Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Weyward by Emilia Hart

122 reviews

kshuler's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.5

Read content warnings before reading this book!

The writing: absolutely beautiful
The story: heartbreaking
The cover: gorgeous
The vibes: immaculate

Summary - women with the gift of magic get back at the men who wronged them and find strength in themselves and each other
I picked this book up randomly at a library book sale. It's not what I usually would choose for myself but I bought it because it was 50 cents and I loved the cover art. I had zero expectations before reading it. Don't go into this book expecting fantasy, it's historical fiction with a touch of magical realism that deals with a lot of sensitive topics. The story was extremely slow-paced. It felt like nothing was happening for half of the book but I didn't even care because the writing was so beautiful. I would read Emilia Hart's grocery list. At times it was so lovely the way she described the garden, noting the bird and insect sounds, the sway of the breeze, the sunlight. At other times it was so hauntingly, heartbreakingly vivid when she described the tragic things happening to her characters.
I certainly would not recommend this to just anyone, considering the subject matter, genre, and pace.
Will this be everyone's cup of tea? No. Was it mine? Hell yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and War

beckyhofman's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

kayceero's review

DNF. Trauma porn. Felt like the characters existed only to put them through various traumas. Unremarkable writing and flat, one-dimensional characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

piebelly's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Car accident, and War

elizas's review

dark emotional inspiring tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Car accident

Minor: Alcoholism, Dementia, Abandonment, and Classism

janieboucher's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Car accident

basil_touche's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

I wasn't quite sure I'd enjoy this when I started listening to it, but it turns out I found it engaging, if a little repetitive with the descriptions (you could make a shot game out of the times that kate's heart pounds). 

I like that with the audiobook the three women were narrated by three different narrators; helped them feel like distinct characters. Altha was my favourite. Her voice felt very of the period (1619), and her personality felt very distinct from Violet and Kate. The way that their stories linked up over the centuries was well done, though perhaps a tad too contrived at points (especially how Violet is linked with a certain event in the last chapter). The book is filled with heavy subject matter, but I think that it is treated with care. Fair warning that it does get very graphic at times. I did feel that most of the antagonists were a bit one note/dimensional

with the exception of Fredrick

(a little like the man bad woman good trope, this book can get a bit gender essentialist at times)

I'm not sure if I'm fully happy with how all their plot threads end

(The fact they feel like their obligated to carry on the Weyward legacy by getting pregnant bothered me, especially in regards to Altha, just kinda robbed her of some of her agency)

, although I do like how understated the magical elements are, how it's mainly a connection to the animals and insects.

Overall I enjoyed this, probably won't read it again or other books similar to it. Kinda feels like if you've read one, you've read them all

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, War, and Injury/Injury detail

taylor_bb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

It started off really strong... then it went downhill... then it picked back up again! Another "man bad, woman good" story, which I don't mind but it did get a bit overwhelming with the abuse sometimes. It was more graphic than I thought it would be, and a few scenes in particular made me feel sick. Overall, I enjoyed it, but it was a bit heavy on the melancholy side, more than I thought it would be. But yeah, pretty okay book, probably wouldn’t reread though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Abortion, and Pregnancy

tessamariee's review

challenging emotional inspiring tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Minor: Self harm, Vomit, and Stalking

nehaanna's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit, Abandonment, and War