📝 What is The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches about?:
Mika Moon, one of the few witches in Britain, keeps her magic hidden from the world—except for an online account where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. This leads to an unexpected invitation to Nowhere House, a remote location where she’s asked to train three young witches. As Mika gets entangled in the lives of the residents, she finds herself drawn to the protective and attractive librarian, Jamie, and must decide if she can risk everything to protect her new-found family.
📚 Genre: Fantasy
🎧 Format: E-Book
💞 Feels: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I enjoyed the world building and rules set up for the witches in this book. They live in secret and apart from each other. Mika has no way of knowing of these rules are legitimate, without investigating and connecting with other witches. The rules if their secret society are a catch-22—befriending other witches will put them in danger. She must keep her power a secret.
“There could be no connection between any of them…”
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
by Sangu Mandanna
I liked that Mika had her own form of rebellion, acting as a witch, through her social accounts. Pretending to be a witch online so she could express herself. She seemed very lonely. All of the characters in the book seemed to be dealing with loneliness in their own ways.
The Mary Poppins coziness of it all was pleasant to read. The slow burn romance between Mika and Jamie was fun. I enjoyed the mystery of Ian’s backstory. All the backstories for the characters and the house were intriguing enough to keep me reading. I was able to guess the larger mystery, so that made things less fun.
The book was a cozy and sunshine-y Gothic novel flipped on its head. I just finished reading Mexican Gothic, that’s probably why I’m picking up on the gothic similarities. They have superficial similarities, a woman hired to be the governess within a mysterious and secluded household. There’s a mystery to discover, a man to fall in love with and interrogate; and a day job.
“Home. It sounded right, which was frankly terrifying because it wasn’t her home.”
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
by Sangu Mandanna
Getting technical
The romance between Mika and Jamie was a nice grumpy-sunshine love story. But then the third act problem arrives and they’re in love. I didn’t believe it. The story felt like it was just skipping along, enjoying the sights and then wham time for the Big Bad to appear. The cleanup was just too tidy and convenient.
I think the stakes needed to be lowered. Alternatively, Mika and Jamie’s romance could’ve been bigger in the first 3 quarters of the book. ‘Cause it was like it went from a little whisper to a bullhorn. Jarring.
You should read this book if…
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes stories about witches, found family and gothic novels. So I think fans of Jane Eyre, The Ex Hex, or Legends & Lattes would like The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna.
✅ Spinoff novella nomination:
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments.