The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

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....

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Literary Awards: Goodreads Choice Awards (2022) - Nominee for Best Fantasy

My Thoughts

A lot of readers place this novel in the Fantasy genre and while it has some fantastical elements that could land it there, I thought it was a cute read with mystery elements and so I went with "cozy mystery."

Mika is a likable and relatable heroine. She is both rebellious and reluctant to rock the boat. Her love interest, Jaime, is a protective father figure with a tough, protective exterior. Their romance is sweet and doesn’t unfold too quickly. The author takes just the right amount of time in setting up the transformation from initial attraction and distrust into full blown affection and love. Having read far too many books lately that do not understand the importance of this, I was grateful.

When many of us think of witches, I think we picture covens, made up of powerful and confident women, chanting spells together under moonlight. But in The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches all witches come into the world as orphans due to a mysterious spell gone wrong in the ancient past. And when more witches are together, the amount of magic becomes more bountiful, powerful, and ultimately, uncontrollably dangerous. Therefore, it’s simply deemed too risky for witches to gather. This was such a sweet, vulnerable interpretation. I absolutely loved it!

I wanted to know more about Terracotta and Rosetta. Sangu Mandanna, if you're listening, I would love to see each of these girls get their own book. This novel is sweet and charming and I enjoyed it in much the same way that I enjoyed The House in the Cerulean Sea. I give this one 4.5 stars.