We know Gothel from the Rapunzel story (or from Tangled) but, in Mary McMyne’s fantastic retelling, The Book of Gothel, we finally learn how she came to be the powerful sorceress of the tower. In McMyne’s version, Gothel—Haelewise here—is a woman with abilities and desires that put her in conflict with the superstitious Christians in her village. Those abilities and desires draw her towards the secret knowledge held by a few women. This knowledge is viewed as heretical and dangerous but, as Haelewise learns, is absolutely necessary to fight against true evil...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.