Weyward by Emilia Hart

This is a gorgeously moving, emotional and heart wrenching novel. Both of my sisters recommended this book to me, so I thought it was long overdue that I read it, and I am so glad I did. Weyward follows three different women in three different timelines: Altha, Violet and Kate.

For Altha, the story begins when she is undergoing a trial for witchcraft, accused of killing a man in the village, who just happens to be married to her childhood friend, Grace.

Violet is living at her father’s estate with her brother, Graham, having never left, never seen anyone outside of her home. She falls in love with nature, insects and the natural world, bordering on what is considered very unladylike for a girl of her age. When her father announces their Cousin Frederick is to visit and Violet must be on her best behavior, Violet grudgingly follows his directives, not realizing this visit is going to change her life forever.

And last but not least, there is Kate, living in the present and married to a horrible, controlling man, Simon. Simon abuses her physically and mentally. He has isolated her from her friends and family, forcing her to quit her job and tracking her every move, even going as far as to install spyware on her phone. When Kate discovers she is pregnant, she realizes she must finally gain the strength to do what must be done and leave him, once and for all.

Weyward is very much a story of womanhood, and a damn brilliant one at that. Each of these women must find the power and strength within themselves to build a life for themselves that does not fall into the construct of what the men around them would have them do. They are resilient and brave and beautiful. Their stories, while tinged with bits of magic, are powerful because there is so much truth to them, and one reads this book knowing how close parts of this book is going to read for many women out there. But it is also a story of hope. You root for all these characters, and you root for the women out in the real world, struggling with similar realities every day.

This is a treasure of a novel. I’m absolutely ecstatic for Emilia Hart’s next novel. I can’t wait until it comes out and I can lose myself in another story.