Reviews with content warning for Torture - Weyward

3 Girls 1 Spine

I'm really concerned for the author of this book. I don't know if men did something to her, or she's just chronically online or something, but she HATES men so MUCH. Every single male character in this book is an absolute monster save exactly one who's only kind of okay until the very end where he's a hero. To be fair, two of the three "protagonists" are incredibly bad at it.

Misandry aside, this book is not that well written. Each chapter takes around 5-10 minutes to read and less than that in the first third or so of the book. Each chapter follows around one of three women in three completely different time periods and ends on a cliffhanger. The first few chapters are only around 6 pages each, so it's very jarring and disconnected and feels like the author may have written it while guzzling espresso and shooting cocaine.

The first person we follow is Altha, a woman accused of witchcraft in the 1600's and literally the only protagonist to have any sort of backbone or agency despite the face her situation is the most dire. She avoids prosecution and immolation and goes on to rescue the wife of an abusive husband by causing said abusive husband to be attacked by woodland creatures Loony Tunes style.

The second protagonist, Violet, is a sixteen year old girl with an abusive father and a brother off at boarding school during World War 2. Her cousin, a soldier, comes to stay with the family on leave, date rapes Violet, and the father finds out and sequesters her in this cabin in the woods where it turns out he had her mother interred there where all sorts of horrible things happened to her by men. She learns how to give herself an abortion using noxious weeds and realizes she has the power to chase her father away with woodland creatures Loony Tunes style.

The third protagonist is Kate in 2019 who is running from an abusive boyfriend she has been with for 5 years and has had multiple chances to get away from but chose not to until she decided to flee to the countryside, at no point contacting the police, battered women's shelter, lawyer, or anything that makes sense. She doesn't even bother to get a gun or ask any of her new acquiaintances to look out for her. When the boyfriend tracks her down because of the script, she realizes she also has the power to chase her boyfriend away with woodland creatures Loony Tunes style.

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luisaroesch's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

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readwithev's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.25

I loved the growth of all the Weyward women through three different generations. Each of them learn about their abilities, overcome great adversity and pain, and learn to be proud of who they are despite the world’s judgement toward them and their difficult situations. My only criticism is that I would have liked a mored details about their magic and the lore.

What is the Magic’s origin? How does it affect their bodies? It’s first mentioned around the 80% point of the book. Hart does my delve into whether magic is only in women. Perhaps because the magic was kept l secret for so many generations? The lack of in-depth magic lore is the only thing I felt was missing. I also thought it was interesting the Hart chose not to focus on Simon after Kate escaped. We feel her anxiety and know that he is probably searching for her, but we do not see him again until the end of the book. I actually think that was a great choice on Hart’s part. It is never about why an abuser is the way they are, so by not providing a backstory for Simon or writing his POV, Hart avoids convey any “excuse” for Simon’s abuse. I liked that we focus on Kate’s growth. I also liked Violet’s discoveries and learning to shed the excuses for the abuses she suffered. She learned to relinquish the guilt, and I think Hart wrote it with compassion and grace.

This is an emotionally heavy book with lots of trigger warnings⚠️, however Hart does not add gruesome details or scenes unnecessarily. All the details and difficult themes are important; they add to each woman’s journey and eventually their growth.
Hart’s description of nature, tenderness for each Weyward woman’s storyline, her compassion for their struggle, and the epilogue that ties everything together was *chef’s kiss.* loved the story and would recommend!

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mystic_musing's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

2.0

I came into this book blind, and absolutely do not recommend that for anyone who wants to read this novel. Crystal clear CW should be plastered all over the cover of this book, as it touches on some of the most atrocious and horrible things femmes face. It seems like every male character in this book aside from a brother were literal plot devise for evil, even so much as going out of the way to talk about how one of the characters requests a female professional, but gets a male instead. Over all I liked the 3 POV, and the mystical nature of the traditional and esoteric witchiness of the family lineage, but this is a man hating book and I will not be recommending it to anyone. It is an instant "sell to the second hand book store" for me.

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