Ready to discover another great book for this 2023? Take a look…
Weyward by Emilia Hart
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: The Borough Press
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4’5/5
Amazon, Waterstones, Hive
About The Book
KATE, 2019
Kate flees London – abandoning everything – for Cumbria and Weyward Cottage, inherited from her great-aunt. There, a secret lurks in the bones of the house, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.
VIOLET, 1942
Violet is more interested in collecting insects and climbing trees than in becoming a proper young lady. Until a chain of shocking events changes her life forever.
ALTHA, 1619
Altha is on trial for witchcraft, accused of killing a local man. Known for her uncanny connection with nature and animals, she is a threat that must be eliminated.
But Weyward women belong to the wild. And they cannot be tamed…
My Thoughts
This is a story of women, power and strong women that men tried to destroy. An easy story? No, not at all, but one that has to be told.
This is the story of three women, how family struggles seem to pass through generations and their dark fate doesn’t leave them. Maybe this time, Kate will have the power and strengths to stop it and have the life she and her ancestors deserved.
There are things that I loved about this book; the story of Altha, Violet and Kate felt real and I am sure that a lot of women could explain a similar story. And the truth is what makes me angry, being abused, used and discriminated against for being a woman, different, with needs… How can this happen for so long? And right now, women are being abused, killed or ignored by men because they are women. It’s something that makes you think about the society we live in and how we can make it change, of course making witch trials against men will not help. But as I always think, this should not only be stopped by women but also by men. We are a community, if we don’t join forces against the “bad” it will always remain there.
And I think that this is an aspect that I didn’t like about the book, they put all the men on the same side, they are only good to give you ‘the seed”… I don’t think it’s fair, there are a lot of misogynist in this world, not only men, but there are fair people, men that are against violence and want equality, and I think it’s wrong to not remember them.
The book is quite easy to read and impossible to put down; my favourite story was Altha, her witch trial is so sad and you can feel how powerless she feels against the trial. Also, Kate struggles and her self-discovery is amazing, her doubts for the new life she is growing inside of her felt so real and sad. At the same time, Violet seems the most powerful and brave of the three, the one that wants to know the truth and is ready to do anything to have it and not be used by men.
This is a book you should read, maybe you’ll love it, maybe you’ll hate it, but it’s a book to share and discuss, a book you’ll remember.
Are you ready to meet the “Weyward’s”?
About The Author
Emilia Hart is a British-Australian writer. She was born in Sydney and studied English Literature and Law at the University of New South Wales before working as a lawyer in Sydney and London. Emilia is a graduate of Curtis Brown Creative’s Three Month Online Novel Writing Course and was Highly Commended in the 2021 Caledonia Novel Award. Her short fiction has been published in Australia and the UK. She lives in London.
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