Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Weyward by Emilia Hart

200 reviews

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

maryconney's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Dementia, Grief, and Classism

bellsdixon's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative mysterious fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Vomit and War

duesaji's review

dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

bectothebooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Incest, Medical content, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Vomit, Car accident, and War

moonflowermandy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

Overall, I enjoyed the stories. Solidarity between women, close family members, and distant relatives and ancestors is a lovely topic. I liked the way the women took inspiration from one another and passed knowledge along for the next.

The change in point of view and tense was very jarring, and the chapters were so short. It truly felt, sometimes, like nothing had happened in a chapter. I wish the chapters were longer.

At first I thought the book would be better as three separate stories, but I don’t agree with that impression anymore. I think, as the three women’s stories progressed, that they were woven together very well.

Violet’s story was my favorite. Almost a coming-of-age arc, I loved watching Violet grow into herself and lean into who she is. I felt the most emotional towards Violet’s circumstances and the most vindicated by her story’s climax and resolution.

Altha’s was my second favorite by a very close margin. I liked that we ended up reading her story in non-chronological order, it left me very curious about what could possibly happen in part three. I loved the ending was left pretty open compared to the other two.

Kate’s was by far my least favorite. Even though hers had the most immediate action of the three stories and took place over the longest period of time, and even though her character development was on par with Violet’s, it *felt* like nothing happened in her arc. Fundamentally I disagree with her biggest choice, and I absolutely do not relate to her reaction to the consequences of the choice she made, so she was very difficult to empathize with. The climax of her story was incredibly underwhelming- she deserved more time to bask in her power.

All in all it’s a good read about female empowerment and I would recommend it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

daniellekat's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I loved the writing and was immediately and easily rooting for each main character. I thought the changing POVs was used well, but I felt that the book had a bit too much telling and not enough showing. Hart clearly has talent and I appreciated that she didn't paint every male character the same (although nearly all were scum). The ending felt a bit rushed together and I wish there was bit more mystery. While I really enjoyed this and devoured it in a couple of days, I would never recommend this without strongly suggesting taking a look at the content warnings. Some of this book was difficult to read and I'm grateful that I didn't go into this book blindly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit

emilywemily6's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-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? Yes

3.5

I think if I was in a different mood/headspace I would have enjoyed this book more. It was very tense and melancholic, so I felt a lack of hope for the first 65% of the book. That made it hard to read and enjoy. The writing style was also a little off for me, lots of beautiful prose juxtaposed against some really stilted sentence structure. Since I was listening to the audiobook I noticed that. I liked the themes and seeing three different witches and how their heritage affected their lives, but this wasn’t my favorite type of story. Lots of on page trauma and triggers, so be aware of that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, and Classism

journeywithmeow's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Abortion, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Minor: Violence and War

jaynovara's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Blood, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism