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The Witch's Heart

By: Genevieve Gornichec
Narrated by: Jayne Entwistle
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Publisher's Summary

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.

This audiobook includes a PDF that contains the Acknowledgments and the Appendix - a listing of people and places that appear in the story, and recommendations for further reading.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Genevieve Gornichec (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"A deep journey into the mists of the ancient Norse world of gods, monsters and humans, who shape shift from one to another. But the heart of the story is a witch’s passage over many lifetimes and the ultimate sacrifice she makes for those she loves. A timeless tale of great power and artistry." (Margaret George, New York Times best-selling author of The Splendor Before the Dark)

“A beautiful and fleshed-out story for the jötunn Angrboða.... Genevieve Gornichec both acknowledges her erasure and resolves it, giving Angrboða a life beyond her relationship with Loki, even as she explores their love story in detail. We see Angrboða as a powerful witch and seer, a devoted mother, a lover and friend, and most importantly, as a woman at the heart of her own story at last. I’m very grateful for books like this one.” (Samantha Shannon, New York Times best-selling author of The Mask Falling)

“Ms. Gornichec subverts the mythology from inside, knowledgeably and provokingly. Whatever the Elder Edda may say, the heroines of The Witch’s Heart will not be a delight to “wicked women” alone.” (Tom Shippey, The Wall Street Journal)

What listeners say about The Witch's Heart

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I am my mother’s daughter <3

A beautiful story of love, sorrow and fate.
Fate is not all that it’s cracked up to be
But will be will be <3

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Wonderful tale with Norse myths intertwined

I love this book. I listened to it twice before posting this review. It was even better the second time around.
The story is a clever retelling of many of the well known Norse myths of Odin, Thor and Loki etc., intertwined within the story of the Witch’s life There is something for everyone in this book from the stories of the witches two loves to the strange happenings of Ragnarok. The dialogue between the characters is often very clever and witty. The odd accent given to the witch is surprising at first but once you get used to her sounding more like an east-ender than a Norse witch it doesn’t really detract from the story.

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Outstanding

I loved the whole story from start to finish. The voice, the characters and the strangeness were all mysteriously familiar, I lifetime or many, knowing glimpses of this mythical tale.

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Loved this

Totally binged on this book if u like viking and witches you will love this. told from feminine perspective which I enjoyed

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Wonderful story

I Loved how the author joined all the norse saga characters together perfectly.

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I loved it

I loved this story so much I read the book twice then I listened to the Audible for fun.

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wow..... just wow

I have just recently discovered this genre. I absolutely loved Circe and Song of Achilles so I thought I'd give the Norse mythology version a go. I loved everything about this story. I loved the characters and the evolution of their relationships. The way the author manages the emotional journey of gods and giants and mythological creatures is clever and beautiful and tragic and heart wrenching and utterly absorbing.

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LOVED it

this was fantastic to listen to.
the narration was incredible. excellent storytelling. what a beautiful story.

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Slow burn, but worth it

You need to get past Part 1, it felt like a slow slog, but the story starts to get more interesting from Part 2 & you’ll realise you needed the full story from the beginning to fully grasp all the emotions needed.

Had me in tears by the end & hugging my children.

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A brilliant story, beautifully written

This is such a beautiful story with characters I wanted to spend more time with. At the end of the book I started it again immediately. Norse mythology richly reimagined.

Jayne Entwistle’s narration was perfect.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.