Reviews with content warning for Car accident - Weyward

This book covers some very dark topics but as the threads of the different stories unravel it becomes powerful and optimistic. This book made me cry with pride at how the characters developed and discovered their true strengths.

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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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zeldablue's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

This was recommended to me for my love of all things witchy and it did not disappoint!

I listened to the audio book and I have no complaints about the voice acting. It was a good performance.

The positives: The multiple points of view mirrored each other quite nicely. The beautiful descriptions of crows and insects itched my brain and inspired me to paint a few paintings. I loved how Violet’s interest in science mirrored her witchiness. I was interested in the authors comparison of male manipulators/abusers over generations. It’s a reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go. And we as women are always stronger when we are uplifting each other.

The negatives: Kates character was missing a little depth in the end. I wanted to know who she became after finding her strength. Altha is already developed and we learn a lot of Violet’s adventures. I wanted the same for Kate.

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