You may have noticed that I have read quite a few books based on Greek and Roman mythology. The Witch’s Heart is based on a mythology that I am not as familiar with: Norse mythology ie. Odin, Thor, and Loki. But this is not a Disney/Marvel watering down of Norse mythology where the gods are more likeable and played to comic effect. Like the Greek and Roman gods, the Norse gods were actually dicks. The Witch’s Heart is about a woman who has been relegated to a footnote in Norse mythology (as women typically are), a witch called Angrboda who was also a wife of Loki. Gornichec gives Angrboda her own story, and it is a good, interesting story, but I am not blown away by it as other readers seem to be.

The Witch’s Heart opens with Angrboda recovering after being killed and burned three times as punishment from Odin for refusing to use her gift of prophecy to give him knowledge of the future. She is found by Loki, who has sought her out to return her heart to her, which he found on her pyre.

Angrboda does not remember much from her time spent with Odin in Asgard, but she has incomplete memories of a prophecy of what will become known as Ragnarok. Angrboda knows that Odin cannot know that she is still alive, otherwise he will come after her and force her to reveal the entire prophecy of Ragnarok to him, and so she hides herself away in the desolate land of Ironwood. Loki keeps the secret of her survival but visits her often. Angrboda eventually falls in love with Loki and marries him, and they have three “unusual” children together who will each play an important role in Ragnarok.

Loki is a terrible husband to Angrboda (surprise, surprise) but Angrboda puts up with him, not only out of love for him, but because she is so traumatized by what Odin did to her, that she does not remember how powerful of a witch she really is.

Then Loki betrays Angrboda in the most terrible way, and that is when The Witch’s Heart really starts to become an interesting story, because it gives Angrboda the initiation she needs to reclaim her power and become a strong woman who is not going to let her life be dictated by fate or by the gods. Although her name may imply otherwise, Angrboda is not a woman scorned seeking revenge (although, I would have been okay with that). First and foremost, Angrboda is a mother, and her actions are about protecting her children. The Witch’s Heart is a feminist story that resonates even now as women come into their own and continue the fight against the patriarchy that still refuses to see them as equals.