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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
i loved the expansive, challenging, and tender love between these characters. this was a quick and engaging read and i enjoyed diving into Norse mythology! definitely gives Circe vibes but with its own flavor
4.5/5. See review for explanation.
TW: mentions of childhood and domestic abuse
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.
.
.
Pardon me while I ugly cry. Having gone through childhood in an abusive household, this story really touched me on a deep, personal level. Other interpretation of the myths of Angrboda, which only depict her as the mother of monsters, have generally left me with more questions than answers. This particular retelling not only satisfies that part of me, but I also believe that this book is going to become a huge part of the conversation of the Norse gods. Gornichec is going to do for Norse Mythology what Holly Black did for faeries. Cannot recommend this book enough.
Also, I think having Baldr fall in love with Hel is so fucking sweet. Hel and Baldr is something I hadn't thought about before, since most of the interpretations of the myths I've read have said that Nanna was with him in Helheim. The foreshadowing with this match was also done very nicely.
Why I took 1/2 star off:
The formatting of the book wasn't great. Instead of chapters, everything is in three parts with paragraph breaks every few pages. I just prefer chapters.
TW: mentions of childhood and domestic abuse
.
.
.
.
Pardon me while I ugly cry. Having gone through childhood in an abusive household, this story really touched me on a deep, personal level. Other interpretation of the myths of Angrboda, which only depict her as the mother of monsters, have generally left me with more questions than answers. This particular retelling not only satisfies that part of me, but I also believe that this book is going to become a huge part of the conversation of the Norse gods. Gornichec is going to do for Norse Mythology what Holly Black did for faeries. Cannot recommend this book enough.
Also, I think having Baldr fall in love with Hel is so fucking sweet. Hel and Baldr is something I hadn't thought about before, since most of the interpretations of the myths I've read have said that Nanna was with him in Helheim. The foreshadowing with this match was also done very nicely.
Why I took 1/2 star off:
The formatting of the book wasn't great. Instead of chapters, everything is in three parts with paragraph breaks every few pages. I just prefer chapters.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The beginning was told in such random snippets that it felt like the author only put them in because she had to until she could write the actual story. That made the world building extremely lacking and I was frequently losing track of the story. Skimmed the last 100 pages.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love mythology retellings and this was a story I had not known about before. It was so heartbreaking to me and Loki frustrated me so much. It was an enjoyable read and beautifully written.
slow-paced
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for giving me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
In this reimagining of Norse mythology, we follow Angrboda, a giantess who has run away from the gods after being killed by them three times before reviving herself. When Loki comes to return her heart to her, they begin a difficult relationship that lasts for centuries. We follow Angrboda's relationships, her experience with motherhood, her discovering her past, and how far she will go to protect the ones she loves.
I think the first thing one should know before going into this is that Gornichec takes some liberties as to Angrboda's identity when it comes to Norse canon. Angrboda is Loki's jotun mate that mothers three of his children, yes, but her also being Gullveig (the witch that is credited with beginning the war between the Aesir and Vanir) is a very unpopular theory. There are a couple of other minor figures in Norse mythology who are credited with being Angrboda. This is interesting because she's a mostly forgotten figure (basically just a footnote in a poem) and that is explored in the novel, but it's good to know the context.
Personally, I was fairly unattached to this book. It reminded me of Circe by Madeline Miller, which I had also felt detached from, but not as focused or purposeful. As to what I did like, I thought it was a really interesting take on Norse myth to combine the identities of the characters I mentioned before. I really loved the parts that were about Angrboda's children with Loki and I was emotionally attached to them, particularly the eldest, and wanted everything to work out for them. However, I felt that there were some issues with this that took away from the whole. For one, the time scale of this was so large that things pass by too quickly. It's written as if it is a myth, the way a short story would be written where events happen one sentence after the other rather than us being shown it, but for an entire novel. Years pass without warning and there's a large number of plot points that are told to us or our protagonist instead of experiencing it. I also thought that for the most part, maybe until the last section of the book Angrboda is a very passive protagonist. Things happen to those around her until the very end. I also thought that this book does not treat heterosexual and homosexual relationships equally, the latter being much less explored and almost feeling forced. Overall, I found that this was easy to get through, but I didn't feel much either way for the main character who is very much the central piece of this rather than any plot. I think that if this was told from multiple character's points of view, stakes/tensions/relationships/etc. might have been heightened.
In this reimagining of Norse mythology, we follow Angrboda, a giantess who has run away from the gods after being killed by them three times before reviving herself. When Loki comes to return her heart to her, they begin a difficult relationship that lasts for centuries. We follow Angrboda's relationships, her experience with motherhood, her discovering her past, and how far she will go to protect the ones she loves.
I think the first thing one should know before going into this is that Gornichec takes some liberties as to Angrboda's identity when it comes to Norse canon. Angrboda is Loki's jotun mate that mothers three of his children, yes, but her also being Gullveig (the witch that is credited with beginning the war between the Aesir and Vanir) is a very unpopular theory. There are a couple of other minor figures in Norse mythology who are credited with being Angrboda. This is interesting because she's a mostly forgotten figure (basically just a footnote in a poem) and that is explored in the novel, but it's good to know the context.
Personally, I was fairly unattached to this book. It reminded me of Circe by Madeline Miller, which I had also felt detached from, but not as focused or purposeful. As to what I did like, I thought it was a really interesting take on Norse myth to combine the identities of the characters I mentioned before. I really loved the parts that were about Angrboda's children with Loki and I was emotionally attached to them, particularly the eldest, and wanted everything to work out for them. However, I felt that there were some issues with this that took away from the whole. For one, the time scale of this was so large that things pass by too quickly. It's written as if it is a myth, the way a short story would be written where events happen one sentence after the other rather than us being shown it, but for an entire novel. Years pass without warning and there's a large number of plot points that are told to us or our protagonist instead of experiencing it. I also thought that for the most part, maybe until the last section of the book Angrboda is a very passive protagonist. Things happen to those around her until the very end. I also thought that this book does not treat heterosexual and homosexual relationships equally, the latter being much less explored and almost feeling forced. Overall, I found that this was easy to get through, but I didn't feel much either way for the main character who is very much the central piece of this rather than any plot. I think that if this was told from multiple character's points of view, stakes/tensions/relationships/etc. might have been heightened.