Weyward

I had picked this book to read for our book club and I am betrayed by my own choices. I disliked it immensely and don't think I would have kept on reading if I read it on my own. I noticed quite quickly that I didn't like the writing style, I left the prose was very flowery and cliche in a way. I didn't connect with any of the characters as they were literally all the same fucking person. 

Besides that fact, the story was not enjoyable. I had heard this described as a story of female empowerment, and I have no idea who the fuck thought that. The entire novel is about women in every generation being raped and abused and saying nothing, telling no one and just all around being the most docile little pushovers. They had absolutely no dimension and were defined often by either one thing or simply their relationship to a man. 

During the reading of this book, I have read multiple books featuring abusive relationships all of which are better and more believably portrayed than this. All of the men in this book were fucking assholes and the lesson of the story also seems to be ‘all men are trash'. You could make a drinking game of all the abuse triggery shit these men do and you would be black-out drunk by the end. 

The ending was also in no way satisfying. I was waiting very long for the magical realism this book is supposed to contain and had seen nothing of until literally the last 40 pages. When it finally showed up it was underwhelming and honestly boring. There were certain parts in the ending and epilogue where it was clear this was supposed to be an emotional bit and it all just fell flat. 

This book is spot on! Seem like historical novels are mainly about WWII or witches these days, and this one falls into the second camp but is so good!

i enjoyed this book a lot

While I liked the overall story of resilience in each of the main characters, the book was hard to get through. Many times the content was disturbing.

A non-content issue I had was the way the author would switch between 1st and 3rd person, past and present tense. It was clunky and hard to get through at times - particularly Kate's chapters which seemed to change from present to past at times in the same chapter. I wish she had just written all the POVs in the same format.

**The book as often graphic and disturbing visualizations of rape, domestic violence, and miscarriage. Discretion is HIGHLY advised. 

4.5 ☆
I'm probably not the same person as I was when I started this book. Loved how the stories come together and the resillience of the Weyward women.

A beautiful read. 3 different women all related in different time periods come together and weave a magical story about what they are and what they are truly capable of. There is some magic I involved and a woman finds the power she needs to overcome a nightmare.

3.75 rounded up.

Not my normal read. Multiple POV and timelines. Historical fiction.

However, I enjoyed it. It was great at what it was. Perfect for this time of year.

Might be a hard read for those who have been a victim of domestic violence or had issues around pregnancy/conception.

Reasons why this book didn't work for me:

• The characters felt superficial with no distinct personality.
• Not only were the storylines predictable, but they took longer than it should have to be revealed. I was just waiting for the author to get there so we could move along.
• At times nothing was happening, boring me.

CW: Sexual Assault, Violence

4.5 stars

Great read great ending, love when bad things happen to bad people.

The writing was great too and I glided through it while still experiencing the mounting dread that made me feel like this book deserves to be labeled secondarily as a horror.

I wouldn't say it was perfect but I wouldn't say it's flaws are major enough for me to drop a star. There are things Hart could have added to make me love it more but nothing she did made me like it less.

Bland and hollow characters, poor writing (though that may be in part due to the translation; I read the book in Dutch) and some of the most surface-level feminism imaginable.

Though I craved more nuance, character development, and overall just MORE from these characters and their role in each of their stories, I found this book very enjoyable. It is very rare that I enjoy a split perspective book but I found that all 3 of these women had equally interesting storylines and were all equally enjoyable characters which is very rare in split perspectives. Though the subject matter is very intense and uncomfortable, the author found a way to create a comfortable space in the setting of a cottage with a connection to nature that I absolutely loved. I loved that not only were the 3 narrators related but that all of their stories connected with each other and I loved the concept of legacy in this book. I also really enjoy reading stories about witches that are not your typical spell casting sorceress but rather a scorned woman with a connection to nature.

TW: rape, sexual assault, physical assault, abuse, suicide mention, abortion, etc.

I read this book as part of my book club. I’d always heard about it but it had never made it to the top of my list. Overall I enjoyed the read but I was still left wanting. All the female characters through the generations seemed very similar and honestly I wanted more of the witchy vibe. The only thing that really made them witches was the connection with nature and I wanted the author to lean into it a little more.

An interestingly woven tale of 3 women living through 3 different eras. Quite feministic and includes triggering content that will make you rage and see red. I liked the writing quite a bit

Riveting. Exquisite writing, masterful pacing, memorable characters.

In a recent interview with Dr. Laurie Santos, Malcolm Gladwell unconvincingly argues against journey-is-the-destination thinking. About halfway through this book, when it became increasingly obvious how it was going to end and how we were going to get there, I found myself remembering that interview with amusement because there was no way I was leaving this delicious journey. (To be fair, Gladwell’s focus was narrow and unrelated to reading).

Three narratives: one first-person, two third-person, an intriguing and effective choice that slowly starts to make sense as we learn how the protagonists’ stories are connected. Many story elements reminded me of Susanna Clarke—the nature of the magic, the complexity and depth of the main characters. Dark, in different ways. Hart’s voice is unique, though. I was hooked early, and devoured the book in one weekend.

For a brief while this was on my dont-bother list; I am grateful to A. for insisting that I try and for suggesting that I read with attention.

5/5 ✧₊⁺☆

“Weyward, they called us, when we would not submit, would not bend to their will. But we learned to wear the name with pride”

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જ⁀➴ Plot:

man

જ⁀➴ Characters:

Altha

Violet

Kate

જ⁀➴ World/Setting:

જ⁀➴ Pacing:

જ⁀➴ Enjoyment:

“The connections between and among women are the most feared, the most problematic, and the most potentially transforming force on the planet.” - Adrienne Rich

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score card:

Well I am not sure where to start with this review. So I think I will start with just the overall before going more into detial.
This is a beutiful and lovley story about female resitence.
If we were to talk about caracther development. They had just an avrage devopment. I felt that in general there just was not enough deph in these carathers. The timelines beutifully intertvine and work together to create a story. The atmosphear of it is really strong. It creates a witchy vibe with the refreshing twists to an ever so usual fall. It is a fairytal with just some cozynice vibe.
  When it comes to the writing style, there were moments of poetic and lyrical beauty that I truly enjoyed. The author's use of language mirrors the fairytales mentioned throughout the book. However, at times, the writing felt slightly overwritten, as if the author was trying to make their chapters longer to make a spesific word count. I think that just affected how connetcted, or not connected I felt and was invested in the story.
Think this story had alot of potensial and there is alost potesial in the author. Just a little more reajustments and it is good.

Great Book, Debut novel, award winner, Great characters! David N.

Weyward by Emilia Hart was an incredible feminist witchy story. Told in 3 POVS by women in the same lineage in different decades, it is a story about strength, resilience, vengeance with the perfect amount of supernatural influence. I definitely embraced my inner powerful witch while reading this! It definitely deals with sensitive subjects like rape, miscarriage, and domestic violence but it is done the right way and not just thrown in for the hell of it. The writing and imagery is out of this world. 10/10 recommend - especially around spooky season.

nothing screams female empowerment like rape and forced pregnancy 

liked altha's story the most i hope she and grace got together in the end
 kate was too stupid for me to handle so i just started to skip her
violet made me sad as fuck but im so glad she had her brother
why the fuck was there so much rape and pregnancy in this book?? wtb witchy book without pregnancy. it doesnt exist  

A book about 3 witches across different time periods who have some form of magical abilities. Touches on abuse themes as well. I didn't really vibe with this one, it's not really quite fantasy-themed (more like regular-life but with magic on the side) and the plot felt pretty simplistic.

I wanted to like this more than I did. Usually, the time skipping style of storytelling doesn't bother me, but in order to keep the tension and mystery it felt like the author was jumbling the order of events too much in the past. Does that make sense? The story relies heavily on “women are powerful magic” with a reveal at the end that wasn't really a reveal.

I did enjoy this even though it was pretty bleak at times. It's a fascinating portrayal of 3 women across 3 different time periods and the unique challenges they face as women in those times. And, of course, there's nature magic (woo!). The multicast audiobook was truly excellent and added variety to each narrative. Moreover, I was really engaged in each woman's story.Despite reading [b:Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders 105992 Helter Skelter The True Story of the Manson Murders Vincent Bugliosi https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347694754l/105992.SY75.jpg 1077715] at the same time as this, I was surprised and a little unnerved by how graphic some of this book was. I also find myself agreeing with some reviewers who felt that these scenes were a bit unnecessarily graphic. It did feel like they served more of a shock value than a narrative purpose. I think a vaguer description of a certain scene would have gotten the point across just as well as the detailed description did–without feeling needlessly shocking. I think most readers who would gravitate towards this book are pretty aware of the physical violence that some women face, so I question why there was a need to be so detailed about it.

Weyward is an intriguing story of 3 women spread throughout time & their discoveries of the connection between nature, womanhood, & each other.

Although the plot & characters seem a little rushed & two dimensional in the beginning, Weyward surprised me with how the events that unfolded within these pages captured my attention. I finished this book in about a day, eager to get from one chapter to the next to see what was in store for the Weyward women.

The descriptions of the world around these characters brightly outshine the characters themselves, & the plot compels you through the chapters like bait on a fish hook. I thoroughly enjoyed the read & recommend it to anyone who's looking for a entry into feminist, witchy fiction.

i loved the way this book talked about women and women's issues. the way the past mirrors the present was done so excellently. i don't even really like historical fiction but this one way phenomenal. 

Wonderful writing and storytelling and a completely gripping book. I loved the characters, and the way the stories of the three women across the centuries was weaved together was done very skillfully