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acourtofsaraflames's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
The audiobook is good and I recommend this format. I feel if I had tried reading instead of listening then I would have DNF’d.
I was expecting more witchcraft than trauma reading this. Most reviews mention to read the content warnings and I agree. I tried to add as many as I could remember. At the height of the stories there’s abuse, mostly physical, and unwanted/unplanned pregnancy. I don’t want to spoil anything further so I’ll leave it at that but read the rest of the warnings in case something may be triggering to you. The beauty behind this story is the resilience of the three women and how their stories are connected. The women are alike and intertwined in more ways than one. We get their POV’s that take place over 400 years.
A couple of my favorite quotes (spoiler free):
“Witch. The word slithers from the mouth like a serpent. Drips from the tongue as thick and black as tar. We never thought of ourselves as witches, my mother and I, for this was a word invented by men. A word that brings power to those who speak it, not those it describes.”
I was expecting more witchcraft than trauma reading this. Most reviews mention to read the content warnings and I agree. I tried to add as many as I could remember. At the height of the stories there’s abuse, mostly physical, and unwanted/unplanned pregnancy. I don’t want to spoil anything further so I’ll leave it at that but read the rest of the warnings in case something may be triggering to you. The beauty behind this story is the resilience of the three women and how their stories are connected. The women are alike and intertwined in more ways than one. We get their POV’s that take place over 400 years.
A couple of my favorite quotes (spoiler free):
“Witch. The word slithers from the mouth like a serpent. Drips from the tongue as thick and black as tar. We never thought of ourselves as witches, my mother and I, for this was a word invented by men. A word that brings power to those who speak it, not those it describes.”
“There are enough men in the world already”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Abortion
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, and War
perifairy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Vomit, Car accident, and Death of parent
jaimeeleigh_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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
I don’t tend to think of books as page turners. But I kept wanting to know what happened. The way the three stories blended throughout as more information unearthed felt like you were a fourth generation reading about your family. I loved it wholeheartedly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Abortion
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
caa108's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
librosdeunamestiza's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Abortion
Moderate: Incest, Miscarriage, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War
jasmine8's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
I was excited to read this book based on the concept, but, unfortunately, I found it rather disappointing. The idea of the novel - the stories of three women from the same family with a supernatural connection to nature across time - is strong, but the execution fell flat.
*Spoilers ahead*
A major issue with the book is its pacing. Two of the three main characters (Violet in the 1940s and Kate in the modern day) are unaware that they are pseudo-witches. The final woman (Altha in the early 1600s) knows of her heritage, but her section is written in first-person POV and she intentionally does not discuss her family's "secrets" until the end of the novel. The problem with this mystery structure is the reader is almost immediately aware of the characters' powers & the Weyward legacy (it is easy to figure out based on the first couple of chapters and, frankly, if you have read the summary or looked at the cover, you already have a pretty good idea of the novel's substance). However, the characters take almost the entire book to realize these things and so the majority of the novel is set-up. It can be frustrating to read chapter after chapter that aims to create suspense, but not be invested since the secret is already so obvious.
As discussed by many other comments, this book should have explicit trigger or content warnings. There is domestic violence, loss of pregnancy, unwanted pregnancies, sexual assault, attempted suicide, and continuous violence against women. There is nothing wrong with writing about heavy topics, but, in my opinion, if the author chooses to do so, they should make sure they do it well. Although there are heavy topics in this book, it feels almost shallow in the way they are approached and discussed, as if the writer did not have particular experience with these topics and didn't complete any research to learn more. For example (TW: suicide, SA), Violet (at 16 years old) tries to commit suicide by jumping out of her bedroom window after being r*ped by her cousin, but is stopped by her brother (unknowingly, he merely enters the room and tells her to climb down so he can retrieve something from her). After this scene, the suicide attempt is mentioned in Violet's story once more (after her brother briefly mentions her suicide note and what happened to her in the end of the novel) and once in Kate's story (as she finds the note when searching Violet's cottage). It seems to have almost no lasting impact on Violet, the suicidal ideation goes away and isn't mentioned again, and it is not discussed. My question being - why include the topic of suicide in the first place if it is meant to be a fleeting scene with no depth? What does it add to the story?
The main characters are one-dimensional with little personality or distinguishing characteristics. After reading the whole novel, I cannot remember any of the three main women's hobbies or interests outside of "nature," "insects," and "plants." The fact that all three characters have the same interests (which are due to their Weyward heritage) and not much else to them makes them rather boring to the reader. They also don't have very solid personalities and flip rapidly between being extremely passive & scared of the world and being powerful, strong women. Also, for a book that presents itself as an ode to female friendships, there are...minimal female friendships and all side characters have even less substance than the main three (Kate makes a single friend in the novel, Violet has no female friends besides her nanny who is unimportant plot-wise, and Altha has one "friend" that she barely interacts with).
It is clear the book wants to present strong women overcoming adversity, but in reality, the main female cast spend the majority of the novel being abused, harmed, and scared, and then suddenly overcome all of these issues in a single dramatic scene (which occurs at the very end). Almost every single male character is so evil it is comical so the issues of abuse & SA tend to fall flat. The idea that being brave in a single instance can instantly solve these issues further shows the book's shallow understanding of its main themes. In my opinion, this book lacks the nuance to provide a meaningful commentary on women overcoming reoccurring issues and how these issues have changed over time. There are simply better books that cover these topics with the respect they deserve. It further feels as if the book (likely unintentionally) presents the "right" way to be a powerful woman (not being in a relationship with a man, being in the countryside away from others, having children to continue the family line) and other ways of choosing to live are less valid (I mention this because the characters, particularly Violet, tend to lose their powers when they become interested in men or at all separated from the countryside). Even when the characters can access their powers, they never use them to challenge the overarching systems that harmed them, but instead tend to hide away in a cottage. (It is true that the characters use their powers to get rid of the specific man in their life causing them trouble, but after that, they never seem to use their powers again).
In addition, the book is VERY focused around pregnancy and I would not have read it if I was aware just how much time is spent on this topic (Kate's abusive boyfriend gets her pregnant against her will, but after having a dream of a daughter, she is suddenly super into having a child; Violet gets pregnant against her will by her cousin; Altha is helping her friend terminate her pregnancy). The novel's decision to tie womanhood so strongly to pregnancy and the desire to have children feels somewhat problematic. The novel makes it clear that the main women are exclusively interested in having female children, but I believe my criticism stands.
Overall, an excellent idea with a poor execution and shallow presentation of what it means to be a "strong woman overcoming adversity." I'd recommend reading another book with a similar vibe, but more depth.
*Spoilers ahead*
A major issue with the book is its pacing. Two of the three main characters (Violet in the 1940s and Kate in the modern day) are unaware that they are pseudo-witches. The final woman (Altha in the early 1600s) knows of her heritage, but her section is written in first-person POV and she intentionally does not discuss her family's "secrets" until the end of the novel. The problem with this mystery structure is the reader is almost immediately aware of the characters' powers & the Weyward legacy (it is easy to figure out based on the first couple of chapters and, frankly, if you have read the summary or looked at the cover, you already have a pretty good idea of the novel's substance). However, the characters take almost the entire book to realize these things and so the majority of the novel is set-up. It can be frustrating to read chapter after chapter that aims to create suspense, but not be invested since the secret is already so obvious.
As discussed by many other comments, this book should have explicit trigger or content warnings. There is domestic violence, loss of pregnancy, unwanted pregnancies, sexual assault, attempted suicide, and continuous violence against women. There is nothing wrong with writing about heavy topics, but, in my opinion, if the author chooses to do so, they should make sure they do it well. Although there are heavy topics in this book, it feels almost shallow in the way they are approached and discussed, as if the writer did not have particular experience with these topics and didn't complete any research to learn more. For example (TW: suicide, SA), Violet (at 16 years old) tries to commit suicide by jumping out of her bedroom window after being r*ped by her cousin, but is stopped by her brother (unknowingly, he merely enters the room and tells her to climb down so he can retrieve something from her). After this scene, the suicide attempt is mentioned in Violet's story once more (after her brother briefly mentions her suicide note and what happened to her in the end of the novel) and once in Kate's story (as she finds the note when searching Violet's cottage). It seems to have almost no lasting impact on Violet, the suicidal ideation goes away and isn't mentioned again, and it is not discussed. My question being - why include the topic of suicide in the first place if it is meant to be a fleeting scene with no depth? What does it add to the story?
The main characters are one-dimensional with little personality or distinguishing characteristics. After reading the whole novel, I cannot remember any of the three main women's hobbies or interests outside of "nature," "insects," and "plants." The fact that all three characters have the same interests (which are due to their Weyward heritage) and not much else to them makes them rather boring to the reader. They also don't have very solid personalities and flip rapidly between being extremely passive & scared of the world and being powerful, strong women. Also, for a book that presents itself as an ode to female friendships, there are...minimal female friendships and all side characters have even less substance than the main three (Kate makes a single friend in the novel, Violet has no female friends besides her nanny who is unimportant plot-wise, and Altha has one "friend" that she barely interacts with).
It is clear the book wants to present strong women overcoming adversity, but in reality, the main female cast spend the majority of the novel being abused, harmed, and scared, and then suddenly overcome all of these issues in a single dramatic scene (which occurs at the very end). Almost every single male character is so evil it is comical so the issues of abuse & SA tend to fall flat. The idea that being brave in a single instance can instantly solve these issues further shows the book's shallow understanding of its main themes. In my opinion, this book lacks the nuance to provide a meaningful commentary on women overcoming reoccurring issues and how these issues have changed over time. There are simply better books that cover these topics with the respect they deserve. It further feels as if the book (likely unintentionally) presents the "right" way to be a powerful woman (not being in a relationship with a man, being in the countryside away from others, having children to continue the family line) and other ways of choosing to live are less valid (I mention this because the characters, particularly Violet, tend to lose their powers when they become interested in men or at all separated from the countryside). Even when the characters can access their powers, they never use them to challenge the overarching systems that harmed them, but instead tend to hide away in a cottage. (It is true that the characters use their powers to get rid of the specific man in their life causing them trouble, but after that, they never seem to use their powers again).
In addition, the book is VERY focused around pregnancy and I would not have read it if I was aware just how much time is spent on this topic (Kate's abusive boyfriend gets her pregnant against her will, but after having a dream of a daughter, she is suddenly super into having a child; Violet gets pregnant against her will by her cousin; Altha is helping her friend terminate her pregnancy). The novel's decision to tie womanhood so strongly to pregnancy and the desire to have children feels somewhat problematic. The novel makes it clear that the main women are exclusively interested in having female children, but I believe my criticism stands.
Overall, an excellent idea with a poor execution and shallow presentation of what it means to be a "strong woman overcoming adversity." I'd recommend reading another book with a similar vibe, but more depth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
rachpreston's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
katy_bee's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This grew on me as I read it. In the early chapters I felt a bit frustrated by the hints of what might happen or whether the women were really witches and I preferred it once it settled down and just started telling the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and War
jkunke's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
I loved this book! The women are strong and well-developed characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: War
jaymae21's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The author evidently meant for this novel to be about female power and resilience through the ages. From the witch-mania of the 1600s, to the social shackles of the 1940s, even to the continued domestic violence seen in the 21st century, I think she did a wonderful job showing how women endure, and how women helping other women is so important to overcoming the violent masculine forces that would seek to subdue us.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy