This book. I’ve not the words for just how sensational it is. Definitely one of the books of 2023. Absolutely no doubt. ‘Brontë-esque’ in how nature weaves through every line. Haunting, compelling, just sensational.

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced reading copy. I loved it so much I’ve now pre-ordered the HB too!

A beautiful, complex and uplifting story of three women victimised by men, and scorned and outcast for their connection to the natural world. This would be a great book club pick.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

This was an absolute joy of a book to read and one that I would highly recommend to anyone that loves a brilliant story.
I found the book to be so captivating as we introduced to three different women in three different timelines Altha, Violet and Kate all different but all connected and I loved them all. As the chapters flew by I became more and more engrossed in these women’s lives and oh what stories they had to tell, what lives they had led and how they managed to survive. The beauty of this read was also in descriptions of nature and how this was also a connection with the women and I have to praise the author for her excellent crafting of the book it’s one I couldn’t put down and am still thinking about it now.
So to be honest I can’t praise the book enough this is one not to be missed and I look forward to reading more from Emilia Hart in the future …5 massive stars.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, The Borough Press for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was such a lovely read.

This is a book about women and the three main characters are just great. They’re all really well developed, all from different times and all living their own but connected lives

This book is set in 3 different time periods and I could clearly imagine each one. The language used makes you feel like you’re there and listening to them speak

The settings (in all of the time period) are so well written. Along with the time periods and they way they’re written, I could honestly picture every scene like I was watching a movie

I really liked the overall story. There were some loose ends that usually I would want to be tied up but I don’t think it’s needed in this book. Everything that needs to be answered, is. There’s historical throwbacks in there as well which I LOVE.

This was so well written, I loved the characters, I loved the story… would 10/10 recommend.

I really loved it… I devoured it in a few hours and was desperate to read it when I was at work 😂 I use this as a benchmark for how good I think a book is.

I already had this one on my list for next year so i was delighted to read it early its an historical fictional with witchy elements and has the three woman format my favourite was violet and liked theme of supportive women through generations its maybe a bit less fantastical than i thought it might be but i enjoy historical fiction so was not disappointed

Its been a while since I have read a book that I have become immersed in quite so deeply. 5 stars all day long!
The book is told from three different women's point of view all over different centuries.

Kate, Violet and Altha may have been born nearly 400 years apart but we soon discover they share a lot more in common than you would think.
All 3 women we find are connected to the Weyward family and a special gift has been passed through the generations.

This is a powerful book that makes you realise how much women had to overcome in previous times and struggles and even now how we can still be at a disadvantage compared to men.

We meet Kate in the present who is desperate to escape an abusive relationship and decides to take control and leave to stay in her aunts old cottage. Next is Violet set in the 1940's where it was very much a 'mans world' she lived in Crows Beck in Cumbria where Kates aunt lived. Lastly we meet Altha in 1619 who has been charged with witchcraft and murdering a man.

The book is atmospheric and I loved the descriptions of nature, animals and birds. I really enjoyed this book.

Favourite Line - A great many things look different from a distance, truth is like ugliness - you need to be close to see it.

I will be recommending to others and looking out for more reads from this author

I didn’t know if I this was going to be my thing as fantasy books are not my genre at all but the blurb had me intrigued ( and also my Cumbrian roots) . This is a book for anyone who thinks they don’t like fantasy / mystical reads as this element is only an undertone to the book as it’s more focused on relationships and torment of the women of the generations. Each character has her own voice and story to tell and the 3 different timelines are woven in well . I became invested in these women and totally forgot the whole witchcraft element when I was reading . It’s a unique and brilliant debut and I’m now looking forward to seeing what the author does next ,

Weyward had me hooked from the start, an enthralling story and atmospheric read. The triple timeline and narrative style works well to maintain reader engagement, and each of the three protagonists is fully formed. Great world building ensures that each timeline is just as compelling, with short chapters so that you’re never spending too long without reverting to the other storylines. An exciting addition to the witchcraft genre.

Top class ! Incredible atmospheric, mystical plot involving witchcraft about three generations of the same Weyward family- Kate, Viola and Altha. I was absolutely enthralled with it not wanting to put the novel down! Emilia has written it as three timelines which is a real art in itself and actually very easy to follow. Definitely worth reading more of Emilia’s novels.

Contains slight thematic spoilers

This is definitely one of the most eagerly anticipated fiction books of 2023! It was powerful from the off and I was hooked. I was finding myself falling in love with each of the main women.

It’s been a while since I was completely absorbed in a book like this one. I read it in one sitting as I just couldn’t tear myself away. I was sobbing by the end, in sadness and happiness. I won’t give too much away as to the plot, but it’s a whopper of an emotional read.

I’ve struggled with historical fiction in the past and I was slightly worried that I wouldn’t gel with the older stories, but they felt as natural and identifiable as the modern one. You just felt at home in all periods.

I often find multi-timeline books confusing. This one has three: Altha in 1619, Violet in 1942, and Kate in 2019, but they are all so well written and split that it’s clear right from the off whose life we’re reading at any given time. Each main female character has their own distinctive characteristics but you can still see the link between the three. I love how powerful the three women are. Not just in the literal sense, but in their hopes and their dreams. Each story is given equal time and attention, each written perfectly for the time period, for the characters of the time, and they all sit so well together.

Normally fiction books tend to be plot heavy or character focussed. Very few, in my opinion, equally cover both. But this does. Each of the time periods contains an exhilarating storyline with the women so beautifully described, in looks and manner, it’s stunning.

The stories aren’t necessarily happy, in fact, some of them are very hard to read indeed, and yet they still project a sense of love and hope. Hope in themselves, in the world, and in the future.

Yes there is a witchcraft element to the book, but for me it came second to the stories of their relationships and their friendships. It just so happens to have a magical backdrop. But I was so sucked in to them as characters that I couldn’t be distracted by anything else.

It is a serious book with serious topics - including domestic violence, pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, childbirth, death, murder, rape - but it is still a complete and utter joy to read. Even when they are in their darkest places, it still radiates hope.

It’s a love story, but not necessarily a romantic one. Not necessarily one between a man and a woman, or a man and a man, or a woman and a well. It’s love for nature, for the world, for your kin, for yourself, for the past and the future, for your ancestors and your descendants, for animals, and for the power you hold.

I can’t wait to share it with my girl friends. It is such a powerful and important book. I had to wait before I started a new book. Normally I can go from finishing one book to starting another fairly instantly, but this was just so amazing and so powerful that I just couldn’t clear my mind enough to start another I think it’s going to stay with me for a long time.

And it’s a debut! What power this book has, what precision and finesse. Absolutely gorgeous in it’s brutality and it’s hope. I already know Emilia Hart is going to be such a force of nature in the writing world and I can wait to join her on this ride. I just hope I get the chance to absorb every word she writes.

Whilst I liked aspects of this book I didn't love it unfortunately, It was written well and the idea was there but I found it quite dull at times and I felt myself forcing myself on with reading. But towards the end it did pick up once the stories started coming together and the mysteries came to light.

It was definitely different to anything I've personally read before and I'm glad I picked it up.

Weyward is a fascinating read by Emila Hart which follows three generations of the Weyward women who have special healing powers and a close relationship with nature. They also have another connection. They are all controlled by men. This story is told in each point of view of the women, the hardships and torment they endure and bravery of them setting themselves free of the men controlling their lives.
This is an interesting, well-written and magical read from the author and I enjoyed each story of each of the women, which came to a mutual conclusion at the end. But I was expecting more witchcraft, than it delivered. But a great story, nevertheless. 4 stars from me.

Thank you for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this unique story. It follows three generations of Weyward women who all have special healing powers and a unique relationship with nature as they learn amour themselves, their strengths and often abusive relationships. Please do look up trigger warnings for this book as there are some heavy subjects tackled here.
Although it took me a while to get invested in the story I loved the three women and their interconnected paths despite all growing up in very different times. They are strong and determined both by nature and the difficult situations they find themselves in.
This book is different to anything I have read recently and I really enjoyed the different layers the story had. A brilliant debut novel!

This story makes for a fascinating read. Set over three different eras and three different women's lives, who are all connected by blood and their ability to connect with nature. There are no cauldrons or broomsticks in this tale of witches but deep innate knowledge passed through the generations, even when they have never met. The story is well written, with good depth to the characters and clever mixing of the three women's stories, all similar in their own way but different because of when they are set.

The characters are complex and well-written. I really liked the three women, Altha, Violet and Kate and the intricate way their stories are linked. These women are strong and determined, The book does not hold its punches and the treatment of the women is sometimes brutal, so it is not always easy to read. The women are not well treated by the men in their lives, and the men, mostly, are really not very nice and the writing enforces this.

This is Emilia Hart's debut novel and is very good. I did find it a little slow in the middle and wanted to get on with it but apart from that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will look out for more works by this author in the future.

What a magical read! I loved every minute of this extraordinary book!

Three different women living in different centuries.
We meet Altha in 1619, locked away awaiting her trial accused of Witchcraft. We then meet Violet in 1942. a Young girl who grew up without knowing her mother. a Young girl who's called uncanny and strange and who apparently takes after her mother. Finally, we meet Kate in 2019 who is in an abusive relationship with a man who's getting more and more controlling and who finally plucks up the courage to run away to Cumbria to her great aunt's cottage called Weyward Cottage.
What do these three women have in common?
The more layers that are peeled away the more you fall in love with these strong, and wayward women. Amazingly, this is a debut!

"The connections between and among women are the most feared, the most problematic, and the most potentially transforming force on the planet"

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Loved this story of three women all wronged by men but full of guts, determination and bravery.
Altha 1619, sat in her prison cell contemplated her fate as she awaited trial for witchcraft,
Violet, hated by her father for her more than passing resemblance to her mother, a woman her appeared to love and despise.
Kate, present day, trapped in an abusive marriage, waiting for the perfect moment to make her escape.
Hart gave them their own voices, all the better for the reader to appreciate their thoughts, their emotions that simmered below the surface.
Hart captured the atmosphere of the times they lived in, perhaps also highlighting that even in present day, men still sought power over women, that eternal sense that they belonged to them.
What the men in their lives did not factor was their undeniable strength and eventual utter belief in themselves and the gifts they possessed.
I thought I might favour one woman’s story over another but I didn’t such was Harts skill in interweaving their lives through her narrative.
Indeed it was a colourful and truly imaginative narrative, that captured the essence of each woman and the nature of the surroundings.
A fantastic debut

In Weyward we follow three timelines. Altha in the 17th century, on trial for witchcraft, Violet in the 1940's, more interested in insects and nature than finding a husband, and Kate in the 21st century, fleeing an abusive relationship and finding her connection to the Weyward women in her family.

This was such a fantastic book, I adored it, particularly Kates story and how she uncovers the lineage of her past and how their stories connect. Absoloutely stunning!

Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the chance to read Weyward.

This book is so well written, with three strong women as the lead characters fighting against prejudice in each case. It is a very smooth read and although each woman is given her own voice, there is no confusion on the part of the reader.

Altha, Violet and Kate live in different centuries but all are connected to nature. In each case men control these women's lives in an unbearable way, but all three find the strength to overcome oppression under exceptional circumstances.

A fantastic debut and one of the best historical novels I have read. Weyward will definitely be in my top ten books of 2023. Well done Emilia Hart, I look forward very much to reading more from you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins/The Borough Press for the opportunity to red and review this wonderful book.

I got well into over half of this book before, for me anyway, it really got going. I enjoyed the last part as the three women's lives began to relate to each other and mysteries came to light, but even then it was all a little too fanciful for me and incredibly grim I thought too. Not having read any books that relate to witchcraft and the way women (who were really herbalists) were treated, it was certainly insightful and interesting to hear how all the claims of witchcraft back in the 17th century came about. Perhaps not really my cup of tea, though I am in the minority here.