Debut author Rachel Griffin’s writing was absolutely enthralling. I could almost taste the nature bouncing off the pages. Clara was a character that really clicked with me. She was sweet, full of fire, compassionate, empathetic, everything I want in a main character and more. Clara even made me cry in several beautifully written moments. This has to be one of the most unique magic system I’ve ever read; climate change and witches, although fantasy, held issues so similar to our real world context. As if it couldn’t get any better, there was a heart warming love interest to fill that romance gap. The Nature of Witches is not a must have, but a NEED on your TBR list. I’ll be purchasing a physical book for my library collection for sure so I can save all the quotes that spoke out to me.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. (via Netgalley)

I was intrigued by the premise of this story and ended up really enjoying it. The author does a great job of world building, make it easy for me to create a mental picture of what was happening in the books.

While I think this novel has a creative base, I cannot bring myself to love the story. Clara is a confused teenager with a personality that changes often. Its as if the author envisions her to be so many different things that she cannot be cemented. And while I had hopes for this story to be magical and original, it was neither of those things. I found a girl who is insecure and wishes for love above all other things, constantly chasing different people in desperation. I would argue this story was 95% romance. Although I fought away a headache trying to finish this book, it wasn't all that painful- more boring then anything. This story did not meet my expectations.

This was a book that I Really enjoyed this read and I would recommend to others easily, I will be looking out for other titles by this author.

For a debut novel, this one is pretty good. There were a few hiccups in the writing in my opinion though. The author was really repetitive throughout and it felt like it took away from the story. Once we got into the story without all the explanations and repetitions, it was pretty good. I liked how Clara grew as a character and how her and Sang worked together. I really enjoyed their story.

Clara is an Everwitch, the first one in centuries. Unlike other witches whose magic is tied to a single season, Clara experiences and has control over them all. Witches have been maintaining the climate for centuries. For too long, the shaders (non-magical humans) have been taking advantage of the planet, trying to dominate and develop it, thinking that no matter how much they exploit the earth, the witches could control the effects. But the planet is reaching the point of no return and witches are dying, depleting themselves trying to control the volatile atmosphere.

Clara is considered one of their only hopes, the strength of her magic seeming to be the needed solution. But she fears her power and its tendency to hurt the ones she loves; to the point that she might try to rid herself of her magic forever.

I thought it was really inventive to present witches and their magic in the context of our modern day climate change crisis. Overall an engaging, immersive read that would appeal to a broad audience!

Thanks to the publishers, author, & NetGalley for the e-ARC of The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin.

This is a very original contemporary YA fantasy/magical realism book with a strong statement on our environmental impact and the resulting climate change. The writing is lyrical. I really enjoyed the rich descriptions of the weather and the plant life.

It’s a very character-driven story. I really wanted to love the story and its characters, but main character Clara struck me as self-centered, emotionally abusive, and very “woe is me”. She wasn’t a strong heroine, and I flat out didn’t like her. I cheered out loud when someone finally called her out on it. I appreciated the diversity of the characters, and I would have liked to read more about Paige and about Sang in particular. Along with Mr. Hart, they’re the most likable characters.

I would have liked more world building — especially details about the school, how Clara ended up there, the relationship with Shaders, how Sang’s spring magic was so effective in the off-seasons... The pacing was a little slow for me in the beginning but gradually improved; perhaps that is because the book description gives too much away. I read 60% of the book before it got beyond the description & into new territory. Parts were also repetitive, particularly Clara’s emotional state and her uncertainties.

Overall the story has good messages to share, and I’m glad I read it.

Y'all, I finished this in a day. I couldn't put it down! I loved the different perspective of magic in this book. We usually see it with wands or incantations, but I feel like this was a fresh approach and it was refreshing. You go through all the emotions in this book alongside the main character and seeing how she progresses and her development is amazing. Add thia book to your TBR list right now, you won't regret it!

"We let things get too far out of control. We should have demanded action from the shaders years ago, when we first realized there was a problem." For centuries, witches have been cleaning up the mess of humans. "The Nature of Witches" emphasizes how humans have created such a climate crisis, but they keep forging on as if nothing is wrong, hoping the witches will save them. The parallels this books makes to the real world is very interesting - Unfortunately, we don't have an Everwitch to pull us out of the irrevocable shitstorm we have created on our planet.

Clara, the main character, has a journey throughout the book trying to come into her full powers. She struggles with past lost, present relationships, and future decisions. She wasn't a character I truly connected with, but I was still invest in her journey.

What I liked most about this book was the description of the witches, and their connections to the seasons. The concept of having a witch be in a dormant-like state in their off season was new to me and set apart this book from other books I have read in this genre.

Overall, I am very impressed with this debut novel by Rachel Griffin, and I look forward to reading more books of hers in the future.

I really enjoyed this spin on a tale of witches. I loved the modern aspects of the book, depicting witches who live in modern times in a realistic America. With global warming, the witches must help control the weather, which is becoming unpredictable. This was a great way to discuss the changes happening in the earth due to what we, the “shaders,” have done for so long to the atmosphere. I enjoyed the characters and the writing was beautiful.

2.5/5 rounded up to 3 because I love the cover.
Thanks to the publishers, author, and Netgalley for approving me for an e-arc of The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin.

The premise is amazing!! Seasonal witches who are stronger during their season and weaker the other months out of the year, but our main character Clara is an Everwitch meaning she harnesses all seasons within her magic. These witches are struggling to deal with climate change that humans (known as shaders in the book) have continuously ignored the warnings of. Although the witches have tried to reason with the shaders previously, they were unsuccessful and now are struggling to keep global warming at bay with the use of their magic.

This sounded like a book right up my alley because I love books about witches and I also do my best to make others aware of what they can do to help Mother Nature. Sadly, the premise and idea behind the book is amazing, but I couldn’t stay interested throughout the entire book. I trailed off about halfway and couldn’t get back into it. A lot of readers seem to enjoy this though so I would say if you’re considering reading it, give it a shot!

What a refreshingly new take on witches! I enjoyed the connections between the seasons and how these witches are being trained to help balance climate change. I would’ve liked more on the magic, training, school, overcoming a bad guy, etc… This turned more into a romance story and overcoming one’s own fears of getting close to someone. The magic took a back seat. The second half took a more middle school vibe than one for high school teens. Overall a strong start that faded for me.

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

9781728229423

384 Pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: June 1, 2021

Fiction, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Teens & Young Adult, Magic, Witches

In this world, Witches are born on the equinox or solstice and control the magic of the season. Clara is the first Ever Witch is almost a century. This means she changes with the season and can control magic of each season. She is powerful and not in control of her magic. Anyone she has a connection with is at risk.

Sang comes to the school as a graduate student in botany. One of his tasks is to work with Clara and help her gain control. Unfortunately, she starts to get close to him and her magic knows it. She pushes him away to keep him safe. Now she is debating staying for the eclipse so she can be stripped of her powers so she cannot hurt anyone again.

The book is written in first person point of view and is fast paced. It is divided into seasons so we can see how magic changes with the seasons. The characters are well developed. I really enjoyed this book and the author’s writing style. I look forward to reading more by her in the future. If you like books about magic schools by Chandelle LaVaun, Michelle Maddox, or Megan Montero you will definitely like this one.

I loved this book. I read it in one sitting. This is the story of an Everwitch a witch whose magic works in all seasons rather than just one. She doesn't want to use her magic and is scared to hurt others with it. I found this book hard to put down and would recommend it to anyone interested in magic.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

👍🏻 The Good: I really loved the idea of “a witch for every season” and thought that was fleshed out very well. Each season has their own set of skills and personalities, as well as unique magic. Griffin did an amazing job at painting lush and vibrant portraits of the magic — the warmth of Summer, the beauty of the Spring flowers, the crisp transitional air of Autumn, and the cold, steady beat of Winter. Her setting was stunning and her words were like strokes of a paintbrush on the page, dotting her rich world in multicolored hues. I also loved the relationship between Clara and Mr. Hart, I thought the peer/mentor quality was very sweet and well built. The cover is also quite beautiful!

👎🏻 The Meh: Clara is self-described as “in her own head” and that definitely came across over and over again to the detriment of the story. I think the choice to use 1st person narrative exacerbated this as well — we kept reading the same thoughts swirling in her head and it gets extremely repetitive. Though mirroring perhaps the cyclical nature of the seasons, her thoughts just kept circling back and forth along the same internal conflicts, and it got quite boring. Too much tell, not enough show, with little room for the reader to make their own inferences. I also wanted the plot to be grander — the stakes were a bit low throughout, and with witches I really want an epic story!

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I would recommend this book for its beautiful, poetic writing and its unique magic system. I wouldn’t recommend it to someone looking for a plot-heavy novel, as it is more introspective and slow. All-in-all I enjoyed the book, but it did take me a bit to get through it as I wasn’t “hooked”.

So this is a weird one, i liked this book enough to finish reading it but i didn’t feel connected to it at all. I liked the tone and feel of the writing, i just thought this would be something else from reading the summary.

This whole book made me think of Avatar the last airbender, for the premise of the elements and the one witch that could control all at once.

I don’t want to say this was meh but it felt dry to me, not boring but just enough to hold my attention. The thing i LOVED was the tie in to nature and the climate and how it resembles the state we are in now. Nature working against us and the juxtaposition between humans working for nature but against it.

The greed of humans and how it shapes every aspect of our world.

I really loved this book. I was hooked from the first chapter and I love the magic system-it felt fresh and new and kept me interested the whole time. There was good character development and I love how it wrapped up at the end. Definitely recommend to anyone who loves witchy stories!

I am thankful for the ARC from publishing house and author for this wonderful book
It is a different fantasy setting and the protogonist is reallly strong girl which i loved it .i would reccomend it

There are lots of fictional books out there about elemental magic but rarely do authors tie them to the seasons; witches being ‘stronger’ in their own season is such an intriguing idea and I loved reading about Clara, an Ever whose magic is unique and changes with each season. The way each seasons magic makes its presence known to her is completely different and each is described beautifully - my favourite is the Summer magic which obviously has more warmth and, encourages passion.

Clara, as an Ever, has growin up knowing she has an important role to play in healing the atmosphere from the corruption and pollution of the shadowers - those without magic who have relied on witches to solve their problems (greed) for too long. The atmosphere is unstable and only becoming more erratic and Clara has yet to realise her full potential as a witch.

Claras magic has just one major limitation - it seeks out the people she loves, recognising her emotional bond with them and travels along it to harm them. As a result, Clara lives separate from her school and tries to isolate herself and wants nothing more than to be rid of her magic - with no intentions of unleashing its full power. Sang, a trainee botanist, is brought in to help her train as someone she hasn’t formed an emotional connection to and might be able to keep safe.

This book is beautifully written, the author is obviously a strong fan of botany and a scientist at heart. There are some fantastic truths in here about global warming as well as facts about nature that I didn’t know myself as a scientist. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a magical escape for a few hours and I would have loved to read more about the world that’s been created here. It definitely could have been more fleshed out as the plot itself was quite simple, but that does make it a nice easy read.

A unique take on magic, the author seamlessly weaves weather and witches, seasons and spells. Clara is a likable character with a tragic backstory and unreliable control of her magic. She must learn to trust herself and her power...