Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Weyward

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Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Weyward by Emilia Hart

1471 reviews

cuppajo16's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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icecreamsoldier's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

I really tried to like this book as I saw great reviews everywhere, however I think this book is my on my top worst books. There’s spoilers ahead :

The premise of the book is to tell women’s stories on different periods that are tied together not only for being women, but also related and witches. I enjoyed reading Altha and Violet (to an extent), however I found myself dreading whenever I had to read a chapter about Kate. I felt that her character was very one dimensional and it could have been interesting learning along Kate who Kate is, specially after loosing all of herself in an abusive relationship, however we just get a very one dimensional Kate who is constantly stealing from her dead aunts closet and the only thing she can think about is the baby, (do it for the baby, the baby needs this, etc) and when her whole role is not being a pregnant woman she is just blatantly dumb. That tied with the fact that I don’t understand how Kate belongs to the witchcraft lineage as she is not the daughter of the first woman born but instead her father is Graham’s son who is Violet’s brother so she fits through this lineage because of men.
The other characters while their stories where more interesting and more developed I still had a lot of issues with them for instance this is supposed to be a book about feminism however Violet feels like “I am not like other girls” by bashing on other girls who wear skirts.
Altha on the other hand was my favorite character, and I really enjoyed her queer romance with Grace, however at the end she just gets the “seed” of a man just so that she can be pregnant and continue the lineage of women in her family (Which honestly as a lesbian woman it felt like a slap to the face). All of these stories really just made me feel as if a woman will only reach their true potential and be fulfilled through motherhood, as Altha the only queer character in the book gets pregnant, Violet who aborts her first daughter as it is from the conception of a rape even though she is very successful in her career and life she feels like something is missing and was the chance to be a mother (and it’s confusing why she could not have had another baby, since based on Kate’s story it is unclear whether the witches only the first women born, or is it all the women? What is wrong with having a boy and teaching them to be better? Or what about adoption or other sources of being a mother figure?), and Kate which the only thing she talks about is her pregnancy.
The writing at times was overly decorated ranging from cliche phrases and absurd amount of insect metaphors (we get it all these women love insects). Finally this book while I understand that is telling the stories of women abused by men it felt like it fell under the spectrum of “all men are bad” and even the ones that weren’t like Graham they are defined as like “okay”. I am not saying we should give a cookie to every man that is not an abuser however I think this problem is not a problem that could be solved by segregation of the woman but instead of teaching men to be better

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ikozakowski97's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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dulcgarc's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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ilariachillea's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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capsandclauses's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Gothic magical realism really is a vibe.

Weyward is a book that I've been relatively interested in for a while, so when I saw the audiobook pop up on Everand, I thought I'd give it a trial.

This is an intergenerational novel following different members of the same family in three time periods. In the 1610s, Althea is on trial for witchcraft. In the 1940s, Violet is dealing with complicated family dynamics that become dangerous when a stranger visits. In the 2020s, Kate is fleeing from her abusive husband.

First of all, this book is really dark. Not just in atmosphere, but in content. There are some trigger warnings you must know, particularly for pregnancy, abortion, domestic abuse and rape. I wasn't sure what the ultimate message of this novel was - was it pro or anti-abortion? And I would have liked to see one of the women engage positively with a male figure. Although I really enjoyed the Althea and Kate's storylines, I really couldn't connect too Violet. She just came across as too innocent or naive. I loved the writing style and how it wrapped up and connected at the end.

Comp recommendations: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner, Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young

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