A review by slinkmalink
The Weaver and the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

There were parts of this I really liked - the image of magic working as tethered to their bodies with a thread was cool, and I liked a lot of the side characters a lot too.
I particularly thought Halldor was a really cool inclusion, especially having read an interview where she said she was inspired by a Viking grave filled with weapons alongside bones later proved to be female, and the interpretation by some academics that we shouldn't assume how they identified, and they could have been a trans man rather than a shield maiden.

The adventure was cool, and I liked the fact that the most important relationships in the book were between the women. Oddny in particular was a good character for me as I think she did have a lot of depth and between her and Gunnhild I thought she was the stronger character. 
Gunnhild did annoy me at parts,
the whole cheating thing and then not backing down from it was irritating,
and I know she was the main character but she did have main character syndrome.
There was a lot of enemies to lovers but the tone of Eirik and Gunnhild was very different to that of Oddny and Halldor. Again there were bits of the Eirik/Gunnhild romance I liked, the moments of realising they had shared childhood trauma were good, but they did get somewhat irritating.
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