Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Wild is the Witch

3.5 ⭐ CW: anxiety/panic attacks, death of a loved one mention, immolation mention, death of an animal

Wild is the Witch by Rachel Griffin is the second book I've read by her. This book was fine. I liked The Nature of Witches much more than this one. It just lacked some depth for me. It was a quick and easy read though.

We follow Iris, a Lunar witch that has a connection to animals. After having witnessed a terrible death caused by her best friend, Iris and her mom have moved to the Pacific Northwest and run a wildlife refuge. Since then, Iris is determined to keep the fact that she is a witch a secret, especially from the annoying intern, Pike Alder. After hearing Pike's intense hatred of witches, Iris creates a curse to make him one with plans to dispel it so it never reaches him, but an owl gets in the way, absorbs the curse and flys away from the refuge.

Iris decides to go after the owl in order to unbind the curse from him, but is saddled with having to take Pike with her. While searching for the owl, they form a new kind relationship, but things get difficult with the owl becomes injured and there is a risk of the curse getting out of control if it dies.

First of all, what kind of name is Pike Alder? I thought naming the owl MacGuffin was a bit on the nose and too meta for me. It made me roll my eyes for sure. I did like the magic normal world and the different types of witches and how magic works. I just thought the story itself was a bit shallow and predictable. If you're intrigued by a cursed owl in the Pacific Northwest with an enemies to lovers vibe, this would be for you.

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tahliad_reads's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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buttermellow's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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minycrd's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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scrubsandbooks's review

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I loved Rachel Griffin's previous book: there's something about witches and general natural setting being used as the source of their power. I just love witches that derive their powers from flora and fauna, seasons, weather, etc. This one just didn't hit the mark as well as her first book. I felt less of the magic in this one and more of the relationship tension between the main character and her love interest and more focus on her internal conflict with herself. Which honestly would be fine and all, but I couldn't really connect to the love interest or read much chemistry between them. Rachel Griffin's prose and description of the setting is beautiful as always, making me want to take a vacation out to the PNW. But the characters just didn't vibe well with me.

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eviethebookworm's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is such a lovely and emotional fantasy romance. Rachel Griffin has this ability to weave nature, magic, and humanity into a story that keeps you turning pages.

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cheryl_gager's review against another edition

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emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I did like the story and the atmosphere was great. The magic system was interesting and really drew me in, I wanted to explore more of it, just like with The nature of witches, which shows how good Rachel Griffin is at writing magic into normal, contemporary settings. Though I liked how the relationship between Iris and Pike developed, I had a hard time with how it started. For most of the book Pike seemed like a really sweet and funny side with a touch of sarcasm, however at the beginning of the book there were times when he was fairly rude to Iris for no reason other than it seeming he had a problem with her mum owning the animal refuge and Iris having a job there without going to college. This made it slightly jarring when having to see him be something which shows no hint of the guy at the start. Now I get that they needed to have a conflict in order for Iris to curse him, but I feel like not enough time passed for him to have switched personalities like that. Overall, this was an easy and enjoyable read, but just nothing I would rave bout or remember in a few days time.

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