Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Weyward by Emilia Hart

37 reviews

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

---

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

tessamariee's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

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

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

Minor: Self harm, Stalking, and Vomit

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

---

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

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

---

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

meaghanslibrary's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

3.5

I had been seeing this book everywhere and I probably should have checked the trigger warnings. I highly recommend you do and I wish more people when advertising books did that.

The extremely graphic triggering part of the book doesn’t come in till like a third of the way through.

I liked the switching perspectives especially in the beginning. The chapters were short and there was a nice pace to the book. Toward the middle and end the chapters were long we and started to feel slow. The book was a bit predictable toward the end.

I did like the author’s writing style (although sometimes the dialogue got a bit cheesy) and would consider reading her future works.

What really irked me and took me out of the story is at the end Kate’s abusive ex-husband finds her and instead of immediately calling the police or her friend (which she later admits she should have done) she concocts this more complicated plan to hide in the attic.  I just didn’t understand why she didn’t ask for help earlier in that crisis.  Also I’m not sure why she came down from the attic, I would have phoned for help as the animals were attack Simon. I don’t intend to victim/survivor blame but rather point out that as a reader it took me out of the story because I was thinking “what are you doing?”

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Body horror, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Gore, Infertility, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Sexual violence

themdash's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Rape, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and War

katwritesandreads7's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.5

The idea for this book was really good. I was drawn in by the magic and strong female voices. However, the execution lacked. I found it took a long time to get into the modern story (Kate) and sadly I found her to be not as strong or able to help herself as the other two stories (Altha and Violet). I was really disappointed by a lot of Kate's actions and found she didn't serve much purpose besides unveiling Violet's story. For me, Violet was the main character and could have done with a novel of her own without her great niece. Not to mention, there are many many triggers in this book that made it hard to swallow. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Grief, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Physical abuse, Self harm, Rape, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Death of parent and Death

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

kelburke's review against another edition

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

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Car accident, Infertility, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Self harm, Vomit, War, Confinement, Sexual violence, Murder, Sexism, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Rape, and Grief

paris_nicole's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

I loved this book! The story is told in three different timelines (1619, 1942 and 2019), with three different women. Their stories are interwoven and involve some witchiness, survival and self-discovery. There is a fair amount of abuse throughout, at the hands of men. (Many trigger warnings.) The message in the story is about the strength of women who, unfortunately, have been abused by men (partners, fathers, doctors, strangers) for centuries. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Miscarriage, Death, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Rape, Pregnancy, Blood, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Self harm, Murder, and Confinement

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Gore, Abortion, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Infertility, and Incest

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Xenophobia, Racism, Self harm, and Suicide attempt