The Weaver and the Witch Queen

De: Genevieve Gornichec

Narrado por: Nina Yndis

The lives of two women—one desperate only to save her missing sister, the other a witch destined to become queen of Norway—intertwine in this spellbinding, powerful novel of Viking Age history and myth from the acclaimed author of The Witch’s Heart.

Oddny and Gunnhild meet as children in tenth century Norway, and they could not be more different: Oddny hopes for a quiet life, while Gunnhild burns for power and longs to escape her cruel mother. But after a visiting wisewoman makes an ominous prophecy that involves Oddny, her sister Signy, and Gunnhild, the three girls take a blood oath to help one another always.

When Oddny’s farm is destroyed and Signy is kidnapped by Viking raiders, Oddny is set adrift from the life she imagined—but she's determined to save her sister no matter the cost, even as she finds herself irresistibly drawn to one of the raiders who participated in the attack. And in the far north, Gunnhild, who fled her home years ago to learn the ways of a witch, is surprised to find her destiny seems to be linked with that of the formidable King Eirik, heir apparent to the ruler of all Norway.

But the bonds—both enchanted and emotional—that hold the two women together are strong, and when they find their way back to each other, these bonds will be tested in ways they never could have foreseen in this deeply moving novel of magic, history, and sworn sisterhood.


* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF that contains the Acknowledgments and Appendix—a listing of the people and places that appear in the story.

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

©2023 Genevieve Gornichec (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"The women will do everything in their power to find their blood-sworn sister, and Gornichec carefully weaves multiple story lines full of political upheaval, romance, and self-discovery into their quest...there's plenty to enjoy in this lush, Norse mythology-infused world. Fans of Circe and The Book of Gothel will be especially enchanted." –Publishers Weekly

"They say your second book is the hardest one to write, but Genevieve Gornichec - leaning on her Norse mythology love yet again as with debut The Witch's Heart - performs a magic hat trick with her sophomore novel...The ingredients are there for a heroine's journey and the result is a delicious Christmas pudding - crunchy, sweet, rich and a little bit hot once you set it on fire." –Associated Press

"Gornichec's book takes the scant details about the historical Gunhild's life-her author's note has some helpful details about which specific sagas her story draws from-and spins them into a rich and magical tale of sisterhood and survival, revenge and sacrifice, with a satisfying dollop of enemies to lovers romance and trans representation on top. The historical world she constructs is rich and vivid, full of the sort of lived-in, careful details that make the setting come alive on the page." –Paste

Delightfully captivating

The dialogue can be a bit modern, but other than that, it is a well studied historical fantasy with romance. The characters are all vivid and complex, the storyline and pacing is fantastic. 1/5 🌶 on the spice level, it was essentially fade to black, but the romance aspect was on point.

Excellent story

I was so excited to have another story from this author. It did not disappoint.

Big Fan of author not narrator

I have been waiting for another book from Genevieve Gornachiec and her latest doesn’t disappoint. I’m happy that I pre purchased so that I have the book download. If I had to listen to the narrator only I would have to give this book 3 stars at best. Genevieve’s Norse women are too strong and fleshed out to be given diminutive voices.

Different vibe from TWH but great!

Characters are well rounded and interesting in their growth/experiences. Modern morals applied in a meaningful way which is difficult in historical fantasy. Accent and pronunciation of narrator was great!

Historic Fantasy

After the Witches Heart, I was looking forward to The Weaver and the Witch! Excellent narration, story and presentation on many levels. So looking forward to the sequel.

Coming of age story

I liked the themes of the story, about growing up, relationship and friendship, chasing after one's destiny, adventure, but I didn't find it to be deep enough. The main character and her husband the king also weren't very likeable. I wouldn't listen to this story again, the way I did for the Witch's Heart multiple times.

Loved it

Great story, loved the characters and the re-telling of the time through the female lens is appreciated.

Gornichec wins my heart again

I loved The Witch’s Heart and was so excited to see another novel from Genevieve Gornichec—it did not disappoint! The story was enticing, adventurous, and well-paced. I really enjoyed the characters and their development. Gornichec does a great job of turning side-lined women in male-centric myths into multifaceted protagonists of their own stories. She brings Norse mythology to life in ways that I find delightful, and adds author’s notes to clarify where she took creative license or used historical references.

Not your average historic romance!

Loved the narrator’s skillful pronunciations yet clear speech. Also loved the inclusivity, representation, and honesty of research intent and capability by the author. Character development was stellar and even when it felt like the plot was not playing out how it should dramatically, it maintained realism which made up for that.

It was good but not as good as The Witch's Heart

I was excited to get the book because I LOVED The Witch's Heart. Overall, I was a bit disappointed in the book. It started great but the plot and dialog became predictable and a bit modern. Unfortunately, I didn't keep a note to give a few examples.
I would still recommend the book to those who like history and fantasy as an intro to the history of Norway especially in the 900s. The Witch is Gunnhild who went down in history as The Mother of Kings. She and her friend, the Weaver, separated when they were 12 and met again 12 years later. The book mainly covers a year of the lives of the characters.
One thing that annoyed me was that although the dialog was a bit modern, how LGBTQ+ was covered was very vague, (trying to be spoiler free) It wasn't until the end, during the author's note that I got confirmation needed about one of the characters in the book. At this point, my mind went back to the story and reflected on how little we know about the character. If the author is going to introduce a member of the trans community, especially in a historic context, then she could have dived in or just not introduced that character.

At the beginning of the story, I struggled to follow and understand what was going on, mainly whose who. soon though i was able to catch up.

The narrator is half Polish and half Norwegen. This was appreciated because, in many audiobooks, The names of Norse and Germanic Gods and Goddesses are Americanized. For example, Thor's most accurate pronunciation is "T-hor, not "Th-or". I am not Scandinavian, but half German and I have watched several youtube videos on the gods and goddesses. Yndis's pronunciation is very close if not the same as heard on the videos.
there were times when I found her annoying, like when speaking in a voice of a child, but this is a problem in most books.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and the narrator but there was for improvement. I would still look forward to a third book by the author.