Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

307 reviews

minamouse's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, but I'd be lying if I said it sold me on chick lit/lite reading novels in general. In an effort to expand my horizons I decided to dive headfirst into a genre I don't typically gravitate towards, so I picked up this book after scouring the internet for something light that had magical elements but wasn't necessarily a fantasy novel. If that makes sense 🤷‍♀️. The story is a straightforward found family romantic comedy about a witch named Mika who finds herself teaching a group of young witches how to control their powers. An astute reader will see the twist at the end coming a mile away, and if I am being entirely honest, I think the climax was solved way too fast. But I still think this book is worth the read. It's not high art, but it held my attention. I'll give this novel a 3.5 out of 5 ⭐. Probably won't ever pick this up again, but it was a fun little ride.
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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was everything that it wanted to be- it was cozy, witchy, and wholesome. I love all these characters and their dynamics, especially with Mika as the newcomer. I adored the little girls too and liked seeing the progression of the relationship subplot. I appreciated how race and diversity were mentioned and felt like Mika was a really well-adjusted character, albeit with some understandable trauma that shaped her viewpoints but didn’t stop her from being the sunshine. The third act conflict felt very realistic (as far as a witchy fantasy could be) and understandable and took a little effort to resolve, which I liked. The ending wrapped up really nicely which is expected with a cozy book. The writing quality and characters were very well written though! I am so excited to read the next one.
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sarahthescrivnr's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Absolutely loved this. A cross between Practical Magic and the House by the Cerulean Sea. Feels like drinking the perfect warm cuppa on a chilly day.
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moonytoast's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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bookscatcoffee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a lovely, cozy, gut-punch, heart-warming read!  I had all the emotions, but I kept coming back to this wonderful world the author created.  
“Danger rarely wore a monstrous face and wielded a pitchfork. No, danger came most often in the form of people like Edward, the nice people whose niceness only went so deep, who saved their niceness for people exactly like them, who believed they were more deserving of power and respect than anyone who was a little bit different.”  Very good writing and delightful characters!  More books please!  5 stars

Cozy fantasy with diverse characters and lgbtqia+ side characters
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vaguelyredhead's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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dev921's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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infusionofviolets's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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gkaltam's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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teabrewer's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I chose this book because I needed a cozy lighthearted romance for a stressful week that was to come. This book was, mostly, cozy, lighthearted and romantic. The kids were funny, the love interest is a grumpy, but good, person who is raising these kids. It talked about some interesting topics like the difference between being nice and being good, the different ways people deal with trauma, particularly parental negligence, and feeling alone in the world. There was no gender essentialism and consent is very respected throughout the book, and not only in romantic situations, so it escaped my most common pet peeves in this genre. I liked the magic system. Magic is palpable and a bit personified and witches have actual conversations with it to use magic. It also interacts back with the witches. I know it has become a more common thing in this kind of book but seeing the casual representation of a lesbic couple made me happy and they felt like very natural characters. I also liked seeing an older gay couple, it is good to be reminded queer people can be alive and happy for that long. That being said, there were a few things I didn't like in this book. Ian trying to force Mika and Jamie's relationship felt, well, forced. The references to witchcore and TikTok at the beginning of the book felt out-of-touch. The main characters were all only a step away from stereotypes, and although that's not always necessarily a bad thing, in some cases it took me away from the book. Ian was the biggest offender but they all had dialogue that made me grimace at least once. The
forest
make out scene was cute and full of want but the sex scene
in the house
was clunky and weird. It felt more like a list of actions than someone's perspective. It also felt a bit out of place in the context of this book.
The sudden "we buried a dead body in the garden" felt extremely out of place, like the author had planned that at first but forgot about it while writing the book and had to cram it in there somehow afterwards. And the "secret identical twin" twist just after that felt like a lazy, clichĂŠ band-aid, especially since before it appeared the plot was going in a way more interesting and relevant direction. I don't understand why that was included, there was no hole to be covered. A plot-hole was actually created because of it and had to be addressed with an even lazier excuse, that is the pictures with Lilian in them always being blurry.
Lastly, what was, for me, the biggest elephant in the room: Maybe I'm expecting too much of a cozy lighthearted romance, and maybe having read Babel by R.F. Kuang recently affected my expectations and tolerance for this specifically.
But it was a choice to include how the children, and the main character, were taken from their birth countries. How they were stripped of their original names raised by white people while completely isolated from anyone from their original cultures. How there were other witch societies in those countries and Primrose and Lillian had contact with them but still did all that. I don't understand why make that choice if you never planned to address the subject properly.
With these last 4 topics, The Super Secret Society of Irregular Witches' problem is that it bites more than it could ever swallow being what it is. It didn't have to have a spicy scene, a "mystery" or to mention xenophobia and colonialism, but it did and couldn't do them all and the actual plot of the book at once.
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