Reviews tagging 'Death'

Weyward by Emilia Hart

321 reviews

ajf0125's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

The premise was interesting and engaging. However, the connection between time periods wasn’t as rich and I was hoping for and the presence of magic felt like an afterthought.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Abortion

madmantha's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.75

Entrancing book and concept. 

Lost a star from me because the r*pe scene halfway through was unnecessarily detailed and descriptive.

I feel like in this day and age, we have many tools and resources that we don’t need scenes such as this one mentioned to be written on the page, or worse, recorded audibly. 

There’s hundreds of ways this scene could have unfolded to make the reader understand what happened without triggering readers and survivors with such graphic details. 

Other than the graphic scenes and descriptions, and the lack of trigger warnings, I rather enjoyed this book. It’s difficult to look back on it in a positive light because some of its scenes are so triggering, dark, and contrast the other themes of this novel greatly. 

If you do decide to read this book, I highly suggest reading up on the triggers before hand so you know what you’re getting yourself into. Beware of the halfway mark and Violet’s chapters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Racism, and War

audreyofthenorth's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

I am extremely conflicted about this book. On one hand this book was written well, and I always love some history/woman’s history. Each chapter always had a cliff hanger from this 3 perspective book which kept me reading. On the other hand please, please, PLEASE read the content warnings, I didn’t because I’m stupid and was not prepared for what I was about to read (NOT in a good way). Also the 3 story’s felt repetitive in the aspect of

childbirth, evil man, nature magic

. Which is fine but it’s a lot. But anywho definitely a rollercoaster, maybe I’ll change the rating later

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Abortion

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol

bookstorian's review against another edition

4.5

As a historical fiction girlie this read has been on my TBR for awhile, it wasn't until a friend absolutely raved about it that I bumped it up my TBR and got it from my local library - My only disappointment is that I hadn't read it sooner and don't own a copy... 

What I liked about the book:
-Compelling to read, the fact that three women's narratives were intertwined through centuries to create the story was simple yet so enjoyable. 
-Mini cliff hangers to end the POV made it all the more motivating to keep reading to see what happens!
-Emotionally invested in each of the character's story lines. The author created vivid characters
-Enjoyed the magical realism element, I felt the story could have leaned towards this a little more
-Overall message of a woman's power and resilience was strong especially in the face of male abuse and oppression

Sad I don't have my own copy, I usually collect my five star reads like treasures but this copy will just have to go back to the library for so many others to cherish instead! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Suicide attempt

booksemmahasread's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Death, Grief, and Abandonment

smkumar1121's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Abortion, and Death of parent

machenn's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

nikkilerae's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

norahhm's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

The prose was very beautiful and raw at points, particularly in the perspective of Kate, describing her experience with domestic abuse. But much of Violet and Altha’s stories are told in a way that feels very young adult, which felt discordant with the very violent and emotional content…like the quote on the front “they call us witches…we call ourselves weyward” was so Wattpad lmao.

I didn’t think the witch theme was explored enough for the amount of suspense built up throughout the book about what that entailed…I think delving more into the ways the women used their powers aside from just punishing the men would have better served the message the author seemed to be sending about finding empowerment from within—rather than from a man. Because the culmination of each woman’s journey was finding their power through hurting abusers, it decentered their personal journeys to emancipation and refocused the way they found freedom on the involvement of men.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, and Car accident

Minor: Cursing and Forced institutionalization

bookforthought's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

Let me start by saying that there should be so many trigger warnings for this book, as virtually every conceivable bad thing happens to women, and some scenes are quite vividly depicted and can be graphic. I have listed some content warnings, but I'm sure there may be some I've missed as so many things happen throughout the book. Please be mindful of your own wellbeing before approaching this.

Weyward was a slow start for me but eventually it drew me in and kept me going to the end, even though I contemplating abandoning this fairly early on. I listened to this in audiobook and the narrators do a great job keeping the three POVs distinct, something which might not have worked quite as well if I'd only read this. I liked how the three storylines came together in the end, tying up all the loose knots and having the story come full circle. The author definitely shows a lot of potential for a debut, with vivid descriptions of the natural world and the settings carrying most of the book.

The underlying themes of female resilience and embracing one's true nature and self were interesting (albeit not innovative) but they were slightly undermined by the magical realism element in my view, and came across as rather simplistic in their development and resolution. I would also have liked for the side characters to be better developed and nuanced, especially for a book ostensibly focused on the power of female relationships, as well as a larger focus on the good men in these women's lives. They absolutely didn't need to take centre stage, but it would have been nice to see some more attention being given to recognising their existence and support instead of sidelining them to focus almost exclusively and in excruciating detail on the (also one-note) men who wish to hurt the Weyward women.

Overall, an interesting read but not the most memorable book I've read on the topic. Perhaps my expectations were too high after all the hype surrounding this and I would have enjoyed it more had I expected less… still worth a read if you're curious about it though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Gaslighting

Minor: Suicide attempt and War