I read this book while on a cruise ship sailing around Ireland - the land of magic and leprechauns. It wasn't much of a stretch to get deeply involved with this book and the 3 lead characters. When I read this in the description Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.) I assumed it was another novel about the strength of women. And it was. But it also showed that sometimes that strength comes from something magical. Maybe even what some call witchcraft. Whatever they want to call it, it makes for a very interesting story. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Emilia Hart for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This is an EXCELLENT book and definitely one of my favorites that I’ve read. It’s an incredible story featuring some amazing female characters and a great storyline.

This book goes back and forth between three POV’s and normally multiple timelines bother me but I really enjoyed this one! I was equally invested in all of the stories and they all contributed to the story. I liked that the author made some POV’s have shorter chapters at times to speed everything along.

I loved the different time periods in this one and could fully invest in each of them. Even though I liked all of the stories I fell most in love with Violet’s. She’s a great character and I liked her unique interests.

I highly recommend this one! It has some great themes and is a perfect read for Fall especially.

I’m not usually a fan of multiple POVs/timelines but Emilia Hart did a fantastic job of making this easy to follow. I thought the writing was stellar and enjoyed Kate’s chapters the most. I found myself wondering where the story was going in certain parts as chapters occasionally dragged.

Excellent book. Really engaging story of 3 women, told in alternating chapters/points of view. One from the 1600s, one from the mid-1900s, and one from present day. Powerful, strong women.

I think this was a solid debut, the writing was good and I loved the cover but I did feel it was too reminiscent of other books I’ve read (nothing on the nose just touches of other stories).

I loved this book. I was a bit wary at first, especially with Kate's character, but knowing that all three women would eventually tie together it didn't take long to get drawn into Crow's Beck. Following they Weyward women, and the rest of the village inhabitants, through the various stories was a real connection for me coming from a small town where the names of neighbors are echoed on streets, stores as well as tombstones. Small town life with it's closeness for good or bad isn't all that different across centuries and continents. I for sure wasn't ready to leave Crow's Beck when the book ended, partially because the last chapters felt a bit rushed, however Violet's epilogue was a nice touch. I hope we hear more from Emilia Hart in the near future.

Incredible debut! Hart is one to watch. This was an incredibly well balanced story, with themes of the divine feminine fighting the oppression of the patriarchy. I can't wait to see what Emilia Hart has for us next!

In Weyward, 3 generations of women tell their stories in turn. There are similarities among all 3 women's stories--a fascination and affinity for nature and animals, terrible relationships with men, and determination. As each woman discovers her connection to previous generations, she is able to discover her power and to live freely. The stories are compelling and intertwine nicely.

Readers who enjoyed Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik might also enjoy this book.

I love books about witches and this one did not disappoint. I also love reading stories told from multiple point of views. If you are a fan of Alice Hoffman, then you will love this! Three different women telling their stories. and you can't put it down. Great read! I can't wait to read more by this author.

I found this story about 3 women to be very interesting and entertaining. The story is told basically from these women who are all related in some way. I enjoyed reading about the different points of views and learning the individual stories of the women that spanned centuries. It's a thought provoking book in my opinion. It can open your eyes to some of the trials and tribulations women have had, basically since the beginning of time. The nature element was interesting. There was not a backstory to that really, just that it was always there, like in their blood.

Some parts of the book were definitely disturbing to think about. It is things that have actually happened, however they are kind of hard to think about.

I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in nature and enjoys stories about a person's personal journeys and development. This book definitely can contain some triggers so I would recommend checking those out first. Easy 4 stars from me!

I wanted to like this book more than I did. Three narrators, all connected through family and the ability to connect to the natural world for magic and healing and sometimes killing. The problem I had with this debut novel was it read as too black and white for me. Women are wonderful, men are evil and worth killing. There was no in between. I think this story has good bones but needs more complexity in its characters. The emphasis on abortions was also a little off putting for me.

I rate this novel 2/5. Thanks to St. Martin Press and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.

I really enjoyed this novel. The weaving of the three Weyward women stories worked especially well. I will definitely be recommending this to friends and any fan of Alix
E. Harrow..

Three women, three different centuries. All with a love of, and connection to, the natural world. All three with men in their lives that are threatened by this connection and who feel the need to dominate them, control them, and crush their spirits. A powerful story that is heartbreaking and triumphant at the same time. A page turner that you won’t dare race through, but rather savor every word.

| About |

I am a Weyward, and wild inside. 

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.



| Thoughts |

I read the description and thought why do I keep doing this to myself? You know you don’t like the switching of narrators when you’re choosing a book. Well maybe not with this book. I actually quite enjoyed the different time periods and perspectives of each protagonist. It was like getting lost in not one world, but three. Each one so immersible and carved out so beautifully I didn’t want it to end and I didn’t want to put it down I wanted more. I also felt it had three endings, each very different but yet still very intertwined. Anyone wanting a little magic to get lost in, this book will surely deliver.

Thanks to Netgally, St Martin’s Press and Emilia Hart for this e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion

I really enjoyed this book! It follows three women and their journeys to essentially discover themselves as witches. I enjoyed how the author ended almost each chapter for each character on mini cliffhangers; it kept me turning the page well into each night that I was reading (shorter chapters make for addictive reading for me as well!). I feel as though the story itself was fairly slow paced, and had nice descriptions for the setting and the creatures, which it really worked for me! Thank you to netgalley for this arc; it was a perfect read as my mind starts to shift to Autumn style books.

I loved this book so much. I enjoyed that it was told from the perspective from three different timelines of three different women in the same family. It was fascinating, heartwarming and yet heartbreaking at the same time. It showed how family could hold it together even when spread apart hundreds of years. I loved the touch of magical realism, it was fantastic. And there were real life issues that were thrown in the book that were trigger warning issues that women have been dealing with through Time immemorium. I basically read this book in the space of a day and a half. It was fabulous and I'm going to be telling all my friends about it. Fabulous!

Weyward is a beautifully crafted book about womanhood, told in three distinct voices: Altha, a healer on trial for witchcraft in the 1600s, Violet, a smart teenager living under her strict father's rule in the 1900s, and Kate, a domestic abuse survivor in 2019.

I'm not always a fan of back and forth storytelling, but this one really worked. I was interested in every story, and I didn't find myself wanting to skip ahead at all. I loved that this dealt less with the matriarchal point of view and more with a generational feminine point of view.

I would recommend this to all readers, but there are mature themes and some gruesome scenes described.

A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

This was a wonderfully heartbreaking and heartwarming book about multiple generations of women and the mistreatment of those women by the men in their lives. The writing was beautiful with descriptions that sucked me in immediately…I felt like I was in the countryside right along with them. What I ultimately loved about this book, though, was the fact that the women were strong and learned what they needed to do to survive and thrive. Plus, nature is wonderful and magical and connecting with it can fill you with the strength you need to carry on. I will 100% be purchasing a physical copy of this book when it is released! If you’re in need of a book about women healing their souls and empowering themselves…I think this book is for you!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

I think this book changed my life. I found myself completely enthralled with each of the Weyward women. The book jumps between three women in the Weyward bloodline at three different points in time. It sounds like it should be confusing but it genuinely works so well in this book. The natural imagery is to die for. Its so rich and full of descriptions that place you right there in the cottage with the women. I love a good female empowerment novel as well, and this featured not only one empowered female, but three! Each Weyward woman was a survivor in their own right. This book was beautiful. The perfect atmospheric read to help usher in the spooky/fall/witchy vibes of the upcoming season. I think every woman should read this.

“Weyward,” by Emilia Hart is a witchy wonder of a book that ultimately proved to be a satisfying read.

It’s the story of the Weyward women, a line of witches who have terrific powers and a profound connection with nature and insect life. The story weaves through 21st century England with Kate’s thread, World War Two with Violet’s, and early 17th century with Altha’s. Along the way there is a witch trial, a gothically horrible father and a truly evil husband. And depending upon your point of view, neither of them is the very worst villain. I won’t say more, because this story would be easy to spoil.

The pros of this book are many: The details of the cottage that is central to the story are well drawn. The three main character’s interior lives and profound struggles are well detailed, and you really care about all three women by the book’s end. Nature is beautifully described, and the hardship of being a woman is honestly portrayed. Seeing the supernatural powers of these three witchy women is hugely enjoyable. The book’s end is also deeply satisfying. Hart pulls it all together well.

The cons are less important, but still matter. It took me longer to care about Kate and Althea. Kate, at first, seemed a bit too much of a cardboard cutout damsel in distress. I felt sorry for her, but I wasn’t sure I could grab onto her story. Altha felt ghostly and a bit superfluous at first. Happily, both become more real and interesting as the book goes on. Violet, by the way, jumps off the page right from the get go.

The men are just so, so awful that I yearned for a bigger storyline for one male character—I won’t say who he is, but he’s interesting and a very good person. I could have done with a bit less of the truly horrendous men who populate this book, and a bit more of the one terrific guy, just because he really was interesting to read about. Having said that, the power of the women in “Weyward” is stronger than the awfulness of the men.

The bottom line is that this is an entertaining and engrossing book that is well worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for a review