This book is fantastic.
Honestly, when I started it, I was a little underwhelmed. There is a slow start, following Angrboda through her everyday life in the woods as a witch who cannot remember the lives she has lived. But then the book becomes un-put-down-able. An epic tale that spans thousands of years, love, heartbreak, tragedy, and of course the end of the world, this book will pull you in and leave you with tears streaming down your face (at least, it did to me).

Even with the wonderful description and the depth to the characters, I couldn't get into the book.

There was something about Angrbodda (?) that I couldn't get close to, which saddened me.

I loved this book! Gornichec tells a story that fleshes out the life of Angrboda (or Gullveig, Mother Witch and other names as well), who was the mother of Loki's children who bring about Ragnarok. But she was so much more. A great character study and a really interesting take on Norse Mythology and on those goddesses and giantesses that only get mentions in most Norse mythological works. Angroboda is a fascinating character and the re-interpretation of classic Norse myths was intriguing and entertaining. It reminded me a lot of the novel Circe and had that same kind of feel to it. A much maligned character is finally given a chance to have her own say in her story and the results are outstanding.

*This book was given to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review*
This is my jam! All the stars! A Norse Mythology retelling that readers who loved Madeline Miller's Circe or April Genevieve Tucholke's The Boneless Mercies will devour. I'm in love with Angrboda, I'm in love with Loki, I'm in love with Skadi, and now that the book is done, I'm a complicated mess. Fully committed to booktalking this until I'm told to stop.

I read lots of witchy books in October. Unfortunately this one didn't grab my attention and I ended up not finishing it; more of a "me" problem than an issue with the book itself.

I decided to pause this book at 30%. It's a reimagining of Norse mythology and will certainly be a hit with fantasy/romance fans. I know just the customers to hand sell this title to! The plotting is fantastic, and I enjoy Genevieve's writing immensely. Just a case of right book at wrong time for me. Thank you SO much to my friends at Berkley for the advanced copy, I hope to return to this one in the near future (The FOMO is strong!).

4.5 stars

I loved this book! In The Witch's Heart, Gornichec tells the story of the witch Angroba (previously known as Gullveig). Angroba is a powerful witch who uses seid to see into the future. The voice of Angroba was ethereal and otherworldy, and it fit her because she is an ancient being. Although Angroba is burned at the stake three times by Odin, she manages to survive and escapes. Loki finds her in the forest and returns her heart to her. Angroba bears three children with Loki: Hel, Fenrir, and Jormungandr. Angroba's happy marriage to Loki is destroyed when Loki calls their children "monsters" and Loki's wife on Asgard, Sigyn, echoes that thought. Angroba must do what she can to protect her children from Odin and from the upcoming Ragnarok. Gornichec manages to make these well known figures from Norse mythology feel real and almost human. I loved the relationship between Angroba and Skadi, and I thought their scenes were beautifully written. The only thing that I think could have been improved would be the structure of the book. It is divided into three parts, but the lack of chapters did not help with the story's pacing. It felt long at parts, and it was hard to find a good place to stop reading. For fans of Circe by Madeline Miller and Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman.

What a stunning and beautiful work of art. The words flowed so easily and painted a beautiful and heartbreaking story. I cannot recommend this enough.

This reminded me of a combination of an Thor from Avengers story through the eyes of a third party combined with a Circe by Madeline Miller attempt. Angrboda is a witch in the world of the Viking pantheon, responsible for teaching Odin and Freya Seid, the ability to see the future. She is tormented and tortured because of it and only escapes due to Loki's curiosity. Seeking refuge in a seemingly dead forest at the end of the world, she hides herself away, unsure why she's still alive when so many have successfully killed her.

Sought out repeatedly by Loki during her time apart, she is entertained by the stories of his exploits within Asgard and the trouble he instigates for his own amusement. Secretly married and three children later, his other life in Asgard comes calling, breaking her refuge and turning on her children. Foreseen as the instruments of Ragnorak, the 'monsters' that are her children Fenrir and Jormungand are imprisoned away while her daughter, Hel, is sent to rule the realm of the dead. Determined to save at least one of her children, Angrboda survives certain death again and seeks the knowledge she needs.

An entertaining read but not one that kept me enraptured.

The Witch's Heart is a Norse mythology retelling of Ragnarok and Loki's hand in it. Our main character is an ancient being who initially worked with the gods of Asgard but had a falling out when she didn't do as Odin commanded and he burnt her at the stake. Three separate times. The last time, her heart remained on the spike that was driven through her chest. Loki finds it and brings it back to her. This starts a romance between the two as different as they are.
The story is filled with the banter one would expect from Loki, and plenty of dialog. Loki's hijinks made the story quite enjoyable. Most of the major names in Norse mythology make an appearance, yet the Asgardians are not the good guys in this story. This was a quick read and a stand alone story.

Angrboda's story begins with her being burned three times and having her heart ripped from her body. After escaping this torture she runs to Ironwood to heal and remove herself from the eyes of the Aesir. While starting her new life she is found by Loki, who has found and returns her heart to her and makes friends with Skadi, the female giant/trader. Loki and Angrboda fall for each other and see each other through the birth of the mythological beings, Sleipnir, Hel, Fenrir and Jormungandr. Being a witch who can see the future, Angrboda sees her future and that her children will bring about Ragnarok. Skadi and Angrboda eventually realize that their long friendship is much more after a considerable amount of betrayal and devastation for all parties. This re-telling of Angrboda's story from the Norse Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda was absolutely wonderfully done and I tore through this book quickly. The characters are true to form, especially Loki, but they are so human and full of faults you forget that they're supposedly gods. I would love to see the author turn her attention to other characters from Norse mythology.

The Witch's Heart is one of the most enchanting books I've read in years. There's something about it that sticks with you after you read it. I had a similar experience reading Madeline Miller's Circe, and I think its many fans would love this one. Gornichec's writing is folkloric and modern at the same time, as well as humorous enough to handle a character like Loki.

It's really an incredible read.

Genevieve Gornichec did a wonderful job of making this little piece of Norse mythology come to life. I am not an expert on the historical evidence of this myth but I enjoyed getting to read from the perspective of the famous giant, Angrboda. The author transformed mythological figures that ordinarily were written as villains into more relatable and less demonized characters. Reading this book made me infinitely more curious about Norse mythology and I would love to see more books like this written by this author. My only critique is that I must only recommend this book to people who enjoy Norse mythology and have at least a basic knowledge about the Eddas, as the story might be confusing to those who are just jumping in without any prior knowledge.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for this advanced e-reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Witch's Heart was a fascinating retelling of Norse Mythology that felt like it was striving to be Madeline Miller's Circe without quite hitting the mark. I loved Angrboda's narrative voice and the strength of her character; while the novel was frequently concerned with her relationships, at its core it was about a powerful woman reforging her identity and finding her voice.

Loki, while witty, got endlessly on my nerves and I sometimes struggled to understand why Angrboda put up with him (although, to be fair, he seemed remarkably true to his mythological characterization). My favorite relationships in the story were actually between Angrboda and her faithful friend and eventual lover Skadi, as well as between Angrboda and her daughter Hel. Overall, I felt like the female relationships were the stronger ones, Angrboda's sons, for example, often felt like an afterthought and I wish that they had been explored more thoroughly.

This novel was very introspective, occasionally to its detriment. The first half of the novel is quite slow and incredibly low on action. This is not necessarily a bad thing but definitely led my attention to stray frequently. Overall, I felt like this was an interesting novel that didn't really grab my attention or feel groundbreakingly unique.

As soon as I met Angrboda, I was in. This story is a retelling of Norse Mythology and Ragnarok and how the characters make everything come to pass. The novel is also really about love and different kinds of love. Angrboda knows magic and she teaches it to Odin, except he wants to know the future. When Angrboda refuses to teach him prophecy, the gods burn her thrice and stake her heart and thus begins a story that grabs you and doesn't let you go. I read this over just two days and when I wasn't reading it I was trying to get back to reading it. I loved how real all of the characters felt and the relationships between everyone. This isn't any Norse retelling you've ever read, 2021 won't know what hit it!

Also, we never get to see Ragnarok in most tales, this isn't most tales...

A solid adaptation of the life of Angrboða, lover of Loki and mother of Fenrir, Jörmungandr, Hel. Those with any familiarity of Norse mythology will find little new content here, particularly in part 1, which gives the reader time and space to enjoy the characterization of various famed giants, elves, gods, goddesses, etc. Pats 2 and 3 stray more from the source texts, but in a manner that makes sense to both the myths and and which develop naturally out of Gornichec's version of the nine worlds. Angrboða often gets short shrift within the remaining tales, so it's nice to see a novel that provides her with a full (even epic!) story.

For people who loved Circe (*cough* me *cough* *cough*), this is a very strong readalike. The core of the story is very similar to Circe – it’s about a powerful witch living in relative isolation, who still manages to create meaningful relationships and build a family, all while struggling to stay out of the reach of wrathful gods – but the filler is quite different. The children and romantic relationships are entirely different, and the ending is quite different as well. I am a big fan of fiction rooted in mythology, and I was very pleased with this author’s take on Angrboda’s story. Not much mention is made of her in Norse mythology, aside from her being noted as Loki’s mate and the mother of his three monstrous children, so I really like seeing her story fleshed out and made whole. I am very excited to start recommending this book to readers once it is published.

This book has everything a historical fantasy fiction reader would love: Norse mythology, witches and witchcraft, love, family, betrayal, destruction, and new life. I was unable to put it down once I started. This is a very unique and realistic story about a witch named Angrboda, who burns three times by Odin before fleeing to the woods. Loki finds her there and so starts their love story, and also the beginning of the end. Beautifully written!

A very strange and unique sort of love story. A nice spin on Norse mythology and characters we don’t know much about.

This was such a disappointment. I love mythology and stories that twist and reinvent it, so I was incredibly excited to read this book. There were so many ways to make this a good read: a genuine focus on the impact motherhood has on Angrboda’s life, a closer look at Angrboda’s children, different points of view to broaden the world we're seeing glimpses of, or at a bare minimum a plot that was about something other than how reliant Angrboda is on the people she falls in love with. The only reason I kept reading was because the actual writing is very talented, but the story left much to be desired.