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tifftastic87's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
The main character of this story is as close to wet cardboard as a main character in any book I've ever read. She has just about as much agency too. I'm extremely disappointed because I was so hyped for it.
The book has this premise of "everyone always forgets that Angrboda wasn't just a monster mommy and Loki's wife" and then went the extra mile to make her nothing but a monster mommy who pines for Loki. She is described as this badass witch, but acts like a naive woman who can't do anything on her own. Loki is very much an angsty teen emo kid from 2008. This is supposed to be more based on the poems (Poetic Edda and Prose Edda) but you cannot convince me this isn't a fanfic of "what if MCU Loki was dropped into the actual myths?"
There is literally no reason given why Loki and Angrboda end up together or why she "loves" him before they hookup. He only comes to complain to her and get her help and then she's like "omg he smiled crooked and his hair is so curly" and marries him. She forgives him living a double life with a whole ass other family, which again I understand is the myth, but she could have had emotions over it other than the brief flashes of jealousy that she then feels guilty for. When Loki is present in her life he has the energy of a 90s sitcom dad. He brags about how much more the kids like him, gets them riled up before bed and then complains to "Boda" about things. So, then she feels like she's not good enough. It isn't until Loki calls the children monsters that she is ever outwardly angry at him. This kind of kicks off everything, but then after she bans him she lets him back! So the kids get taken and then she vows to not forgive him... and then forgives him!
She works forever to be able to contact Hel and when she finally does Hel rejects her. Which is fair honestly, but not done in a way that makes sense. However, when she can finally contact Fenrir and Jornumgand they are excited to see her, because "boy mom." She then convinces them not to eat Loki. For some reason, she just keeps forgiving him. They could have finished the myth out with each of them playing their parts without her forgiving him and having an emotional goodbye with him.
I will give it that the end wasn't predictable until at least the last 30 pages-ish. But that could also be that I wasn't paying much attention because I was so irritated.
I wasn't a fan of the writing style it was overly narrative with no prose. To the point it felt like reading the poems sometimes instead of a novel. So many sections (there are no chapters) started with "then one day" or a variation of and it was grating to me. A lot of the world building was done in weird asides. Example being when the raven's of Odin are introduced it says:
The book has this premise of "everyone always forgets that Angrboda wasn't just a monster mommy and Loki's wife" and then went the extra mile to make her nothing but a monster mommy who pines for Loki. She is described as this badass witch, but acts like a naive woman who can't do anything on her own. Loki is very much an angsty teen emo kid from 2008. This is supposed to be more based on the poems (Poetic Edda and Prose Edda) but you cannot convince me this isn't a fanfic of "what if MCU Loki was dropped into the actual myths?"
There is literally no reason given why Loki and Angrboda end up together or why she "loves" him before they hookup. He only comes to complain to her and get her help and then she's like "omg he smiled crooked and his hair is so curly" and marries him. She forgives him living a double life with a whole ass other family, which again I understand is the myth, but she could have had emotions over it other than the brief flashes of jealousy that she then feels guilty for. When Loki is present in her life he has the energy of a 90s sitcom dad. He brags about how much more the kids like him, gets them riled up before bed and then complains to "Boda" about things. So, then she feels like she's not good enough.
She works forever to be able to contact Hel and when she finally does Hel rejects her. Which is fair honestly, but not done in a way that makes sense. However, when she can finally contact Fenrir and Jornumgand they are excited to see her, because "boy mom." She then convinces them not to eat Loki. For some reason, she just keeps forgiving him. They could have finished the myth out with each of them playing their parts without her forgiving him and having an emotional goodbye with him.
I will give it that the end wasn't predictable until at least the last 30 pages-ish. But that could also be that I wasn't paying much attention because I was so irritated.
I wasn't a fan of the writing style it was overly narrative with no prose. To the point it felt like reading the poems sometimes instead of a novel. So many sections (there are no chapters) started with "then one day" or a variation of and it was grating to me. A lot of the world building was done in weird asides. Example being when the raven's of Odin are introduced it says:
"I didn't know that Odin sent his ravens out to disperse information," Angrboda said to the birds, who were named Hugin and Munin, Thought and Memory. They flew around the Nine Worlds each day before returning to tell their master all they'd seen.
Most world building was done in this way, a lot of telling and little showing.
Things I liked, Thor is played as dumb and angry and reactive and that kind of feels on brand with the poems I am most familiar with.
I gave it a couple of points for making me laugh at a couple of places, but I took a lot away for the disturbing (bigoted) way that it talked about Loki's gender fluidity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Animal death, Gore, Grief, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Torture, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Infidelity, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Alcohol, Ableism, and Bullying
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body shaming, Vomit, and Cannibalism
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I love a good mythology retelling. And I'm a real sucker for the "from a female/feminist perspective" retelling trend that has recently hit the book world. I just loved Miller's Circe when I read it a few years ago (yea, I'm a reading cliche right there). And more recently I also really enjoyed Barker's The Silence of the Girls. So needless to say, I was psyched to see this new one. Plus, I do love Norse mythology and prior to now, many of these retellings have been Greek focused. So, with my copy of Gaiman's Norse Mythology on hand for reference, I got ready to dive into this tale of Loki's wife, Angrboda, "in her own words!"
After a series of run-ins with the gods (more specifically, after having been severely punished by Odin for not providing him with a vision of the future), Angrboda flees to the forests of Jotunheim to hide in peace. While there, she is found by a mysterious, mischievous man who turns out to be Loki, the trickster god, and the two fall for each other. Years later, their complicated, up-and-down relationship ends abruptly when Loki betrays her, and their three unusual children, at the behest of Odin. In the years following, with the help of her friend Skadi (a strong and intense huntress) who, from their first meeting in the woods, through the raising of her unique children, and supporting her during Loki's absences, has never left her side, Angrboda fights for the future of her children (always in her heart, despite being far from her side). Because in the end, Ragnarok is coming, and it’ll take all her powers to try and get them through it.
Yup. This was freaking great. Not quite up to Circe, but probably my new second favorite mythology retelling. The first thing that indicated how much I’d like it was the writing. The oral story-telling, folk/fairy tale vibe style of the writing is damn perfect. It creates the exact right ambiance for the novel and even as it takes a turn for the more “normal” narrative as the plot progresses, it holds on just enough to keep the feeling without overdoing it for the full length. I also loved all the references to Loki’s many, and well-known, misadventures (many of which I know as well as I do from Norse Mythology in the first place, so it was great to have it on hand to refer back to in order to flesh out the minimal details Loki gives Angrboda, to explain his absences, when he visits her). Also, many of the tidbits about Skadi, Angrboda’s children and travels, the other Aesir and Vanir (gods), and more that included details from other parts of the Prose Edda. I have not fully read it, but there was something about the way that Gornichec writes certain sections that prompted me to Google for more info. I loved those hints and the prompt to be able to read/learn more as I went. It was all such a well interwoven representation of Norse stories and writings, into a perspective that was not given the chance to be so represented in the original.
Topically, as with many of these “recasting tales of famous male figures from the female eye,” this was not an easy read as far as what Angrboda deals with. She faces blow after blow against her person, her feelings, her family, her autonomy, her life. And yet, the fight to survive and carve her own space and fight for what matters to her, through whatever route(s) available to her, is a drive strong enough to keep her moving forwards. Of note, here, there was a lovely sapphic respite for her towards the end and while it was bittersweet – as was basically every other part of Angrboda’s life – it was a balm in the midst of everything else. In what probably comes as no surprise given the themes, there is some really wonderful heart symbolism in this novel, both real and metaphorical in juxtaposition, throughout. It could have been overdone easily, but was used sparingly and nicely placed, in my opinion. Related, there is a comforting, in the sense that it would have pleases Angrboda to know it, ending. The reader is left with a strong message about the sacrifices of the heart for the betterment of one’s children and the future they’ll live. There’s also a wonderfully strong message about how, when those on opposite sides of a conflict come together, even against the face of what seems like an inevitable end, there is so much hope for a better tomorrow in that as well.
This was just a gorgeous and deeply enjoyable retelling to read. If you love strong women, those who fight with whatever little they are given (like, if you loved Langoureth in The Lost Queen and The Forgotten Kingdom), with a sprinkle of the magical/supernatural conveyed in language that takes it in stride as the norm, you will love this story too. And as with all folk/fairy tales, the reminder of the power of story-telling its role in memory/memorializing, is strong and leaves the perfect taste in your mouth, as a reader, as you turn the final pages.
“It doesn’t really matter where we came from, does it? We’re here now. We’re ourselves. What more can we be?”
“And I will burn not for the god’s will, but for my own.”
“If hope is for fools, then so be it.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Violence
queenofthelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A cool walk through Norse mythology but stumbles into a lot problematic things that are probably native to the mythology but still disquieting. Not the best writing and their relationship has (likely intentionally) an unaddressed undercurrent of gaslighting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Violence, Xenophobia, Transphobia, and Body shaming
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
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