A review by haileyreiss
Weyward by Emilia Hart

dark emotional sad medium-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

3.75

I did enjoy this even though it was pretty bleak at times. It's a fascinating portrayal of 3 women across 3 different time periods and the unique challenges they face as women in those times. And, of course, there's nature magic (woo!). The multicast audiobook was truly excellent and added variety to each narrative. Moreover, I was really engaged in each woman's story.

Despite reading Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders at the same time as this, I was surprised and a little unnerved by how graphic some of this book was. I also find myself agreeing with some reviewers who felt that these scenes were a bit unnecessarily graphic. It did feel like they served more of a shock value than a narrative purpose. I think a vaguer description of a certain scene would have gotten the point across just as well as the detailed description did--without feeling needlessly shocking. I think most readers who would gravitate towards this book are pretty aware of the physical violence that some women face, so I question why there was a need to be so detailed about it.
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