I can't believe I've waited so long to read this!
Absolutely incredible. So thought provoking and relevant.
I loved all of the characters, how they were interlinked and how their stories were so similar yet so different.
Here's to weyward women!

In the present day, Kate flees a traumatic relationship to the Cumbrian cottage she inherited from her great-aunt; but the cottage hides secrets of its own.
In 1942, Violet rebels against her father’s ideas of a ‘proper young lady’ . . . until he takes matters into his own hands.
In 1619, Altha is on trial for witchcraft, implicated in the gruesome death of a local man.

I sometimes find it difficult to get into a book with multiple time lines, one always seems to be weaker, or I just don’t gel with one of the characters. This however was different, three timelines, three women and all strong and all interesting women.

‘But what could Reverend Goode be afraid of?’ My mother smiled. ‘Us,’ she said. ‘Women.’

Altha, Violet and Kate all Weyward women across the generations connected by gossamer threads, their stories entwine into an utterly compelling and entrancing story. I was gripped by it and devoured this book so quickly.

‘Witch. The word slithers from the mouth like a serpent, drips from the tongue as thick and black as tar….For this was a word invented by men, a word that brings power to those who speak it, not those it describes. A word that builds gallows and pyres, turns breathing women into corpses.’

I don’t think I had a favourite character but I was perhaps most drawn to Altha whose story arc is in the 1600’s when hysteria around witchcraft was at its peak. She would have had no control and no say in a world ruled by men but the parallels to Violet and Kate’s stories are there, all put in situations by men that they shouldn’t have been, all having to fight for their own survival.

‘All those years. Caught in a brutal dance, with steps she never knew how to follow. Perhaps things haven’t changed so much, after all.’

A brilliantly addictive read, full of strong women, just fabulous and empowering.

Three Woman, Three Timelines, one eerily similar story dispute crossing the ages

In present day, we join Kate who has secretly left an abusive partner to hide away in her family home she has inherited. Kate is finding her own place in the world here, but also is learning more about her families history

In the 1940s, Violet is also struggling with her controlling father

In the 1800, Altha is being held on trial for the death of a local man

Each woman in her own time is having to deal with being oppressed by the men in their life, and learn about themselves and if they can stand up to them and weave their own path

A hard read at times due to the subject matter but a great read nonetheless, which kept me hooked.

This is a beautifully written book. It tells the story of three women from three different timelines but they are all linked. A fantastic debut

Sadly I just could not get into this one. I was really excited to read it and I tried starting it over. I like, no I actually LOVE feminist themes in fiction so I thought this would be a new favorite.... Genuinely confused, would still recommend if you are curious about it, a lot of my friends love and rave about it!

I LOVE WITCHY BOOKS, and I can’t believe I waited so long to read this one. It’s atmospheric and deserves all the hype I’ve seen it get online too.

Thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

Such a fantastic read. Without doubt, Wayward is a modern classic and one we'll still be talking about and recommending in five years.

Altha has been accused of witchcraft, following the death of a local man.

Violet is more drawn to nature & insects than the married life her father wants for her.

Kate just fled a trapped life in London for a fresh start at Weyward Cottage.

This is the empowering story of three Weyward women, across four hundred years, struggling to survive the patriarchal society that is fighting to silence them…

Weyward was everything I wanted and more - A witchy, nature-filled, generational tale with powerful female characters and just the right amount of magic. It’s easily become one of my favourite books, and I already want to read it again!

Emilia Hart really knows how to write women, beautifully showcasing female rage & resilience. It was so refreshing & inspiring to read about women rewilding themselves and finding a new strength in nature. Hart masterfully writes about some incredibly raw and real issues that women all over the world face everyday, and have done for centuries.

I adored all three Weyward women. Each of their stories were equally as enthralling, and woven together so seamlessly. They all had a deep and somewhat magical connection to nature, allowing for some very lovely descriptions of British wildlife.

Violet was my favourite. Her love of entomology and desire to always be out in nature was so endearing & I related to her a lot. It’s always a privilege to meet such a special character.

I am astonished that this is a debut, and I will definitely be picking up Hart’s future work!

Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins for the DRC

Who doesn’t love witchy otherworldly books? This book covers three women from different generations. We learn that they are all related , through their stories and it wonderfully connects the present with the past all through nature. I loved this.

With characters that leap off the page and three storylines encompassing hundreds of years skillfully woven together, Weyward is an immersive, intimate and atmospheric story of the power of the natural world, female strength, and the continuing struggle against a patriarchal society.

In the present day, Kate is desperate to flee London and a violent boyfriend to seek safety in the cottage she inherited from her great-aunt.

In the midst of WWII, Violet longs to receive an education like her brother, but is forced to remain on the family estate by her strict father, her mother having died during childbirth.

In the 1600s, Altha stands accused of being a witch responsible for an attack which killed a man and is facing a death sentence.

A perfect blend of historical and contemporary literary fiction with an edgy dark/gothic/witchcraft/feminist vibe. Compelling and beautifully written but does feature difficult topics including rape, domestic abuse and abortion.

I really enjoyed this book, and it's dark, almost gothic vibe. The main characters over an expanse of time were all engaging and reading about their suffering, and the way they coped was quite intriguing. Written as a chapter per character kept the pace as you were eager to find out what happened to that character next. While the subject matter was harrowing at times, the vengeance was delightful.

It tells three stories, of three women in different timelines - 1619, 1942, 2019. I can sometimes be hard to keep track of multiple tales, but I found this book easy to follow and thoroughly enjoyed learning about the lives of these women. Overall I highly recommend this book.

Buying books and reading books are two separate hobbies. I am also fully a ‘judge a book by its cover’ human. So when this beauty was dangled in front of me I had to have it. Now tell me why it’s been sat unread on my shelves for 6 months? 😂 honestly I make books seem so much bigger in my head and then adore them. A great supernatural spooky read which is rich in female empowerment. I devoured this! The way Emilia Hart finishes each chapter so you’re excited for the next but also have to wait to get to the next characters is so well balanced and an incredible feat.

A beautifully atmospheric read. Weyward follows the lives of three women in history and their connection to each other and nature.

I found myself fully emerged in each character and really invested in their stories not only as individuals but also how they wove together.

A wonderful story of the strength and resilience of women, highly recommend!

It is an utterly enthralling and thrilling story. One of my favourite reads of 2023.

Following the story of three women in different time periods, it is a great mix of family saga, historical fiction, and domestic thriller.

Can't wait to see what Emelia writes next.

As someone not 100% into anything fantastical this book HIT DIFFERENT! It's witchy, gothic perfection. It's an eerie plot in an equally as eerie setting spanning hundreds of years.

This isn’t my normal kind of genre book, but I’m glad I gave it a read. I’m not usually someone who can get into historical fiction, it took me 2 months to get through the Philippa Gregory book about Henry the Eighth’s wives.

I think I viewed it more as three separate stories in one, rather than being one seamless story that wove together? Paranormal themes aren’t really my cup of tea and I wasn’t expecting the triggering nature of rape and domestic violence that featured - that’s totally a me thing though, it just wasn’t something I’d factored in to be looking out for!

Content warnings include abortion, domestic abuse, mental health, miscarriage, physical abuse of an animal, racial slur, sexual assault, stillbirth and suicidal ideation. Readers with emetophobia may have trouble with some scenes.

This feminist tale connects three women across five centuries as they struggle against a patriarchal society determined to strip them of their power. Altha, 1619, is a village wise woman accused of witchcraft. Violet, 1942, is the sheltered daughter of an aristocrat who finds her ambitions, interests, and hopes disparaged or ignored at every turn. Kate, 2019, flees an abusive relationship and returns to her family home in Cumbria. These three women have a deep connection to the natural world, to the point of being supernatural. There is an element of magic but it's almost secondary to the women's journeys. It's a book with an element of magic rather than being a book focused on magic.

The chapters alternate between all three characters and I was equally invested in each story, which often isn't the case in multiple POV books. The stories are also intertwined with threads woven across the generations. It's fiercely feminist but it's not a misandrist story. Graham, in particular, is a rounded character who supports his sister and uplifts her. But it's the women and their relationships with other women that shine brightly.

The writing style is engaging and immediate. It kept me turning the pages as I needed to know how their stories progressed. Riveting and unforgettable.

Wow. Just wow.

Weyward is the feminist story of three generations of women who all have a link with magic and the stigma that being a woman with power can bring.

Each of our three protagonists has a battle to fight and are at the mercy of those around them. However their resilience and strength is palpable and jumps off the page.

As a reader, I became lost into this story and immersed in this world and I really didn't want it to end. It could be said that stories of witchcraft have been done to death but oh my this book does not disappoint. Emelia Hart is a writer I will keeping an eye on.

Weyward by Emelia Hart is available now.

For more information regarding Emelia Hart (@EmeliaHartBooks) please visit her Twitter page.

For more information regarding Harper Collins (@HarperCollins) please visit www.harpercollins.com.

Three different Weyward women from the 15th Century, the 20th and the 21st century have remarkably similar lives and outcomes.
Altha is a healer, like her mother before her. Attuned with nature, she eventually uses her ‘powers’ to harm rather than heal (although we are meant to briefly suspend any morals as she uses them against an abusive man). She ends up (surprise, surprise!) being tried as a witch at Lancaster Assizes.
Violet is a young girl of 16 in the 1940s. Daughter of a woman who died and was supposedly insane. Again, Violet is attuned with nature and this terrifies her overbearing father that she is ‘uncanny’ like her mother. Rape features in Violet’s story. As does abandonment.
Kate is another victim of domestic abuse and rape. Pregnant, she escapes her partner in London to live in Weyward cottage in Cumbria.
The three women’s lives are intrinsically linked by their experiences with nature, and at the hands of men.

I thought the story ‘just okay’.
I felt like I’ve read something far too similar, many times before. I’m afraid that it was just too cliched, too obvious to really enjoy. It did keep my attention, but only half-heartedly as it just didn’t feel like anything new. Sorry.