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scifi_rat's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual content, and Torture
katiemack's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The first twenty or so pages are tough to get through, and some of the dialogue is clumsy at best. (I actually ended up abandoning the physical book to listen to the audiobook, which I'd highly recommend for the fun accents. I also think the dialogue works better when listening to rather than reading this.) I wasn't expecting Angrboda's cave to feel like such a warm gathering place--at least, in the first part of the book--and I was pleasantly surprised by the coziness of it all. Readers who know more about Norse mythology might take issue with the way the characters are depicted, but I enjoyed learning more about the lore in an accessible way; this made me want to read more about the subject.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
butterklotz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
The writing of this book and the entire story are stunningly beautiful. The witch's heart is a book definitely worth reading, however strange the characters and the plot may seem at some points - but that's mostly due to the aspects of Norse mythology.
So, overall, 4/5 🌟 from me
So, overall, 4/5 🌟 from me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Pregnancy, and Torture
deedireads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
The Witch’s Heart is a great addition to the feminist mythology retelling subgenre. Genevieve Gornichec gives Angrboda so much richness and depth, and I read it in a day.
For you if: You liked Madeline Miller’s Circe.
FULL REVIEW:
If you know me, you know I love mythology retellings about often-overlooked women. Up until now, most of my experience in that subgenre has been with Greek mythology: Circe, The Silence of the Girls, A Thousand Ships, etc. The Witch’s Heart, on the other hand, is Norse mythology — and I hope it will be the first of many Norse retellings I read.
This book is about Angrboda: thrice-burned witch, wife of the trickster Loki, and mother of the monsters fated to help defeat the gods in the great war Ragnarök. She sounds badass, right? Well, she is, but in The Witch’s Heart, she is so much more than that, too. Genevieve Gornichec gives her tenderness, depth, and humanity. She’s a woman who just wants to live in the woods in peace (and not burned at the stake again), a mother who just wants to raise and protect her children, and eventually, a witch determined to challenge fate itself. I really, really enjoyed it.
It feels kind of reductionist to compare this book to Madeline Miller’s Circe (keeping in mind, too, that I read Circe years ago), but it also feels like an accessible comparison, and I want more people to read this one. Both women are side characters in traditional mythology, and both authors have expanded and nuance-ified (yes I just made that word up) their lives and stories in interesting, engaging ways. Both books also have beautiful, storytelling-style prose.
Finally, a tip: There’s an appendix in the back that gives an overview of the characters, places, and races mentioned in the story, and I actually decided to read through it before I read the book itself. Since I knew actually nothing about Norse mythology before this, I found it really helpful and I think I enjoyed and appreciated the book more for it. That said, if you like to know absolutely nothing nada zilch about the plot before you read, then I’d say skip this step, or read it after.
TL;DR REVIEW:
The Witch’s Heart is a great addition to the feminist mythology retelling subgenre. Genevieve Gornichec gives Angrboda so much richness and depth, and I read it in a day.
For you if: You liked Madeline Miller’s Circe.
FULL REVIEW:
If you know me, you know I love mythology retellings about often-overlooked women. Up until now, most of my experience in that subgenre has been with Greek mythology: Circe, The Silence of the Girls, A Thousand Ships, etc. The Witch’s Heart, on the other hand, is Norse mythology — and I hope it will be the first of many Norse retellings I read.
This book is about Angrboda: thrice-burned witch, wife of the trickster Loki, and mother of the monsters fated to help defeat the gods in the great war Ragnarök. She sounds badass, right? Well, she is, but in The Witch’s Heart, she is so much more than that, too. Genevieve Gornichec gives her tenderness, depth, and humanity. She’s a woman who just wants to live in the woods in peace (and not burned at the stake again), a mother who just wants to raise and protect her children, and eventually, a witch determined to challenge fate itself. I really, really enjoyed it.
It feels kind of reductionist to compare this book to Madeline Miller’s Circe (keeping in mind, too, that I read Circe years ago), but it also feels like an accessible comparison, and I want more people to read this one. Both women are side characters in traditional mythology, and both authors have expanded and nuance-ified (yes I just made that word up) their lives and stories in interesting, engaging ways. Both books also have beautiful, storytelling-style prose.
Finally, a tip: There’s an appendix in the back that gives an overview of the characters, places, and races mentioned in the story, and I actually decided to read through it before I read the book itself. Since I knew actually nothing about Norse mythology before this, I found it really helpful and I think I enjoyed and appreciated the book more for it. That said, if you like to know absolutely nothing nada zilch about the plot before you read, then I’d say skip this step, or read it after.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Violence
Moderate: Torture and Infidelity
addyisnothere's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, Violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Blood, Alcohol, and Torture
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Murder
tcameron85's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was a wonderful spin on Norse mythology. I enjoyed it so much I had trouble putting it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Violence
Moderate: Death and Kidnapping
Minor: Miscarriage and Infidelity
jenmcreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I enjoyed this book. I think it suffers in a comparison to Circe, the books have quite a few similar elements. I personally find Circe to be better written overall however. That being said, this is a beautiful story, and particularly the themes around motherhood were beautifully explored. Because I am not versed in Norse mythology, I occasionally felt lost in some of the mythical plot elements but overall I was able to grasp the picture.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Confinement, and War
zghutcheson01's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a wonderful interpretation of Norse mythology and I was obsessed from the first few pages. The title felt a little too cheesy for me at first but by the end it was so beautiful and emotional that the title made absolute sense. While there is a good bit of romance, this isn't a romance book but instead centers on a woman who constantly has her happiness taken away from her and expands on Norse myths that are more footnotes than stories, giving them their due.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, War, Chronic illness, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Violence
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Self harm, War, Death, Murder, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Miscarriage
r_a_bell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Somewhat slow, and there are man at moments where I found the main characters to be absolutely infuriating. However, the storyline was compelling and I still wasn’t able to put it down. There is a sapphic storyline, but it isn’t even really acknowledge until the book was almost over, though I was relieved that it was actually addressed in a satisfying way instead of just being dangled in front of us the whole time. Definitely feel like some of the characters didn’t get as much time in the storyline as I felt they deserved. There should also be some trigger warnings as I found a lot of the material to be sensitive, but it’s hard to put into words why, exactly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Abandonment, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Gaslighting, Animal death, Blood, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War