The Witch's Heart

Starred review from October 19, 2020
Gornichec reimagines Norse mythology in this heartfelt debut about the power of a mother’s love. The witch Angrboda is no stranger to burnings at the stake, having survived three of them. Wounded and defenseless following her third burning, Angrboda flees Asgard, leaving behind her speared heart. She finds refuge in a secluded forest at the edge of the world, content to live a solitary life in a cave. But her isolation is interrupted when she’s discovered by Loki, the trickster god, who returns her missing heart. Despite their constant bickering and Loki’s hijinks, the pair fall in love and have three children together. But Angrboda’s disturbing visions of Ragnarok, or the apocalypse, and the role her children will play in the fall of the gods threaten her family’s peaceful life, and Angrboda must choose between accepting fate or working to change her children’s future. 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. Agent: Rhea Lyons, HG Literary.

Starred review from January 1, 2021

DEBUT At the beginning of the world, the Norse god Odin seeks to know how it will end. He finds a witch, Angrboda, who refuses to tell him and, as punishment, he burns her to death three times and takes her heart. Recovering, Angrboda manages to make a life for herself in the Ironwood, a place empty of all people. Loki, the trickster god, finds her and returns her heart to her. Eventually, Angrboda and Loki fall in love, marry, and have three children: Hel (who will become the mistress of hell), Fenrir (a great wolf), and Jormungund (a serpent). Angrboda knows through her visions that all three, and Loki too, will be present at Ragnarok, the Norse end of the world. She does her best to protect them until Loki's other wife discovers Ironwood too. VERDICT Angrboda's love for her children shines passionately through this tale. 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.--Jennifer Mills, Shorewood-Troy Lib., IL

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Starred review from December 15, 2020
"Long ago, when the gods were young and Asgard was new, there came a witch from the edge of the worlds." Thus begins Gornichec's debut, a feminist reimagining of the Norse myths surrounding Ragnar�k. Angrboda, a sorceress with the gift of foresight, is incredibly old and hard to kill, but barely survives Odin's wrath at her refusal to share any knowledge of the future. She is befriended by Loki who returns her speared heart, left behind on a smoking pyre during her getaway. She is further aided by the giantess Skadi, a hunter who makes a deal to trade Angrboda's magical potions for the provisions she will need to survive alone in the wilderness during the long winters. The love that develops between Angrboda and trickster-god Loki results in the birth of three unusual children whom the gods will see only as beasts and a threat, yet Loki and Skadi accept them for what they are. 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.

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