In the past, I’ve already heard about books by Sangu mandanna. In fact, I was attempting to read The Celestial Trilogy, but didn’t feel up to it really at that particular time. Since I’m not a sci-fi fan, I never came back to those books either. However, I kept hearing great things about The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. So naturally I had to try this book out and see for myself. Am I as hyped as many other readers? That’s what today’s review will tell you.

About the book

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Published by Berkley on August, 23, 2022
Pages: 318
ISBN: 9780593439357
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy

A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family–and a new love–changes the course of her life.

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules…with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn’t the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for….

My review

Expectations

Lately, many cozy fantasies have seen the light of day. Examples of such books are The House in the Cerulleen Sea and Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune or Legends & lattes by Travis Baldree. I’ve read cozy fantasy novels with alternating success. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches also fits this subgenre, so I knew this would be a kind of slow read. Not in terms of writing style, but in plot and action. It’s more about the characters and found family, which is the purpose of cozy fantasy. Because I had different experiences with such books before, I decided to set my expectations low and therefore the stakes were not that high. It was for my own sanity, because even though I’m quite picky in the books I read (chosing quality over quantity, remember?), I still didn’t want to get disappointed.

Characters

The plus side of cozy fantasy is that it’s all character driven. Most times, all characters are likeable and they often have in common that they are lonely, orphaned or abandoned. They don’t have a family by blood, or they aren’t in touch with their relatives. Through their adventures, they find their own bunch of people who feel like family. The found family trope therefore is really common within this subgenre. This is no different here. Mika Moon is a witch and she has no memories of her family. Orphaned, she was raised by Primrose, an older witch. She has been made into believing that witches staying together and being in touch with one another is dangerous since they could become way too powerful. For this reason, Mika lives alone and has moved houses often. Therefore, she is not attached to people and navigates life all by herself. She meets other witches though, but not as often, just a few times a year and always under the disguise of a book club. However, Mika posts videos of herself pretending to be a witch online, which tracks the attention of the mysterious Ian living in the mysterious Nowhere House. Mika is asked to teach three young witchlings how to control their magic. These children also have been orphaned. Mika reluctantly agrees, but finds herself growing more and more attached. Once she finally feels herself at home, trouble comes knocking on their doorstep. Mika has to decide what she will protect: the rules that have been drilled into her her entire life or the people whom she became to love and care about? This development of Mika finding her family is the most important thing in this entire book. The actual trouble she has to face unfortunately feels a little rushed.

Writing

Another trademark of cozy fantasy is the speed you’re able to read this book in. The writing is easy, no complex worlds or situations are thrown into it. Therefore, the chapters are not incredibly long. Mandanna decides to switch POV every now and then, but we mainly follow Mika in third person. Another character we follow is Jamie, but significantly less. Ian also gets his own POV now and then. I didn’t mind these switches, even though they often came abruptly.

Plot

I knew that this book is not action-packed beforehand and that’s not the matter I have with it. I enjoyed reading this, I kept coming back to it. However, some events feel a little rushed. Nevertheless, all characters are written well for this small and easy plot. It’s the kind of plot that fits this subgenre. However, it took me too long before the author came to the point where all trouble started and even when we reach that point in the book, it feels rushed. Everything seems to be resolved so easy, I wish there was more struggle. Of course there was a romance involved, which also blossomed quite quick. However, the back stories of Mika and one certain other character were interesting, so were the dynamics between all characters.

Final thoughts

Even though I enjoyed my time spent reading The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, I felt it was lacking at some points. The characters are written well and even their growth is awesome to witness – albeit a bit rapid. However, I felt like the author went over several things way too quick, these could have been explored more. But maybe that’s not the point of cozy fantasy. I totally agree on the fact that the characters are more important than the plot. However, I think I shouldn’t pick up such books too often, because they lack depth to me. Admittedly, it’s nice to read a less complex fantasy every now and then and I will surely recommend this book to others, but I have to be more carefoul about the subgenre of cozy fantasy.