A review by spinesinaline
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

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

4.25

This is a very cute story while also heavily diving into past trauma around familial abandonment and abuse. A romance is at the heart of this one, with the most sunshiny and grumpy opposites you could have, but the whole cast of characters is such a lovely group! It’s a beautiful found family and they make this big house feel like home not just for Mika but for the readers too. 

One point I will say felt highly unrealistic had nothing to do with magic. The librarian loans out his rare collection to people across the world, but as that increases the likelihood of books being lost, his main job is to digitize every single book in the library. As someone whose job it is to digitize materials, this kind of fantasy about the ease and speed of digitization is why people complain about us not having everything in our archives available online. But that aside, we love a library in a book.

There are some clever twists throughout and I’d love to reread to pick up on all the subtle hints the author leaves us. I didn’t read this during the holidays but it does take place right around Christmas so if you like a timely read, I’d recommend this one this season!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings