Scan barcode
daniofthewood's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
embersbooknook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was an absolute cozy dream read. It has everything you could want - witches, ✨magic✨ vibes that are immaculate, found family, diverse characters, characters dealing with their childhood trauma, and a lovely wrap up in the end. It’s also very romantic😍 I …am obsessed. I will definitely return to this as a cozy autumn read often.
Sangu’s writing was absolutely wonderful - very easy to read, with an excellent ebb and flow to the story that never left more bored and always left me eagerly reading more. Ian’s character won my heart instantly, as did Ken’s and their beautiful love story🥹
All the characters felt believable, and three dimensional - and don’t even get me started on Jamie and Mika…they are perfect and I love them so much. Rosetta, Terracotta, and Altamira were just so well written - their personalities, dreams, quirks, quarrels- I just wanted to scoop them all into a hug and go on adventures with them🥹
Also I really fucking want some of Mika’s tea!!!🫖
Cannot recommend this book enough! A completely charming read.
Sangu’s writing was absolutely wonderful - very easy to read, with an excellent ebb and flow to the story that never left more bored and always left me eagerly reading more. Ian’s character won my heart instantly, as did Ken’s and their beautiful love story🥹
All the characters felt believable, and three dimensional - and don’t even get me started on Jamie and Mika…they are perfect and I love them so much. Rosetta, Terracotta, and Altamira were just so well written - their personalities, dreams, quirks, quarrels- I just wanted to scoop them all into a hug and go on adventures with them🥹
Also I really fucking want some of Mika’s tea!!!🫖
Cannot recommend this book enough! A completely charming read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Child abuse
Minor: Emotional abuse, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Most of the things mentioned in the content warnings were things a character describes experiencing in the past. None of it was graphic but some of it was like…really sad and could remind readers of similar personal trauma - therefore I mention the warnings. Overall this is a light read, but these things are mentioned.daenerystargaryen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Racism
beccaborrowsbooks's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
moonytoast's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
dev921's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, and Death of parent
teabrewer's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I chose this book because I needed a cozy lighthearted romance for a stressful week that was to come. This book was, mostly, cozy, lighthearted and romantic. The kids were funny, the love interest is a grumpy, but good, person who is raising these kids. It talked about some interesting topics like the difference between being nice and being good, the different ways people deal with trauma, particularly parental negligence, and feeling alone in the world. There was no gender essentialism and consent is very respected throughout the book, and not only in romantic situations, so it escaped my most common pet peeves in this genre. I liked the magic system. Magic is palpable and a bit personified and witches have actual conversations with it to use magic. It also interacts back with the witches. I know it has become a more common thing in this kind of book but seeing the casual representation of a lesbic couple made me happy and they felt like very natural characters. I also liked seeing an older gay couple, it is good to be reminded queer people can be alive and happy for that long. That being said, there were a few things I didn't like in this book. Ian trying to force Mika and Jamie's relationship felt, well, forced. The references to witchcore and TikTok at the beginning of the book felt out-of-touch. The main characters were all only a step away from stereotypes, and although that's not always necessarily a bad thing, in some cases it took me away from the book. Ian was the biggest offender but they all had dialogue that made me grimace at least once. The forest make out scene was cute and full of want but the sex scene in the house was clunky and weird. It felt more like a list of actions than someone's perspective. It also felt a bit out of place in the context of this book. The sudden "we buried a dead body in the garden" felt extremely out of place, like the author had planned that at first but forgot about it while writing the book and had to cram it in there somehow afterwards. And the "secret identical twin" twist just after that felt like a lazy, cliché band-aid, especially since before it appeared the plot was going in a way more interesting and relevant direction. I don't understand why that was included, there was no hole to be covered. A plot-hole was actually created because of it and had to be addressed with an even lazier excuse, that is the pictures with Lilian in them always being blurry. Lastly, what was, for me, the biggest elephant in the room: Maybe I'm expecting too much of a cozy lighthearted romance, and maybe having read Babel by R.F. Kuang recently affected my expectations and tolerance for this specifically.But it was a choice to include how the children, and the main character, were taken from their birth countries. How they were stripped of their original names raised by white people while completely isolated from anyone from their original cultures. How there were other witch societies in those countries and Primrose and Lillian had contact with them but still did all that. I don't understand why make that choice if you never planned to address the subject properly. With these last 4 topics, The Super Secret Society of Irregular Witches' problem is that it bites more than it could ever swallow being what it is. It didn't have to have a spicy scene, a "mystery" or to mention xenophobia and colonialism, but it did and couldn't do them all and the actual plot of the book at once.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
rexpostfacto's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
auteaandtales's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I absolutely loved this! Found family is one of my favourite tropes, if not my number one favourite, and it was executed flawlessly here. I loved that it was multigenerational all within one home, too, this is something I don’t come across in things that I read and I always adore it when I do. It was incredible wholesome, cutesy and with the best setting - a little isolated house with a library and a garden?! Yes please.
I connected and enjoyed every single main character. The romance was cute, although I would have liked it to be a little more in depth. With everything going on, though, it did make more sense for it to be more of a subplot.
I don’t re-read books very often but I suspect I will be returning to this again in the future, especially when I want something comforting. The book equivalent of drinking a hot chocolate with rain pouring outside in the peace and quiet, cozy on a sofa with a blanket.
I did have some issues with it, despite my five star rating. These were that we were told about what was happening and what the characters were feeling, which was off putting. I like to be shown and not told, or spoon fed things that I can figure out myself. Another thing was that it was jarring to be in something so cute and wholesome and fluffy and then suddenly there was swearing and sex? Which I don’t particularly mind reading about, but it was so…out of place? It didn’t feel like it fit here, at all.
I connected and enjoyed every single main character. The romance was cute, although I would have liked it to be a little more in depth. With everything going on, though, it did make more sense for it to be more of a subplot.
I don’t re-read books very often but I suspect I will be returning to this again in the future, especially when I want something comforting. The book equivalent of drinking a hot chocolate with rain pouring outside in the peace and quiet, cozy on a sofa with a blanket.
I did have some issues with it, despite my five star rating. These were that we were told about what was happening and what the characters were feeling, which was off putting. I like to be shown and not told, or spoon fed things that I can figure out myself. Another thing was that it was jarring to be in something so cute and wholesome and fluffy and then suddenly there was swearing and sex? Which I don’t particularly mind reading about, but it was so…out of place? It didn’t feel like it fit here, at all.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
lisavandonselaar's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Grief, and Gaslighting