The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna – cozy and magical contemporary

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is a delightful, heartwarming, cozy and magical contemporary romance with a found family and an opposites-attract trope.

Synopsis

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 a threat 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….

Review

Mika Moon has spent her childhood alone. Like all witches, she was born an orphan and had no living relatives. She was raised by Primrose, the head of The Very Secret Society of Witches—a group of 21 witches in Britain.

Now, at 31 years old, Mika is the youngest witch in the group. She attends the meetings every third Thursday of every third month. These gatherings are the only times she meets other witches and sees Primrose, as they all follow strict rules to keep their identities secret. Despite Primrose’s disapproval, Mika runs a witchy social media account under an alter ego, allowing her to express her true self without revealing her real identity.

One day, she receives a direct message on her account saying, “Witch Needed,” written with the most kind and honest words. Deciding to follow this message, she is led to The Nowhere House. There, her job is to teach three young witches that changes her life forever.

The writing is charming and engaging, with a steady pace that allows readers to familiarize themselves with the idea of witches secretly living in Britain and the rules they follow to keep their identities hidden. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is filled with magic, diverse witches, banter, compassion, kindness, and secrets.

I loved all the characters, especially Mika. Mika is a sunshiny, optimistic, and lovely woman with a big heart and a lonely soul, wounded by a series of nannies in her childhood, the lack of motherly love from Primrose, and the betrayal she experienced as an adult. Trust and allowing herself to be loved don’t come easily to her.

When she spends time at Nowhere House, she finds what she’s always wanted: belonging, love, acceptance of who she is, a family, and a home. It was amazing to see her fit into Nowhere House so easily and seamlessly. My heart ached reading about her vulnerability and how the members of Nowhere House embraced her with kindness, helping her heal and overcome her attachment issues.

It’s not just Mika with a heartbreaking past. Jamie, the handsome, scowling 32-year-old librarian who practically raised the three girls, also has a wounded soul. It was terrible to read what happened to him, and it made my heart swell to see how the other adults of Nowhere House welcomed him and helped him heal. Like Mika, he didn’t trust easily, but it was great to see him slowly come around and fall for Mika.

I loved the other older residents of Nowhere House: Ian (80 years old), Ken (late 70s, I think), the groundskeeper and gardener, and Lucie (in her 50s), the housekeeper. Ian practically gave life to this book. He was like Mika, mischievous and lovingly insufferable, with a passion for knitting scarves. Ken, Ian’s husband, is the most sensible of the two, and Lucie is just as amazing as Ken.

Three witches – Rosetta (10 years old), Altamira (7 years old), and Terracotta (8 years old) were all charming, and it was fun to see them learning magic and bonding with Mika.

The house doesn’t belong to any of the Nowhere residents. It’s owned by Vivian Nowhere, who adopted the three witches. We learn about her through conversations between characters. I liked her for what she did for them but not for putting them in a tricky situation. Despite her limited presence in the story, she plays a crucial role in the lives of all the residents and the plot.

There are many fun, tender, and lovely moments between the characters that made me love The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches the most. The romance is a slow burn, but the crackling chemistry between Mika and Jamie was delightful to watch develop. They both had terrible childhoods, and they understood each other and the value of what Nowhere House offered them.

It was heartbreaking to see Mika hurt when the big secret was revealed in the climax. Although it was resolved quickly and what followed was rather predictable, I still loved the much-needed conversation between Mika and Primrose. I think I understand and respect Primrose even more after that. It was heartwarming to see Mika get her happily ever after.

Overall, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is a delightful, heartwarming, cozy, and magical contemporary romance with a found family and an opposites-attract trope.

What to Expect from The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches-

Witches
Found family
Childhood trauma
Opposite attracts
Grumpy x Sunshine
Quirky diverse characters
Magic and potion making
Slow burn romance
Cozy vibe
Secrets

Book Links

Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

#TheVerySecretSocietyofIrregularWitches by Sangu Mandanna – delightful, cozy, and magical contemporary romance. Many thanks @BerkleyRomance for eARC.Check out full review –> Share on X

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