“ They do not frighten me. After all, I am a Weyward, and wild inside”
Weyward follows 3 women in 3 different timelines all connected by their family name. Each woman deals with different struggles that all relate to them, simply being a woman. We have Kate, who has an abusive partner, Altha who is accused of being a witch, and Violet who suffers under her father because of who her mother was. Each character had their unique flaws and I enjoyed them, but there's a huge underlying issue here. Where were the trigger warnings in this book? We are aware of the abusive partner part ( domestic violence ), but there was no trigger warnings for the other stuff; rape, miscarriage, parental neglect. I do think a book like this needs a trigger warning list because of how heavy in the story each of the triggers are. I did enjoy the magical realism, it was written well and made the story more immersive. The part I enjoyed about this story the most was watching how each woman’s story connected with the other.
Thank you to Netgalley & St Martin's Press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m internally kicking myself for having this book for so long and just getting to it now. I started listening to the audiobook, but also read my e-ARC (Yes, I’ve had this book THAT long 🤦🏽‍♀️)

Loved the alternating POVs and the reminder of the incredible life force that women are.

One of my favorite reads this year!

Loved this one! The dual timelines really built the story up. It’s a perfect t fall read. Plus the perfect revenge

Three women. Three stories. Three different periods of time.
Well told stories about the struggles of these women, related through time. The struggles all related to men. Unfortunately almost all of the men in this book were evil, which didn’t sit well with me but I was invested in the success of all three of the main characters. And celebrated the results.
I love the book cover. It’s one of the best I’ve seen.

Thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* I have wanted to read this book for so long and don't know why it took me so long to get to it but i loved it! would recommend and buy for sure, This is exactly the type of book/story i love to read!

*3.5*
This was alright. I was fairly intrigued by the premise and concept, but for the most part I found the execution a little... dull. The narration following one POV character in particular was so boring, I couldn't find myself caring.
I liked Kate's and Violet's POVs the best. I liked the themes it dealt with (violence against women, the connection between women and the natural world). With that being said though, I found there was still a lot to be desired (for me, anyway).

Weyward by Emilia Hart. Pub Date: March 7, 2023. Rating: 4 stars. In this debut, the reader is immersed in a family history of three women all at different stages of their lives. Themes of domestic abuse, family, pregnancy, murder and magic are all displayed throughout this novel. The novel is intricately woven with three storylines of women from the same family, all during different time periods. I loved the atmospheric nature of this novel and the strength of each of the women throughout their own personal journeys. I highly recommend this novel! Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

A good magical realism story-written so well its hard to believe this is a debut novel. This is a story of witches.....the kind of witches that practice with herbs and natural based healing methods. These witches teach how to heal and how to sustain.
This was such an enjoyable read, and great story over many years. A story of 3 women who meet and share their discoveries of healing and herbal remedies. All three of them are compelling, engaging in their own way and well developed. It is interesting how their stories meld together.
A good read, recommended

I’ve seen SO MANY amazing reviews for Weyward. And then it was a finalist for BOTM BOTY. I’ve given it several tries but it’s just not for me. I think I’m just not a magical element girlie. It’s me, not you. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Weyward is a beautiful, tough, and engaging story about three generations of women and the pressure society places on them.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

This is an absolutely beautiful book that I was unable to put down. It was about a long line of women tied strongly to the natural world, who possess a strange ability to command insects and animals. The story follows three Weyward women across time periods over centuries (1600s, 1940s, modern time) as they navigate life with abusive men, and deal with deep mistrust and suspicion of their unique powers. The author described the natural world so lovingly, bringing it to life..as well as shining a light on the cruelties and injustices forced on strong women throughout the ages. Highly recommend this brilliant debut.

4.5 stars. I enjoyed the alternating view points of the three Weyward women - Kate, Altha, and Violet - as they each dealt with their own struggles as well as how the choice of one woman was connected to another. There was a great sense of symmetry between the women and their lives. Overall, very engrossing and interesting story!

This one was a little difficult to follow overall as it's not told in a linear manner at all, it has three different timelines and points of view which a first made it very confusing. Once I got settled into it and found my footing with each of the characters, it got much easier to follow and over all I loved this story. It was very different and will be one I think back to for years to come.

At first I was a little confused with story being told thru three different generations, but it grew on me. Slow starting, but developed into a good read during the last 1/4 of the story. I enjoyed the character development and was rooting for each of the characters to have a positive outcome after the troubles that they went thru in life.

Weyward by Emilia Hart was published in March 2023 and I cannot believe it took me a year to read it! I loved this book!

Weyward is told in 3 timelines/3 POVs: Altha tells her story in 1619, Violet’s story is set in 1942, and Kate’s story is set in 2019. Each woman has been abused by the men around them. And they each come of age in a very traumatic way. Yet they all emerge victorious from their struggles. Altha writes her story down and kicks it up so subsequent generations can have her wisdom.

I liked all of the storylines, some more than others. And what I also liked was that though each women is abused my the men in their lives, not all of the men are bad. Through their hurts, they also receive care from the men who surround them. And they find strength within themselves.

There is an element of naturalism that is handled so skillfully that it enhances my enjoyment of the book.

I will definitely look for more from Emilia Hart.

If you love historical fiction with a touch of magical realism, grab Weyward. You will not regret it!

Thank you to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the advanced e-copy of #weyward.

I am sick to my teeth of women only being empowered after they’ve been abused. This book took me months to read because the abuse simply carried on and on and on. Every man was the worst man you’ve ever met. I honestly dreaded picking this book up.

BUT. Once I got past how the writing tenses changed with every POV, the writing was compelling enough to make me want to see how the story ended.

I can’t say I’d necessarily recommend this to anyone, though.

I really thought I would love this one, but the many trigger warnings of abuse, rape, abortion, etc were just so much to take. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters and the whole thing just left me feeling sad, really.

This book truly made me so angry I couldn't enjoy it. However, for a book with so much buzz and accolades I didn't enjoy it as much as I wish I had. The stories were compelling and I liked how they tied together. This book is super intense and heavy so definitely look up triggers/content warnings before going into it.

This was a wonderful book detailing the lives of three women across time points. All women from the same family who hold the same powers. At first, it took me a bit to get into the story, but as soon as it took off I was hooked. I loved watching the characters grow and bounce back from the various tragedies that befell them, whether it was domestic violence, a witch trial, or an innocence lost. All three women found their power and rose from their ashes.

Had me at Weyward (Pun on Wayward)

Aren’t we all rebels at heart? Name origins typically are associated with a place, trade or person’s character. What a perfect surname for a lineage of ‘wise women’ that spans multiple generations in this totally engaging triple-timeline novel of beguiling witchy women, “Weyward,” by Emilia Hart.

“…The Weyward Sisters, hand in hand, Posters of the sea and land, Thus do go, about, about, Thrice to thine, thrice to mine, And thrice again to make up nine. Peace, the charm’s wound up…”
From ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare

AUTHOR NOTE: “Weyward” is used in the First Folio edition of Macbeth, In later versions, “Weyward” was replaced by “Weird.” (The Weyward Sisters Vs. The Weird Sisters)

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Emilia Hart, and Publisher St. Martin’s Press for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.