by: Emilia Hart
Goodreads Synopsis:
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 begins to suspect 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. As a girl, Altha’s 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 for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of 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 enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.
Helen says: 🤓🤓🤓
I liked this book so so. I got very Goth/ Wiccan vibes while reading this one. I felt like painting my fingernails black and taking on a new identity 😉. My take away from this book was that all men are evil and all women are a little witchy. Maybe read it around Halloween to get the full effect.
Holly says: 🤓🤓🤓3/4
The theme of this month’s book blog is “strong, resilient women”, and this story follows suit. This book follows three related women in very different time periods as they really just try to survive and escape abusive or oppressive situations. All of the women are gifted with a little familial connection to nature and touch of magic. I really liked it – a little gothic, a little magical, a little historical, and a lot of striving to survive. “Weyward” as a reference to the “weyward sisters” in Macbeth – women who have a special intuition and connection to nature, a power feared by men and labeled as “witchcraft”.
Helen and Holly Hit the Books 