Reviews tagging 'War'

Weyward by Emilia Hart

101 reviews

morganvw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

personally i loved this book although wish they had some content warnings as this read was darker than expected (like lots of dark stuff). out of the three povs, i really liked violet and wanted more from altha; kate was kind of a boring character but since her story tied together with the others’ i wasn’t that bothered overall. women’s resilience was the clear theme throughout the book, and although i liked that message, it felt like there was so much darkness that happened to get to the resilience, we didn’t see them actually *being* resilient after. so the hopefulness that i think the author wanted to highlight wasn’t really shining in the end. i really enjoyed the mystery around it and bouncing from pov to pov to pov and piecing things together with the characters.

now i want to befriend a crow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Miscarriage, Suicide, Abortion, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Misogyny

Minor: Violence and War

suttonhowell's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-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? Yes

2.5

this book is very hard to review because my usual star ratings focus primarily on if i am entertained or more specifically just not bored, and this book was not boring, but also not necessarily what i wanted from it. every woman in this book has a horrific and often violent backstory, through which they find their agency. 
i understand the idea of trying to tie the stories of the ancestors together by similarly lived traumas, but I just don't think it does what the author thinks it does. the graphic depictions of the crimes against these women were not at all necessary to understanding the direness of this situation, and all of them using those traumas as pillars of their motivations felt icky. reading this book made me feel like i was violating these fictional women too. i think this was supposed to be empowering??? maybe???? it definitely missed the mark with that one.

and a nit-picky thing: the reference to the yellow wallpaper was such low hanging fruit that the fruit began dragging the ground and rotted

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Rape, Sexual violence, Incest, Miscarriage, Child death, Abortion, Violence, Misogyny, Murder, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: War and Suicidal thoughts

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

3.5

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

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

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

nehaanna's review against another edition

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

Moderate: Abandonment, Vomit, and War

amandaweis05's review against another edition

dark inspiring medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Abortion

Moderate: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and War

roseknows124's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Dementia, Sexual violence, Abortion, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Sexual assault, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, Grief, Infertility, Miscarriage, Animal death, Confinement, Misogyny, War, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse

hematthews's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Miscarriage, Murder, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Rape, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Dementia, Stalking, Confinement, Death of parent, and Car accident

Minor: Child abuse, Suicide attempt, War, and Vomit

bellebookcorner's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

What a captivating story! 

I recommend this book if you enjoy a character driven fantasy x historical fiction about women’s power and resilience with a dash of magical realism - witches, nature and familiars! 

 

This story was told in multiple POV from three different timeline. Sometimes I would prefer one POV over another but that wasn’t the case with this book. I really enjoyed following each character’s journey through their perspectives. 

 

The characters were well developed and I found it fascinating how these women were able to find strength and power by reading the words of their ancestor that would inspire them to stand up for themselves in a world of men. 

 

It was an emotional read, there’s heart-breaking and painful moments that some readers may be sensitive to so I would suggest checking out the trigger warnings beforehand. But, there’s also hope and love scattered throughout the story to balance out those horrible moments. 

 

For a debut novel this was a remarkable story with great writing style. I have high hopes for this author, if her debut novel is this good!! 

I will keep an eye out for the next book by this author in the future! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, and Abortion

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: War and Suicidal thoughts

kfanucchi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Car accident, Sexual violence, Rape, Pregnancy, Murder, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Blood, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Abortion, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: War, Vomit, and Medical trauma

gretamitg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

It broke my heart and put it back together. The relationship of these women across the centuries and the way their stories mirrored and influenced eachother really got to me.
It really is a feminist epic. And it made me want to be less scared of insects, although i haven't gotten very far with that yet.

You should be aware of the potentially triggering themes in this book though. R*pe, domestic violence, miscarriage and termination of pregnancy are strong plot points.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Miscarriage, Abortion, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, War, and Vomit