Title: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Author: Sangu Mandanna
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Cozy fantasy, Paranormal fantasy, Romance, Witches
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2022

This is such a beautiful and sweet cozy fantasy, with just enough emotional angst to make it absolutely impossible to put down. I absolutely loved this story, and I’m glad that reading a Mandanna short story in Hungry Hearts led me to this wonderful story. Mika and her willingness to go against the grain were inspiring and I absolutely adored her. Plus, she is part of a cast of absolutely adorable found family. Everyone at Nowhere House worked their way incredibly quickly into my heart, making this one of my favourite reads so far for the year.

I found the background story of all witches being cursed to become orphans to be really tragic. Imagine being a witch, and knowing that if you gave birth to a child, you were going to die. And knowing that if you are a witch, it was your very birth that caused the death of your parents. It’s a pretty tragic and harsh way to start life. But, I did love how differently this tragedy ended up for Mika and the Nowhere House girls. For Mika, this resulted in an incredibly lonely and potentially bitter life. For the girls, it was a life filled with love and sisterhood that they otherwise wouldn’t have had. It was great how they all rally for the next generation, trying to create a better world filled with the love that Mika didn’t get in her own childhood.

I love a good story with a surprise twist at the end. I knew there was some kind of secret and twist coming… but I love that this took a left when I was expecting a right. It was so much fun and created a whole new set of obstacles for this amazing cast to overcome. Plus, it really made Mika dig deep and figure out what she actually wants from life. But, more importantly, the final twist / obstacle was what helped Mika to finally move on from her past and choose a new and promising future for herself. The fact that this is all rounded out with a little romance and sweetness to balance the intensity of the other emotions.

Reading The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches made me sit and really ask the question – how do you find your happiness. And when you find it? What will you do to keep it? I love that this was, ultimately, the journey that Mika was on. In amongst everything else, she spends the entirety of this story battling to figure out where her happiness lies and how to let go of the past. Something that I think we all need to sit back and do at different points throughout our lives. Then, there’s the argument between who is nice and kind, and that it’s more important to be kind than nice. Something that I need to carry forth with me sometimes when I can’t quite put my finger on why people rub me up the wrong way…

Image source: Amazon