Klick für deutsche Übersetzung

A spellbinding, soul-deep retelling that lingers like an incantation

From the very first page of Hekate – The Witch, I knew I was holding something rare and dangerous in the best possible way. What struck me immediately was the writing style. Nikita Gill does not simply tell a story; she invokes it. The seamless weaving of poetic passages with more traditional prose felt bold, refreshing, and deeply intentional. Each shift in form mirrored Hekate’s own evolution, from frightened Godling to a woman discovering the terrifying vastness of her power. The poetry never felt ornamental. It cut, it burned, it whispered. Then the prose would step in, grounding the myth, giving it flesh and momentum. The result is a reading experience that feels alive, breathing, and constantly in motion.

A propulsive, electrifying and enraging retelling of the life of Greek goddess Hekate, child of war turned all-powerful goddess of witchcraft and necromancy, by internationally bestselling poet Nikita Gill.

Born into a world on fire, Godling Hekate has never known safety. After her parents are on the losing side of the war between the ruling Titans and new Olympian Gods, Hekate is taken by her mother Asteria to the Underworld, where Styx and Hades agree to raise her. Meanwhile, Asteria is pursued across the world by Zeus and Poseidon and, to escape their clutches, transforms herself into an island in a stormy sea.

Orphaned and alone, Hekate grows up amongst the horrors and beauties of the Underworld, desperate to find her divine purpose and a sense of belonging in the land of the dead.

When Hekate finally uncovers her powers and ascends to Goddess status, she realises that even the most powerful Olympians are terrified of her. But when immortal war breaks out again, threatening to destroy everything from Mount Olympus to the Underworld itself, the Goddess of witchcraft and necromancy is the only one who can bring the deadly conflict to an end. . .

Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

Opinion

The retelling itself is beautifully told, epic in scope yet intimate in its emotional core. Beginning with the war of the Titans against the Olympians, the narrative wastes no time throwing us into a world on fire. Hekate’s escape with her mother Asteria from Zeus and Poseidon, and their desperate flight into the Underworld, is written with urgency and grief braided together. Sanctuary is found, but it is fragile. When Asteria cannot remain in the realm of Hades and is forced to leave her child behind, the ache of abandonment becomes one of the book’s quiet, enduring shadows.

Hekate’s upbringing is one of the most fascinating aspects of this retelling. Fostered by Styx and her husband Pallas, and guided in unexpected ways by Charon, she grows up surrounded by death, duty, and ancient rules that were never made with kindness in mind. The Underworld is not romanticized, yet it is not stripped of beauty either. Gill paints it as a place of terrible necessity, where horror and tenderness exist side by side. Watching Hekate grow from a lonely Godling into a teenage woman, and eventually into a fully realized goddess, is both empowering and heartbreaking. Power here is not a gift freely given. It is something earned through loss, endurance, and self-confrontation.

Thanatos enters her life not as a savior, but as a steady presence, becoming her greatest ally as she learns how to navigate the shifting dangers of the Underworld. Their bond is quietly profound, built on understanding rather than dominance. Yet even in death’s realm, betrayal finds its way to her door. When Hekate discovers she has been lied to, the story sharpens. Her journey becomes one of reclamation. Seeking out the Fates for guidance, she learns that destiny is not a cage, but a question. The answer, devastating and liberating, must come from herself.

The climax of the novel is immensely satisfying. With help from Thanatos and Charon, Hekate steps fully into her role as the Goddess of witchcraft and necromancy. And then comes the revelation that makes this retelling feel so potent: the Olympian gods fear her. Not because she is merely a goddess, but because she is a Titan. She does not bow to Zeus. She cannot be commanded by his siblings. Her power exists outside their hierarchy, older and darker and wholly her own.

Conclusion

This is a powerful retelling in every sense of the word. It reclaims Hekate not as a footnote in myth, but as a force of cosmic defiance. This is one of those books I wished would never end, the kind I want to erase from my memory just to experience it again for the first time. Nikita Gill has crafted a story that feels timeless, furious, and tender all at once. A five-star read, without hesitation, and a mythological retelling that will haunt me in the best way possible.

About Nikita Gill

Nikita Gill is a Kashmiri Sikh writer born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and brought up in Gurugram, Haryana in India. In her mid twenties, she immigrated to the South of England and worked as a carer for many years. She enjoys creating paintings, poems, stories, photos, illustrations and other soft, positive things. Her work has appeared in Literary Orphans, Agave Magazine, Gravel Literary Journal, Monkeybicycle, Foliate Oak, MusePiePress, Dying Dahlia Review, The Rising Phoenix Review, Eunoia Review, Corvus Review, After The Pause and elsewhere.

Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram

This review was also published at:

Feel free to leave a 👍🏼Like if you enjoyed the post.

Please leave this field empty

Newsletter
abonnieren

This field is required.

Ich sende keinen Spam! Erfahre mehr in meiner Datenschutzerklärung.

Thank you 🙂

• 5 Star Books

City of Storms ♦ Kat Ross | Review

Lover Enshrined ♦ J.R. Ward | Review

Dear Martin ♦ Nic Stone | Review

The Throne of Broken Gods ♦ Amber V. Nicole | Review

Empire of the Vampire ♦ Jay Kristoff | Review