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The Witch's Heart cover art

The Witch's Heart

Written 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

What the critics say

"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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  • 2021-12-05

Very good tale

I was hooked after the first 10 minutes! This sage is rich with detail of the witch's sad, exciting and heroic life. The narraration was soothing to listen to but also entertaining and her timing was spot on. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of mythology...Nordic or any kind for that matter.

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A throughly enjoyable experience!

What a great story, I felt like a kid again listening to a magical fairy tale. Very well written, and superbly performed. I'll look for other books read by the reader here. thank you

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Fantastic!

Loved the story, I will watch for more from this author in this vein. Relatable and fun to read, the narrator did an excellent job of bringing characters to life in my mind. I only wonder why an english accent was choosen to narrate a Norse story. Overall, very well written and exceptionally narrated. Highly reccomend!!

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Obsessed

This was a wonderful walk through the tales of Norse mythology as told by Loki’s first wife.
The story was absolutely beautiful and intriguing. I couldn’t wait to listen any time I got the opportunity. My only complaint is that I finished it too quickly out of my eagerness to listen.

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Beautiful story

Took a couple pages to fully get into this story, but I am glad I pulled through. Beautiful story, very detailed in description. Loved it

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If you are a mother or love norse mythology...

Though the mythological tone had me at an arm's length for the first while, this story of giants and gods became poignantly human.

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So Good.

I listen to a lot of books while I work, and this story was beautifully written. I could not stop listening and it just got better and better.

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Holy cow this was one great book!

Jane Entwistle’s narration was spot on and added much enjoyment to my reading. The story itself was captivating. Nearing the end of it, it almost felt like a history lesson of sorts, a history of Norse mythology. There was just so much detail that the author covered. Really well done and I highly recommend the audiobook.

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captivating story!

I loved the different perspective of old tales and the characters are wonderfully compelling and believable

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omg

i understand that some people don't like the narrator's voice, but whatever you do, don't scorn that book for so little. Read the physical version of it if you can't stand the voice, but seriously give that story a fair chance. It made me live through so much, and i'm grateful to the author for offering us such a good book.

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