Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Weyward by Emilia Hart

199 reviews

hagwife's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

There are elements in this that I really enjoyed and elements I found difficult, not because of their content, but because I'm unsure of actual narrative payoff.

I like the interwoven narratives, how the histories of the individual women and the direct and indirect effects slowly unfold. I think Hart does a great job of choosing when to reveal certain pieces of information so that the reader has a chance to conjecture before the reveals. Overall, it's very tightly written!

I also like the themes of family, womanhood, and witchcraft, though that is hardly surprising given my reading history. A couple of highlights for me are the focus on witchcraft rather than magic – herbs, midwifing, and wise-woman-ing rather than big, mysteriously worked spells (of which there are a few). Even the Weyward's connection to birds, insects, and nature is uncanny without being mystical. I also like the pattern of secrecy and disconnection bringing misfortune throughout the timeline, the repeated bad decisions due to a broken lineage and history among the women. It speaks a lot to the power of family knowledge and connection among generations, about forms of knowledge. 

What I struggle with in Weyward is the cycle of abuse and trauma enacted upon the women. I think that the violence that happens to the Weyward women is violence that happens every day to women and that it is incredibly important to see those stories reflected in media, which Hart does, as far as I can tell, in an accurate and respectful fashion. However, while not gratuitous in any way, I'm not convinced by the end of the book that the cycle has truly been broken. The confrontation between Kate and Simon is powerful and extremely important for Kate; I love the realization of herself, of her powers, of all of her planning and conviction. But, there's nothing past that. There's nothing to cement the shift from generations of broken narratives into something new, which I would have liked to see. I understand that in the real world, these narratives for women do not get clean edges and well-plotted endings, but I think that it felt important for there to be a lasting, in the generational sense, triumph for Kate and her daughter. It didn't need to be big or ring insincere, but I do think it was needed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

sofiavilla's review

dark sad 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Abortion

Minor: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

jvantland's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

Absolutely gutting. Often hopeless. All the trigger warnings for abuse. But such a powerful weaving together of stories across time. The audiobook was fantastic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

anne_espoir's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Miscarriage, Sexism, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Stalking, Murder, and War

aurora4847's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

Weyward was an incredible ride following 3 women across generations. Equal parts sad, angry, and hopeful, the stories of the Weyward women will stick with you. All three are tenacious, brilliant, and necessarily brutal in their quests to protect themselves and their families.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Infertility, Physical abuse, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Medical content, Dementia, Religious bigotry, and War

The plot of Weyward heavily features pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage, domestic abuse, drugging, and sexual assault. There is a brief but graphic description of fatal crush injuries, and a separate eye injury.

lisettemarie's review

emotional mysterious sad tense

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Vomit

lterech's review

dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Grief

rangywulf's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

wrentrepid's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

A lovely, fast read. The perspective shifts were clear and easy to follow, and the story was compelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

rosethewitchy's review against another edition

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? No

4.5

I've seen this book under the "cozy fantasy" category, but I would most definitely not classify it as such. Even though the plot itself isn't super high stakes, there are occurances in this book that are far from cozy. (To anyone reading this review, be sure to check trigger warnings, and not just the ones I personally listed)

I enjoyed the writing style and the switch between the three female characters. I found all three to be decently fleshed out and interesting to read about, even if their stories are all a bit sad. Switching between journal entries from one and the outside POV of the other two was an interesting layout. I would definitely read more works from this author.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Sexism and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Grief