Reviews with content warning for Murder - Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

If people are looking for a cosy, found family romance with a fantasy backdrop and DON’T want to support the harmful book that is The House in the Cerulean Sea, I would point them in this book’s direction. Reading it makes you feel safe and loved, just like the MC Mika who is finally finding a place to belong. The little family at Nowhere House is quirky and incredibly tight-knit. Ian and Ken’s relationship dynamic was darling in particular. While Mandanna does include sweet, casual moments (which are key to the found family trope), I do wish there had been more of these, spread out so we could see every character interact with every other character. I also wish we had seen Jamie as a father figure to all the girls like the book says he is - we are only really shown his interaction with Terracotta. I also wish Lucie and her story featured more.

Mika has some real depth to her as the MC. Her journey is all about feeling safe enough, loved enough, and valued enough to feel like she belongs. She’s dealing with childhood trauma stemming from exploitative carers, but also from the way the witching society is set up in the UK; that is, according to the mantra “divided we are safer.” Mika really questions this structure, seeing how the three kids she meets are thriving together, and so asks the question: is happiness together worth the risk of danger? I really liked the journey she went on.

The romance was pretty good. I don’t have the same issues some reviewers did where they couldn’t see the chemistry between Mika and Jamie - I personally did, and could definitely see the ways in which they fitted together. Hurt/comfort as a trope is employed, paired with the-LI-goes-feral-when-the-MC-is-hurt, which is a fave combo of mine and was done really well here. An issue I did have was that Jamie felt a little half-baked as a character sometimes. His POV is occasionally included, but not enough to get a real sense of him - given an element of the plot, I can understand why Mandanna didn’t commit to dual POV, but it did have that unfortunate effect. Also, the complication with his backstory (which gave him dynamism) is introduced and resolved within a couple of chapters, so the rest of the time he lacked the depth as a character that I wanted.

The non-romantic subplot was also enjoyable - I thought it was cleverly done and tied in well with the world-building and romance, only adding to the story. And the world-building itself was great. Mandanna really focussed in on the social element of witches, which as aforementioned, heavily plays into the characters and plot. But also the history she builds and how magic is personified was so cool. Don’t even get me started on the potion magic, which is my JAM. I lovedddd seeing Mika explain ingredients and their interactions, and mix up brews.

I thought this was a standalone but to my delight it seems that a companion novel is coming out next year. I’m looking forward to it!

Rep: British-Indian MC, Achillean SC, Achillean British-Japanese SC, Black SC, British-Vietnamese SC, British-Palestinian SC

Content Warnings

brigid_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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chrisljm's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.75

loved every character in this book, but i didn’t enjoy the second half of the book as much as i enjoyed the first half.

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fromthefoxhole's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious slow-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

The writing - phenomenal, somehow the British accents come through in the pacing of the prose, the characters are all charming in their own right, and well fleshed out, I could picture this book so well it was almost like watching a TV series.

The story - Mika Moon is a witch, and she is part of a smallish society of witches. This society is led by Primrose, a very strict and rule-focused witch, who also happens to be the woman who raised her and isolated her for the majority of her life.

After viewing one of Mika's videos, a man forms an idea, and shortly thereafter Mika receives a dm, WITCH WANTED. Upon reading further, she finds it is a request for a tutor, as he has 3 young witches who require assistance. As Mika had been raised that witches should not congregate (except for short amounts of time a few times a year), she accepted immediately.
What follows is a delightful romp, wherein Mika teaches these young witches and allows herself to learn alongside them.

The review - Yes. Read it, it's just a wonderful time, truly. Mika is a sunshine-y FMC that will bowl you over with sweetness, countered directly by Jamie, the grumpy love interest, hell bent on protecting his girls at any cost. The supporting cast is no less excellent, each given their moment to shine and charm the reader, so that by the end, each of the 7 of them have their hooks in you as much as Jamie and Mika. Add to that a heaping spoonful of whimsy, a dash of mystery, and a pinch of spice, and you've got the recipe for a 5 star read. I'm gonna recommend it to everyone I know.

Content Warnings

skudiklier's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective 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 just as cozy and good and magical the second time around! I reread this because we're reading it for my book club, and I'm so excited to have people to talk about it with, because the first time I read it it hadn't come out yet and I was trying so hard to convince anyone I could to read it. I love this book.

Original review pasted below:

I absolutely adored this book. I mean, really. It's got witches. It's got found family. It's got enemies to lovers. It's got queer grandpas. It's got cute little kids. It's got plot twists. What more could you ask for from a book, honestly.

Also--you know that feeling you get when you're deep into a good story, or maybe you've already finished it, and you find yourself wanting to go back to that world and those characters? You could be doing anything and then suddenly you have this weird urge that maybe you can't place for a minute, until you go, oh, I just want to go back to reading/watching that.

I get that a lot, but in most cases it's not until I'm a good ways into the story, unless I'm rereading a childhood favorite or something like that. What's weird about The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is that I started feeling that way almost right from the beginning. I was barely into the book, and still would feel myself drawn to the characters. I didn't have a lot of time to read it at first, so I made my way through the first third the book pretty slowly, and it was surprisingly hard to not just drop everything and read it all so I could stay in the story.

By midway through, I sort of did drop everything to finish it. I couldn't help it. And agh, I just, I loved it so much. I have no idea if the author plans to write sequels, but I hope she does, just because I feel like I could spend so much longer in this world and with these characters, and never have enough.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Content Warnings

jbpalumbo's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted 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

A truly lovely read about finding home and family in the face of trauma-response demanding otherwise. It landed as a warmer, fuzzier, even more tender House in the Cerulean Sea.

Content Warnings

bringmybooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective 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

4.75

<<<<<<<<< cozy fantasy
(that's it. that's the tweet)

✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

(JK - I, of course, have more to say)

Okay, so last year the sub-genre "Cozy Fantasy" starts getting thrown around a whole lot, and I'm intrigued. I then discover that some of my favorite series as a kid fall into this category, and I'm even more intrigued. I then read Legends & Lattes and I'm HERE. FOR. IT.

So on a whim I buy the hardcover UK edition of L&L and while on the site I snag this adorable UK hardcover of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches as well. And I debate waiting until October to read it, but then I don't, which I'm glad for because HELLO THIS WAS DELIGHTFUL.

Okay, but seriously. This book was pure magic. The relationships, the magical system, the plot, the characters, the romance, the ending, just ... all of it. I was hooked pretty much immediately and once Mika Moon (also, the name? I mean? are you kidding me?) gets to Nowhere House I didn't want to put this book down until I finished!

(The absolute. only. thing. that gave me pause was the amount of cussing in it. Well, not necessarily the cussing because I don't really care about that, but more so that there were a number of times that it seemed like the three young children would have been in the room with the cussing just flying around and that wasn't my fav)

That aside - I genuinely LOVED this book and I cannot WAIT for the next book to come from Sangu Mandanna!

(according to her IG, it's A WITCH’S GUIDE TO MAGICAL INNKEEPING and it's coming in April 2024!)

Content Warnings

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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

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