Genevieve Gornichec

Angrboda's story begins where most witch's tales end: with a burning. A punishment from Odin for refusing to give him knowledge of the future, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into a remote forest. There she is found by a man Loki, and her initial distrust grows into a deep and abiding love. Their union produces three unusual children, each with a secret destiny, who she is keen to raise at the hidden from Odin's all-seeing eye. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life - and possibly all of existence - is in danger.

The Witch's Heart

When a banished witch falls in love with the legendary trickster Loki, she risks the wrath of the gods in this fierce, subversive debut novel that reimagines Norse myth. Angrboda's story begins where most witch tales end: with being burnt. A punishment from Odin for sharing her visions of the future with the wrong people, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into the furthest reaches of a remote forest. There she is found by a man who reveals himself to be the trickster god Loki, and her initial distrust of him—and any of his kind—grows reluctantly into a deep and abiding love. Their union produces the most important things in her long life: a trio of peculiar children, each with a secret destiny, whom she is keen to raise at the edge of the world, safely hidden from Odin's all-seeing eye. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life—and possibly all of existence—is in danger. Angrboda must choose whether she'll accept the fate that she's foreseen for her beloved family—or rise to remake it.

The Witch’s Heart

Laura

My heart is so much than it once was, even if it now beats outside my chest.

And I will burn not for the gods' will, but for my own.

There is a reason that I will not be by your side during your torment.

What will happen to me, to us, to prevent me from standing by your side as well?

You called my children monsters... And I'll make you swallow those words.

There was something wild about him, something about his eyes that spoke of deep forests and midsummer nights. Something untamed, unharnessed.

A surprisingly enjoyable book. The characters were flawed but still likeable, it's a familiar story of ragnarok from an unexpected point of view, and overall I kept reading until well into the night. Nothing really bad to say, the author's writing was very good and I didn't find myself cringing a lot like I've come to expect from fantasy writers.

Cassidy Webb

Jordan

Marcy Pursell 

** spoiler alert **
           I started reading this in hardback, but after a few pages, wasn't sure how to pronounce the main character's name, so I thought I might try out the audiobook version because it was immediately available from the library. This was my first fiction audiobook that I finished, and overall, I really enjoyed the story. The novel is told in three parts, but really it's just two, because the last part is very short. I caught myself not paying as close of attention as I would have liked after about halfway through; I think the story seemed to slow down for me. For fans of Norse mythology, this was a very fun read, and you'll likely be familiar with many known characters, including Loki, Thor, and Odin. This book had it all. Romance. Intrigue. Memory loss. Past lives. Fantasy. Tragedy. All the things. A fun read, especially if you're listening. One small thing to note, the physical hardback did have acknowledgements and an appendix at the end that were not included in the audiobook version. While I understand the appendix is more easily accessible if you're reading the physical book, I appreciated reviewing it after the audiobook, and it includes a Further Reading page if you want to learn more about Norse mythology.

When a banished witch falls in love with the legendary trickster Loki, she risks the wrath of the gods in this moving, subversive national bestselling debut novel that reimagines Norse mythology. Angrboda’s story begins where most witches' tales end: with a burning. A punishment from Odin for refusing to provide him with knowledge of the future, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into the farthest reaches of a remote forest. There she is found by a man who reveals himself to be Loki, and her initial distrust of him transforms into a deep and abiding love. Their union produces three unusual children, each with a secret destiny, who Angrboda is keen to raise at the edge of the world, safely hidden from Odin’s all-seeing eye. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life—and possibly all of existence—is in danger. With help from the fierce huntress Skadi, with whom she shares a growing bond, Angrboda must choose whether she’ll accept the fate that she’s foreseen for her beloved family...or rise to remake their future. From the most ancient of tales this novel forges a story of love, loss, and hope for the modern age.

DNF’d 100 pages in. This was marketed as being on the same wavelength as Madeline Miller’s “Circe” and I want to know if the people saying that have ever actually read either of these books. Because….no. 

The dialogue in these first 100 pages was absolutely miserable. Felt like I was physically slogging through the mud, trying to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Both Angrboda and Loki were so completely one dimension and utterly uncompelling that I could not have cared less about their interactions—which, unfortunately, was the entirety of the first 100 pages. 

This is incredibly unfortunate as I’ve always found Angrboda to be fascinating. I was incredibly excited for this only to be let down monumentally. 

So, long story short, if you’ve got this on your TBR, I think you should skip it. 

Catherine

DNF’d 100 pages in. This was marketed as being on the same wavelength as Madeline Miller’s “Circe” and I want to know if the people saying that have ever actually read either of these books. Because….no. 

The dialogue in these first 100 pages was absolutely miserable. Felt like I was physically slogging through the mud, trying to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. 

(Spoiler: there was no light.)

Both Angrboda and Loki were so completely one dimension and utterly uncompelling that I could not have cared less about their interactions—which, unfortunately, was the entirety of the first 100 pages. 

This is incredibly unfortunate as I’ve always found Angrboda to be fascinating. I was incredibly excited for this only to be let down monumentally. 

So, long story short, if you’ve got this on your TBR, I think you should skip it. 



Mariella

I really enjoyed this book!! I’ve recently been into books that are written like a tale, almost matter of fact. I enjoy mythology and this was my first time reading about Norse mythology and I thought it was a great read!!

I didn’t know much about Norse mythology. Being a “virgin “ here, every twist and turn was a surprise for me.  I really enjoyed following the “mother witch”, 3 times burnt, still alive, getting back on her feet, loving and being loved, having children, friends of all kind, enemies, lovers of different genres, healing and fighting. I also believe Genevieve Gornichec is a very good storyteller, so I will definitely read her next one. 

Barbara

Lara Engle

The Witch's Heart is a swift, touching retelling of a rarely explored corner of Norse mythology. Part 1, which is about two thirds of the book, progresses quickly, allowing us to get acquainted with most of the major and minor players in the Ragnarok to come. Unfortunately, in Part 2, the pacing stalls out and we lose track of most of our characters. Part 3 redeems it, though, with Angrboda doing what she must and what she has been preparing for since the distant beginning. This book brings the familiar (and some unfamiliar) characters of Norse mythology to life, imbuing them with genuine emotion and motivation, even as fate does its part. It also has a fair bit of humor, remembering to lighten the mood between heartbreaks and tragedies. If you like mythology with a modern sensibility, this book may be for you.

Lisa Lindquist 

Nessa Luna

Teeeeeesha

The lyrical fairytale writing pulls you in from the beginning. Coupled with Loki's Charm, Skadi's fierceness, Angrboda's conviction and the raw forms love sprinkled through, it was soon a favourite

Beatrice

CW: this book contains mentions of violence, death, torture, and pregnancy.

I'm a huge fan of retellings, especially those of myths I'm not very familiar with, so when I heard of a book tackling Norse mythology from the point of view of a woman - a witch! - who'd otherwise been almost completely forgotten, I was unbelievably excited. Unfortunately, The Witch's Heart didn't quite live up to my expectations.

The premise was truly great. I'm not very familiar with Norse mythology beyond the very famous gods and  I had actually never heard of Angrboda at all, so I enjoyed having the opportunity to learn more about this fascinating character. Right from the start, hers is a tale of sorrow and pain and she is admirable in her strength to pick up the pieces and rebuild her life from scratch, away from everyone and everything she knows - except for Loki, the god of mischief who brought her back her heart, and Skadi, a huntress determined to help Angrboda through trade.

This is, unfortunately, also where my problems with this book started. Angrboda longs for a quiet life far removed from everyone, and for many, many years she manages to enjoy just that. As a result, over half of the book is dedicated to describing Angrboda's domestic life. Even though that wasn't exactly what I'd been expecting going into this book, I could have gotten on board with it. Except her domestic bliss was in large part dependent on Loki, and Angrboda spent a disproportionate amount of time just waiting for him to decide to return to her.

The characters were really frustrating for me. Angrboda is an incredibly powerful, strong and resilient woman who, for the majority of the book, just sort of floats along, accepting everything that happens to her and deciding very little for herself. Loki felt incredibly flat and, while I was by no means expecting the Marvel version, he was not intriguing nor compelling in the least. Skadi was definitely my favourite, as she came across as slightly more well-rounded, but even she had little time to shine and her relationship with Angrboda felt stagnant for most of the book, until it suddenly was propelled forward and rushed towards the end.

The pacing also didn't really work for me. The majority of the book is very slow moving, as we follow Angrboda's daily life, first by herself and later with her children. Then, things change quite abruptly in the last third or so. The pace did pick up a lot there, to the point where almost too much was happening all at once.

One thing I absolutely loved though was the author's writing style, and it was probably the biggest redeeming feature for this. The writing is absolutely gorgeous and kept me reading even when nothing much was happening (which would have been prime distraction time!). The settings and the world were beautifully described as well, to the point where I could almost picture them. Some of the dialogues felt a bit stilted, and there was occasionally a mix of older and modern language in the dialogues that felt a bit out of place, but overall that didn't bother me too much and I could still enjoy the beautiful writing throughout.

The Witch's Heart is a solid debut, despite some of the issues I personally had with it, and I would absolutely read more from this author. Definitely give this a go if you don't mind slower pacing and a strong focus on domestic life, or even just if you're looking to become more familiar with a fascinating, often forgotten character in Norse mythology.

For more reviews, visit Book for Thought.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

momo-reads

I tore through this book because I love a protagonist that is an adult woman (as opposed to the teenage protagonists of most fantasy books).  I loved the dialogue, the relationships, everything.  And then I didn't love the ending, so now I don't know how to feel.

Dialogue was poor but I enjoyed the overall story

Shayna Esagui

A deeply moving tale perfect for fans of The Bear and the Nightingale. A classical feel and a tender reflection of motherhood and myth and the blurring of good and evil.

Liz Griffin

Tori Agnew

What a disappointment. After hearing all the hype and Circe comparisons, I was beyond excited to dive into this one. The dialogue was really the breaking point for me that I just couldn't get over. Got to pg 103 and had to quit.

Ivy X

Absolutely amazing.
This book is right up my alley & I loved the way the story flowed. This is definitely more than just a retelling, especially with the addition of a character connected with what was seen in many poems/stories, etc. 

If you see me listening to Norse mythology podcasts, just know it is because of this book.

Caterina P.

“And I will burn not for the gods’ will, but for my own.”

I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Lovely book. I have to admit that it wasn’t as catchy as I first thought it would be, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. 

Anastasia Francis Rosova

It took me a little bit to get into this, I think because I was unconsciously expecting something more Circe-esque, and The Witch’s Heart’s more modern style of dialogue and language kinda threw me at the beginning. Around the half way mark I realised that I was comparing them and just focused on what I was reading and I instantly fell in love with it. The writing is amazing, the story is perfect, the characters are detailed and I loved reading about all of them. :) I’ve never really found Norse mythology as interesting as Greek mythology, but this changed my mind completely. For a debut novel this was insanely well written and I’m excited for whatever Genevieve writes next !!! 

Anna Olivia

Turtle lover

again I am not a fan of fantasy but I have been trying. I loved this though. There were boring parts for me as fantasy does that to me sometimes hehe. I loved the plot and was very happy with the happiness and joy the book showed. the life or Angrboda was so great to listen to and imagine. I love her being a mother and doing what is essential for her family and i also loved the love and friendship she has created with Loki. when the climax began, I felt really sad since i realized that the happiness is edning and doom will eventually come. it saddened me more of the betrayal and how people around her ask her what she would do of her children. Cries of Hel hurt and how she beg her father. this book is just so hearwarmign yet heartbreaking. such a good story and I really really like it.

Miranda Madden

Beautifully written and emotionally charged, this retelling/reimagining of Norse mythology tugged on my heartstrings. 

Admittedly, this was my first exploration into Norse mythology apart from knowing the general structure of the Gods and Goddesses, and I really enjoyed it. It's definitely a bit of a slow starter, but it really delivers in the two later thirds of the book. 

Angrboda is a great character to read about, and I loved how empowered she was in her own decisions, and that she was explored in this book as more than just a wife and mother. Hel was also an awesome character.

Nimet Akiturkmen

Loved it. Covers the story of the witch Angrboða (Loki's wife). Strong female protagonist who fights for what she believes in. 
If you're into mythology, I recommend

The Witch's Heart

Reviews

Highlights