Wow is mostly all I can say, couldn't put it down, very halloween book, truly wonderful story line won't give no spoilers as it would ruin the adventure that your going to go on.

Absolutely lovely, cosy, heartwarming and sweet. I adored it and I suspect many others will as well!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free e-arc in exchange for an honest opinion,

This book was so fluffy and heartwarming, I loved every second of this cosy found-family read - it's definitely gone to my top 5 fave reads this year!

Perfect if you like;

- Sunshine x Grumps characters
- Witches in the everyday
- very vivid and real characters
- Found Family troupe

I think this is perfect for fans of 'House in the Cerulean Sea' - very much same vibes and energy,
5/5 stars for this amazing cosy book!!

This was a lovely tale, and I really enjoyed it immensely. It was a gorgeous tale of friendship, romance, found family and magic. But it managed to do all this without being trite, and really dived into the theme of loneliness.

I had both digital and audio copies of this book and decided to listen to it. It was further down my list of audiobooks, but it managed to make its way up, and I heard it to the end in very few sittings, something I rarely end up doing (continuously, that is).
The first thing I ought to mention is that this book caught me by surprise. The cover and the blurb do not actually hint at the tone of the narrative that is within these pages. I have seen the idea of magical realism brought into romantic/chick lit. This is not that. It is a work of fantasy with the human element woven to make it a cozy read.
If not for some small things scattered across the book (one of them being regular swearing that was jarring in this otherwise restful book, even in tense moments), I would have rated it five full stars. In fact, I highly recommend it to fans of just plain good writing and emotional books with happy endings.
I have seen this author on the blogosphere a lot, and this is the first book of hers that I have had an opportunity to read. Given the uniqueness of the plot that I stumbled upon, I will keep a lookout for any others written by her.
This is the story of a lonely witch. She wants to have a life, a simple one where she shares her joys and sorrows truthfully with people. Unfortunately, being a witch in the world meant that she had to remain incognito and frequently move in order to ensure no suspicions were raised. She is not even allowed to name the coven of witches who meet ever so often to discuss their spells. The tone of these conversations made me think of this as an adult book in the style of those written by Eva Ibbotson for children.
Her future looks bleak until she is contacted by someone on social media offering her a job to train young witches. She takes the plunge and makes her way to an unknown house and lands up in a very chaotic plot which only gets more convoluted the deeper her heart is invested.
There is a love story wrapped within a tale of found family. This is sandwiched in the growth arc of our leading lady.
The bonds and people mentioned in this book have heartfelt interactions, making it a delightful read. The narrator did a great job in bringing the book and the conversations to life.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own listening experience.

I have learned a very important lesson with this book - NEVER start a book tailor made for spooky season in the middle of summer! I started it in July, struggled to the 40% mark over the course of a fortnight, then put it down. For months. And then in need of a cosy comfort read, I picked it up yesterday and devoured the rest of it!

"Adult Ballet Shoes with witches" is how Laura Wood described it and that is extremely accurate! It's a found family story with magic and sex, and it's a pure delight. I'm sorry I started it at the wrong time but overjoyed I persevered!

This book hit the mark and was everything I needed. What a wholesome heart-warming read.
I got House In Cerulean Sea vibes but it was also unique as well.
I’m not sure what I even loved the most: Mika’s sarcastic comments, the girls individuality, Jamie’s grumpiness with a heart of sunshine or the over concept.
I could not stop smiling reading this book, laughed out loud on the train reading this book and felt very emotional at times.
This book was just beautiful. It’s definitely in my top 10 of the year and I will recommend it to everyone!

I found the secret society of irregular witches an emotional read covering topics like homophobia, childhood trauma/abuse and some references to racism. These issues were only lightly covered so I wasn't balling at the characters experiences but they were still upsetting and sad. This was a quick read for me and I did very much enjoy the grumpy/sunshine relationship between the main character Mika and Jamie, the found family was also lovely and heartwarming I would definitely call this a 'cosy book'. 4 ⭐️

4 stars - absolutely lovely story of found family and finding your place

This book is working with an interesting premise: witches are surrounded by magic and too much magic is dangerous, because it becomes difficult to control. And so witches need to live an isolated life away from other witches to make sure that magic accumulates wich might lead to them being discovered or normal people getting hurt.

Mika is a witch who has been raised like this in solitude, surrounded by ever changing nannies, and has grown into an adult who remains solitary but in increasingly strong need of contact to kindred souls. One day she receives a request to teach three young witches who are secretly being raised together by a colourful group of people who cannot wield magic but know about witches in a house called Nowhere House (great name!). Intrigued, she takes the job on and so the events of the story start to unfold with plenty of shenanigans involving three young girls coming to terms with their powers and Mika coming into her own.

We witness Mika making a home and finding a family while navigating some dangers that are looming on the horizon, like being discovered and exposed or how to deal with the fact that the owner of Nowhere House has disappeared - apparently for good.

There is some cute romance as well with a curmudgeonly librarian and of course there will be a happily ever after for everyone.

This book was just filled to the brim with loveliness, from the cast of absolutely wonderful characters to the focus on emotional openness and vulnerabilty and insightful, smart and funny writing. I could have continued reading this for a good while longer - although acually this one had the perfect length. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a comforting, cozy read in our difficult times.

I have received an advance review copy via NetGalley and voluntarily provide my honest opinion. Thank you very much!

I fell in love with this book since the first pages: there's humour, likeable characters, a fascinating world building.
There's a crazy groups of adorable people and Mika, a very interesting character.
Loved how Mika tries to be herself and follow her heart and not rules written in a book. Loved the house, the young and old witches.
Loved this story and i hope there will be other books featuring these characters.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I fell head over heels for this one! The cosiest of cosy reads full of magic, adventure and romance. I need more of these characters in my life.

In order to keep her magic a secret, Mika Moon has grown used to feeling alone. But when a strange message invites her to the mysterious Nowhere House to mentor three young witches, she might just get more family than she ever thought possible...

Described as Practical Magic meets The House in the Cerulean Sea, but in the case of Cerulean Sea, instead of harmful depictions of POC you get genuinely good diversity and representation, and all the cozy magical vibes.

I'm pretty sure I've found my new favourite comfort read, this was absolutely everything I needed it to be. For want of a better word here, the vibes were simply immaculate. This is THE perfect cozy-autumn-witchy romance. Mandanna's writing is soft and easy to immerse yourself in. She depicts her characters with the perfect combination of tenderness and dry wit. It was pretty much impossible not to grow attached to the entire cast of characters. Watching the relationships between the various residents of Nowhere House be revealed (in the case of those long established) and develop (in those established and new) was really interesting. Despite having a relatively large supporting cast for a romance novel, each character had depth and didn't feel as though they were there as plot devices, simply to serve the main pairing (I would read an entire book centred on Ian and Ken, I thoroughly enjoyed their interactions). This book was just as much about family as it was about romantic love, and it was beautifully balanced.
As for the romance, I loved it. Ate it up. The build up was really well done, neither dragged out nor rushed. I also really appreciated the lack of miscommunication and third act break-up. Mika and Jamie's mutual understanding of one another's hesitations and doubts was refreshing and heartwarming. Each and every one of their interactions just made me smile. Adorable.
The setting was the perfect fit for the story and wonderfully brought to life by Mandanna's prose (if I wasn't impatient enough for cold weather and short evenings already, I for sure am now). Nowhere House felt like the perfect escape from reality, where magic is real and everyone is free to be who they are, and I loved every second of it.

I cannot stress enough how perfect this is for autumn, it is a must.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my e-arc of this title, received in exchange for an honest review.

Such a heartwarming and wonderful read. I absolutely loved the characters and plot of this book. I desperately need more Mika, Jamie and the others.

This is the story of a lonely witch, Mika Moon, living in a world where she has to keep her witch status secret. Witches also do not socialise and keep themselves separate to ensure they are not discovered. One day Mika is asked to come and teach three young witches how to use their powers and here her life begins to change.

This is a cosy book. I feel that is the best way to describe it. This book has a really lovely found family element. There is a romance but I would not call this book a romance. This was overall just a very enjoyable easy read.

This is a thoroughly entertaining Fantasy / Romance.

The story grabbed me from the start with laugh out loud moments.

If you want a light enjoyable read this could be for you.

AHH!

This book was LOVELY. This was so heartwarming, magical, and just lovely - there's no other way to describe it.
Every character was well taught out - with unique voices and points of view. Yes it was cheesy and predictable at times, but there was a few unexpected moments that surprised me! A lovely sunshine/grump romance which is also a witch/librarian romance AND there's found family?? I just LOVED it. Cannot wait to read it again closer to winter.

This was a wonderful, cheerful book to read, gentle with enough plot to hook you as a reader and keep you interested. I was a little worried when I started that it would just be a lite version of House in the Cerulean Sea which was the vibe I got from it, and while I think readers who enjoyed Cerulean Sea would love this too, this one is happily standing on its own feet.
I loved the magic system and rules used in this. The fact the witches actually keep spell books and brew potions in cauldrons (also love the use of magic tea, even without added witchyness I can’t help but feel that tea is a little magic anyway!). The back story to witches was also fascinating and gave a perfect reason for why things were set up like they were.
The characterisations in this book were great, everyone felt very ‘individual’ and no one was two dimensional. Mika was impossible not to fall in love with right from the start and it was easy to will things to go right for her.
Nowhere House was wonderful, the warmth of it seeped off the page and made you want to be right there too.
A lovely, warm read that I very much enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for accepting my request of the E-ARC

I absolutely loved this story. I loved the overall feel of it, it doesn't matter if you are different to others and you are enough!
I really enjoyed all the characters, Mika was a great main character, she was strong and vulnerable.
I think that's what makes story so believable the characters all have that vulnerability.
The twist I didnt see coming. It was just perfect, I felt what the characters was feeling, shocked, love, sadness and hope.
It's fantastically written. I loved every minute of it.

I got approved for an ARC of Sangu Mandanna’s first book for adults a while back and then promptly forgot about it. I only remembered as the rave reviews started appearing from my most trusted sources - and more fool me, because I could have had this story in my heart sooner. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is the book equivalent of a warm bubble bath with a cup of hot tea and a box of expensive chocolates. The kind of bath that could only be improved by reading a book like The Very Secret Society while you’re in it. It’s BLISSFUL.

What do you need to know? For one, it centres on lonely eccentric witch, Mika Moon, who (like all witches) grew up orphaned and isolated because of her power. She’s got a gift for potion-making, a golden retriever called Circe and a little yellow car she calls The Broomstick but very little else. No friends, no family, no roots, just a social media account where she fake-pretends to be a witch just so she can share her joy of magic with others. She could so easily have been a pixie-dream girl but instead she’s my new best friend - positive, snarky, full of enthusiasm for the things that give her life meaning.

For two, it’s got found family in spades, the kind that makes you want to pack up your belongings and move in. When the inhabitants of Nowhere House - an out of the way place in Norfolk that no one can seem to find - realise Mika’s true identity, they set about luring her into their strange and beautiful home. Grumpy librarian Jamie, mothering housekeeper Lucie and gardener Ken are raising three young witches under the radar and whoa boy do they need her help. The witches in question, all three orphaned and adopted by a mysterious absentee patron, are a whole bushel of uncontrolled power, sibling rivalry and fierce love. Octogenarian actor, knitter, aspiring beekeeper and all round darling Ian - also Ken’s husband (and basically Ian McKellen) - rounds out the family.

The story revolves around Mika’s journey towards trust and belonging - can she find a home at Nowhere House? Is it possible for witches to live together, be loved and love in return, against everything she’s been told? Can a witch be wanted and needed for herself and not only for her power? These big searching questions are mixed together with so much fun and joy and coziness that the angst they imply sneaks up on you. As does the surprisingly steamy (this is open door), entirely satisfying romance between Mika and Jamie. Issues of race, gender and sexuality are integral and gracefully handled all the way through - Mika is British Indian and Rosetta, Altamira and Terracotta all have diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Seeing the long and loving opposites-attract relationship between Ian and Ken was heart-expanding.

About 1/3 of the way into the book I knew I was going to adore it; halfway and I was constantly texting my friends quotes with heart and crying emojis; and when I was done I marched into my local bookshop and convinced them to stock it. It’s a wonderful feeling when you find a book that makes you feel this safe and warm and hopeful. I’ll be rereading it a lot. I imagine there are some people who will feel it errs close to YA in tone but I think that’s only because we’ve forgotten how important these themes of joy and love are for all of us, adults included.

3.5✨

This was an absolutely adorable book. The characters were so loveable and I love all things witchy!
I absolutely do see what everyone means about Cerulean vibes. I could see the like-for-like scenes as I went through, which I think is why I couldn’t rate it higher.
As I was just thinking about Cerulean and never fully immersed into this. However, I am the biggest Cerulean fan girl and have read it so much.

Overall, a wonderful book and definitely one I’d recommend. There was a little steam which I wasn’t expecting but definitely not a bad thing at all!