The Weaver And The Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec is a historical fantasy featuring the bond between three women which will be tested. The story is about Vikings in Norway. Gunnhild yearns for another life away from her cold, unloving mother. Oddny and Signy are sisters who visit Gunnhild's family annually. Gunnhild runs away to learn witchcraft after a seeress provides an ambiguous future for the three girls. Years pass and raiders kill Oddny and Signy's mother and brother. They kidnap Signy. And so Oddny must do what it takes to find Signy again, with the help of Gunnhild who reappears after many years of absence in her life. Gunnhild is now a witch who is to marry King Eirik in exchange for help finding Signy. Meanwhile Oddny finds herself drawn to one of the raiders, Halldor, who is carrying a secret.

Gornichec's The Weaver And The Witch Queen had an interesting setting in the sense of both time and place. I do not read as much about vikings or books set in Scandanavia. So, this was new and fascinating to me. The pacing felt kind of slow and meandering but that's likely impacted by the fantasy book I read beforehand. There is transgender representation in this book which is so cool but it's also turned into a plot point which I don't love. I did enjoy the sisterhood between Gunnhild and Oddny and even Signy who gets the least amount of page time. Overall, I'd be willing to read more from Gornichec and will be taking the time to check her debut out soon.

Steeped in Norse traditions and magic, The Weaver and the Witch Queen is a riveting journey with empowered women, strong female friendships, and romance to boot. While at times difficult to keep all the characters straight, by the end of the lengthy novel, I was wishing for MORE from them and I can only hope that this is just the beginning of their stories..

The Weaver and the Witch Queen
Genevieve Gornichec
Pub date: July 25, 2023
5 Amazing Stars

I absolutely loved The Witch’s Heart and I loved The Weaver and the Witch Queen just as much.

Beautifully told, this Viking age tale tells the story of Gunnhild, along with sisters Oddny and Signy. Friends since childhood, the sisters watched Gunnhild’s horrific abuse from her mother, helpless to do anything about it. When Heid, a visiting seeress/witch tells the three girls their future, she leaves them with this dark prophecy:

“𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 …. 𝘐 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦”

This prophecy drives the girls to take a blood oath, promising to be there for one another always. Years later, now adults, Oddny and Signy’s farm is raided. Signy is taken and Oddny must find her. Gunnhild, who left with Heid to learn the ways of a seeress/witch, has seen the raid through the eyes of a bird. The women are tied together still and Gunnhild will do anything to help Oddny find Signy.

What follows is an epic tale rich with Kings, Queens, magic and mayhem. Every character is well thought out and deeply felt through their storyline. The beauty and the trials of sisterhood are written exquisitely incorporating Norse mythology with a focus on the female empowerment of those times.

I can’t say enough about this book or the one before it. Just a big bravo and well done! Genevieve Gornichec is an author to put on your shelf. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

My thanks to @BerkleyPub for this gifted DRC.

A quick and enjoyable read. Difficult and messy familial relationships, found family, enemies to lovers and Norse mythology and magic made for a fun book. I appreciate the author's note at the end explaining the realities of the Viking age versus their choices in writing the story. I look forward to more from Gornichec.

This author is a force to be reckoned with. I love the feeling this book gives, that you're living the myth with the character and really getting to see the depth of their feelings and actions.

Rating: 5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

Who doesn’t love a great Viking book, with witches, queens, healers, and of course some romance.

I loved The Witch’s Heart and when I saw that Gornichec wrote another book that had Norse mythology, I knew that I had to read it.

I thought the plot was well done and showed the closest thing we have to Norse mythology accuracy and showing that women can be just as powerful as males in that time. I thought the author did an amazing job showing that females were not the lesser sex in this time but could be strong, hard headed, resilient, determined and women that will not let anything get in the way of them changing their futures. These three women do whatever is needed to ensure that they can choose what they need and want, instead of depending on males of the society to decide for them. I thought the underlying point of the book was well known and it was not dragged down with info dumping or non-sense. The book was well written, with a great pace (slow when needed and fast when needed). I loved that in the book these three women would be in the action of any drama there to help with their words or to fight, they did not shy away from hard topics or any hard actions that they needed to take to get them where they wanted.

“I’m- I’m afraid to fail,” Gunnhild answered at last. “I’m afraid I’m not strong enough. I’m afraid to die. I’m afraid to lose more than I already have. I’m afraid to be nothing.’”

I thought the characters are where this book really shines. I loved that they were well developed, their character growth was done throughout the book and by the end of the book you really got to see these women shine. I loved that they were all different in their personalities, you got to see each of them struggle to find where they fit in, struggle to keep what they have and to see them all become something more. I thought the author did a wonderful job with making these characters close to the accuracy of what we know about Vikings and how they did things but still making it a wonderful fantasy novel.

I would say more but I do not want to ruin the book at all for you, so make sure you like this review to read this book.

I want to thank NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to review this book.

I seem to be enjoying these mythy/fantasy/witchy type books so much lately. They take me out of my head and take me on a journey to forget this kinda shitty world we are in.

This one features three women bound by a childhood pact that they will always be there for each other. The three women came to life for me and I cared about each one. Even when they were not the best of people.

Filled with Norse mythology I ate this sucker up and was ticked off when it was time to put aside to go to bed each night until I finished it.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review

I adored The Witch's Heart so I had high hopes for The Weaver and the Witch Queen, and I'm very happy to tell you that I completely adored it! Gornichec has a way to taking these historical fantasy stories and making them unputdownable. She weaves a stunning tale of female bonds, magic and found family.

Oddy & Gunnhild make our two main characters. We first see them as children on the fateful day where their prophecy is foretold before jumping ten-or-so years into the future. The inclusion of their childhood helps Gornichec set up their family dynamics, friendships and the prophecy that dominates their lives. I found myself captivated from the very start of the story.

While there is romance in the book I'd argue that these aren't as important as the friendship between the two girls. I loved watching Oddy & Gunnhild find their partners and navigate what the tough early stages of their relationships, and how they blossom into more. But ultimately the most important relationship is those of the girls and how their fates are intertwined. Gornichec has taken another tale and handed all of the power to the main women of the story, and it's simply stunning.

There's both moments of tenderness and of action. There's LGBTQ+ rep and a look into how that sits within a Viking setting. All of the characters are important and have their own personalities, there isn't a single character that is there just to further the plot. Honestly, Gornichec could tell any story and I'd take the time to listen. There's something seriously special about how she weaves these tales.

Loved this Norse-inspired fantasy!

Extensively researched and based on historical figures, this book is both original and female-forward.

After a witch visiting their village makes a disturbing prophecy about three young girls, sisters Oddny and Signy make a blood oath with their friend Gunnhild to protect and help one another, and have no idea what that somewhat innocent childhood gesture will require of them.

A decade later, Signy is kidnapped by Viking raiders, and Oddny vows to find her. Meanwhile, Gunnhild is honing her powers as a witch.

The Weaver and The Witch Queen had everything a fantasy should: strong characters in peril, relationships of love and loyalty that are constantly tested, a magic system, and plenty of action and adventure.

The story also felt more modern than the fantasy I used to read back in the 2010s, with a transgender character who was thoughtfully portrayed and integrated in a way that felt natural to the story. Some of the dialogue seemed a bit contemporary, but hey, unless we all want to read Old Norse, it's all a translation anyway.

Gornichec's writing is strong and I loved that the book included a full character list and a list of unfamiliar terms at the back.

Gunnhild's character (among others) was based on a real historical figure and I wanted to know more!

In the historical fantasy The Weaver and the Witch Queen, Genevieve Gornichec (The Witch's Heart) brilliantly strikes a balance between past realities and present sensibilities. Gornichec, without apologizing for or altering the sometimes-harsh realities of Old Norse culture, creates a richly layered world with strong characters and a complex society in this feminist and queer historical fantasy.

Gunnhild escapes her cruel mother at age 12, leaving her blood-sworn sisters, Oddny and Signy, not knowing if Gunnhild is dead or alive. She spends the next 12 years training to become a witch and a seeress, returning to her home only when she witnesses a witch-aided attack on her friends' home. After Signy is taken captive to be sold as a thrall (slave), Gunnhild and Oddny each set out on a quest to rescue her. Along the way, both women fall in love, come close to death several times, and learn more about themselves and their world than they ever expected.

The novel draws on Gornichec's academic background in Norse history, legend, and mythology, but its strength is in the individual characters and the intimate picture it paints of social and political realities that affect the personal. The dialogue is natural to a contemporary ear, making the characters familiar despite the unfamiliarity of their world. Even in epic battle scenes--of which there are quite a few--the focus remains on characters' emotions and relationships. Filled with sea voyages, political intrigue, surprise betrayals, and tender love, this historical fantasy will thrill readers and capture their hearts.

Uplifting and amazing. This is my first book from Gornichec and I could not put it down. This was a wonderful adventure of magic, sisterhood and what makes family. I will share this book with those who I think will enjoy it to the end of my days.

I got 80% through this, but just didn't finish. It has a much more Young Adult focus than I prefer, and the writing is a little clunky. I just didn't care enough about any of the characters to bother reading to the end.

DNF @ 52%

I loved this book so much, the prose was stark and the atmosphere dripped. The characters were all so well-written and developed. I just wasn't privy to the content warnings, and that is entirely my fault as I see the author has posted them on her social media and on Goodreads, and need to step away for the moment. I will be returning to this book in the future and will be purchasing my own copy and recommending to my audience and to my friends.

Another great entry from Gornichec. I enjoy her spare writing style and found the plot intriguing.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Weaver and the Witch Queen is just as beautifully written as Genevieve Gornichec’s previous work!

The book centres on three women, sisters Oddny and Signy and their best friend Gunnhild, who were separated as children during a raid on their village. As children the three had sworn a blood oath to always be together. Now Oddny and Gunnhild set out to find Signy and bring her back.

The book is a ✨chefs kiss✨ of beautifully written historical fiction. It is set in Norway during the 10th century, in the days of the Vikings, and you can definitely see the amount of work and research that went into this book. It’s so well written and fleshed out! The pace of the novel flowed so well and the writing style was easy to read but drew me right in!

There’s an overwhelming theme of the resilience of women and sisterhood in this book and it felt so empowering as I read. The bonds between these women shone through and the love they held for each other was so enjoyable to read. I especially liked the idea that, while they care deeply for each other and would do anything for them, the choices they made weren’t always the right one.

If you are looking for a beautiful book featuring themes of sisterhood (both blood related and not), historical romance and Vikings then I cannot recommend this book enough!

Thanks very much to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Weaver and the Witch Queen is a historical fantasy which revolves around the story of three young women, Gunnhild, Oddny and her sister, Signy, bound by Fate and fiercely loyal to one another. Gunnhild and Oddny must band together to try and save Signy when she is carried off by Viking raiders. Gunnhild and Oddny were very different in personality and I can’t really decide who I liked best. Gunnhild was selfish and headstrong, stubborn and determined to succeed, but an exciting character to follow. Oddny was kind-hearted and steadfast, dependable and braver than she ever imagined. They both surprised themselves with the strengths they discovered within themselves during the course of the story.

I really enjoyed the strong themes of feminism and female-focused issues in this novel, such as the lack of agency and any kind of rights for daughters in the society of the time: when making a good marriage was almost their only path to success. Rejecting this idea, Gunnhild chooses to run away from her cruel mother and train to become a seer (a witch), with great success once she is able to dispel her insecurities and believe in her strength and power. Gornichec even takes on menstrual health issues, and educates the reader on just how a Viking woman dealt with such issues.

The power of the sisterhood, of women helping women they have only just met, trying to rescue women in unfortunate circumstances and even, in the case of Oddny and Gunnhild, being willing to die for their female friends, is strongly visible through almost every interaction the main characters have with female servants, thralls, nobles and Gunnhild’s early encounters with Heid the seer. Just as in reality, there are also cruel, unsupportive women in this novel, including the mother of Gunnhild, rival witches and King Harald’s wife, who takes an immediate dislike to Gunnhild. There are plenty of men in this story, unsurprisingly, since the time period was very much a man’s world and the camaraderie and strong bonds between fellow members of a raiding party were clearly on display, but the emphasis of this book was on the women.

Three witches are threatening to stop Gunnhild from rescuing Signy and the identity of the third witch is something of a mystery. I found myself speculating as to who among Gunnhild’s wedding party it could be but the reveal was an enormous surprise!

The Weaver and the Witch Queen is filled with myth and magic and the depth of the author’s research and knowledge of the time period shows through quite clearly in the fascinating details displayed in every situation. I felt like I was being educated about the ways of the time without it ever getting tiresome, overdone, or distracting from the main thread of the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Norse fantasy, historical fiction, strong female characters or unbreakable bonds of friendship!

One night at a get together for a famous seer named Heed three young girls made their way to the front of the crowd to hear their prophecy as they stood in front of the old lady she abruptly stopped in her trance and told them the fates were intertwined in there were dark days ahead for all of them. One of them was Gunnhile she was the youngest daughter of the host oyster and his wife savvy who is very abusive to young Gunna The other two girls were sisters Sigmy and Oddnie, their mom was the local healer and their dad had been killed on the raid. That night young gunna asked Heed if she could teach her how to be a seer like she was and although the young girl thought the old lady ignored her the next day she asked oyster in Salvey if young Gunna could be her apprentice and her mother immediately said no but the old seer Took the young girl anyway. This is how Gunna learn to do magic prophecy and Shapeshifting and why she was there the day Vikings raided her to best friends Homestead killing everyone there except the two girls who they tried to kidnap but thanks to a small swallow who attacked Oddnie’s would be kidnapper and the beginning of their mysterious prophecy. There is so much more to this book and OMG what a great book this was! I thought this was just going to be straightforward historical fiction but OMG if they didn’t have Shapeshifting magic set an a great storyline I love a great book that has an authentic feel to it and The Weaver And The Witch Queen is absolutely one of those stories. They have one of the best love-hate eventual romances that I have read in a while and actually they kind of have two
And let me just say I absolutely loved the tension between Gunna and King Erick. They have some great multi layered characters in this book and even the enemies or more than just two dimensional something you rarely see in a book but that is obvious in this one. They have great strong female characters in this is a book you definitely want your daughters to read they do have some adult situations but they are just alluded to and not in detail what a great book I can’t stop gushing over how awesome and how much I loved the book! I want to thank Net Galley and Berkeley for my free art copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This is not my typical genre but the best part of #bookstagram is when I get pushed out of my comfort zone. This is a story about magic, power, secrets and above all sisterhood. I’m glad I took this story on.
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Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Much like her previous work, Gornichec takes her time with The Weaver and the Witch Queen. Readers who dont minds a slower pace will be rewarded with complex characters and satisfying world-building that is completely mesmerizing.

Readers follow three women, with diverse backgrounds, bound together by magic and friendship.As they encounter their own trials and tribulations in life the three fight to forgive, understand, and uplift each other even in the hardest of times.

I found this a tale of fierce and flawed female friendship. One that most women will quickly feel akin too. The duel perspectives where all equally engaging and brilliantly intertwined. Reader looking for a thoughtful look at women's friendships and how they evolve will greatly enjoy this one.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early in exchange for an honest review.

The Weaver and the Witch Queen, by author Genevieve Gornichec, is the story of two women—one desperate to save her missing sister, the other a witch destined to become queen of Norway—intertwine in this spellbinding, powerful novel of Viking Age history and myth from the acclaimed author of The Witch’s Heart. The story itself begins in the year 900 CE Norway in the time of Vikings. The key characters are Gunnhild Ozurardottir and Oddny Ketitsdottir.

Gunnhild, Oddny, and her sister Signy were thicker than thieves in the night when the were around 12 years old. When a seerees named Heid arrives, Gunnhild is told she is not to participate by her own mother who seemingly hates her. But after a visiting wise woman makes an ominous prophecy that involves Oddny, her sister Signy, and Gunnhild, the three girls take a blood oath to help each other always. Gunnhild also makes a deal with Heid that she will be her apprentice and learn what it takes to be a powerful witch.

12 years later, Gunnhild is thought to be dead since nobody has heard from her in years. In reality, Gunnhild has been training with Heid to learn how to shapeshift while also watching over her friends Oddny (who has become a really good healer) and Signy who likes to have her own kind of fun. When raiders storm the sisters village, and Signy is taken, Gunnhild finds herself in a life and death battle with powerful witches and ends up losing the woman who was more of a mother to her than her real mother.

The era that this story takes place is deep in Viking, and Norse mythology with some worshiping Gods like Odin, and Freyja. It is a story of two remarkable women who must rise or fall with the tides as they must decide who they will become. Gunnhild will eventually make a deal with King Eirik and become Queen even though he hates witches as do most of his hoard. A Queen that will, according to history, be called the Mother of Kings. Oddny must walk her own path regardless of the oath she made with Signy and Gunnhild. The only thing that matters to her is getting her sister back and trusting the person that she ends up losing her heart to.

Thoughts: I have the authors previous story but have not yet gotten around to read it. After reading this book, I shall have to go back and dig it out of my pile of books to read. Also, the author does a really good job of letting the readers know that yes, she has done due diligence when it comes to researching the subject of Gunnhild, but history is not kind when it comes to powerful women. There are a lot of ups and downs in this book as each character must do what they need to do in order to find their own destiny while keeping a promise make 12 years ago. Both of the main characters have deep, meaningful romances but they are tested at every angle. This story is filled with magic, intrigue, romance, and not all the battles take place on the battlefield, but in hearts and minds, and words.