Emilia Hart's debut novel, Weyward, won both Best Debut Novel and Best Historical Fiction Goodreads awards, as well as being picked as a LibraryReads (books that library staffers across the country loved) pick for March 2023 and a New York Times "best books of the year so far" for 2023. It deals with an adult/minor relationship, death, domestic physical abuse, rape, a toxic relationship (or two), a car accident, abortion, blood, suicide attempt, death of a parent, murder, pregnancy, and injury detail. That being said, there was nothing that I thought was particularly graphic.
Weyward is the story of three very different women, in three very different times, in three different situations. But they are the same in one way, they are all Weyward, which means they are wild inside. Althea's story, set in 1619, has her on trial for murder and for witchcraft. Violet's story tries to uncover the truth of what happened to her mother and who, or what exactly, she and her mother are, during World War II. And Kate is set in the present day, on the run from her abusive boyfriend and staying in the cottage she was left in her Aunt Violet's will. This book follows the story of all three women as they discover what makes them special, and what makes them strong.
This book was very interesting. The chapters are set in different points of view, with each chapter being dedicated to one of the women. The story unravels slowly, Violet and Kate's chapters being more frequent and on parallel tracks while Althea's chapters fills in some of the blanks. Althea's chapters in particular I found compelling, I couldn't read them fast enough. The story was well written, the premise was fun and kept you engrossed, it didn't usually feel like it was dragging on. The characters were likeable, some more than others, and there were some tense moments in the story that kept you turning the pages.
Overall, I'm giving Weyward by Emilia Hart 4 stars out of 5. I really enjoyed it although I do think there is some room for improvement, especially when it comes to having well rounded, realistic, and engaging characters. I liked the women in this book well enough, but they felt a little flat at times. I am interested to read Emilia Hart's upcoming novel, The Sirens, which comes out in February of 2025.
For more information about the author, see her instagram at @emiliahartbooks
Pairs well with a bowl of Eton mess and an in depth study of the mayfly.
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