I'm glad I did. It is more atmospheric than spooky, and it's best to just believe there's a ghost and get drawn into the story. I really liked Ava and Camile's flashback parts because they felt kind of exotic, whereas Kate's story was modern and without the interrupting "can you find my sister for me?" ghost could have been a regular romance, albeit with secrets and sister reconciliation. I thought Kate was rude and snappy at the beginning but Izzy wasn't much better. Then there is Charlie the builder - what are his true intentions?

Recommended if you liked Jenni Keer's The Ravenswood Witch. This is a new author for me, but Lauren Westwood, like many Boldwood Books authors, is on Kindle Unlimited, so I immediately downloaded The House of Second Chances for future perusal.

4.5 stars

I just finished a great book by Lauren Westwood. The House of Light and Shadows was definitely worth the read!

This is a creepy book that looks into the Victorian tradition of photographing the dead. Once considered a way to remember and celebrate lost family and friends, it's obviously considered less palatable today. Add a haunted house and a missing woman and you get a sinister read

“The House of Light and Shadows” is by Lauren Westwood. In this book, we meet Kate, who is a workaholic lawyer, who receives a call asking that she care for her niece and nephew. Kate hasn’t seen or spoken to her sister, Emma, for a number of years - so she doesn’t know the kids and the kids don’t know her. Kate discovers that her sister had bought an old house that has some oddness about it - possibly supernatural oddness. Kate begins digging into the history of the house and makes a few discoveries. We then read about Ada, one of the sisters who lived in the house a while ago. The two stories do mirror each other. I found Kate to be very self-centered and pompous and I never really grew to like her. A fast mystery read.

When Kate moves back to her sister Emma's house to take care of Emma's teenage children well emma is recovering in the hospital her whole life has changed. After not speaking with her sister in years she is shocked to find out that Emma is divorced, and had bought a creepy old mansion with her husband.

Kate begins changing priorities in her life after being a workaholic lawyer she is now busy being an aunt and discovering lots of odd events in the old house. Lots of weird noises, being locked in the cellar, her neice and her sister have falls etc. With the help of the kids school headmaster Kate begins researching the history of the mansion and the weird sisters that lived there

Fast paced, plenty of drama and suspense had me finishing this book in one day. Thanks to the author for a very interesting book.

What a treat I loved this book from beginning to end.
Just brilliant
Just enough supernatural suspense to make it believable. I loved the way the 2 stories mirrored each other.
If you like Nicola Cornick Barbara Erskine or susanna Kearsley this is the book for you.

A dual timeline novel featuring 2 sisters years apart and the haunted house that links them.
I preferred reading Ada's story, her gothic, slightly macabre interests.
The present day characters came across as self centered, Kate especially was pompous in her beliefs, more so at the beginning.
A fairly easy, light read

This book was a unique mystery and I flew through it. The mystery was good and I didn't guess the ending. I really enjoyed this book and will be looking out for more from this author!

I am putting this book down at 10%.

While there is a possibility that this novel gets more palatable, I personally do not intend to spend precious time slogging through this.

My 3 main issues that I believe anyone contemplating purchasing this book should consider are as follows:

1. Barely three pages in, and the FMC, Kate, has managed to alienate anyone who thinks their life is worthwhile even without a partner and children. A direct quote: "Kevin's a good lawyer, and he's not a bad guy either. He's got a wife, two kids, a house in St. Albans, a plug-in hybrid Range Rover. The other candidate, Dave, just bought a riverside flat in Butler's Wharf with his surgeon partner, Simon. Settled, happy, normal. Everything I'm not. They deserve equity partnership. I don't deserve anything."

(This is not to mention that Kevin had just told Kate that their higher-ups were probably more likely to higher her over two men to "get the stats up and all." That's not misogynistic at all.)

2.The overuse of "I say." Can we find no better way to denote speaking than this? It falls incredibly flat, especially when the actual words being spoken by the character carry a heavier emotional load than the phrase "I say" can uphold.

3. Why is a 35 year old "consummate professional" acting like a toddler towards the niece and nephew she hasn't seen in years and, by her own admission, has zero relationship with? I do not buy it. Maybe the author could consider aging her down, but even then its a bitter pill to swallow. Especially with the circumstances the children are under. I like difficult characterization, but this is just reading as petty and small.

I'm grateful this was available to download without pre-approval from the publisher, and I hope the best for the upcoming release of this novel. Unfortunately, it just was not for me.