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.

This is a book that wasn't for me but I understand why its so loved.
I've come to a realisation this year that I don't really vibe well with cozy fantasy. That being said this book is one of the best in that genre. I really loved following Mika, and her new role teaching the charges of Nowhere house. I found Mandanna has a great way with the side characters, they were immediately memorable and never overstayed their welcome. Jamie was also a good love interest.

That being said it just sadly didn't work for me. I wanted so much to love it, and it was such an easy read but at the end I felt like "this wasn't as good as id hoped, and now im feeling a tad meh"
However if you love cozy fantasy with a cute romance this may be perfect for you.

If you love witches, fantasy, magic and a book that can make you believe all this could be real, then I can guarantee you will love The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. Mika Moon packs up all her belongings and takes herself and her dog to a remote location in Norfolk, and very quickly finds herself wrapped up in the trials and tribulations of Nowhere House.

Until I started listening to this book, I had no idea that it was set in Norfolk in the east of England. I moved here just last summer, so a book set in the same place I’m living gets a huge tick. Then I found out that the author lives just a few miles up the road in Norwich, a city in Norfolk, so I get even more excited!

Each and every character is unique and quirky and lovable. There’s excitement and magic, spells and romance, acceptance and family and love.

I listened to this as an audiobook, and the narrator, Samara MacLaren, was outstanding. She brought the characters to life and added atmosphere along the way.

If all this sounds like your sort of thing, then I’d urge you to grab a copy for yourself ready for the witchy season.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna.

Witch Mika Moon was taught that she must hide her magic and stay away from other witches in order to avoid drawing attention to their magic. An orphan raised by strangers, she is used to being alone and following most of the rules. But she's kind of a rebel. She pretends to be a witch and posts videos of her online, believing no one will believe her. But someone does. They message her and ask her to come to Nowhere house to teach three young witches how to harness and control their magic. Mika breaks the rules she grew up with and embraces the odd characters in her new home. It was a heartwarming and with a bit of romance, and humor and characters from different racial backgrounds which is unusual for witches. This is a lovely happy feel-good story

This was a delightful comfort read. I love any books themed around witches so when this one came out I had to snap it up. I've been reading a lot of dark stories lately and needed a feel-good story to perk me up, this book delivered. The MC was everything that a MC should be. Highly recommend if you are looking for a quick magical read with humour and loveable characters

nice read. fun... but underwhelming. maybe the hype was too high and i went it expecting something else. but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless.

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.

An incredible, heartwarming read. I loved every second of this audiobook.

This book took me by surprise in the best way possible, and I never wanted to leave this story! Charming, endearing and adventurous, this book was a warm hug for witchy, wandering souls.

Unfortunately my request to read this book was granted the day the book was archived so I didnt have a chance to download it. Therefore I cannot provide feedback.

Absolutely loved this and didn’t want it to end. Mika is such a gorgeous character, full of hurt and love to give. All she wants is a family and thinks she finds one in Nowhere House. But as we know, the path of true love and happiness never runs smooth.

The narrator of this was excellent, she really made it for me. So much so, I will listen to this over and over, and will buy a physical copy too.

If you’re a fan of Michelle Harrison’s Pinch Of Magic and 13 Treasures series as well as TJ Klune, you’ll love this too

This story is an easy feel good read with quirky characters and magical mishaps.
It has a sense of unity about it - different races, sexualities, and ages.
The eccentric character Ian is my absolute fantastic - I love him and I have some flamingo pink wool he can have 🤣
And they have a moody handsome librarian 😍

I was a little disappointed as I found it really hard to get into the audio book and even tried reading the physical book along with it and still struggled.
I'm not sure what I was expecting with this book, but it didn't meet me expectations. It lacked a little something in the romance and I felt it a little rushed in regard to the growth of the characters.

Overall, a good light-hearted book, just not something I am likely to read again.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this atmosphere. It was cozy, really nice, but still Halloweeny. Mika was a great character. The whole story is really intriguing and captiviting. The narrator was good, it was easy to follow and understand.

Many Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the audiobook copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Having left this a few days to stew on what type of review I would like to give this book, I think the only thing I can think of is Meh……
It’s not like I hated the audiobook, the narrator Samara MacLaren, did a good job, and I enjoyed the characters, my favourite being Ian, I just had an image of Peter O’Toole in my mind whenever he spoke. It’s just that nothing happens, it’s all about the warm and fuzzies, an adult witch who is lonely, who is asked to teach witchcraft to three young witches, a chance she never had as a child. Throw in a romance with a grumpy teacher, a new found family, and a bit of magic and there’s the story.
This book is like a nice hug with warm slippers, welcome, but when it’s over, I just go about my day, never thinking of it again.
Favourite Parts: Ian, that flamboyance was brilliant.
Rating: Two Stars

An enjoyable witchy read perfect for October, but also all year round.
Mika is a witch, she has a YouTube channel where she masquerades as one too, thinking that no one will ever notice she actually is one. Until she receives a message asking her to take on a job in Norfolk looking after 3 young witches.
This was a lovely read, laugh out loud funny in places with plenty of banter between Mika and Jamie the rather cantankerous guardian of the young witches.
This was a book about fitting in, finding your own people and being able to be yourself with a bit of mayhem and romance thrown in too.

This should have been a series because too much and also not enough happened in one book. These people form relationships so quickly with little to no page interaction that I got frustrated.

The girls were basically hard to tell apart other than grumpy, sunshine, and quiet one. I know they’re all poc but I couldn’t tell you which was which name and personality and race since they were so generic they became pointless side characters. I am pretty sure they made it so it was a black girl, an east Asian girl, and a south Asian girl which was nice and would have been nicer if we’d spent any time really getting to know the teens and their personalities.

There was a lot of convenient things that happened in this book and the main one was how she even got there. I do kinda love books that have influencers with loads of followers but they have to put no effort into their content - as a content creator I wish.
Anyways this was just generic and boring and I didn’t care much about anyone in it. I cared about her dog the most.

This was perfect. A perfect cozy book to warm the cockles of your heart and soul. I wish this book would go on and on. As someone who reads so infrequently from the cozy genre it makes me warm and fuzzy. I didn't want to put the book down and wished I had started it earlier in the day so I could read it in one sitting. Every character was loveable even Terracotta who if you didn't think of Wednesday Addams then....who even are you? Mika Moon was adorable, as the witch who protected her heart by never getting too close to anyone and not staying in one place for too long until she met the inhabitants of the Nowhere House, where they reminded her what a mixture of people make up a family.

A beautiful story about a girl who is searching for a place to belong and family/friends.
I loved the characters and magic system.
The story had some unexpected turns that where very well done.
This was a fun cozy feelgood fantasy story.

Audio review: Brilliant Narrator. I really enjoyed her performance and she brought plenty of nuance to the characters.



I really loved this book. It was almost a cosy fantasy but with some grittier elements (and one decent helping of smut). The story was absolutely charming. The main character was rescued as a child by a witch - who just happens to be the head honcho of one of the main British circles - after her parents die. Growing up a witch is a lonely experience. First of all, a misfiring historic spell morphed into a curse which means that all witch children lose their parents very young. This has put a taboo on witches working together or in fact spending much time together. So the MC grows up, taught by a parade of nannies and governesses, rarely seeing her guardian and isolated from anyone else who is actually like her (in more ways than one.) As an adult, she finds ways to push the boundaries a little which leads her to rarely settle in one place for long and never to form permanent connections with people. Meanwhile, three orphaned witch children are growing up under human supervision at an isolated country estate, and there guardians believe they desperately need someone to teach them magic...



This was a beautiful story of found family, friendship and hard choices. It explores how the adults in our lives often try their best when we are children and can still fall short or make decisions that harm us. It invites us to accept these things for what they are, neither excusing nor condemning but approaching the situation with compassion and understanding that emotional neglect can often be a symptom of something broken in the adult, it does not always denote a lack of love. I found this thoughtfully done and aside from that the book is hilariously funny, sweet and fast paced. Highly recommend.

Mika, a witch who has always had to conceal her identity, is the protagonist of the tale. She moves around a lot to keep her secret safe, which makes her feel lonely and isolated. She only "plays" a witch on social media, but nobody was ever supposed to realise how accurate those posts were. This is the only witchy thing she does. Up until Mika receives a mystery invitation, that is. Young witches are living somewhere, and they are in desperate need of a magical teacher. Mika quickly finds herself fitting in and begins to feel at ease around those who are aware of her secret. There is a cranky librarian (Jamie) who certainly doesn't appear to like her, but he also appears to be hiding some softness under his hard exterior. Mika however, has never stayed in one place for long and there still appears to be secrets that must be revealed ..

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a very easy read, perfect for those who enjoy witchy stories.

Thank you so much for letting me listen to this audiobook. I absolutely loved it. It is a story perfectly timed for a cozy autumn. It is funny and oh so heartwarming.

This is a lovely little confection of a novel, and a complete departure from the authors richly wild middle grade fantasy books.

Following the life of Mika Moon, a witch with an affinity for potions, we learn how solitary it is to be magical, with many rules in place to avoid power being in one place. Mika is a self imposed nomad - constantly moving to avoid forming bonds and wanting to reveal the existence of real magic, her only solace being her witchy, but fictional YouTube videos and her quarterly magical meeting.

All of that changes when she receives a mysterious message to come to a remote, magically warded country house. The people she finds there need her help, and she, it turns out needs them just as much.

The cast of characters are what makes this book so special, there are three children who while annoying in places, are supposed to be, and four squishy marshmallow characters who I just want to be my found family.

The peril is minimum, the drama is sedate, but the vibes are everything. There are a couple of twists and turns but this is a pretty straightforward romance and found family tale, that is like a lovely hug to read.

Think of someone putting a straight Cerulean Sea and Practical Magic in a blender and add a pinch of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven.

I really enjoyed my time with these characters and would happily watch the little found family grow together in a series of adventures. Mandanna is witty, heartfelt and able to infuse her characters with a sense of self in a very short space of time.
It feels breezy but there is some very heavy lifting done on magic systems and world building that is pretty seamless.