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A review by laelyn
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
4.0
This is such a joyful, adorable little book! I went into it completely blind, no expectations whatsoever but charmed by the description. I'm glad I was, because this is one of those book that just make you feel really good for a while, and don't we all need that in these trying times?
I was especially enchanted by the first part of the book. I loved our protagonist, the witch Mika Moon, who's whimsical and adorable and flawed and insecure and just wonderful. Witches aren't allowed to mingle much outside of their regular meetings every three months. It's just not safe enough to have too much magic in one place. Mika abides by these rules until she gets a very irregular job offer: Be the magic tutor to three orphaned witch girl who have noone else to teach them and who live in a place called the Nowhere House. This is, basically, the gist of the story - it's not particularly complex but it really doesn't have to be. What awaits Mika at Nowhere House is the best kind of found family trope you could possibly wish for, including a sexy grumpy love interest as the figurative cherry on top.
The writing is wonderful and really makes you feel for Mika and her love interest, Jamie, who has some minor pov chapters too. I actually wouldn't have needed those as I felt they weren't perfectly weaved into the story flow. I enjoyed Mika growing to be part of the family, and I loved her relationship with the three girls. The romance was cute, too, but a little fast paced in placed so it felt rushed. I would have preferred more time being spent on this found family and Mika teaching magic than the way the story develops in the second part of the book, which is admittedly a little bonkers and all over the place. There was also a lot of telling instead of showing when it came to Mika's issues and trauma which I think could have been done a little more organically. The characters were wonderful, but most of them weren't developed too much so I didn't really feel too much about them either. But I still enjoyed my reading experience immensely.
So, all in all, a wonderful little book of happiness! 3,5 stars, happily rounding up to 4.
Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the arc!
I was especially enchanted by the first part of the book. I loved our protagonist, the witch Mika Moon, who's whimsical and adorable and flawed and insecure and just wonderful. Witches aren't allowed to mingle much outside of their regular meetings every three months. It's just not safe enough to have too much magic in one place. Mika abides by these rules until she gets a very irregular job offer: Be the magic tutor to three orphaned witch girl who have noone else to teach them and who live in a place called the Nowhere House. This is, basically, the gist of the story - it's not particularly complex but it really doesn't have to be. What awaits Mika at Nowhere House is the best kind of found family trope you could possibly wish for, including a sexy grumpy love interest as the figurative cherry on top.
The writing is wonderful and really makes you feel for Mika and her love interest, Jamie, who has some minor pov chapters too. I actually wouldn't have needed those as I felt they weren't perfectly weaved into the story flow. I enjoyed Mika growing to be part of the family, and I loved her relationship with the three girls. The romance was cute, too, but a little fast paced in placed so it felt rushed. I would have preferred more time being spent on this found family and Mika teaching magic than the way the story develops in the second part of the book, which is admittedly a little bonkers and all over the place. There was also a lot of telling instead of showing when it came to Mika's issues and trauma which I think could have been done a little more organically. The characters were wonderful, but most of them weren't developed too much so I didn't really feel too much about them either. But I still enjoyed my reading experience immensely.
So, all in all, a wonderful little book of happiness! 3,5 stars, happily rounding up to 4.
Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the arc!