Special thanks to St. Martin's press and NetGalley for this book but I got it in audio too so my ratings are on there. Still thank you because I was able to read along with the audio if I liked.

Apologies for being a week late on this review, happy belated pub day!

“We never thought of ourselves as witches, my mother and I. For this was a word invented by men, a word that brings power to those who speak it, not those it describes. A word that builds gallows and pyres, turns breathing women into corpses.”

This is a book about Altha, about Violet, and about Kate. This is a book about women who have been hidden away and pushed aside because society was afraid of their gifts. I’ve always been fascinated by the way folk medicine and superstition have been negatively cast as witchcraft, and how this is meant to wrest control away from women. If these topics interest you, you’ll love the Weyward Women.

Each perspective was narrated in a different person or tense - at times I liked this distinction and at times I wished I had a more natural continuity between the narratives.

I loved the rich and detailed descriptions of plants, birds, and insects. If you were a little girl with dirty, scraped, knees and crud under your fingernails, this book will delight your inner child and she will long to befriend each character.

Weyward is a perfect book to read to wrap up Women’s History month and get ready for spring

There is definitely something about the Weyward women! This book induced so many FEELINGS in me that I'm not even sure where to start. It was not an easy read. However, the stories of these three generationally connected women were so expertly written. Each character was likeable and complex. They share something so special that even time cannot break its hold on the Weyward women. The settings were so thoroughly described that I could easily picture them in vivid detail.

Definitely for fans of Magical Realism, women's fiction and witchy reads!

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this thought-provoking arc.

✅ awesome cover
✅ strong female lead(s)
✅ revenge
✅ witchcraft

This was so moving in so many ways. Perspectives have to be done a certain way for them to be effective and damn they were in this book. I could have finished this book in half the time I did, because it flowed so well and made me want to know what’s going on, but I wanted to savor it.
It’s definitely a tough read emotionally and there is sexual and physical abuse in it. If you’re not in a good emotional state - tread lightly (obviously I don’t listen to my own advice).

This beautifully written story follows three women in different times, all with witches in their ancestry.
One fleeing an abusive relationship.
One facing a murder trial.
One living in a time where women have no rights at all.
All three have Weyward witches in their history, and maybe they have their own magic.

I loved the writing style. Very atmospheric. Very beautiful. You can't help but root for these women after the way they have been treated. Loved it!

What's it about:
Weyward by Emilia Hart is a historical and women's fiction mixed with a touch of magical realism to give it a few fantasy elements. The story, told from the POVs of three females from the Weyward (which means "wild woman") lineage, encompasses three different points in time. Kate is the modern-day narrator who escapes her abusive partner once she finds out she is pregnant by hiding in her great-aunt's house. Violet's (Kate's great-aunt) story is from the 1920s. She wants to study nature, mainly insects, at college. Yet, her father tries to force her to fulfill society's expectations for a woman during that time, which is more of a homemaker than an academic. Lastly, Althea tells her story from the 1600s, mainly about charges brought against her for witchcraft and the resulting trial.
My Reading Experience:
Weyward is a challenging read. It is well written, but so much so that it makes it even harder to read than if it had been told by someone less talented. The writing envelopes you and makes you sit in the emotions of the three main characters as they live through deeply intense abusive situations at the hands of the men in their lives or community. The three different stories represent the more violent manifestations of misogyny.

The fantasy aspects come in because Weyward women are witches through their connection with nature. Animals will do their bidding, protect them, and keep them company throughout their lives. They also know natural cures using various plants found around them. Magic does not play a big part time-wise in the story, which is why I call it more a mix of historical and women's fiction.

Weyward is an exceptionally well-written story that leaves much for readers to discuss with others, such as a book group or a group of friends. But it is not an easy read, nor is it an entertaining read. It is a slow-paced story with three narrators and three compelling, historically appropriate stories with a satisfying conclusion.

This one was super unique. I loved how all 3 stories of them women tied in with each other. The story flowed nicely and the ending was perfect. No surprise at all that it was a BOTM pick. It did talk about some pretty heavy things that I wish I knew before hand. I think pregnancy related things are hard for me to personally read, and wasn’t expecting those chapters. Other than that, i enjoyed it!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted e-copy.

I don't know what to say except the following:

HOW is this a debut? It was absolutely amazing.

The triple POV flows seamlessly. I usually become invested in one of the POV and want to skip just to that, but I was equally invested in all three. I loved all three of the women and their stories. They were connected perfectly, and I did not want any of their stories to end.

The magical realism was extremely well done. I thought the three different time periods were well written as well.

I couldn't put this book down, and now that I'm finished, I'm still thinking about it. I can not wait to see what is next from this author.

This centuries sprawling multi pov story was fantastic. I loved that it was almost three books in one all the way until the end where it all meets up so perfectly.

Three different women all with their own troubles and worries and how being themselves and embracing their family and their own nature can heal and pull you thru so much. Weyward cottage that helps to link the women and their stories was a character all in itself. And I daydreamed about having my own cottage to go and spend lazy afternoons reading and gardening.

I really enjoyed the writing style in the book and couldn’t stop reading, just wanting to get to a new section. I am very excited for this authors future works and I can’t recommend this one enough.

Thank you to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

The cover first drew me in, but wow. The writing was beautiful and the story fully gripped me. I found the three stories sometimes jarring to slip between, but overall I loved the concept and the execution.

This is a masterful debut. I absolutely loved the multiple viewpoints and the multiple timelines. The history of the Weyward women is revealed through the life experiences of multiple generations.

Altha's story provides the background for the events that occur for the future Weyward women. On trial for being a witch, Altha is resigned to her fate of hanging or being burned at the stake. Altha begins keeping a secret diary of sorts to share with future generations in an attempt to explain her actions and connect to her mother.

Violet is a girl with gifts that allow her to understand and connect with animal life at a deeper level. The death of Violet's mother at a very young age left her with a void. Her father's attempts to control her connection to nature by secluding her on their estate leave Violet feeling isolated, strange, and naive. Violet soon finds herself in a desperate situation where understanding her dead mother is her only potential way out.

Modern day Kate is leaving an abusive relationship with a secret. Kate drives like hell to get to the cottage left to her by her great aunt Violet. What secrets did Violet keep? And will Kate begin to understand her strange aunt and the Weyward legacy in time to save herself?

I really enjoyed this book. It was beautifully written and I enjoyed the connections between the different generations of Weyward women. Though each woman was unique and her story challenging on its own, the link of experienced trauma, secrets, and history made the stories tender. This was a 4 star read for me and I look forward to more work from this author.

I'm so tired of reading books where all the men are horrible and all the women are violently abused. And especially bothered that the only way these women escape trauma is through a deep, magical connection to, and the ability to control, nature, which doesn't happen in real life but only in books. So this supposed statement of female empowerment is actually saying, it's a fantasy.

But that cover...

Three women from three different timelines but the same bloodline. Three women who are put through literal hell by the men around them all for the simple fact that they were born women.

This book irrevocably breaks your heart at not only the pain these women go through but the fact that because no one helped them, they had to help themselves. With the connection to nature that began with one of the first in their line, in 1619, Altha Weyward a 21 year old girl put on trial for “using black magic” on cows to make them kill a man, she leaves something for her future descendants knowing that they too would one day face something that would make them need help.
The first of these descendants is 16 year old Violet Ayres living in 1942 amidst a World War with a father who seems disgusted at the even glimpse of his daughter. This girl who grew up without even a word of her deceased mother, whose father treats her like cattle to be sold off and who ends up being cast out of her home after she goes through a horrendous trauma. This girl though uses the same power that nature granted her ancestor to not only get revenge on the men who caused her pain but to gain the freedom to follow her dreams.

Fast forward to present time in 2019 to Kate. The most recent of the Weyward line who flees London to escape an abusive relationship going to the small cabin left to her by her great aunt Violet. As she starts to rebuild her life in this small town, she starts researching her ancestors and comes to the realization of just what it is to be a Weyward woman & what she can do to not only help herself but keep those who wish to do her harm away from her.

This book was simply amazing and though I felt like I went through it right along with these three women, I could not have been more glad than to have experienced this book.

4.5 stars
Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the advance copy coming out March 7, 2023. The opinions are my own.

Books often have multiple storylines and timelines weaving in and out through a story - it's a tricky technique to do well. This debut novel does an admirable job of using three clearly defined storylines, each in different eras and the chapters alternate between the women's stories. Each era is anchored by a well defined woman who faces realistic problems from her era - and all revolve around men. Beginning with Altha and her trial for witchcraft and her fears and how she overcame them, each woman has a fear, a terror, in her life that she has to overcome and find her Weyward family power.

This was a wonderful book and the characters are excellent - each suffering abuse in different ways and in different times, yet each able to overcome and take a measure of control of their own lives. Lots of character growth exhibited by each woman. Each era is faithfully rendered and feels authentic, both in setting and dialog. The writing was descriptive enough to set apart each timeline yet not so dense as to make it tiresome. However, all the men were portrayed as bad guys. That's a little too heavy handed and unfair even though I understand that's how Hart is making her point - a very feminist point.

“Witch. The word slithers from the mouth like a serpent, drips from the tongue as thick and black as tar. We never thought of ourselves as witches, my mother and I. For this was a word invented by men, a word that brings power to those that speak it, not those that it describes. A word that builds gallows and pyres, turns breathing women into corpses.”

Being in touch with the natural world - both critters and plants - is integral to the story and plays a big part in helping the women discover their true selves. There's a bit of witchcraft/magic in each era, but it's mostly secondary to the story of the strength of character each woman discovers about herself.

This would be a good book club reading choice - lots of things to talk about!
Amazon review posted.

Spanning centuries, Emilia Hart's stunning debut <i>Weyward</i> follows three women in the Weyward family. Not Shakespeare's three "weyward" sisters, Altha defends herself in a seventeenth-century witch trial, Violet attempts to find out about her mother as WWII rages, and Kate, in 2019, escapes her physcially abusive boyfriend. The three women find solace and security in the small cottage, connected through their lineage and their unique and powerful connection to nature.

There are strong implications from the novel's beginning that the three women are witches, based on their ability to commune with nature, but it remains only implied until at least halfway through the story. Their natural power seems tied to independence; when their autonomy is threatened, nature responds. It remains a bit unclear the narrative role of being a witch is in the novel. It's possible that the ambiguity is part of Hart's goal--leaving women open for accusations without confirmation--but it blunts the feminist impulses of the text. A relatively minor issue that is overcome by Hart's writing.

Hart beautifully illustrates the creepy crawlies and corvids that surround these women. The suspense of the novel as the three narratives unfold is expertly crafted, inhabiting the voices of these three different, but connected women.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy!

Three women, all from the same line of unusual and "uncanny" women, each must deal with bigotry, abuse, fear from neighbours, while also cultivating their deep connection to the natural world.

1619: Altha is on trial for witchcraft. Her mother was a healer, and so is she. Her mother never married, and neither has Altha, and both have had successes and failures as healers, but it's their unmarried states, the close presence of animals in their lives, and the deaths they could not prevent that damn Altha, and cause a neighbour to accuse her of killing the husband of Altha's estranged childhood friend. Altha assumes, after several superstition-laden testimonies, that she'll be hanged.

1942: Violet and her younger brother Graham live in the large home that's been in their family for generations. Their tyrannical father treats them like things that merely reflect him, and he is particularly hard on Violet as she resembles her dead mother, not just in looks, but in her affinity for the natural world. When a cousin currently serving in Libya comes for a visit, it leaves an indelible mark on her life.

Present day London: Kate knows she has to leave her boyfriend, who has been abusing her for years. She's pregnant, and is terrified of how much worse her life will become if he finds out. She has a place to disappear to: her great aunt Violet's home, which Violet recently willed to her. After arriving, Kate begins to discover what Violet's adolescence was like, and it reawakens in her her connection to the natural around her.

I liked this book a lot. I really enjoyed how author Emilia Hart wove history and fantasy together, while also showing the women's commonalities and how history kept repeating itself with the Weyward women.

I loved how, despite abuse being so much a part of their lives, Altha, Violet and Kate found used their connection to nature. I also liked how the women found support and safety in the centuries-old cottage owned by the Weyward women, and how accepting their legacy was a huge part of finding their strength. This was a captivating novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Weyward intertwines and connects the lives of three women living in different times. While they are all related the connection goes beyond just a bloodline. All three women's stories are full of strength and perseverance. They navigate their lives with the barriers put in place on women during those times. Altha’s story is that of a women being accused of witchcraft, Violet is a carefree teenager expected to live up to societal norms of women in the 1940’s and Kate is running from an abusive relationship and trying to figure out exactly who she is.

This was a quick read for me. The chapters bounce between each women but in an easy to follow way. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of the book!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Narrated by Aysha Kala; Helen Keeley; Nell Barlow

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Macmillan audio for the early listen/read. This review will be for both the audiobook and the ebook.
Very enjoyable read. Enjoyed listening/reading about the 3 main characters in 3 different timelines. The reader learns what happened in the past which explained why things happened in the 2 present or past and the present now.
Watching all 3 female characters grow into the strong women they became.
Will recommend!
The narrators (and author) did a great job telling the story of Altha, Violet and Kate.

Thank you to Emilia Hart, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for a digital copy of WEYWARD.

Weyward tells the story of three women, one from 1619, one from 1942, and one from 2019, and the horrible trials that each goes through and the magic of their resilience. I loved this book. Each woman was remarkably written and their stories were all so engrossing. Each of the women's stories was equally interesting. I'd finish one chapter and want to flip forward to the next installment in that character's story, but I wouldn't, and then the next character's chapter would be equally engrossing. I also was glad that the chapters went in 123, 123 order so I didn't have to wait too long to learn what happened next. The magical elements were so beautifully woven that they added to the story in the best way.

This story is masterful and rich in detail. It is a moving and realistic portrait of three women and their connection to the world and to each other.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.