Kate, Violet and Altha are all from the Weyward family. Centuries apart, they have to discover the truth of what makes them so different. It might be the only way to save them from the men that would see them shackled and cast down.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The narrative follows our three main characters, with their own story.
Altha - in 1619 she is standing trial, accused of witchcraft. The husband of someone Altha used to call a friend died in mysterious circumstances, and the village is ready to blame her.

Violet - 1942 - despite being the daughter of an Earl, Violet feels trapped. She loves the outdoors and animals, and feels like she's being kept prisoner by her strict and uncaring father. She never sees anyone except immediate family, and her dreams of traveling and being a scientist. Until her Cousin Frederick arrives.

Kate - 2019 - after suffering years of increasing abuse from her boyfriend, Kate finally decides to leave. The timing is perfect, she has just inherited a cottage from her Great-Aunt Violet, and she has gone to great lengths to make sure that Simon never finds her again.

I really enjoyed following the three different women, and how they dealt with being different from those around them.
I thought Altha's story would be the leading one, but instead the spotlight is on Violet and Kate, as they discover there is a reason they are different, and the truth behind Altha and the nature of their family - the Weyward women.

Violet lives with her father and brother in a grand estate. She's jealous that her brother gets to leave and go to school, and study; and she has a distant relationship with her father. Violet has a somewhat romanticised notion that her father loved her mother so fiercely, that when she died giving birth to her brother, that he can't bear to look at Violet who is her mother's image.
When a visiting cousin makes a comment that contradicts this fantasy, Violet has to uncover the truth.

Kate has always blamed herself for her father's death when she was just a child. She has shut out the call of nature, for fear of being a monster. Her boyfriend Simon has gradually worn her down, and reduced her life to nothing more than making him happy. A part of Kate accepts his beatings and emotional abuse as a just punishment for what she did.
Kate had forgotten she had a great aunt, when she inherited Violet's cottage, but she grabs the opportunity with both hands, finally escaping Simon and trying to remember how to live.
It was heart-breaking to see all the little ways he'd broken her; and just as satisfying to watch Kate create a new life for herself.

I loved how naturally the magic was woven into the story. It's always there, but subtle; and it was so heartening to see it surge at the end!

I loved this - 10/10! One of my favourite books of the year so far. Perfect characters and atmosphere - will definitely be recommending

Weyward is a complex novel to sum up my thoughts on - it's elegantly written, and I sped through it in under 24 hours, however, it made me feel almost unbearably tense the entire time! I felt invested in all three of our POV characters, with my heart in my throat at various points about what would become of them. I would love to read more by Emilia Hart.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I really enjoyed this one. Well written, cleverly intertwined narratives. Emotional, satisfying read! I hope it does really well.

Heard really good things about this book and I was not disappointed. Three timelines with three women’s stories unfolding within the chapters.
Altha 1619 is being tried as a witch, feeling alone after the death of her mother.
Violet 1940s being brought up by her father along with her younger brother after the death of her mother.
Kate 2019 haunted by the death of her beloved father, finding herself in an abusive marriage to Simon.
Over the course of the book it follows these timelines thorough the women’s stories and their family links.
Empowering at times, heartbreaking too. It has a very angry undertone to a lot of men within their separate stories along with lots of trigger warnings such as rape, abuse, abortion.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Weyward is not a book I think I would normally pick up from it’s blurb alone as I usually avoid anything that might class as ‘historical’ fiction, but something made me take a chance and I’m so glad I did. I really enjoyed my experience of reading it, and it would have been a huge shame if I’d missed it.

The novel is split into three narratives across time periods: Altha in 1619 is a healer who is accused of Witchcraft; Violet in 1942 is struggling with her identity in her male oppressed home, and Kate in 2019, trying to flee from her dangerous and abusive boyfriend. All three are of the same blood line, but are having very different experiences of what it means to be a woman in their own time periods.

Hart weaves the three women’s stories together with some beautiful prose and with a layered and nuanced writing style. I just felt so engaged in the worlds that Hart created, and I was reluctant to leave when I needed to put the book down.

The characters are well developed and flawed, and although Kate’s story is still worth a read, I found myself more drawn to Altha’s and Violet’s chapters. (Perhaps I need to rethink my avoidance of historical novels!)

The symbolism used was clever, if a little obvious, but I didn’t seem to mind that as I was lost in the atmospheric descriptions… I loved all the foreboding and ideas of nature and healing, and you can tell that Hart has really thought about every word she’s used.

Such an exciting debut, I can’t wait to see what comes next.

My thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

This book is partly set not that many miles away from where I live, so it was nice reading about the local areas. Telling the story of three women, from different times, who are all interlinked in one way or another. Kate, Violet and Altha all appear to have been dealt a raw deal in life, nothing seems to be going their way at all. Life has conspired to work against them in more ways than one, can they overcome their issues or will they get the better of them?

The story deals with some tough topics and should warn the reader of this. Whilst, it didn't bother me unduly it may cause others distress. I found it a well written story that draws you in and moves through time and situations well. Each chapter tends to deal with a different character and period in time, engaging the reader as the stories of each character progresses towards their final destination.

I enjoyed the story and I will look for other books by this Author.

I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgally in exchange of an honest review.

Please see the blurb of the book elsewhere here are my thoughts only. Thank you.


Absolutely absorbed in this very well told story about 3 different women from the Weyward family, somehow intertwined through time and space. Set in 3 different time frames, our 3 protagonists seem to have a lot more in common that one might think. Sexism, (unfortunately) abandonment, and coming out from difficult situations, link them all to the “sanctuary” of the small house currently known as Weyward.

The trees and the birds, as well as all the plants and flowers, give the stories that “escapism” from reality that Altha, Violet and Kate need to help them heal others as well as themselves. The female resilience doesn’t surprise me at all, and I love when I read about it.

Loved how the author manage to achieve the balance of self doubt and self confidence within one person. The depth of her female characters is impecable. The males in the other hand, needed a little more of that. As I think their male companions were portrayed as caricatures near to evil, which I felt wasn’t necessary but I still love the book.

Highly recommend.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for allowing me to have an e-arc copy of this book! And an even bigger thank you to Emilia Hart for writing it!

This story is written from multiple POV’s, exploring 3 different women and their experiences with witchcraft in different time periods. It shows strong, unconventional women who discover or use their power to battle the never ending patriarchy.

I loved the nature based magic system in this book, where the main characters became more powerful the more in tune they are with nature around them. It’s the source of their power, but also helps them to figure out who they are and how to fight their own battles. Each woman is unique though with a small twist on their powers that represents themselves.

This story is well paced and beautifully written, I honestly couldn’t put this book down and only did so when I had to sleep! I can’t believe this was debut novel as it is well crafted with such intricate characters. It has vivid imagery (and some darker parts) with three equally-compelling point of view that unfold and interweave seamlessly. You realise throughout the book how these characters are linked, and how their similar experiences shared through different timelines bring them a full circle.
I would highly recommend this to anyone out there looking for a historical, witchy fiction!

It took me a while to get into this, and to feel connected to the characters. But once I got further into the book I really enjoyed it, and towards the end I couldn't put it down.

This was a fantastic debut novel. I adored Kate, Violet and Altha...three very strong and wonderful women. The storyline was easy to read and follow.

It took me a while to get into this, and to feel connected to the characters. Perhaps this was because they were all from such different times and didn't initially connect with each other, either. But once I got further into the book I really enjoyed it, and towards the end I couldn't put it down.

Three women stories with different perspectives had me hooked till the end. Cannot wait for the author to publish her next book.
I really forgot to post the reviews for the books I got from netgalley because of some personal issues.

I must confess it took me two attempts to read this book. I just wasn't in the right frame of mind when I originally started reading it, but I am so glad I started it again later, because I couldn't put it down. Centred on the contemporary story of Kate, escaping an abusive relationship in the ramshackle cottage left to her by her great aunt, the story is told in the third person from the viewpoints of three women in the same family, stories which Kate uncovers as she begins to rebuild her sense of self living alone in the cottage, restoring some order to the garden and preparing for the birth of her baby.
Mystery, menace and self-discovery are at the heart of this intriguing and engrossing novel which celebrates the independence of unconventional women in three very different periods of history. I enjoyed it immensely and will be recommending it to all my fellow readers.

I loved this debut novel by Emilia Hart. It tells the stories of three women born in different eras but connected by family ties. The other thing that connects them is witchcraft.
They each experience different trials and tribulations during their lives and deal with them in their own way.
It was an amazing storyline and I was hooked from the beginning. If this book is an indication of how good this author is, I can’t wait for the next one.

Three women's stories from three very different times are woven together in a deft magical way in this glorious debut from Emilia Hart. The themes of witchcraft and harnessing nature runs throughout; the choice of words and descriptions are just glorious. I loved it!

I really enjoyed this book. The stories of the three women and their ancestral line over three different time periods tied together beautifully. I loved the setting and I love anything witchy so this was right up my street. Definitely one I recommend.

This is an excellent debut novel and the book is well written and beautifully crafted. The three generations covered are different enough and with individual "voices" that you have no trouble keeping everything straight in your mind.

Kate as the modern woman was a bit under written for me, Violet (her great aunt) was absolutely my favourite, and Altha as the witch on trial centuries ago was engrossing. I found Kate a bit wet and frustrating.

The plot was complex and clever and the various threads went back and forward and moved the plot nicely towards the satisfactory denouement. The bird angle was a bit of a stretch but did add to the angst at times.

I enjoyed the book, though I didn’t love it. I will look out for others by this author as Ms Hart can definitely write.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley

I absolutely loved this- three women at different times in history, all interconnected. Fanstasically told it kept me hooked to the end.

I can’t decide my feelings on this one. I think there should be a TW for some of the content. I know that historically woman have been treated horrifically (& sadly sometimes still are) but the story does go into quite detailed accounts at time. Some readers may struggle with this.

The idea of the book is good and I often enjoy a mixed timeline but there wasn’t as much witchcraft as I hoped for and it was more about a connection to nature.

I’ve read other reviews which are are mostly very positive so I think this one just wasn’t for me.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperCollins for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.