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A review by kmkasiner
The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
4.0
The Witch's Heart tells the story of Angrboda, legendary witch, Loki's wife, and mother to the three monsters of Ragnarok. I know next to nothing about Norse mythology outside of the Thor movies, so this was all new to me. I enjoyed learning more about the myth of Ragnarok through the eyes of the heroine. Despite being an ancient, all knowing witch, Angrboda is relatable and down to earth. The book has a slow start and some parts where nothing much seems to happen, but it's all leading up to a final battle.
The romance between Angrboda and Loki is compelling. Loki is kind of a jerk for most of it but you can definitely see how charming he is too. There are several scenes commenting on how "weird" Loki is but tbh I would have liked his "weird"ness to be played up a bit more than just he's clever and skinny and doesn't have a beard. Or some more demonstration of his trickster nature other than the stories he tells Boda. The best part of the romance for me was probably the way Loki and Boda create their own family and raise their strange children before it's all taken away. There is bisexual/pansexual rep in this too but.
This book has been compared to Circe or Song of Achilles quite a bit but aside from being about a figure from myth, it was pretty different to me. Not first person and the writing is different, but still very good. The end will make you cry though--that's definitely a parallel to Miller's work! Overall I enjoyed this book and it made me curious to read more about Norse mythology.
The romance between Angrboda and Loki is compelling. Loki is kind of a jerk for most of it but you can definitely see how charming he is too. There are several scenes commenting on how "weird" Loki is but tbh I would have liked his "weird"ness to be played up a bit more than just he's clever and skinny and doesn't have a beard. Or some more demonstration of his trickster nature other than the stories he tells Boda. The best part of the romance for me was probably the way Loki and Boda create their own family and raise their strange children before it's all taken away. There is bisexual/pansexual rep in this too but
Spoiler
the romance there doesn't start until almost the end of the bookThis book has been compared to Circe or Song of Achilles quite a bit but aside from being about a figure from myth, it was pretty different to me. Not first person and the writing is different, but still very good. The end will make you cry though--that's definitely a parallel to Miller's work! Overall I enjoyed this book and it made me curious to read more about Norse mythology.