Quick Synopsis

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.

Publisher’s Synopsis

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….

Book Review

If Practical Magic and The House in the Cerulean Sea had a child with short chapters (if you have read Alice Hoffman you know why I specify this), you would get The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, other than being a super long book title, is a very twee novel about a lonely witch who finds herself teaching three young witches under strange circumstances.

In a world where the parents of witches die shortly after their child’s birth, three young orphans are left with a menagerie of loving caregivers. To hopefully circumvent an upcoming issue, the caregivers hire Mika Moon, a real witch who plays a witch on TikTok, to teach the girls to control their magic. But what happens when the deadline nears and Mika finally feels like she has a home for the first time?

While I enjoyed the wholesomeness of this book, I was left feeling rather split about it as a whole. There were definitely aspects of the story I enjoyed, like the whimsicalness of it all, the found family storyline, the guncles, and diverse characters. But I found other parts of the plot simply did not work, like the romance, forced conflict, and a certain character’s petulant man-child attitude.

However, the biggest issue I have with The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is its serious lack of depth. This novel failed to immerse me in any way. There was little world building or character development. In fact, there is little description at all. Instead, it is a very shallow story that was mostly filled with comfy vibes and little substance.

The worst example of its all-vibes-and-little-else approach was the romance subplot. First, if you begin this book thinking it is a romance novel, you are going to be sorely disappointed. It is merely a subplot that feels like it was added in as an afterthought. There is no romancing, no build-up, no tension, and absolutely no chemistry between the characters. Their attraction is just suddenly there on the page. Similarly, there is a sex scene that feels out of nowhere and completely out of character. Did I mention that it occurs after instantaneous forgiveness for actions that hit the character’s largest trauma? The romance, like the rest of the story, is a thinly veiled fairytale world where childhood trauma can disappear from a really good hug.

Now, I do not want to dissuade anyone from reading The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. I just want to temper expectations so that all who pick it up can enjoy it. There is no doubt that it is a feel-good novel filled with magic, coziness, and happy endings. It is simply lacking the complexity of reality and the details required for loosing yourself in its fairytale world. So, if you can excuse a man’s dickish behavior and poor social skills because “they mean well,” you will love this book.

Overall, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is a book full of potential but fails due to lack of execution, resulting in a very forgettable read. However, if you enjoy books primarily based on good vibes and found family and do not mind a shallow storyline, you will enjoy this book.

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