A Sweet, Witchy, Slow Burn Romance with Found Family and Heaps of Magic
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Romantic Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Occult Romance
Berkley
August 23, 2022
ebook, audiobook, paperback
336
A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family—and a new love—changes the course of her life.
As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos "pretending" to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.
But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.
As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when peril comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for....
“This is either going to be the miracle you hoped for or it’s going to be an absolute fucking disaster.”
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna is heartwarming, fun, and full of witchy hijinks that truly need to be read to be appreciated. Mika Moon is a witch who knows she needs to keep her magic a secret, but just can’t seem to help herself when it comes to showing off on social media. Surely harmless tricks and spells can be explained by the power of editing, right?
Wrong. When she gets a desperate message and a cry for help, Mike is intrigued, and so is her magic. Once she arrives at the house to meet with the person who sent the message, Mika realizes Nowhere House is the home to not just one witch, but three young witches who are in dire need of tutelage. So begins Mika slow transformation from solitary witch to one whose home lies with a group of people who have found themselves bound together in raising three orphaned witches.
Her eyes very round, seven-year-old Altamira said, with perfect gravity, “That was some excellent Mary Poppins shit right there.”
I was instantly charmed by The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. First, by the title. Can you blame me? I quickly fell under the spell of Sangu Mandanna’s storytelling too. The snark of the three girls, Rosetta, Altamira, and Terracotta brought me to tears from laughing so hard multiple times. And it was the endearing and all-encompassing love between Ken and Ian that could warm the cockles of any frozen heart. But truly, it was Jamie and Mika’s dance of a romance that won me over.
As Mika’s time with the young witches winds down, her romance with Jamie sparks to life. There’s more to the story than just romance. I loved the plot with Rosetta, Altamira and Terracotta, as well as the plot that stems from the secrecy of the witches around the world. It is the plot line of secrecy and how detrimental it is to young witches that becomes the overarching theme of the story that ties together so wonderfully in the end, that I quickly gobbled up the pages until I was finished with this perfectly lovely story.
It’s a leap of faith to love people and let yourself be loved. It’s closing your eyes, stepping off a ledge into nothing, and trusting that you’ll fly rather than fall.
If you haven’t yet discovered the magic of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches then you’re in for one magical treat. This wonderful story can be enjoyed all year long, but is a perfect read as Autumn bleeds into Winter. Sangu Mandanna has written a story that encompasses the charm of the winter season in Northern England and honestly will make you yearn for your own holiday traditions. Full of perfectly wonderful witchiness, and oodles of charm, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches should be at the tippy top of your must-read list.
Jes is a self-proclaimed bookworm, who recently moved from the PNW back to the Midwest. When her nose isn’t in a book, she’s spending time with her husband, two kids, and her three fur babies, or exploring the globe. She also firmly believes that you should start the day with coffee, and end the day in bed with a good book.
