Emilia Hart knows how to set a stage. Right away I was impressed by the flow of the writing and the tone evoked by it through the setting and characters. Big snaps for that because I don’t think I’ve been so easily drawn into a debut novel for quite a while. I felt immediately and naturally curious about the MCs and felt at ease getting to know them and their stories, each character and their time periods being so distinctly laid out. 1619 was probably my favorite time, especially because of the queer representation that was deftly and beautifully done.
Now. For women to overcome obstacles there must be obstacles. And they were hard. (Content warnings below.) Seeing these women connect through their shared history was both difficult and triumphant. Another reviewer commented that real abused women don’t get rescued by magical realism, but on the whole I feel that these women largely saved themselves, took their fates into their own hands where possible, and were graced by the helping hands of family and friends, which is and/or can be true to life. Also, the blurb mentions their affinity to nature as part of the setup, so it’s not like it’s a surprise or an easy fix - all of these women suffered tremendously regardless.
I look forward to seeing this author’s future offerings, to see their work grow hopefully in subtlety and complexity.

<b>CW:</b> domestic abuse, emotional and physical; rape; abortion; miscarriage; blood and gore

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this book!</i>

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ohhh! This was such a fantastic story. The characters came to life with each sentence. Altha, Violet, and Kate are ancestors across the centuries. These three women have a powerful heritage line.
Altha story takes place in early 1600’s. She on trial for witchery acts. Violet’s story takes place in the 1940’s. She is disowned by her father for dishonoring the family name. Kates story is present day. Kate is in an abusive relationship and seeks refuge when she receives a deed from her great aunt Violets estate. Each chapter is a POV from one of the three women. I get wrapped up in reading about Altha’s trial and her life before the trial and next chapter is Kates or Violet story. I say ugh but within a few short words I’m anticipating and on the edge of my seat reading about the other characters. The pace at which the characters develop and intertwine made this an enjoyable pager turner. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for ARC read. Very very enjoyable!

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

This story cycles through the POV of the three main characters, which was both compelling and super frustrating for me. It used the classic soap opera strategy of leaving each character at a pivotal point of their story to take us back to someone else for a bit. That's exactly the kind of thing that makes it so hard to put the book down, because you need to keep reading to get back to Person A to find out what the hell happened! I both loved and hated that aspect of the story.

I would have loved to have a story that focused entirely on Altha. Like I think there's so much depth left in her story to be explored, probably because she is the furthest removed from the present so there's more blank spaces that my mind can't just fill in. But I also felt like in spite of being arrested and tried as a witch, her life as a whole was less awful than Violet and Kate's lives were. I wanted to get back to her story because it felt more happy and less repressive, and the things that were happening to Violet and Kate needed to be broken up with that levity. When Violet and Kate found their power though, everything became right with the world.

A part of me also already wants to reread this book to see if I pick up on any details that I may have missed as significant the first time around knowing how things end for each of the characters, and I'm not normally inspired to read a book a second time anymore because there are already so many other books I want to read and there's just not enough time for that as it is, but this book I really do want to read again.

Overall I give Weyward 4.86 out of 5 stars.

Really enjoyed this read, about three women from the same family, decades and hundreds of years apart. Their lives mirror each other in that because of the patriarchy, they had their agency ripped away from them, but they persevered.
Although, Violet and Kate are the women of the Weyward line, and though they lived in different centuries, they each find themselves victims of the patriarchy in various ways, but they do not take these attacks against them lying down. Each finds a way to overcome the trials that come their way.

<i>Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!</i>

Kate. Violet. Altha. Three women, three centuries, one family legacy.

Altha is a healer on trial for witchcraft for the death of her childhood friend's husband in the early 17th Century. Violet is a nature-obsessed teen at a time (World War II) when girls were expected to be ladylike and not climb trees in search of interesting bugs to collect. And Kate, trapped by an abusive boyfriend in present-day London, flees to the safety of the cottage her great aunt left her.

In [author:Emilia Hart]'s shimmering debut, these three women share so much more than family ties and a deep connection to the natural world. Each longs for safety and freedom from repressive circumstances, and in discovering their familial inheritance – knowledge passed from Weyward mother to daughter over the generations – is so much more.

Hart intertwines the three women's stories in clear and emotional prose, rotating POV chapters. She expertly juggles the mounting tension in the narratives, but never crowds out her characters' awe at the gentle clicking of a spider's pincers, the mottled feathers of the ever-present crows, the richness of the soil. She gives the three women at the center of the story both bravery and fear, bodily desires and personal ambitions. Kate, Violet and Altha are richly drawn. They might have magic, but they feel completely real.

[book:Weyward] by [author:Emilia Hart]
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars rounded up
CW: Sexual assault, domestic violence and abusive relationships, death of a parent, abortion
🧙🏻‍♀️🧙🏻‍♀️🧙🏻‍♀️ witchy vibes
👩🏻‍🔬👨🏼‍💼 Adventurous sisters and kind brothers
🐝🐛🕷️🕸️🦋 Bugs are beautiful

Three stories. Three women. Three generations of misogyny. The stories themselves were good. I left them feeling like I had done all of this before. Women who don’t conform. Women who are controlled. Women who are called witches. I was hoping for something to come as the stories weaved past and present, but I just didn’t find it. A good story, if not a bit familiar. Maybe even dated.

Thanks to netgalley for making me opt for this book, for it truly had an amazing premise! It focussed on three women across three different generations and their lives intricately woven together by a magical connection. There are three POVs and their struggles in life to protect both their families and themselves! I personally enjoyed the life stories of all the three women but the older generations being set in a completely different period was very fascinating. It is magical realism based but it is a slightly different kind of magic!

Not just another witchy novel, Weyward is a stunning debut about female power, male control and breaking free of societal constraints.
In 2019, we have Kate who is running from an abusive partner. Her great-aunt, Violet, a celebrated entomologist, has secretly left her Weyward Cottage, tucked in a small Cumbrian village. In 1942, we have Violet's story. And 400 years prior, in 1619, we have Altha Weyward, accused and on trial for witchcraft. The parallels in each voice are stunning and intricately woven together.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc.*

Source: DRC via NetGalley (St. Martin’s Press) in exchange for an honest review
Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase Link: Amazon

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Why did I choose to read this book?

This book kept popping up in “most anticipated” lists, plus I always enjoy a story about women using their magic to escape oppression/abuse.

What is this book about?

This book is about generations of women who have survived abuse embraced their connection with nature as a weapon against those who would harm them or their children. It is a magical story, and the women of the Weyward line would be considered witches in the traditional sense. In this book their magic manifests through their connection to animals and insects.

What is notable about this story?

I am so used to magic being about the elements or about special powers (mind reading, flying, etc) that it was interesting to read a book that involved animals to this degree. The herbs and poultices that the Weyward women used were things anyone could use, but their ability to talk to and command animals seemed fresh and new to me. I wish I had been able to read more of this before I had to stop.

Was anything not so great?

I made it to the 50% mark in this book before I had to stop. Prior to this point the rape and abuse was described briefly and in the past tense. At the midway mark there is a drugged rape scene involving the middle Weyward woman Violet (Kate’s great-aunt) when she was 16 years old that was so detailed in its description that I could not read past it. Nothing in the second half of the book could possibly be worth having to read through that scene, and I already knew that eventually the present day Weyward woman (Kate) would have to fend off her abusive boyfriend Simon somehow. This rape scene was just the beginning of things getting worse and…I’m sorry but I just don’t have the stomach for it. If you are a victim of physical or verbal abuse in your relationships or have ever been the victim of sexual abuse or rape specifically, consider this a trigger warning for this book. It’s a minefield.

What’s the verdict?

Three stars on Goodreads and a DNF from me. Emilia Hart is an excellent writer, I raced through this book until I hit the aforementioned brick wall and had to put it down. This book might be to your taste, and you should read other reviews to see if you’d like to give it a try. For me though, it’s just too much pain and I can’t shoulder any more, especially in my leisure activities. I’m sorry.

“We never thought of ourselves as witches…for this was a word invented by men. A word that brings power to those who speak it, not those it describes.”

Intricately woven story of 3 women spanning across several generations. These women are bonded with a deep connection to nature. As they learn of their secret legacy they decide how to harness their strength with the power to heal and to destroy.

This debut novel has beautiful atmospheric writing, such that you feel the environment is a separate character. It gives the women confidence. The history is interesting. I especially loved the explanation of the “weyward” name and how the women owned it.

It took awhile for me to really delve into the book. The 3 POV chapters felt disconnected for awhile, more like 3 short novels, than one book. But once the book got going, the connections were clear and the book shined with female empowerment.

Note, there are many triggers in the book like rape, abuse, and abortion.

If you have the opportunity, the audiobook was a great listen. Especially with the music at the beginning and end to set the mood. Oh… and the cover is gorgeous!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

“This wildness inside gives us our name. It was men who marked us…”weyward” they would call us when we would not submit….But we learned to wear the name with pride.”

Title: Weyward
Author: Emilia Hart
Genre: Historical, Women's, Fantasy

Weyward is a name that is associated with things unsaid. But this name is powerful and needs to be hidden. Is it the name of a place, a person, or a thing?

Set in three different timelines, Weyward is the story of Altha, Violet, and Kate. The timelines are different, but the women have a common thread. These women are trying to protect themselves and someone they love. The story is simple, but there are many different layers and nuances to the lives of these women. Especially Altha. I wanted to stay in her life and was really sad that I didn't get to read her whole story. The women in the book are courageous and have an affinity to the nature that I loved to read about.

An experimental genre mix of historical, contemporary, and fantasy Weyward checks a lot of boxes. Thank you, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this book.

CW: domestic abuse, sexual assault, graphic loss of a child, death, and grief.

‘I had nature in my heart, she said. Like she did, and her mother before her. There was something about us – the Weyward women – that bonded us more tightly with the natural world. We can feel it, she said, the same way we feel rage, sorrow or joy.’

Not sure how these things are decided, but apparently, there was a “Witchy Fiction is de rigueur” memo, and I am HERE. FOR. IT.

This one was particularly well done.

It’s difficult enough to write ONE good story, let alone THREE.

And yet, here we are.

The story was Magical Realism at its finest.

The characters were complex and, for the most part, likeable.

The storyline was engaging and (Alva’s verdict aside) weirdly believable.

The settings were so vivid I could practically smell them.

I loved that there was zero focus on men. This was a story of women, for women, by women.

Any fan of Alix E. Harrow, Cherie Dimaline, or Laurie Albenese will love this one.

9.5/10

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for this stunning ARC.

Weyward was an engrossing story featuring three women in three different centuries. It’s a terrific mix of historical fiction, women’s fiction (although I personally hate that term) and magical realism. The story mostly takes place in Cumbria, England and the three women are: Altha, 1619; Violet, 1942; and Kate, 2019.

All three women are connected (of course, because this is fiction, after all!). Altha has learned the healing arts from her mother. She lives in a time where many women were accused of witchcraft and she is accused after a man is trampled by his own livestock. Violet is a daughter of the landed gentry and is overly sheltered by her father. She longs for the freedom and broad education her younger brother has been given. Kate is under the thumb of an abusive man, but manages to make her escape and winds up in the Weyward cottage which she recently inherited from her great-aunt. I found their stories equally compelling, which is not often the case with dual (or in this case, triple) timeline stories. All three women have an unusually strong connection with the natural world, especially birds and insects.

A shout-out to the designer who created the magnificent book cover!

Weyward should come with a pile of trigger warnings. Nearly all the men in this book are just awful. They are extremely patriarchal and cruel, no matter what century they live in. Warnings should include: rape (including rape of a minor), gaslighting, domestic violence, abortion, stillbirth, and several more.

Given the above, it may seem strange to say that I really enjoyed this book, but I found it compelling and would recommend it highly.

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook has three distinct narrators who all do a wonderful job: Aysha Kala, Helen Keeley and Nell Barlow. I love it when audiobooks have more than one narrator.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook and to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars.

A well-written witchy debut told in three weaving timelines. A good page-turner of a read with good atmosphere and interesting characters. A highly feminist novel with some good historical content.

The witchy content was perfect, focusing on nature and the resources available for healing. If there was any portion of the book I would have specifically enjoyed seeing more of it would have been these particular endeavors.

The characters are strong and resolute, though they do start off somewhat weak. I very much enjoyed following their character arcs and watching them break free of the bonds they were being held in. They were all clever, smart, and resourceful women with good hearts and lots of determination.

The three storylines are very well timed and woven together. There is a lot of talent to this writing and the construction of the novel. It does not read like a debut and shows intense promise for future novels from Emilia Hart. She will be one to watch.

Three women, connected by blood and by powers that belong to the women in their family, live in three different centuries. And they use their powers to say "No f'ing way" to men who would like to subjugate them.

It was fun and drew me in. The characters weren't particularly rich, but there was some nice poetic writing about the natural world. I listened to this book and very much enjoyed the reader.

Amazing story, amazing science. I loved how the stories came together with their connected gift. A completely engaging story, I really loved the writing style and the tale itself. A real world mingled with magic. Strength feminism, nature and family.

It's not easy to write a time traveling novel, giving equal voice to each of the characters, and not putting modern emotions/thought in their words. As the story progresses, we get to know Altha, Violet and Kate, and their unique stories, and how their shared descendancy offers gifts and curses alike. It's an interesting tale of how life for women has changed when they have trauma in their life, and the choices available to them. An interesting page turner, you will love!

Three women, five centuries, and secrets that bind them all.

This was a powerful story about women, mothers, daughters and the bond that connects us all. There was some light magic to it, but it didn’t overpower the story and it still seemed realistic. There were three storylines going on, but I enjoyed each one. I love how they tied together at the end.

“They do not frighten me. After all, I am a Weyward, and wild inside.”

Weyward comes out 3/7.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

This is a situation of "this is me, not the book"... I had a hard time with some of the triggers here and honestly I thought that I could stomach it but I had to put it down. Like I said, I'm sure the book is great if I look at all the other reviews but I'm a sensitive person.

Weyward is the debut novel by Emilia Hart. And it's remarkable debut! Atmospheric, with a triple timeline, triple POV mix of historical and women's fiction with magical realism.

In 2019, Kate escapes an abusive relationship and heads for Weyward Cottage, inherited from her great Aunt Violet, an eccentric entomologist. She will uncover a secret about the women in her family there. A secret dating back to 1619, when local authorities tried her ancestor Altha Weyward was tried for witchcraft.

Well-written and gripping, each timeline stands on its own yet weaves together its parallel themes. Difficult topics are not shied away from as a stark look is taken at a few issues, including the mistreatment of women across the centuries. I rooted for each woman as she found strength and power, particularly her magical power and connection to nature. The characters are likable and well-developed, the imagery is vivid, and the setting is stunning. And I am in love with the cover of this one!
I was impressed with this debut and look forward to what Hart writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this ARC. I enjoyed it!