THE VERY SECRET SOCIETY OF IRREGULAR WITCHES by Sangu Mandanna
A cozy witch novel to take me into Christmas
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna has come up on a lot of lists I have seen about great witchy novels as a favourite, so prior to Christmas I bought a copy and settled in.
The story is of Mika Moon, a young English witch who has grown up essentially alone and isolated from other witches, at the behest of her adopter, Primrose. As an adult, Mika meets other witches occasionally, under Primrose’s watchful eye, at a meeting of witches called anything but that.
Mika finds a job at an isolated property after being headhunted by a gentleman named Ian on the internet. Mika makes “fake witch” videos and Ian believes she has something to teach three young women in his charge, who are witches. At this property, also lives Ian’s partner Ken, Jamie the librarian and cook Lucie - Nowhere House owned by the absent archeologist and witch, Lillian.
The story progresses from there and starts out really well….until it kind of moves into being a romance novel. I won’t say more because it would reveal the plot but it goes in a direction - one scene particularly - which was unnecessary and took this from being a fun book to one which I would describe as just alright.
The novel is described often as “cozy” and that is probably a good description - it’s one to curl up in a chair to read, without having to entend yourself intellectually in any way. The characters are loveable, even when they aren’t, and the story line sweet, if a little very predictable. This is not a novel you’ll read and say “I did not see that coming!”
You absolutely will, and that’s OK.
Do I think it’s amongst the best witchy novels I have read? Ah, no. It’s a little romancy and predictable for that, but am I glad I read it? Sure. It was an easy to read novel at a busy time of year, a fun escape from the realities of the Christmas season that approached and the atrocities of the world. Sometimes, that’s just what one needs to engage with.
If easy, romantic, cozy witch vibes are for you, you’ll like this. If you like novels with a tad more substance, maybe don’t worry about this one.