Cover Image: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

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Member Reviews

I really enjoyed this book.

It was cute, fun, lighthearted and cosy with tropes of sunshine x grumpy and found family.

I liked Mika's personality throughout, she is quite a lonely person having been raised quite isolated and this continues into adulthood, but despite her fears, she chooses to try and be positive and to approach everything with optimism.

Sometimes in books with a romantic subplot, there is a spanner thrown into the mix but it worked for the plot and wasn't just thrown in for the sake of it luckily.

I liked all of the characters and could see myself re-reading this as an autumn read😊

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This was such a cute and cozy fantasy! The magic felt homely, the relationships were heartwarming and sweet, and the story was one of those perfect narratives that have little drama but still just enough to keep you interested. Irregular Witches focusses on family, happiness and identity with immaculate whimsical vibes! Perfect if you’re looking for a quiet, easy read with lots of feels.

I loved the central message of acceptance, and allowing yourself to be loved when you think you don’t deserve it. I do agree with some other reviews that I didn’t really connect with the romance plot, but it was cute in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Such a nice cosy book that premises on found family and love between a grumpy and a sunshine character. All the characters are so cute and their story line kept my hear warm through all the pages. Amazing novel that's good for your heart.

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"The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches" revolves around Mika Moon, a young adult witch leading a secretive life until her social media persona attracts the attention of a family in need. Reluctantly, Mika becomes a magical tutor for three young girls in Nowhere House, defying her lifelong fear of exposure. The story unfolds into a delightful narrative of found family, love, and magical bonding, featuring a likable and relatable heroine, Mika, and her sweet romance with the grumpy Irish librarian, Jaime. While the book introduces an original take on witches and offers a cozy fantasy experience, some side characters could be more fully developed, and occasional sex scenes feel slightly out of place in an otherwise wholesome and family-friendly read. Overall, "The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches" is recommended for fans of heartwarming fantasy. It is indeed an absolutely delightful read!

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LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! This book was exactly what I needed. It is cosy, fun, magical, romantic and has a sprinkling of mystery throughout. I am honestly obsessed with it. This was such a wonderful book and it really enraptured me. I tried so hard not to devour it all in one sitting and managed to make it last two whole days! I will absolutely be buying any future works from this author, it was just so so good. Thank you so much for the eARC!

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Very cute. Very cosy. Perfect for this time of year. An adorable group of little witches and a grumpy/sunshine pairing made for a really fun read.

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What a delight this book was utterly charming and oh so quaint. Usually I steer clear of contemporaries and romance, and I only picked this up initially for the witchy element, but I was pleasantly surprised. Great structure to the story an engaging plot and lovely warm characters. A little twee in parts, but overall enjoyable.

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I loved this! The perfect escapist read, it's a cosy and warm story about family, love, and witchcraft. I love a found family story and this executed the trope to perfection. I need more about these characters!

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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This book was A perfect read for this time of year
It was such a cozy book and was a delight to read
Highly recommended

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This book is such a cozy and cute romance I practically burst into sugar dust.
Read if you like feel good cozy books with witchcraft, kids, and romance.

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Lovely book! Really enjoyed it. In the story, the side characters truly shined.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

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I love a good romance and I love fantasy! The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is the perfect book to curl up and read in winter. I loved the world and the way the magic system worked. The way in which the characters interacted with each other was great. I will definitely be reading more from Sangu Mandanna

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I loved these books. Both of them were so good, so full of women power. I ope more and more people will reach for them. I will defo read more by the author.

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A cozy, quirky read filled with witches, Magic and romance ✨️
So uplifting and I absolutely loved it being set in Britain 🇬🇧

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Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for providing me a copy of this book via NetGalley!

I’m going to start off by saying I absolutely freaking loved this. It’s described as warm and uplifting, and it really achieves both of those beautifully. It’s the kind of book you want to read when you’re searching for the warm and fuzzy feeling. At its core, it’s about a found family coming together, and how a young woman learns there’s more to life than magic.

Mika is a witch, but it’s been drilled into her since she was a child that to keep them all safe, they must keep themselves secret. So Mika moves from place to place, never lingering too long, never fully settling down. But when a message arrives requesting she travel to Nowhere House, and teach three young witches, Mika is intrigued, and soon finds herself wrapped up in the lives of Nowhere House’s occupants.

This is a very sweet story that combines magic and romance, and shows how we really aren’t all islands. In Nowhere House, Mika not only finds a family for herself, she is able to truly imagine a better world if not for her, then for her charges. As she teaches the girls, she finds herself warming up to the grumpy librarian who would do anything to protect his family, and doesn’t trust the newcomer. She also has to contend with one of her charges taking the lead from said librarian, and announcing her plans to get rid of Mika directly to her face.

I loved Mandanna’s twist on magic, too, and the way we really get to understand how it works, through the way Mika teaches the children. But through this, too, we also start to understand the other characters more, as Mika realises exactly why she has been hidden like she has, and how difficult it is to care for a young witch. It’s apparent as the book goes on how fond she grows of the children, and it’s really hard as a reader not to fall for them and the other occupants, as well.

Together, they form a wonderful found family, a group completely dedicated to each other and willing to do whatever it takes to protect one another. Seeing Mika and her guardian’s relationship unfold was another aspect I really loved, especially as she’s built up to be a bit of an antagonist, but is so much more than that.

Mika was a wonderful character, who easily identifies the difference between ‘nice’ and ‘kind’, and grows so much throughout the novel. As do the other characters, and Mandanna makes this growth an utter pleasure to read.

Honestly, if you want something truly sweet and heart-warming, with a nice dose of magic, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches will be right up your street.

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This was such an interesting and incredible read, there was such depth and intrigue. I found myself completely entranced by the story.

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The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is a precious, warm hug of a book with the same magic (no pun intended) and charm perfect for fans of The House opinion the Cerulean Sea.

The concept is pretty straight forwards. So that magic isn’t overwhelmed and their existence threatened, witches meet each other rarely, briefly and in secret. The life of a witch is a lonely one, forbidden from being close to one another, a curse causing them to become orphans, and having to hide their magic from friends and family, it takes a toll. Mika is one such witch, she’s grown up passed around, used by her guardians and has a disastrous relationship behind her. Yo just feel a part of herself, Mika has a witch YouTube account, hiding under the assumption that magic isn’t real. However Mika’s videos are watched by a desperate family who need help with 3 young witches, and they reach out to Mika to help teach them. Going against everything she’s been taught, and the pain of her past, Mika starts to get close to this family as she teaches these 3 young girls it’s ok to be a witch and in turn they teach her it’s ok to let yourself be loved.

Like I said, the plot is simple enough, but that’s part of the beauty, it’s a journey not a destination book. Ian, Ken, Lucie and Jamie live at Nowhere House and are looking after 3 girls who have been brought to the house by the owner of the house (and witch) Lillian, before she went off on her travels again. These girls, Rosetta, Altamira and Terracotta, were saved from their various pasts but have no mentorship now Lillian has disappeared, their powers are unpredictable, and with a looming visit from Lillian’s lawyer, the adults need help getting the children to rein in their magic and avoid discovery.

This is a love story and while yes, there is a romance between Mika and Jamie, 2 very guarded people learning to feel safe around one another, this is a love story about family, a family chosen. The 3 girls aren’t related, Jamie lives at the house but was taken in by Lillian when he was younger and the older couple Ian and Ken, and Lucie, all worked at the house, so literally no one in this family is related and they all love each other and are a family by choice. The adults are charming and loveable, and Jamie is bristly, broody and protective in a Darcy sort of way. But it’s the 3 girls who will make you constantly smile, Altamira, in particular, is sunshine personified and, as the book goes on, Terracotta, who starts off defensive and obstructive, learns to lower her guard and accept Mika.
But when I say this book is a love story one of the main themes is self love. Mika is a beautiful character and while she would not believe me when I say this, incredibly easy to love. Mika longs to be wanted, to have companionship, her mentor Primrose, is cold and distant, she doesn’t stay in one place long enough to be discovered or grow attachments and anyone who has ever known her powers has used and exploited them. This is a woman who has been shown little love but has so much to give, she smiles and glows but she yearns, and here, at Nowhere House, the longer she stays in one place and starts to settle, this group of people, this family, start to love her and you have this journey of Mika learning that she deserves such a love. Throw in that she has a car called Broomstick, has a koi pond she can fit in her car, and a dog called Circe, and I’m pretty sure I would die for Mika.

This isn’t a long book and it’s incredibly easy to read, even in one sitting. The writing style and the casual banter of the characters makes it flow and you have such a genuinely lovely time with these characters. This book is funny, sweet and has some beautiful character development. And again, it has a dog called Circe. So what more do you need?? As someone who struggles with anxiety and a constant feeling of unease, this book gave me great comfort.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review, I adored this book

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The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches was a big suprise for me. Itˋs a feel good story about the lonely witch Mika who getˋs an oppurtunity she can´t refuse. She has to be a magic teacher for three young witches at an isolated house hidden from every sight. There she learns what it means to have a family and persons who love her.
I didn´t expect a lot from the story when I started reading and I had a rough start into the story because the main character Mika is a little older than me and I couldn‘t really identify with her at first. But then I gave the story a chance and I lost myself between the pages. Mikas story was so heartwarming and cute that I couldn’t lay away the book anymore. All the characters were so pure, so loveable and so unique that I loved them all, especially Mika and Jamie who is so much more than just the ‚mean‘ guy he seems to be at the beginning.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is the perfect read for everyone who loves romance books with a little magic twist, the found family trope and stories where you can lose yourself totally.

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Really enjoyed this book. It was a feel-good magical story about the family you create for yourself. It had so many wonderful characters, each thoughtfully written and with their own strengths and different points of view. I enjoyed reading from both Mika and Jamies perspectives and the slow-building romance between those two characters was a great addition. The book had a strong message of inclusivity and accepting who you are and loving yourself despite what others think of you. Mika really became herself at Nowhere House and found everything she was looking for and more! There was more than one unexpected twist that I absolutely didn't see coming but really made sense as part of the story. Would definitely recommend this book!

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This was a very sweet and cute read. It gave me House in the Cerulean Sea vibes, but I liked it much more than that one. This isn't my typical genre of book to read, cosy, low stakes, not a whole lot of dramatic things happening, but I did enjoy it. The children were amusing and the other adults were lovely. It was also very inclusive in a very natural way. I must admit I was a bit surprised by the slightly darker turn towards the end of the book and then the mildly ridiculous twist after that, but it all went together nicely and worked well. I would recommend this generally to anyone who would like a comforting, easy read and already have someone in mind to buy this as a gift.

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