Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Weyward by Emilia Hart

40 reviews

opie_azvuc's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

0.25

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, Self harm, Abortion, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Dementia, Medical trauma, Grief, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicide, Gore, Bullying, Classism, Medical content, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Violence

lexihworth's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Death, Death of parent, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death, Pregnancy, Violence, Alcoholism, Confinement, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship

imyerhero's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, and Confinement

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

angelicawdowning's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring medium-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Violence, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Classism

kzkoni's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Child death, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Murder, Rape, and Car accident

hannahcstocks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, War, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, and Pedophilia

Minor: Infidelity

toristorytime's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Rape, Domestic abuse, Blood, Sexual violence, and Abortion

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Car accident

Minor: Miscarriage and War

livlamentloathe's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? No

4.0

I loved this book. It was hard for a bit—as I was raging over Altha’s “trial.” But eventually, I let the time periods dull my feelings. I think it could be (and is) argued that this book treats women poorly for no point. But I disagree. The fact is: women ARE treated poorly. They always have been. And often without a voice to protest. But women are strong and resilient and that’s the mark of this book.

These women were all seen going THROUGH IT. At the worst moment of their lives. But they fought back. They may not have been remarkably heroic. But they were brave and compassionate and wondrous for each time period. Altha was calm, brave, protective. She knew when to fight back. She was careful. And she never *let* them tell her how to live. Violet was curious and feisty. She sought the truth and craved an education—stealing it when it wasn’t available to her. And Kate was growing, gaining strength, love, and confidence (etc).

I’m not one for kids or even motherhood but her pregnancy was what allowed her to heal from her abuse.

I thought the entire story was beautiful. Despite my arachnophobia, I was thrilled by the natural connections. It was a folksy dream. The perfect level of mystical and magical without being overly magic. It straddled the line well. Powerful—about how women help and protect one another.

TW: Sexual violence, r*pe, sexual assault, physical abuse, domestic abuse, abortion, misogyny,

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder, Confinement, Blood, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Miscarriage

Minor: Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Animal death, Incest, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

indigoriverboat's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Abortion

Moderate: Incest, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Confinement, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Blood, Religious bigotry, and War

hnelson510's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Violence, Incest, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Car accident, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide attempt