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Witch's Heart
368 pages
A tender, heartbreaking reclamation of a mythological villain, centered on the fierce, world-ending power of a mother's love.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting by a hearth fire in a dark, snow-swept forest, listening to a forgotten woman finally tell her own story. The narrative unfolds at a steady, deliberate pace, drawing you into a deeply intimate and melancholic atmosphere where mythic grandeur takes a backseat to the quiet, tender moments of motherhood and found family. The prose is accessible yet lyrical, grounding the sweeping inevitability of Norse Ragnarok in the very human ache of loving people you are destined to lose. It is a story steeped in foreboding, yet fiercely hopeful in its reclamation of agency. Perfect for readers who devoured Circe and crave emotionally resonant, feminist retellings that champion the monsters and the women who love them.
- Mood
- mythic
- wintry
- foreboding
- tender
- heartbreaking
- Tone
- earnest
- melancholic
- intimate
- subversive
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- fierce protectiveness of motherhood · inevitability of fate · finding power in the margins · grief and loss · found family
- The writing
- Lyrical and accessible, blending the grandeur of myth with the grounded, emotional intimacy of a modern character study.
- The arc
- Moves from quiet, healing isolation into deep, vulnerable love, culminating in a devastating but fiercely empowering sacrifice.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love feminist reclamations of mythology and ache for stories about misunderstood women fiercely protecting their monstrous children.
Content notes
- child loss
- grief
- fire trauma
- betrayal
- violence
About the book
When a banished witch falls in love with the legendary trickster Loki, she risks the wrath of the gods in this moving, subversive 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.
Description from Open Library.
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