Sangu Mandanna

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.

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 peril 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....

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

taylor miles hopkins

“It’s not always enough to go looking for the place we belong, Jamie said, his eyes on the house ahead. "Sometimes we need to make that place."

Niceness is good manners, and stopping to give someone directions, and smiling at the overworked cashier at the supermarket. These are all good things, but they have nothing to do with what’s underneath. Niceness is all about what we do when other people are looking. Kindness, on the other hand, runs deep. Kindness is what happens when no one’s looking.

“It’s not always enough to go looking for the place we belong,” Jamie said, his eyes on the house ahead. “Sometimes we need to  make  that place.”

She hadn't realised just how heavy her mask had been until she'd discovered what it was to live without it.

It's a leap of faith to love people and let yourself be loved. It's closing your eyes, stepping off a ledge into nothing, and trusting that you'll fly rather than fall.

arie

“You’ve decided now is the time to protect me? Really? Why?” 

“Because you’ve been protecting us since you got here,” said Terracotta. 

“Because we want you to be safe,” said Altamira. 

“What if I can’t?” Mika asked out loud, her voice little more than a whisper. 

“Then I’ll take anything you can give me,” Jamie replied. He took a step closer. “But just so you know, you can have all of me. If you want it.”

Mika had no difficulty with the loving part. She loved him, loved all of them, with a ferocity that hurt. She had known that for some time. But to allow herself to be loved? That was so much harder. That required bravery and trust and the vanquishing of the monsters that lived under the bed.

“It’s a leap of faith to love people and let yourself be loved. It’s closing your eyes, stepping off a ledge into nothing, and trusting that you’ll fly rather than fall. I can’t step off the ledge for you, Mika.“

“The fact that you love magic. You need it like you need to breathe. You wouldn’t be you if you weren’t a witch. And it’s you I want. All of you.”

“Your heart’s the strongest fucking thing I’ve ever known. It makes me want to be braver, and happier.” His eyes held hers. “Stay. Stay with me.”

“The part I’m struggling with,” Mika said, “is the fact that I can never know how much of it was real.” 

He put his cup down with a thump and turned to face her dead on, his brows knitted. “It was all real. Mika. Look at me. The only thing we lied to you about was why we needed your help. Everything else, everything, was real. Is real. The way we feel about you is real.”

“But I’m not sorry I left. It got me to Nowhere House.” 

She smiled. “Where you found a family.” 

“I can’t transform the world, Jamie. The world’s too big and too messy and too stubborn.” 

“Who said anything about transforming the world?” He shrugged. “What about just making it a little better? And then a little better? And then a little more, until, one day, maybe long after we’re gone, it has transformed? You deserve more than what you’re allowing yourself to have.”

To be loved and accepted exactly as we are? Isn’t that the thing we’re all searching for?

“It’s true that I have never had a family,” she said, and the tremor in her otherwise tight, even voice almost undid him. “I don’t think I have ever been loved by anybody. But I would argue that, despite what you think, that makes me uniquely qualified to know what it is to be treated poorly, and it means I know what I’m talking about when I say you deserved better. You deserve better.”

It was a knife that went right between her ribs, a thrust that drew blood. And hadn’t he meant it to? Hadn’t he wanted her to bleed the way he was bleeding? So why, then, did he wish he could take it back?

“Hasn’t anyone ever been worried about you just because?”

“It sounds like you’ve been alone for a long time.” 

“Oh, I’m used to that,” Mika said, her voice just a little too bright. “That’s the way it is.” 

“Not here, it’s not,” was all she got in reply.

the sea was the sea. It frothed and frolicked and had a beastly temper, but Mika would never wake up one day and find it gone. It knew all her secrets. It knew her. And it stayed. 

And always, in the end, she had been forgotten.

She was thirty-one, but here she was again, just as she’d been as a child, trapped on the hamster wheel of her mind, conducting a postmortem on every memory to find out what, if anything, had been real. She had always understood, at the end of the previous postmortems, that the answer was nothing. Nothing had been real.

These were thoughts that crept in when it was dark, and the sea was too quiet, and she got trapped on the hamster wheel of her own mind. She tried not to think of them in the light of day, but there were some things she couldn’t ignore even then.

“I’m afraid I’ll never leave a mark on anybody.”

Sabrina Spada

'Wonderfully romantic' India Holton She found magic in the most unlikely of places. Mika Moon follows three rules: hide your magic, keep your head down, and stay away from other witches. Mika is good at being alone, and she doesn't mind it . . . mostly. But when an unexpected invitation arrives to teach three young witches at the mysterious Nowhere House, Mika jumps at the chance for a different life. As she comes to care for its quirky inhabitants - and Jamie, the handsome but prickly librarian - finally belonging somewhere feels like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world - is it worth risking everything to protect the found family Mika didn't know she was looking for? A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a new family - and a new love - changes the course of her life. 'A comfort read' Stephanie Burgis 'Bewitching' Suleikha Snyder 'Warm and witchy' Tasha Suri

"It’s a leap of faith to love people and let yourself be loved. It’s closing your eyes, stepping off a ledge into nothing, and trusting that you’ll fly rather than fall."

Awww this book was absolutely adorable, so uplifting, heart warming, cosy and cute! I wasn't really too sure what to expect going into this but all I knew was that many of my mutuals had said this is a lovely read. I was wanting something lovely and low stakes, and this delivered on that perfectly. It brought together some really interesting themes such as loneliness, the othering of people who are different, trust issues built from trauma, found family, and the way people often run away from things to keep themselves safe instead of facing them head on. I thought this book had a few really good messages about healing and learning to love and let others love you, and also about how small changes can be so impactful, that you don't need to change the whole world overnight. I could definitely see myself rereading this book to cheer myself up in the future.

Mika is a great main character, I really felt for her and the way she was raised, being isolated from other witches due to the Rules about witches congregating together and the way some of her nannies treated her must've been really tough. She had a lot of wounds that she's never really spent time addressing and I loved watching her open up to the people at Nowhere House. I could see why she loved that place and everyone who lived there because they were all such fun characters. She was so full of optimism and wisdom, despite not feeling confident in her own abilities all of the time. Jamie, Ian, Ken and Lucie were wonderfully balanced against each other and so kind that I wanted to run away to Norfolk and get taken care of by them too. The storyline was very sweet as well, if a little ridiculous and predictable in places - I could sense that something wasn't quite right when they first explained why they needed Mika's help because just grabbing a few documents shouldn't have caused such a huge problem, and I was proved right by the end. But I think everything worked out in a really satisfying way so that predictability didn't really affect the story too much. The way Sangu Mandanna managed to weave together some more serious topics such as racism, abuse and homophobia with such a light hearted story was quite well done too.

"They were witches, they weren’t white, and they’d been born far away. Much as they might all wish otherwise, there would always be people who would question whether they were British enough, normal enough, anything enough."

I wish we'd gotten to see a bit more magic though, aside from a few pretty basic spells and potions, we didn't really get to understand the magic system or the world building of witch lore very deeply. The focus seemed to be more on family dynamics and childhood traumas than on the actual witchy aspects of this book, and I think if you removed the magic altogether this book would still read almost the same just without that air of whimsy and sparkle that this book had, and I really wanted the magic to be a bit more central. The romance was also a bit lacklustre for me as well, at the beginning I loved how things were developing, the heart to hearts with Jamie were really sweet and the way they supported each other was nice, but I couldn't help but feel it was more of a relationship of convenience and the actual chemistry between them just didn't catch me as much as I was hoping it would. I was quite shocked by the open door sex scene too, it just didn't feel like it fit the vibe of the overall story. But regardless of that, it was still incredibly sweet and touching so that's all just a very small criticism from me.

I have added this book to my favourites shelf because it's one of those books that made me laugh and smile and feel all gooey inside. It's quirky and atmospheric and so easy to read that I think just about anyone would enjoy this book to some level (aside from the very harshest of critics that I saw when I browsed other people's reviews 😅) and I would genuinely recommend this book to anyone looking for something a little bit fluffy to read, but also something that tackles some really interesting topics at the same time. It reminded me a lot of Sabrina the Teenage Witch mixed with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

"It’s not always enough to go looking for the place we belong... Sometimes we need to make that place."

Genevieve 

"It’s a leap of faith to love people and let yourself be loved. It’s closing your eyes, stepping off a ledge into nothing, and trusting that you’ll fly rather than fall."

4.5⭐

Awww this book was absolutely adorable, so uplifting, heart warming, cosy and cute! I wasn't really too sure what to expect going into this but all I knew was that many of my mutuals had said this is a lovely read. I was wanting something lovely and low stakes, and this delivered on that perfectly. It brought together some really interesting themes such as loneliness, the othering of people who are different, trust issues built from trauma, found family, and the way people often run away from things to keep themselves safe instead of facing them head on. I thought this book had a few really good messages about healing and learning to love and let others love you, and also about how small changes can be so impactful, that you don't need to change the whole world overnight. I could definitely see myself rereading this book to cheer myself up in the future.

Mika is a great main character, I really felt for her and the way she was raised, being isolated from other witches due to the Rules about witches congregating together and the way some of her nannies treated her must've been really tough. She had a lot of wounds that she's never really spent time addressing and I loved watching her open up to the people at Nowhere House. I could see why she loved that place and everyone who lived there because they were all such fun characters. She was so full of optimism and wisdom, despite not feeling confident in her own abilities all of the time. Jamie, Ian, Ken and Lucie were wonderfully balanced against each other and so kind that I wanted to run away to Norfolk and get taken care of by them too. The storyline was very sweet as well, if a little ridiculous and predictable in places - I could sense that something wasn't quite right when they first explained why they needed Mika's help because just grabbing a few documents shouldn't have caused such a huge problem, and I was proved right by the end. But I think everything worked out in a really satisfying way so that predictability didn't really affect the story too much. The way Sangu Mandanna managed to weave together some more serious topics such as racism, abuse and homophobia with such a light hearted story was quite well done too.

"They were witches, they weren’t white, and they’d been born far away. Much as they might all wish otherwise, there would always be people who would question whether they were British enough, normal enough, anything enough."

I wish we'd gotten to see a bit more magic though, aside from a few pretty basic spells and potions, we didn't really get to understand the magic system or the world building of witch lore very deeply. The focus seemed to be more on family dynamics and childhood traumas than on the actual witchy aspects of this book, and I think if you removed the magic altogether this book would still read almost the same just without that air of whimsy and sparkle that this book had, and I really wanted the magic to be a bit more central. The romance was also a bit lacklustre for me as well, at the beginning I loved how things were developing, the heart to hearts with Jamie were really sweet and the way they supported each other was nice, but I couldn't help but feel it was more of a relationship of convenience and the actual chemistry between them just didn't catch me as much as I was hoping it would. I was quite shocked by the open door sex scene too, it just didn't feel like it fit the vibe of the overall story. But regardless of that, it was still incredibly sweet and touching so that's all just a very small criticism from me.

I have added this book to my favourites shelf because it's one of those books that made me laugh and smile and feel all gooey inside. It's quirky and atmospheric and so easy to read that I think just about anyone would enjoy this book to some level (aside from the very harshest of critics that I saw when I browsed other people's reviews 😅) and I would genuinely recommend this book to anyone looking for something a little bit fluffy to read, but also something that tackles some really interesting topics at the same time. It reminded me a lot of Sabrina the Teenage Witch mixed with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

"It’s not always enough to go looking for the place we belong... Sometimes we need to make that place."

This book, while wont be a five star for everyone, was certainly one for me.

As stated in its pages, this book at its core is about human connection. About learning to confront the monsters under your bed as and see cobwebs.  Loving yourself enough to let others love you.

it’s a hug on your bad days. The hot chocolate you make in the dead of winter. It’s Being carried inside by your parents after a long day.

It’s about confronting your trauma head on and growing from it.

And most importantly it’s about accepting that you can’t transform the world over night, but you can absolutely push it along and towards that transformation.

In a time of uncertainty where we demonize our neighbors for their differences, this book teaches you to approach life with more understanding through the eyes of the misunderstood and the judged. 

Like I said, this will not be a five star for everyone, but it was for me. And there’s nothing in this book I would change.

Abby

This book, while wont be a five star for everyone, was certainly one for me.

As stated in its pages, this book at its core is about human connection. About learning to confront the monsters under your bed as and see cobwebs.  Loving yourself enough to let others love you.

it’s a hug on your bad days. The hot chocolate you make in the dead of winter. It’s Being carried inside by your parents after a long day.

It’s about confronting your trauma head on and growing from it.

And most importantly it’s about accepting that you can’t transform the world over night, but you can absolutely push it along and towards that transformation.

In a time of uncertainty where we demonize our neighbors for their differences, this book teaches you to approach life with more understanding through the eyes of the misunderstood and the judged. 

Like I said, this will not be a five star for everyone, but it was for me. And there’s nothing in this book I would change.

First book in a while, just wanted an easy read and this was definitely it, it didn’t touch on anything particularly deep or intellectual, i.e. the perfect feel-good book! No intense conflict, characters were easy to understand and get attached to, and I really liked the relationship between Mika and the girls. — “haloed in fireflies and winter starlight”

Nicole

The cosiness was really well done, with actual good banter between the MCs. Very cute, soft and sweet. I liked the idea of a real witch pretending to be a TikTok witch pretending to be a real witch. 

The voice actor’s Irish accent wasn’t too bad most of the time, either. 

Kierce

The cosiness was really well done, with actual good banter between the MCs. Very cute, soft and sweet. I liked the idea of a real witch pretending to be a TikTok witch pretending to be a real witch. 

The voice actor’s Irish accent wasn’t too bad most of the time, either. 

turtle

As promised, it was incredibly cute, cozy, and English. This book was a light interlude to some of the heavier things I’ve read lately. It was cheesy and a bit dumb but wonderfully light.

Jacqui Spears

I fear I'm a cozy fantasy hater...Also this had smut...I can't.

mehrsa

I could go on a rant by how torturous this experience was for me, but this book exhausted me to the point where I don’t have the energy. So here’s my abridged version (and yes, it is the abridged version): 

This shit was BORING. None of the characters had any depth to them besides the one or two pieces of lore dropped on us in info dumps. The children didn’t speak like children, and one of them was a sociopathic nuisance. Additionally, the conversations they had in the presence of the children were inappropriate and an odd thing to include in the book. The “found family” aspect was forced as hell because they didn’t actually show me these people forming strong bonds. They just mildly enjoyed each other’s company and then decided they love each other. Ok. 

The romance??? I’m currently lying in a puddle of my own sick as a result of this contrived interracial clusterfuck of a relationship. There was literally no reason for them to fall for one another. So, to me, it just seems like yet another bipoc author wanted her non-white fmc with a white mmc for no particular reason. 

Now to address my biggest issue. These three foreign kids were taken and “raised” by white people in England. I have huggeeeee issues with that. They’ve been renamed and stripped of any connection to their cultures. It seems like they were just thrown in for the sake of diversity because them being non-white had nothing to do with the story. I don’t like this part of the novel at all, and I wonder if the author is adopted (like I am) and understands the implications of this. It was a weird choice to me, to say the least. 

Overall, I had the worst time forcing myself through this, and this book isn’t the pinnacle of diversity and acceptance as I was made to believe.

Nik ✨

I could go on a rant by how torturous this experience was for me, but this book exhausted me to the point where I don’t have the energy. So here’s my abridged version (and yes, it is the abridged version): 

This shit was BORING. None of the characters had any depth to them besides the one or two pieces of lore dropped on us in info dumps. The children didn’t speak like children, and one of them was a sociopathic nuisance. Additionally, the conversations they had in the presence of the children were inappropriate and an odd thing to include in the book. The “found family” aspect was forced as hell because they didn’t actually show me these people forming strong bonds. They just mildly enjoyed each other’s company and then decided they love each other. Ok. 

The romance??? I’m currently lying in a puddle of my own sick as a result of this contrived interracial clusterfuck of a relationship. There was literally no reason for them to fall for one another. So, to me, it just seems like yet another bipoc author wanted her non-white fmc with a white mmc for no particular reason. 

Now to address my biggest issue. These three foreign kids were taken and “raised” by white people in England. I have huggeeeee issues with that. They’ve been renamed and stripped of any connection to their cultures. It seems like they were just thrown in for the sake of diversity because them being non-white had nothing to do with the story. I don’t like this part of the novel at all, and I wonder if the author is adopted (like I am) and understands the implications of this. It was a weird choice to me, to say the least. 

Overall, I had the worst time forcing myself through this, and this book isn’t the pinnacle of diversity and acceptance as I was made to believe.

the perfect intro to audiobooks, this was so cute

༺ kat ༻

This was a really popular book among my mutuals on booktwt so when it was picked for booclub this month I decided it was finally time to pick it up.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is a whimsical and heartfelt read, it has a children's storybook type of feel but is an adult fiction book. It reminded me of old disney movies in a way. Its not really my usual type of read, I don't really gravitate towards cozy or romance books but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It was easy and entertaining to read and despite the subject matter not very predictable.  The plot twists actually took me by surprise, especially at the end. 

I think the author did a good job of world-building and defining the magic system, but I just continuously was curious to learn more about it. Some of the mysteries remain unexplained even after the story is completed and that disappointed me a bit as a magic lover. Nonetheless, the characters are what make this book what it is, I really adored Mika and was rooting for her healing journey and personal growth throughout. The cast of characters at Nowhere House made me smile too, although I would say Jamie is an Irish man in a romance novel stereotype and I found it hard to ever take him seriously. I enjoyed seeing the themes of healing from past hardships and breaking cycles portrayed in the book. For a book that's overall very lighthearted, it was nice to see more serious themes being discussed. 

Overall I'm pleasantly surprised by The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and Im glad I picked it up.

Marz 

This was a really popular book among my mutuals on booktwt so when it was picked for booclub this month I decided it was finally time to pick it up.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is a whimsical and heartfelt read, it has a children's storybook type of feel but is an adult fiction book. It reminded me of old disney movies in a way. Its not really my usual type of read, I don't really gravitate towards cozy or romance books but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It was easy and entertaining to read and despite the subject matter not very predictable.  The plot twists actually took me by surprise, especially at the end. 

I think the author did a good job of world-building and defining the magic system, but I just continuously was curious to learn more about it. Some of the mysteries remain unexplained even after the story is completed and that disappointed me a bit as a magic lover. Nonetheless, the characters are what make this book what it is, I really adored Mika and was rooting for her healing journey and personal growth throughout. The cast of characters at Nowhere House made me smile too, although I would say Jamie is an Irish man in a romance novel stereotype and I found it hard to ever take him seriously. I enjoyed seeing the themes of healing from past hardships and breaking cycles portrayed in the book. For a book that's overall very lighthearted, it was nice to see more serious themes being discussed. 

Overall I'm pleasantly surprised by The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and Im glad I picked it up.

this is cute! it def lives up to the lighthearted, cozy, magical, witchy vibes. wasnt anything amazing like some people told me but it was still a cute read. def recommend if you want like a cozy book around the fall/holiday season that you dont have to think much about while reading that will also make you feel warm inside. 

alice l

Romy

Cute and seasonal but if people love this and think it's great then why aren't any of my friends published yet????

Regan Martin

i was SO excited to read this and i think i went in with unreasonably high expectations. it was good! but it was not great. it did its job though. i feel magical and light and cozy. the only part that i was like, “yeah that was really good” is like the last page with the Emma quote, “if i loved you less, i might be able to talk about it more”. otherwise, it was okay. 

big ab

Adorably cozy, this well-written novel is about a witch searching for family. The main character is sunny and likable, her persistence is admirable, and her struggles are relatable, even for non-magical folk. 

Kristen Savage

this cozy, heartwarming story has to be a contender for my top read of 2024

Sophie

LOVE THIS ONE SO MUCHHH it's the kind of book that makes you want to go back to it very soon everytime you're away. giving a gilmore-y vibes but it's, well, witches. i wish i can make potions.

Ember Skies

Incredibly charming characters and situations, with wonderful prose throughout. I enjoyed it very much.

Zoe R

3.5⭐️

Good witchy stuff but not really a romance. The romance kinda seemed like an afterthought like oh you know what

i love the whole premise of the book. The characters are so loveable especially mika and Jamie their chemistry is through the roof. Ian, ken Lucie, the girls and primrose have my heart 🥺

I didn't expect this book to make me tear up. It's about human connection. To be loved and accepted as we are. The things we do for the ones we love, just to make them stay. Finding place where we belong and feel belong. To be surrounded by people we can connect to and makes us feel home. The difference between people who are "nice" and "kind".

I've never been relate to a character than I did with Mika Moon.

I didn't expect this book to make me tear up. It's about human connection. To be loved and accepted as we are. The things we do for the ones we love, just to make them stay. Finding place where we belong and feel belong. To be surrounded by people we can connect to and makes us feel home. The difference between people who are "nice" and "kind".

I've never been relate to a character than I did with Mika Moon.

Bria

4.75

found family x grumpy-sunshine *chef’s kiss*

Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

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