The Weaver and the Witch Queen

By: Genevieve Gornichec

Narrated by: Nina Yndis

Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Critic reviews

"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

Very well done, wonderful novel

This was such a GOOD book! I am so sad that is it over and I am torn between wanting a follow up to make this a series and letting it be what it is. The characters are so rich, multifaceted, well developed, and true to life. They are everything you'd expect from a person walking in our waking reality.

The plot is fantastic as well! It is so clear that Genevieve wanted to not only spin a tail, but that they wanted to be cognizant of not the little we know for certain of history, but we can speculate based on human nature, and be respectful of the many belief systems throughout ancient and modern history that this historical fantasy uses. The blending of imagination and research of the Age is in my opinion flawless. Also, the way in which the world is framed with it's perspective is extremely thoroughly appreciated by this woman reader! Far too often the author leans in too far into one direction or the other at the expense of creating a world and characters that are authentic to human nature. That take the fantasy, in my opinion, to stances that make the story just a hint or two, too removed from possibility by placing not enough or too much of lens of patriarchy and the global effect of Christianity over the plot. This novel balances both of these perfectly. In fact, *refreshingly*, Christianity isn't even mentioned at all until the authors note. and has ZERO influence in the story. Again, this reader extremely and thoroughly enjoyed this. As a historian, as a feminist, as a Witch, and as a member of the queer community. Not a single detail felt heavy-handed, disrespectful, over indulgent, in need of research, or like caricature.

I already have another of Genevieve's books reading to play. I am so glad I decided to give this book a chance.

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.

Loved all of it!

I thought the book was great! The inclusivity aspect was not expected. Characters were well developed. I normally can call what will happen next, this book had me guessing. Loved the performers voice!

Excellent story

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

This was so, so good

The PDF was a great help. A few of the names were difficult until I saw them in writing. The story was terrific. I was blown away by her book The Witches Heart.

a fun read

I appreciate the fact that the "trans" character was not made into a beacon of transness and was just a person that didn't have to have their identity dissected In order to be valid. It was very character driven and their gender identity being and aspect of them as a posed to being their identity. ( using gender neutral to avoid spoilers). There where aspects of the story that felt a little rushed or not fully flushed out and some of the relationships dynamics were a bit one dimensional but the characters are young and the cultural structure could play into that but isn't fully realized enough for someone that doesn't know a lot of the history. But overall a very interesting and entertaining read.

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.