Thank you to the publisher, Author, and NetGalley for this ARC for my honest review.

Weyward is about generations of women who have faced suffering at the hands of men but together with the help of nature and a little bit of witchiness work to fight the abuse thrown against them. The book focuses on 3 women spanning across the 1600s to today.

“I am Weyward, and wild inside”

What a great debut novel. Readers should be aware that the book does deal with very sensitive topics and has a lot of trigger warnings but the author does a great job portraying these and the responses of others. I really connected with the characters and was rooting them along to overcome what was constantly thrown at them. The women in this novel are strong, fearless, and reminded that they are not alone, that Mother Earth and the women before them give them strength. While the patriarchy sets everything against them, their connection with nature and Mother Earth helps them fight.

Great read!

I was attracted to the summary and use of the Macbeth spelling of the word "weird." I hung on with this one until 25% but one of the three storylines was infuriating (plus used a trope I can't stand and never would have even picked up the book if I had known it was going to be used) and the other two were so drawn out that I was bored to death.

What a beautiful, poignant story of three women whose lives are magically interwoven. While there were heavy subjects involved, I felt that it was written with care and hopefulness. I appreciated the different writing styles based on which woman's story was being told at the time. <i>Weyward</i> is a cozy, witchy tale about strong women and I loved it!

Much like honey drizzled into tea, Weyward takes its time. The story unravels slowly while methodically building nuanced characters and immersive atmosphere. In my opinion the book is better for it.

Weyward follows three women and spans five centuries painting an expansive look at how the world perceives and treats each. While the characters share a common thread, a deep connection to the wilderness and its inhabitants, all three stories are unique, offering engaging characters and heartbreaking trails. Delving into themes of male driven violence against women and unwavering perseverance, Weyward will break your heart while simultaneously giving you hope.

Fans of Circe, The Witch's Heart, and Wildwood Whispers will want to add this to their TBR's

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Maritn's Press for this ARC.

A fast-moving book thanks to the three points-of-view narratives taking place across different times, although all interconnected. This is a solid recommendation for readers who enjoy historical and domestic fiction, particularly given that one part is set in the ever-popular WWII era. These parts, with Violet, were typically my favourite as she had the most defined sense of character of our three heroines. While all three of them have strong parallels in the events of their lives, seeing the different directions it takes with each according to time period and personal disposition was highly satisfying.

3.5 stars. Weyward follows the lives of three women over the span of five hundred years: Altha in 1619, Violet in 1942, and Kate in 2019. They are connected by blood and by circumstance, though they feel singularly alone in their own times. Kate, running from an abusive partner, goes to the cottage previously owned by her great-aunt Violet, where she discovers family secrets dating all the way back to the witch trial of Altha. Will her newfound Weyward strength be enough to help her break free of a life that is draining her of purpose and happiness?

I enjoyed this tale, though I must caution potential readers about the tremendous amount of violence toward women in this book. It more or less powers the entire story of each woman. I think the character development was excellent and the plot moves along at a steady pace. There aren't any surprising reveals, really, but the story is carefully constructed and ends tidily. Descriptions of settings and scenes are appropriately gothic; my favorite is the unnerving bug-infested mansion!

Overall, this was an entertaining read that I would recommend. The violence may be a bit excessive for my taste, but I understand that it's sort of the point of the book and serves to strengthen the connection between the three Weyward women.

Thank you to Emilia Hart, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this advanced copy e-book!

I recently told a friend that I need more witchy books in my life, so this arrived at the perfect time.

2019 - Kate flees an abusive marriage and takes refuge in an inherited cottage.

1942 - Kate’s Great-Aunt Violet is a young girl who longs to know about her mother who died when Violet was quite young.

1619 - Kate & Violet’s ancestor Altha is on trial for witchcraft.

Generations of Weyward women inexplicably bound to the natural world. This story celebrates nature, womanhood, and the love between mothers and daughters. I loved all three women and their strength and determination to live life on their terms. The story of the Weyward women seamlessly moves back and forth through time and was an absolute delight to read!

“The connections between and among women are the most feared, the most problematic, and the most potentially transforming force on the planet” - Adrienne Rich.
This book had 3 POVs and I loved all 3 of them. The first: 1619, a young woman on trial for witchcraft. The second: 1942, a 16-year-old whose dreams of exploring nature are stifled by her father. The third: 2019, a young woman fleeing an abusive husband. There is so much more to these characters’ storylines than the one sentence I wrote for each. That’s just how they start and the way they unravel and the journey for each of them was so compelling. This book was a little slow and I was going to give it 4 stars but the way I felt after reading it, I just have to give it 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Emilia Hart for this ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review. Weyward will be published in March 2023.

This book really hit the ground running with a fascinating trans-generaltional storyline of three women of the Weyward witch line. The animal, herbal, and natural elements of the women’s witchcraft were beautifully detailed. The frequent reference to these women’s love of the natural world was one of my favorite connections between the generations.

This book lost points for me in the last third of the book. I think many readers will absolutely love all aspects of this book, I am just really not a fan of the pregnancy trope, so when all THREE storyline somehow managed to hinge around the idea of pregnancy/related conditions (not a spoiler!), I had a tough time. Our three main characters are all made to suffer through the age-old issues of sexism, but I just do not appreciate a storyline that makes women suffer awful trauma in order to provide character development and empowerment.

Overall, a three-star rating for me is basically just a book that was good, not great. I can imagine a lot of people who will truly love this book, and some parts were just not for me!

The writing is gorgeous, it was very difficult to put down as everything just flowed. Beautiful descriptions and easy pacing.

I'm torn about the story though. I love a story featuring strong female characters (and nature witches to boot!) but who decided the main plot point in women's stories should be sexual abuse?
Am I a woman who knows that the vast majority of women experience some form of sexual harassment, assault, or abuse in their lifetime? Sure! Do I think the main plot point in a woman's life should be that moment, or even the moment when she moves past it and finds her power & confidence? No! I believe there are things that are much more poignant and important!
To me, this was the story of three amazing women for whom the entire catharsis of the novel revolved around the men that hurt them, and I seriously could have done without that.

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for access to the Ebook ARC.

"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."

Can I go to a cottage and transform through the power of the natural world?

Thank you for letting me read this arc! This book was amazing. I felt every Weyward woman's tragedies and experiences. Watching them gain strength and overcome was incredible'

Weyward by Emilia Hart was a quick and compelling read. Following three generations of "wayward" women with powers they derive from nature's magic, the book is a must for fans of Alice Hoffman.

This was a very good story, told through three generations of women dealing with some seriously crappy bologna, but connecting to the natural world for solace and joy.
I enjoyed this book. It wasn't profound, but it held my interest enough that I wanted to find out how it would end.

This debut novel shows how much the world has changed for women, and how it has not.

3 Weyward women:
Athla on trial for witchcraft.
Violet is waiting to escape her home, which feels more like a prison.
Kate is running from an abusive relationship
At first it seems the only thing these women have in common is their unusual abilities regarding nature, but as the book progresses you see how intertwined they actually are. This is a story of women finding self empowerment and freedom.

This book did not disappoint. The writing was stellar. For example, I do not like creepy crawlers. But while reading those book I could easily see them as beautiful as the characters described. I am a sucker for multiple timelines. This story was no exception. The different POVs were interwoven together so well. I will definitely be on the lookout for Hart’s sophomore novel.
4.5⭐️ rounded up!

What a great book about the oppression and subsequent power of women! Strongly recommend!

"The physician spoke with confidence. He was a man, after all. He had no reason to think he would not be believed."

Weyward is three interwoven stories of three related English women across five centuries. Altha faces trial for being a witch in the 1600s. Violet is disowned by her father during WW2 after becoming pregnant from rape. Kate runs from her abusive partner in the present day.

While the three stories seem heartbreaking, this is not a depressing story. Instead, it's an uplifting story about women overcoming male oppression through the centuries. Escaping men trying to control them through violence, the women use their inner power and strength to create better, fulfilling lives. Emilia Hart expertly laces the three stories together to show the similar plights of each character and how the women are bonded through time, helping each other survive.



Two notes for the publisher: (1) The ending was perfect! The epilogue wasn't needed and removed some of the story's mystery. (2) 1619 is strongly associated with the beginning of slavery in the US. I was initially thrown by this date and assumed there would be something about slavery. It would have been better if the trial had been in 1618 or 1620.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

Weyward is a great story told in 3 different voices and time periods of Weyward women: Altha in 1619, Violet in 1942, Kate in 2019. All very strong women, all running away from something and finding their strength. I loved reading about all the women, learning of their differing yet somehow similar lives, of how their stories intersect and come together. I was completely hooked and couldn't put the book down. Highly recommend!

I'm always up for a book that involves witches - this book is beautifully written and intricate as a spider's web, Weyward weaves an intergenerational tale of sorrow, love, and strength. Though separated by decades or even centuries, these three Weyward women--Altha, Violet, and Kate--are each other's heritage and legacy, and the power they each possess pays tribute to the connections between women, nature, and family

Thank you to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital arc

Omg this book, though! It is like a cross between the last apocothery and once and future witches.

I love everything about it. One family and three women spanning generations. Be(Witching)... bad pun. I know.

The characters are rich and beautifully developed. Each woman has their own voice and ways of dealing with everything around them. The family connection is both tangible and yet just out of grasp to not just tell readers what to think about the hidden secret that will unfold.

The plot keeps you tethered throughout. And the common string of how society/circumstances tried to keep them from being themselves, was brilliant. Each situation was completely different, in each time period. Yet the commonality of themes is executed without faltering.

Each time period has its personality, showing the differences in women's circumstances. This is both different and yet oh so similar.

Weyward is lovely without being overly mushy. It is fantasy without being over the top. It is suspenseful without losing its themes (or beating them like a dead horse). It is completely genre-defying.

I can't wait for everyone to get a hold of Weyward in March.

Oooooooooof I mean ok, yah sure just yank my heart out and stomp all over it why don’t you!

This is SO good, immediately intriguing and suspenseful. The three different stories were woven together so well - every time it switched perspectives I was like noooo I need more right now!! But then immediately got swept up in the next story because they were all enthralling. And each felt true to the time period it was set in…overall so impressed with the writing as a debut novel!

There is a profound sadness to the book with everything the women endure, so prepare to have your heartstrings obliterated (and def check trigger warnings). And while I wouldn’t call the endings happy per se, they do end on notes of hopefulness and resolved in ways that left me feeling satisfied and not completely bereft.