Weyward by Emilia Hart Published by St. Martin's Publishing Group on March 7, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Historical / General, Fiction / Multiple Timelines, Fiction / Women
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Source: Book of the Month
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF TWO GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS (Best Debut Novel & Best Historical Fiction)
An Indie Next March 2023 Pick • A LibraryReads March 2023 Pick • An Amazon "Best Books of the Year So Far" 2023 Pick"A brave and original debut, Weyward is a spellbinding story about what may transpire when the natural world collides with a legacy of witchcraft." ––Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The London Séance Society
I am a Weyward, and wild inside.2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great-aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she suspects that her great-aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.
1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. When Altha was a girl, her mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence of witchcraft is laid out against Altha, she knows it will take all her powers to maintain her freedom.
1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.
Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an astonishing debut, and an enthralling novel of female resilience.
My Review
I chose this book back in March as my Book Of The Month pick. I honestly was drawn in by the cover and the multiple points of view and timelines. This is historical fiction with a mix of magic and I was totally there for it. Do you ever have a book that you wish you could read for the first time all over again? Weyward was that book for me. I can actually say that I was sad when the book was over because I loved it so much. Ok, enough fangirling over here, now let me tell you a blurb of what to expect in this fantastic story.
The first woman you meet in the book is Altha and the time is 1619. The place is England and witch trials have been happening across the land. Altha is no exception we meet her in a cell where she is awaiting trial for the crime of killing a man who was married to her childhood friend. I say childhood friend but Altha herself is I believe in her late teens maybe twenty if she is lucky. Altha and her mother were known across the land as women who were gifted with healing.
Altha’s childhood consisted of working with her mother and playing with her friend Grace. They had such a wonderful and innocent friendship in which they did almost everything together until one awful night that will change both of the girl’s lives forever. Their friendship suffers and they stop speaking for years. It isn’t until Grace is married and Altha notices some things are not right between husband and wife that they begin speaking again. Not long after Altha is accused of witchcraft which led to the death of Grace’s husband. In Altha’s timeline, we learn about growing up in a home with only her mother in Weyward Cottage, her friendship with Grace and we discover whether or not young Altha is guilty of murder.
The year is 1942 and we meet Violet the only daughter of Rupert and Elizabeth. She has a younger brother named Graham who is lucky enough to be sent off to school which Violet resents because she too wants to attend school however her father has never let her leave the grounds of their estate. Violet is very interested in biology and learning. It is her hope that one day she gets to travel the globe in search of new species of insects, animals, and plants. She just seems to have a way with insects that appears strange to most. They seem to gravitate toward her and listen to what she has to say.
Violets’s mother passed away when she was just a young girl. She was raised to believe that it was due to the birth of her younger brother. It is not until many years later when she is an older teen that she begins to question everything she was raised to believe. It isn’t until Violet’s life takes a turn for the worst that she discovers who she really is and what kinds of powers she possesses. Powers that only Weyward women seem to have. I am not going to say much about Violet because I do not want to give spoilers but I will say that I felt absolutely terrible for her. I enjoyed her character very much.
It is 2019 when we meet Kate and she is not in a good place at all. She is currently in a very abusive relationship with her boyfriend of many years. Her father was killed in front of her when she was just a girl and she blames herself for it to this day. She is an only child and her mother has remarried and moved to Canada leaving Kate back in the UK. Kate lives in fear of Simon and what kind of a mood he will be in when he gets home. Will tonight be another night for a beating? Kate in many ways is like Violet a prisoner in her own home. Her fate is decided by the man in her life.
Kate was a happy child who also seemed to attract the critters much like Altha and Violet had in their lives. This however changed once her father was killed. She was not happy anymore because her young mind took on the responsibility of his death. As an adult, she did find a job that she enjoyed and maintained friendships until Simon came into her life. It did not take long for him to claim her all for himself. Things of course were fine in the beginning but later turned to mind games and abuse on many levels. In Kate’s timeline, we will discover if she ends up leaving Simon and staying away from him. We will also see how Weyward Cottage has an impact on her life. It was a joy to see Kate discover her heritage and what it means to be a woman in her line.
If you are looking for a story full of strong female characters and their connection not only to themselves but also to nature then run to pick this one up. I very much enjoyed how each chapter bounced between these women and their timelines. I enjoyed the magical elements in the story and absolutely loved the setting of Weyward Cottage. This story does have some terrible things that happen in it so please pay attention to the trigger warnings below. With that being said this is one of my favorite books of 2023 so far. Reader if you decide to pick this one up please let me know your thoughts because I am itching to talk about it. Until next time though Happy Reading.
Trigger Warnings:
- Rape
- Murder
- Physical Abuse
- Parental Abandonment
- Mental Abuse
- Car Accident