Weyward is about three women, bound by blood and an affinity for the natural world. In the 1600s, Altha stands trial for witchcraft after she's accused of causing a herd of cattle to trample a farmer (who happens to be her former best friend's husband.) Violet, in 1945, chafes against the expectations of her social position and the restrictions her father and brother have placed on her freedom. She's been isolated her whole life for fear that she might become like her mother--but nobody will tell her what that means. When Kate inherits Violet's old cottage in 2019, she uses it to escape from her abusive husband.

I enjoyed a lot about this book, especially the connections between these women and the creatures around them. Kate's story felt strongest to me and I appreciated how she drew strength from the women before her. Ultimately, this isn't one that I'll remember for a long time, but I did like the writing and will read whatever's next by Emilia Hart.

4.5 stars. What barn burner of a book. Told in 3 timelines from 3 points of view, the story of the Weyward women is told and what a story it is. From Altha (1600s) to Violet (mid 20th century) to Kate (present day) this book will make you think, hate the patriarchy (or hate it more than you already do), and come to realize that the bond of women - be it a familial bond or a bond of friendship - has been something that men fear, along with the fact that women both create life and can destroy life.

A fantastic read and even more heartbreakingly inspiring when read during Women’s History Month.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free copy for review.

WEYWARD by Emilia Hart is a beautiful, historical, fantastical novel with elements of magical realism. It’s told through three intertwining timelines. In 1619, twenty-one-year-old Altha Weyward is her community’s healer and accused of witchcraft and murder. In 1942, sixteen-year-old Violet Ayres is stuck at home, resenting her brother Graham for his educational opportunities and freedom while wishing to know more about her deceased mother no one wants to discuss. In 2019, twenty-nine-year-old Kate Ayres learns she’s pregnant and escapes from her abusive relationship to her great aunt Violet’s Weyward cottage.

Told in short, alternating chapters, this story has great pacing and the stories intertwine beautifully, providing a teaser/overlap between storylines in each chapter. The women’s connection to nature functions as its own character – the supernatural connection between the women and animals and the lush descriptions of nature and vegetation, which the women can use to aid and protect themselves. The writing is lyrical and deep – this is not a book that you will fly through. And the story is a vehicle to discuss important themes of family connections, autonomy, and (sometimes violent) misogyny. TW for SA and DV.

Perfect for fans of Magic Lessons & Where the Crawdads Sing.

Beautifully written and handles some heavy topics with a respectful hand. My biggest issue is that of all the male characters in this book, only 3 were halfway decent and they were barely characters in their own right.

A beautiful multigenerational story of perseverance, endurance, hope & learning to fight for your right to be free
The subtle elements of magic are so brilliantly woven into the story
This was a little hard to read at the beginning as all three of the main characters are going through some seriously difficult times but the author has such a strong voice - I felt the fears, anxieties, but also the yearning & hope
This was just very beautiful and gripping
I really liked this one!

Three strong Weyward women, each finding their way against their male dominated worlds. You would think things would change from 1619 to 1942 to 2019, but women who have courage in their inherent skills and know their own hearts have always been the scorned and feared.

Emilia Hart’s writing is beautifully displayed in her descriptions of the communion of womanhood and nature. The essence of insects, plants and creatures of the world comes through in magical form (and would be great in a film).

There were definitely moments when I had a visual memory of Where the Crawdads Sing, one of my all-time favourite books.

These three generations of women are so connected and seem to be searching for each other throughout their lifetimes. The letters left behind are heart-wrenching. Belief that what you do today is magnified by what you leave for future generations is bittersweet in its portrayal, we will not see it but we have faith that someone else will someday.

A lovely book that would be great material for a women’s book group, and valuable for each member to reconcile with what their female ancestors passed on to them (good or not).

Opinions are my own, thank you #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for this advance copy.

For more thoughts, see my blog https://morethanlettersonalinetoday.blogspot.com/2023/03/weyward-book-review.html.

I loved this multi-generational tale of the Weyward women. I really enjoy stories that use witchcraft to explore the power of women and their place in society. The multiple timelines showed us how things have, and have not, changed over the years. An exceptional debut.

Weyward was such a beautiful and witchy story of strong women taking control of their lives. I really liked that the magic was simple, but very believable and effective. I loved that it was a shared history of witchcraft that got passed down only through the women and that there were really strong themes of family and motherhood. The Weyward cottage was such a wonderful refuge for all the women throughout history that needed a place where they could live and thrive. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a witchy read.

This story captivated me as you bounce through time to see three different Weyward women face struggles they must overcome. In some ways, the story unfolds as the most modern woman, Kate, learns details about her family. Along with having some seriously strong women, there is also the little detail about them being magical and entune with nature.

I enjoyed the character development, the glimpses into different time periods, and the overarching theme of connection with each other and nature.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to receive a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Weyward is a slow-building, but captivating story of three different women, all fleeing some source of danger and looking to find out the truth about themselves. Emilia Hart truly did a great job tying each woman's story together to create a full, historical picture of the lives of the Weywards. The elements of "witchcraft," nature, growth, rebirth, and self discovery were beautiful.

I believe even readers who aren't the biggest fans of fantasy should give this novel a try. I typically do not read fantasy, but this grabbed my attention from the start and was a great reminder about why I need to push myself as a reader to take on books of different genres. It did take me a little longer than average to read this, but I still enjoyed it and felt intrigued by each turn within the story.

I was rooting for Kate throughout this novel, it was pretty hard not to. She was likable and I empathized with her. The story of Violet was also SO incredible, I could not believe what she endured. Her father was absolutely abhorrent as a character- what an awful man!!! And her disgusting cousin, OMG! Many women of this day and age can understand what she was up against and how she overcame it all. The justice that was served by the end of the novel was so satisfying.

As a last note: The book has a strong, memorable ending that will keep you turning the pages. Once I got about 100 pages til the end, I had a hard time putting this one down. Until that point, though, it is a little slow. Just stick with it!

Thank you again to the publisher and NetGalley, as well as author Emilia Hart. Really loved this one!

Three women, connected by bloodline and magic, navigate the cruelty of the world centuries apart from each other in Weyward.

In 2019, Kate flees her abusive husband to go to her great aunt's cottage. In 1942, Violet feels trapped in her home by society while a war rages. In 1619, Althea awaits her fate as she stands on trial for murder.

Weyward is a beast of a novel, in barely over 300 pages, Emilia Hart manages to interweave the stories of three women who are separated by time and status. Primarily told through the point of view of Kate, who is the modern woman discovering her magical past, Weyward deals with both the expectations of society on women and the mysterious ways the world works. I found myself drawn in by the narrative and the way each of the women has a distinct voice.

Unfortunately, I did find that this book was slow. It took me a long time to get through my review copy. I normally am 50/50 about historical fiction and assumed that the magical aspect of the plot would keep it plunging forward for me, but there simply wasn't enough to keep my attention. While a beautifully written novel, I just don't think I am the target audience for it.

I would recommend this to fans of literary fiction and historical fiction! I feel like Weyward is incredibly well done in how it navigates three main characters while still keeping them unique and interesting. I think fans of books like Outlander (for its historical and emotional impact) would really enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me a copy of this book for an honest review.

Wayward weaves together the story of three strong women throughout multiple centuries. Wonderfully well-written. It feels like it has been a long time since I was so engaged in reading a novel. So good and not to be missed.

I have so much love for this debut! And I can’t believe this is a debut. It’s so perfectly woven. It’s a beautiful story of strong women through many centuries and their connections to the earth, insects, animals, and each other. Witches, multiple POVs and timelines, and badass women finding their way— I loved it all! I loved each storyline and didn’t feel there was one I had to trudge through. They were all captivating in their own way with their own voices.

Altha is being charged for murdering a neighbor as a witch in 1690s. In the 1940s, Violet is trapped in her family home with her father and is constantly chastised for her love of nature and desire to learn. And finally, Kate is escaping and abusive past and hiding in a cottage left to her by her aunt Violet in 2019. Kate learns of her families past and all the puzzle pieces fit together into a well crafted novel.

I highly recommend this one! Audio or physical book- actually get both versions so you don’t have to stop reading. The narration fits so well with the setting and the characters. You can grab a physical copy from @bookofthemonth now too!

Many thanks to @netgalley @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for an eARC and ALC. I enjoyed every second of this book!

Spanning five centuries, Weyward weaves together the lives of three women: Altha, accused of witchcraft and awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer; Violet, trapped in her family’s grand estate and longing for the education her brother receives, science and languages, rather than needlepoint and knowing which fork to use; Kate, fleeing London and an abusive boyfriend, driving through the night to reach a ramshackle cottage inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers.

WEYWARD was about as perfect as a novel could get. Truly a book written specifically for me, this read like a checklist of Things Leah Loves: an intricate family saga with past/present storytelling, magic, nature (if you have a bug or bird phobia maybe take a pass on this one), discovered letters and manuscripts, crumbling estates, even the time periods (WWII and the witch-hunts in particular) were very much on brand for me and I lapped it all up.

Typically when I’m reading a book with multiple POVs I find that I prefer one over the rest. But here, they all flowed seamlessly from one chapter to the next and each story was so connected that it worked beautifully. I was just as invested in Altha’s story as I was Violet’s and Kate’s and never felt that itch to skim other chapters to get back to one woman’s tale.

While I was completely enthralled by this book, readers should note the content warnings. This is not a happy read: five hundred years of women being treated horribly by the men in their lives. There are multiple instances of abuse in numerous forms (sexual, physical, gaslighting), miscarriage and abortion (both wanted and not), more than one woman mentioned has been literally locked away from the world and cut off from any outside contact. Every single man in this story (save for Kate’s father who died when she was a child and Violet’s brother) was a cruel, violent person.

I understand Weyward will not be for every reader but it was without a doubt a book for me and I loved it. That gorgeous cover is only the beginning of the magic that lies within its pages and I’m floored this is a debut. I’m so looking forward to what Emilia does next!

What is going on between the covers

Weyward is a compelling story that combines historical fiction, magical realism, and modern feminism that weaves in some of my favorite themes around the oppression of women while exploring the conventional idea that a woman’s identity and role is to marry and have children. Told through three distinct, brave, resilient women, all victimized, oppressed, and controlled by weak men and subject to their whims and abuse in different ways. The story alternates between Altha, who is on trial for murder in 17th-century British witch trials, and her fate is in the hands of men. In the 1940s, Violet, who her father isolates and controls as she unravels the secret of her mother’s death by mysterious circumstances, and our modern witch Kate, who escapes her controlling, abusive husband who sees Kate as someone to give him a child.

My Two Cents

It’s all about female power and resilience but not about female revenge and rage, even though I do love a good female revenge/rage story. We see each woman find strength and power from their connection to their female line and to nature. Emilia Hart gives each woman something unique as they can creepily communicate with nature in a yet powerful way. While even the thought of some brings on some irrational fears, it felt empowering and fitting to the story.

The story is well-paced and beautifully written with vivid imagery, with a strong connection between the characters that come together with a rewarding ending.

excellent, especially for a debut. Definately not light subject matter, but for those of us who find comfort and a sense of being understood in reading about people with similar experiences and trauma to ours, a masterpiece. Similar to They Drown Our Daughters, I think this will be a book I can't neccessarily recommend to everyone, but the ones who do appreciate it will be in love

I really wanted to enjoy this book because I love generational sagas. However, there were many graphic scenes that really made me uncomfortable. Thus, it was very hard to continue. I really do not like reading about abuse in novels. It is an overused trope. There are many ways a woman can be empowered that does not have to involve abusive husband. It does not make me feel emotional or gripping but uncomfortable. Therefore, this was not my cup of tea.

This book is astounding. Told from the perspectives of three Weyward women, this is the story of love and loss, choices and consequences, and above all the power within and the hope of tomorrow being a new and better day. I loved this book. Absolutely loved it!

This book didn't get "readable" until after sixty percent. It was shallow and very dime store romance-y. I now know why so many ARC reviewers DNFed it. If it hadn't been a review book I would have DNFed it in the first half, too. That's what the publisher gets for trying to pass this off as Women's Fiction/Literary Fiction. If it quacks like a Romance and waddles like a Romance... it's a Romance. If this had been listed as Romance on Edelweiss, I wouldn't have requested it; therefore they get this honest review.

I was on the fence about giving it two stars instead of one, but even after it became more palatable there were too many coincidences and plot conveniences, continuity blips, and not very well researched biology elements.

Also, please stop romanticizing witch trials. The victims were not fantasy witches with magic spells, they were real, falsely accused women. There is a fine line with this subject in fiction and this story crossed that line more than once.

I would like to begin this review by thanking Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of Weyward by Emilia Hart in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the incredible stories of three women from the same Weyward family lineage. However, I would like to give a trigger warning that this book does contain depictions of sexual assault.

Despite my initial concern about following three different lives, I found this book to be extremely captivating. The storytelling was done very well, which surprised me since this was a debut novel. Although the story of Kate was fast-paced, it did not overshadow the other chapters. The stories of Kate, Violet, and Altha were woven together seamlessly, and I finished reading this book in just a matter of days.

The connection to nature and the descriptions were beautifully written, and at times, whimsical. I appreciated that this book was entirely about a lineage of green witches and not the typical story about witches that includes cauldrons, black hats, and spells. It all felt very enchanting and captivated me from the beginning until the end.