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

funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews because I don’t like leaving them. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

“It’s a leap of faith to love people and let yourself be loved. It’s closing your eyes, stepping off a ledge into nothing, and trusting that you’ll fly rather than fall.” 

This was a cozy contemporary new adult fantasy read for autumn to get you in the Halloween, witchy mood! It's told in third-person limited POV, and I listened to the audiobook, which was fantastic. I highly recommend it! 

Mika begins a new job as a teacher for three young witches at the Nowhere House, which is much different than anything she has done before. She grew up with the messaging that witches should not spend much time together, as it was dangerous, so she's led a super lonely life full of people who don't know the truth about her identity as a witch. These three girls, who are elementary school age --Terracotta was my favorite, and I would read (or watch an adaptation!) another middle-grade series based on her growing up!

Not everyone welcome Mika though - Jamie, the grumpy librarian, doesn't think Mika should be there, and doesn't like the way Mika sometimes "others" the three young girls (this comes from her own internalized messaging about how hard it has been to be a witch). He is very protective and defensive of them, and feels it is the world who needs to change, not them. I get it, dude, I do! They have a lil grumpy x sunshine dynamic, with lots of fun banter,  and the entire house illustrates found family so beautifully.

There's an interesting worldbuilding fact that if you give birth to a witch, that you may die because of spells gone wrong, and that was quite dark lollll. I was like, 'Woah, I certainly was *not* expecting that out of this fluffy lil romcom and coming-of-age!' Anyway, besides this, the plot was extremely low-stakes and I listened to this in one day. It flew by, and it felt like a warm autumn hug! 

steam rating: I felt it was quite tame so like a 1.5/5 

cw: abandonment, death of a parent, death, child abuse, racism, homophobia
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