Weyward by Emilia Hart

Read for book group.

I wasn't sure which way to land on how I felt about this book, so I plumped for an in the middle rating in the end, though it sometimes veered both above and below this as I read.  I found it slow to get going.  Altha's story dragged initially, I didn't like wet Kate, and so it was only really Violet I was interested in until quite far into the book.  It's a dark read, full of abuse, and blood, and rape, and miscarriage and abortion and whilst I think the long line of Weyward women was supposed to feel like a positive thing, it just felt very sad.  All those women, all abused in some way.  I did begin to care more about Altha as her story progressed, and even Kate.  But it remained, for me, mostly Violet's story and so I found myself disappointed by her ending 

**Warning - spoilers to follow**

Why did she drive all that way, watch a car crash, and then go home?  Why did she see Kate's bad husband and not dig more into what was happening?  Why didn't she do more for her whilst she was still alive?  That whole section made me cross.  This isn't how Violet would behave, was what I kept thinking to myself as I read!

I also struggle a bit with magical realism, though with all the suggested witchy-ness I was prepared for it, but still, for magical relations with animals, bugs and birds to be the way someone can escape domestic abuse was a bit...I don't know...I wanted them to be rejuvenated by nature, sure, but then I hoped it would be their own strength of will that would succeed, not a bunch of birds.  And what's with Simon's eye getting pecked out - do the police not question what the hell happened in that cottage before they got there?  I mean, I wanted him to get his eye pecked out but still.  It left me feeling all loose-endish.

But for all my complaints, I did enjoy reading the last half/third of the book, though I was always racing to get to Violet's story.