I made it as far as the rats hanging by their tails at the roadside and had to give up. I'm deeply squeamish about depictions of violence against animals, and generally stop reading a book if I hit these. I was genuinely interested in this title when I first read about it, and my interested was piqued further when it started receiving enthusiastic reviews from my GoodReads friends. I do try to be careful about books I request because I don't want publishers to "waste" a copy on my if I suspect it's something I won't be able to read, but every so often I wind up with a review copy I can't complete, as was the case with Weyward. I very much appreciate your generosity in providing me with an electronic review copy of this title. I will continue to try to request only books that don't have content I find distressing. I look forward to writing positive reviews of future books you approve me for. I'm giving this title three stars as a sort of balancing out between my issues with it and the way it's been enjoyed by readers whose opinions I trust.

This one was deliciously witchy, without being halloween-y (if that makes sense). I loved the story of the 3 women connecting and got mad at the patriarchy again. Also this cover is absolutely to die for! Thank you so much SMP for the ARC of this one!

What an entrancing debut novel! Told via three narrators, with three separate timelines, this book kept me spellbound.

Altha 1619 – on trial for witchcraft. Like her mother before her, Altha Weyward is a healer. A woman with an uncanny connection to the natural world.

Violet 1942 – longs for an education like her brother Graham. Is enthralled by insects and the natural world and will eventually become an entomologist. A traumatic event when she is just sixteen years old sees her living in a tumbledown cottage a few miles from the grand Orton Hall where she grew up. The cottage’s name is ‘Weyward’, and it is where Violet’s own mother Elizabeth, and her maternal grandmother Elinor, once lived.

Kate 2019 – flees her abusive partner in London and seeks refuge in a ramshackle cottage in Cumbria which was left to her by her great-aunt Violet. There, at Weyward, she discovers her true self, her true nature, her genealogical history which explains her preternatural rapport with the natural world around her.

The three women are strong, resilient, and have exceptional abilities. All three of their stories were told in alternate chapters. All were equally compelling.

This was a strong and auspicious debut novel with some elements of the paranormal, yet with a forceful feminist message. Highly recommended!

Weyward by, Emilia Hart, is an utterly engaging supernatural story about the magic of family. It's about three of the Weyward women during three different timelines. While I don't usually care for non linear timelines, this one seemed to work, just right.
First, there was Altha. It's 1619 and she's on trial for the murder of a local farmer, even though he was killed by his own herd of dairy cows. But people see witchcraft everywhere so, she's forced to try and prove her innocence.
Next comes young Violet. It's 1942 and her father has made her a prisoner in her own home. Her mother passed away when she was young but Violet's father refuses to tell her anything about her. Then a strange cousin appears and her life becomes even more challenging.
Last, but not least, comes Kate. It's 2019 and she's left her abusive boyfriend for the cottage that her Great Aunt left to her. Soon she's making herself at home and becoming familiar with her own strength, as well as her family's history.

I found "Weyward" so captivating that I couldn't put it down! This book follows the stories of three different women in the Weyward family that are separated by generations, but connected by their affinity with nature and healing. Althea is a young woman in the 1600s accused of witchcraft. Violet lives in the 1930s with her oppressive father, and is trying to unravel the mystery surrounding her deceased mother. Kate is escaping an abusive and controlling relationship, and in her flight finds her way back to her ancestral home.

The writing is beautiful, I felt transported to each time in history and connected to all of the main characters. I found the magical element unique and loved the ties to nature that made it seem believable. It's not a book about casting spells or chanting, but using knowledge of plants and a connection with animals to make things happen. Hopefully other readers appreciate insects, crows, and spiders even more after reading this! These women all really find their inner strength as the novel progresses, and I loved watching them blossom and find their voices. The pacing was great, and the switch between character points-of-view was very clear.

I definitely recommend this book, especially if you love nature, magic, and independent women. "Resilient" is a word used in the book description, and I think it perfectly encapsulates my takeaway feelings about all three characters. Trigger warnings for domestic abuse, rape, abortion/miscarriage and thoughts of suicide - but they are not the main focus of the book. I look forward to reading whatever Emilia Hart writes next. I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Actual Rating 4.5

I love witchcraft and nature elements in books and I so so wanted to love this one. For me this book was just too heavy to be truly enjoyable, there are all the heavy themes, partner abuse, abortion, SA.

This novel, written with great care and love by Emilia Hart, is most obviously about women and their connection to the earth and to nature. To what being kept away from it does to us and what being steeped in it does for us. That’s the way it’s always been.

It is also, under the surface, a treatise on how men fundamentally can’t (and therefore don’t or won’t) understand that connection women have to the earth and consistently covet them and snatch them up like magpies and then cage them and guard them sometimes to the point of violence. Men are the hunters. Women are the hunted. The more innate power a woman carries, the more men will be drawn to her. That’s the way it’s always been.

Weyward takes these two ideas, both of which are true if you dig down to our evolutionary roots, and soaks them in magical realism, lovely prose, vivid imagery, terrific world building, and careful character construction to weave together three timelines featuring women of the Weyward family line and how these two themes affect(ed) their lives, relationships, travails, and how the rest of their lives panned out. Each story is filled with earnest and heartfelt emotion.

While at times a touch too on the nose or melodramatic, this novel is one I’d definitely recommend picking up for a lyrical and moving read.

I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley and the author. All views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Historical Fiction/Literary Fiction/Magical Realism/Women’s Fiction/5 Star Reads

I received an ARC from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for my opinion.

Genre: Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Magical Realism
Trigger Warnings: Violence and abuse
Format: 3 Point of Views, 3 Time Lines, Letters, and Journals

The opening gives a Shakespeare reference to Macbeth—make sure and read the quote because you will want to know it for the rest of the story. So fascinating!

I've always thought that women as witches is interesting because it was a way that men labeled women to suppress or punish them.

But here, we have three women in different time periods, all who have suffered because of being a witch. They don't cast spells or have really ritualistic magic but an affinity for nature. As Kate lives in the cottage, she discovers more about her ancestors. (I love getting to read letters and such in books!)

All three of the women's lives interested me, and I was happy that I never had to wait long to get back to one of the time frames to learn more. There are similar themes but each faces the trials of her own time period. Once I started, I didn't want to put this one down. This is a story of personal courage. Finding strength. Believing in yourself.

I'm impressed this is a debut novel—the rich complexity and nuance makes Weyward feel like it was penned by an experienced author.

I definitely recommend this book for adult readers.

Keep your eyes open for crows.
Happy reading!

PS—A shout-out to the illustrator and designer for the front cover. I adore it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, SMP, and Emilia Hart for an advance copy of this book for review.

I am so thrown by how beautiful this book is. This is Emilia Hart's debut novel so I had never read anything by her and though the cover and synopsis captivated me I was hoping for it to just be good. I think I genuinely surprised myself when, about half way though, I was crying and just had the realization 'oh. this is a 5 star'. And I stand by that! So Weyward by Emilia Hart is my first 5 star read in 2022. I'm very stingy with my 5 stars so I cannot stress how much it really earned it.

Weyward follows 3 different women in 3 different timelines all of the same bloodline. Without getting into spoiler territory you see the origin of this magical family, the time that made them what they are and where they are now. I was worried that the timelines would get confusing but the voices of the women and the setting makes it so easy to swap back to that timeline though I will say each chapter made you want to stay in that time- even though you love the others just as much. The magic in this book is also very subtle. Sometimes reading a fantasy can seem overwhelming if you have to learn entire systems or new worlds but this was just our world but with a magical asterisk next to nature.

I want to be able to read this book for the first time again already and I just finished it.

I loved this magical story of powerful women in the Weyward family!!!!!!!!! This novel enchanted me from the first page and I sped through it loving every single page of it.

What a beautiful story with amazing characters. This story brings you in with both beautiful writing and a captivating story.

The story follows three women and three timelines. Altha, Violet, and Kate weaving together their stories with magical nature.

Altha a woman living in 1600s and on trial for witchcraft. Violet, a young woman in the 1940s struggling for education and wanting to get out of her father dominance. Kate, an woman who in modern day escaping from an abusive husband to her aunts cottage where she starts to learn more about the women in her family.

One of my favourite reads of this year and a book I will continue to recommend.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Emilia Hart for the arc of this wonderful novel.

Weyward was a captivating book that followed the stories of three women throughout different time periods. I absolutely loved that the author set this book up that way and think she did a beautiful job connecting all the Weyward women's stories! This book is filled with magic and so much emotion and I think readers will love the stories of the Weyward women and their struggles and triumphs throughout their lives and through the ages.

This engaging story spans three different Weyward women and the trials and tribulations that they endured. These women had their share of struggles but were able to overcome everything.

The book spans several centuries, starting with the early-1600s when women were being accused of witchcraft. Altha had experienced a lot in her young life, but the crushing blow came when she was accused of killing a man, despite no evidence to support that claim. It jumps forward to the 1920s. Violet is 16 and has no idea what happened to her mother. She lives under the thumb of a controlling father but yearns for more. The last woman is Kate in the present day. She is married to an abusive man and needs to get out. It takes a lot of courage to leave, but she manages to escape. But is her battle over?

I admired all of these women for what they were put through. As we know from history, women were not treated well, and this was no different for Altha and Violet. However, they had something that helped them, faith and a connection with nature that grounded them when the situation arose. Violet is Kate's great-aunt, and we learn later in the book what brings them together, or at least why she leaves a small cottage to Kate. This cottage is part of what saves all of these women from the cruelty that surrounds them. But it is also their strength, independence, and desire to make the world a better place for themselves and others.

Each woman's story is told in parts, but they blend together, and it helps the reader understand the familial relationship between them. I felt for each of these women and the abuse and neglect that they encountered. Thankfully, they all rose above their situations to find a better place. Each woman finds their own path despite their surroundings and leaves a legacy for others to discover.

I enjoyed this book and was only left with one or two questions, primarily for clarification. It was hard for me to put it down because I wanted to know if they would escape their situations and move on to a better world. 

We give this book 5 paws up.

Happy publication day to this lovely novel about what it means to be a strong woman.

In Weyward, we meet three young women from three generations of the same family. A family where the firstborn daughter inherits an innate ability to commune with the wild. Kate, in 2019, is fleeing an abusive relationship and hides in Weyward Cottage, left to her by her great aunt, a woman she barely knew. In 1942, we meet Violet, a headstrong young woman trapped in her upper-class family home, straining to escape the confines of societal norms and expectations. Lastly, or firstly, we have Altha, a young woman in 1619, on trial for witchcraft after the husband of her former childhood friend perishes in a tragic farming accident. The common thread that ties these women together is their shared ancestry, and affinity for the wild and natural world.

This book flows easily from one narrator to the next, with each woman having a distinct voice and perspective. I enjoyed how each woman exhibited character growth and development, as each grappled with what it meant to be a Weyward woman, seeking independence and happiness in their day to day lives, while also embracing their natural talents. This book had just the right amount of magical realism, while also keeping true to each timeline.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the electronic ARC for review.

🟩Happy Book Release day for Weyward!

🟩I was lucky enough to receive an e-arc of this book from NetGalley(thank you☺️) and I can’t tell you how much I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down.

🟩It tells the stories of three women of the same line across centuries.
Altha in 1619, Violet in 1942, and Kate in 2019. It tells the story of their common struggles and the power they find within themselves to be the powerful amazing women that they are. And some of that power is quite literally a little magical.

🟩Magical Realism books are always a little hit or miss with me but this book does it so well. The Weyward women are connected with nature, whether that be the trees in the forest, the tiniest spider in your house, or the Crow watching over from above.
It means a lot that this book made me think spiders were adorable, so take that as you will. 😂

🟩This book hits on a lot of very tough subjects, namely physical and sexual violence women have constantly faced throughout all of history and currently today. If that’s a trigger for you this book will definitely be difficult for you to read. I think Emilia Hart handles the subject matter well, and the best thing that came from going through these traumas was that women should be able to make their own decisions about their bodies, their lives, and anything else that directly affects them. There’s a stream of thought from Altha where she thinks—who I am to judge or decide, I’ve got no idea what she’s been through or what it’s like, or how she feels—(paraphrased) and that’s exactly it. Make the decision that’s best for you but never try to make a decision for somebody else.

🟩I’m a little sad to be leaving these women behind so soon but I hope this will make you want to pick up the book and try it out!

🟩Thanks again to NetGalley for allowing me to read this early.

Emilia Hart's debut novel, 𝑾𝒆𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅⁠, is an intricately woven gothic tale of three generations of extraordinary women. This beautiful novel speaks of the resilience of women and the inner strength that enables them to rise above even the worst of circumstances. From the very first page, this book kept me enthralled. I loved all three of the women in this book. I felt for each of their plights so profoundly. The detailed descriptions of the natural world, especially Cumbria's countryside's plants, trees, birds, and insects, created a wonderful backdrop for the story. I also loved the ties between the three women, especially through the family heirlooms passed through the generations. I could not wait to see how each woman's story ended. I have always loved books with a touch of magical realism. 𝑾𝒆𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅⁠ is a fantastic addition to the genre. As a huge Jane Eyre fan, I was delighted to see a slight similarity. We had the old mansion, the mad wife locked away, and even a servant named Miss Poole. Be still my classic loving heart. I am looking forward to reading anything this author publishes in the future.

Hart brings three women's storylines together, a familial bond and underlying nature magic linking them across time: Altha, a healer woman accused of witchcraft in 1619; Violet, a teenage girl dissatisfied with what life affords young women of her time in 1942; and Kate, a young woman in 2019 fleeing an abusive relationship.

When I first began Weyward, I thought perhaps I'd find something more of what I wanted from the Practical Magic series but didn't get. However, this is another book that leans heavily into the realm of nature magic, but fails to feature much magic on the page at all. In addition, it's not really my favorite point when a story features a witch trial with one who is potentially an actual witch (according to what is unfolding in the story) and then taking that idea beyond the horrific and false reasons women suffered similar accusations in that era.

Spread across the years (give or take a few centuries), Hart builds a story that showcases these three women, their resilience despite their difficult circumstances, and their underlying and hidden strengths they learn to access. As can often be the case with a story trying to share the focus across three storylines, Weyward relied on a great deal of telling over showing, often with chapter-closing statements that could go on t-shirts or stickers. While Hart handles the establishing introductions well, laying the groundwork for what's to come, these women never developed beyond exactly what should have been expected and typically offered in this type of book.

I was drawn to this book because it was touted as a story of female empowerment but instead it was three stories of women who suffer abuse, torture, and trauma alone (well, not quite alone, they have their ancestors spirits….) and at the hands of men. I think the alternative time lines and jumps prevented me from connecting with the characters, I found myself having to go back and reread sections to make sure I was on the right track. The writing was gorgeous but at times that felt it was the only thing making me feel compelled to power through the book

when I tell you this book is amazing believe me I am not exaggerating. It is stunning, powerful, heartbreaking, and liberating in turns and I am so glad that this story exists.This is a generational tale that weaves together the tales of three Weyward women over the years. Each of the women has to contend with establishing her own identity and place in the world, but their stories tie together in a myriad of ways.
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This is not a spoiler as it is revealed early in the book but the main themes center on domestic abuse and forced pregnancy. Hart handles these issues in a way that feels very realistic and sensitive to those who have experienced them. While the issues themselves and the toll they take on their victims and survivors are a main focus, the stories are truly about powerful women overcoming them. The magic is light enough that I would qualify this more as magical realism than fantasy. More than anything, it is about connecting to nature and the earth.
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The interweaving of these three stories is masterfully done. Hart's prose is beautiful while at the same time maintaining readability. I found myself drawn so strongly to her characters that I read the whole thing in one sitting without stopping. I absolutely devoured this book. Pick up a copy as soon as you can.
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Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this work. I loved it.

“The connections between and among women are the most feared, the most problematic, and the most potentially transforming force on the planet. - Adrienne Rich”

I first read Emilia Hart’s debut Weyward in October and was so enthralled by it I posted then to urge y’all to beg/borrow/steal an early copy. I knew it was going to be a bestseller. I read it again last week…that’s right…I read it twice before publication. Both times I binge read in less than a day.
Weyward is the story of three women in very different timelines, with deep connections to nature. It’s a story of how women hide their gifts to survive, of secrets, and breaking free. Spanning five decades Hart weaves a story of Altha accused of witchcraft in 1619, Violet disowned by her family in 1942, and Kate running from an abusive partner in 2019. The woman of their family share a gift, one that’s been exploited and demonized. All find solace and answers in a family cottage, Weyward. I loved the connections to the natural world, the elemental beauty of this book.

I strongly recommend for lovers of historical fiction, especially with a magical element. I think this makes a fantastic book club and buddy read as there’s so much to discuss. It’s perfect for fans of Alice Hoffman, Laurie Lico Albanese’s (Hester), as well as Alex E Harrow (The One And Future Witches). I can’t wait to see what Emilia Hart writes next!
Thank you to St Martin’s Press, Emilia Hart, and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy.