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by Genevieve Gornichec
When a banished witch falls in love with the legendary trickster Loki, she risks the wrath of the gods in this moving, subversive national bestselling debut novel that reimagines Norse mythology.
Angrboda's story begins where most witches' tales end: with a burning. A punishment from Odin for refusing to provide him with knowledge of the future, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into the farthest reaches of a remote forest. There she is found by a man who reveals himself to be Loki, and her initial distrust of him transforms into a deep and abiding love.
Their union produces three unusual children, each with a secret destiny, who Angrboda is keen to raise at the edge of the world, safely hidden from Odin's all-seeing eye. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life—and possibly all of existence—is in danger.
With help from the fierce huntress Skadi, with whom she shares a growing bond, Angrboda must choose whether she'll accept the fate that she's foreseen for her beloved family...or rise to remake their future. From the most ancient of tales this novel forges a story of love, loss, and hope for the modern age.
BookBrowsers Ask Lauren J.A. Bear, author of Aphrodite in Pieces
Oh, I adored A Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec! I also love the Silvia Moreno-Garcia books that incorporate Mesoamerican mythology. I chose my characters specifically for the roles they play in their myths: the sister, the mother, the lover. I like to explore the roles women take in relation...
-Lauren_JA_Bear
"A retelling of the Norse legend from the viewpoint of a woman often left in the margins, this book deserves to be a classic. For readers of Madeline Miller's Circe and the Marvel version of Loki." —Library Journal (starred review)
"A feminist reimagining of the Norse myths surrounding Ragnarök…melding together the wide range of Nordic legends, this is a story of tenderness and betrayal, friendship and loyalty, family and monsters, beginnings and endings. Offer this beautiful reimagining to fans of Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology (2017) and Joanne M. Harris' Loki novels."—Booklist (starred review)
"Gornichec's spellbinding story breathes life into a minor character from Norse myth, delving into the complexities of Angrboda's familial relationships and the lengths to which she'll go for both love and vengeance. This powerful fantasy is sure to win Gornichec many fans." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The Witch's Heart is a unique novel that transforms the faceless names of an epic tale into living, breathing, sympathetic characters. With a witty and spirited protagonist, this book will surprise and delight from beginning to end." —Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches and The Age of Witches
"As epic as it is engrossing, The Witch's Heart is a testament to the ferocity of one mother's love and the lengths she'll go to protect those she loves. Utterly unforgettable." —Alexis Henderson, author of The Year of the Witching
This information about The Witch's Heart was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Genevieve Gornichec earned her degree in history from The Ohio State University, but she got as close to majoring in Vikings as she possibly could, and her study of the Norse myths and Icelandic sagas became her writing inspiration. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio. The Witch's Heart is her debut novel.
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