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A review by happi_mess
The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
4.0
The heartless witch, skin still healing from the burning, heavy wool obscuring her from the sun. Unaware that her life was about to change, that a man would slither up to her out of nowhere and give her back her half-burned heart. And then break it so completely.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
This is a story about Ragnarok. This time we are going to be looking at it from the perspective of Angrboda who is a witch who got burned three times for refusing to let Odin see the future. Angrboda escaped Asgard, powerless and weak, and resided in a forest where she met Loki, the god of mischief, who returned her heart to her.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Rating: ★★★★.5
This book honestly got me like:
HOW COME PEOPLE ARE NOT TALKING MORE ABOUT THIS?! If you're reading this review, you better grab this book. Also, I want to thank the person who put in this on my feed because when I found out that Loki was in this... you bet it... I RAN. I dropped everything and read this book. And you know what? IT WAS WORTH IT.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
April 2022 reread: how is it possible that it's more glorious the second time around? my heart soared and ached in its entirety. still, i didn't like the last third of the book that much. it felt too prolonged but it still ended on a sweet note. rating remains the same. definitely one for my shelves.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The things that I like
☽ The romance. If there's a visual representation on the first part of this book. It is going to be this:
MY COLD HEART MELTED. This is literally me when I was reading:
LOKI, I was right for stanning you from the start!!!
There was the whole rollercoaster ride of romance here. This was the first novel in a while that actually made me squeal so much that I was scolded for it. If you're looking for something that would tug on your heartstrings... read this.
☽ The plot. I mean, yes of course, it was Ragnarok. We all know what happened to Ragnarok and who are the key people who were in there. If you don't then I think this is a good starting point with Norse Mythology.
Looking at it from Angrboda's point-of-view, it really did put things into order. The story was complete and filled in the blanks on what happened because all we've heard about Ragnarok was from the point-of-view of Asgradians. Side note: I've read [b:Norse Mythology|37903770|Norse Mythology|Neil Gaiman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1516128292l/37903770._SX50_.jpg|51396954] before so I was not grasping in the dark with this story and I loved all of the references.
☽ The writing. It's just the right amount of poetic. The plot moved fast and we did not dwell a lot on the non-important things. There is a right balance between the amount of conversations and narration, both of which are truly exceptional. Very immersive writing as well.
P.S. if you're a dedicated reader, reading Norse Mythology first and having background knowledge would make this book more enjoyable.
☽ Everything in this book is chef's kisses, but most importantly, the characters. What I liked about Norse Mythology is that the gods are not so high and mighty like the Greek ones. They actually react more humanly and feel pain and keep scars. Adding on that, I loved how I see this other side of Loki and Angrboda is such a strong character. I loved all their children and Skadi.
If I have not mentioned it yet, this book is so beautiful.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
If I love it so much, why is it not 5 stars?
☾ The only reason for that is after Part I, the story got a little slow on Part II. Other than that, it was so great. I think it just dragged a little but I loved the romance that came out of that part as well.
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In sum:
I encourage everyone to read this book especially if you like mythology. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and loved every minute I spent with it. If you have not read anything from the Norse gods, this is a good start with it. If you're a fan of Thor (and/or of Loki like I am) and the Marvel movies and would like a more accurate material about Asgard, then this is also the book for you. If you like romance, you'd enjoy this as well. Actually I recommend this to everyone.
So, as I've said probably a hundred times already:
