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tifftastic87's review
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
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
ashleycmms's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Animal death, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, War, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Body horror, Violence, Grief, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Confinement, Child death, Death of parent, and Child abuse
totallyshelfaware's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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 book wrecked me. 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Grief, and Torture
queenmackenzie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I’ve left my heart with this one. I was slightly concerned before starting it that it would be too familiar, since I’ve heard these stories from Norse mythology retold a few different times, but I was swept away right from the first line and Angrboda stole my whole heart.
‘Long ago when the gods were young and Asgard was new, there came a witch from the edge of the world.’
This book has some of the best prose I’ve read in a while. It begins with the witch, then known as Gullveig, teaching Odin about seid, the magic that allows one to leave one’s body and divine the future. When she refuses Odin’s request to venture down into the darkest future, to know the events that will unfold during the end times, he turns Asgard against her, and they pierce her with spears and burn her three times. This part is told succinctly, and is over before the end of the first page, because Angrboda’s burning is only the beginning of her story, and it truly begins when she finds herself in the Ironwood forest, a place that seems strangely familiar, and the trickster Loki finds her, and returns her heart to her. The conversations between Loki and Angrboda are lovely and witty, and make the pages fly by. The moments between them are heart wrenching, first with pleasure and then with sadness.
Then, the giantess Skadi appears, and I was prepared to dislike her because that’s the way she’s portrayed in most original myths – and, frankly, quite a few retellings. But this butch weapon-wielding frost giant shot her way into my heart just as she did into Angrboda’s. This book is very character-focused and character-driven, and most of the events that take place are in and around the witch’s cave, and a lot of them are quite mundane; Angrboda making her potions to trade, tending to her garden, her and Loki bantering over dinner, Skadi helping her decorate her cave. And yet it is so compelling. The relationships between these characters and the conflict within Angrboda herself are what drive the story.
And Gornichec does such an incredible job with these characters; they are alive. She has taken these women who dance at the edges of myth -Angrboda, Skadi, Gerd, Hel, and even the goddesses who stand in opposition to the witch, such as Freyja, Frigg, and especially Sigyn- and she has made them whole. They have their own lives, feelings, and personalities beyond what is important to the men in their lives, and they are beautiful. Gerd was the one who struck me the most, I think, because though I vaguely remember her from my previous encounters with these stories, she has always been a plot point, a side character that comes in when it is convenient and marries one of the more important people to serve a greater purpose. And yet, in The Witch’s Heart, she also gets developed, and I did not expect to love her as much as I did!
Angrboda’s time as a mother is the central focus of the story, and that too drives the story forward despite also being rooted in the witch’s cave, and in the mundane tasks of parenthood. And yet, once again, it is incredibly compelling, and I could hardly put the book down. I love all three of Angrboda’s children, and the bonds she forms with them are complex, yet rooted in love. The witch’s love is definitely one of the central pieces of her narrative; though she is powerful, and strong-willed, and has moments of great anger, her greatest strength lies in her love and compassion.
I won’t say much more, because this is an emotional journey that I think everyone should go on. Though the stories may be familiar, you have never heard them like this, and you’ve definitely never seen Angrboda in such a clear light. With this incredible novel, Gornichec has pierced my heart, burnt it thrice, and sewn it back together, and I shall treasure it always.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, and Torture
Minor: Sexual content
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