The witchy debut is the perfect fall read. This would be a great one to spark conversation about climate change. Beautiful, lyrical writing. Exciting story!

This is such a fantastic book! The Nature of Witches is about a world where witches are known to the general public. The witches in this book have elemental type magic, and their strengths depend on which season they are born into. Clare is an Ever witch, which is quite rare, and she has the magic of all four seasons. The only problem is her magic targets those she loves and because of this she is kept apart from her classmates to prevent harm to them.
Clara is just biding her time until the next solar eclipse so she can be stripped of her magic. She’s tired of being alone. However things start to change when a mew tutor is brought in to help her learn to control her magic.
The ongoing theme of this book is about how we need to treat our planet better before we destroy it. In this world the witches have to help prevent and stop natural disasters brought on by climate change and the damage to the environment.
Overall a great story that I would gladly recommend.

This was…..decent? I didn’t hate it. Magic changing with seasons was a very interesting concept. I guess the climax of the story was the climate issues and witches depleting? I don’t know. It was an interesting story but slow.

slow moving with slow world building. the magic and world building fell flat. beautiful writing, but not much plot.

This was a hard novel to get through. It was a slow moving story that did not stir any emotions in me. I found the world-building and the magic system to be very contend complicated. Still, I recommend this for anyone interested in paranormal reads.

Wow. This book was incredibly beautiful and unique. I absolutely loved the combination of witches and climate change which lead to one fantastic debut. Having witches tied to the season was really cool and I enjoyed seeing Clara, our ever witch, change with the seasons. The chemistry within the romance leaped off the page and was totally swoon-worthy.

The writing, the pacing, the characters were all *chefs kiss* Definitely recommend this one and will be picking up what every Rachel Griffin writes next.

This was really enjoyable, but I did miss some of the action. I wasn't fond of the main character either, and it made it quite hard for me to keep my focus on the story.

I really, really enjoyed this book. It was refreshing, atmospheric, and a great tale about love, self-love, and perseverance, One of my favorite parts of the book was how the author described each season. They were described so beautifully, and I felt swept away as I read. I love autumn (definitely my "season" as a November baby too), and could have stayed in autumn with Clara forever. Sang is an amazing character -- now my new fave couple! I just loved them. I loved the representation in this book and how it ended. Bravo! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I absolutely loved this book. It was perfect for the spooky season. The magic is unique and the MC is so strong. Plus the hardcover is gorgeous. A definite reread for me.

This is a story about a girl for all seasons.

I loved the magic system here- it’s similar to other elemental systems in some ways, but the first time I’ve ever read anything that was season dependent. So cool! I also really enjoyed the relationships & bi rep! My only real complaint is that this book felt so short, and I would’ve enjoyed some additional length to further explore the magic & world.

Thank you so much Netgalley and sourcebooks fire for the arc!

This atmospheric story explores the tenuous balance that witches who hold seasonal magic must maintain in order to keep the climate from complete disaster. At first Clara thinks she must come to terms with her special gift as an Everwitch and learn to control it in order to keep from hurting the ones she loves, but there are some that think she must do more. Can she harness her unwieldy powers to bring balance to the world and what must she sacrifice in order to do it?

The changing seasons are very much highlighted in this one which sucked me right in and I loved the the main character’s personal growth. I did however, think the ending was a bit rushed and wondered about some inconsistencies regarding Clara’s relationship to the seasons and romance.

I had a hard time getting through this book. I had high expectations but ultimately it fell flat for me. I had a hard time imagining the setting and characters. I feel like a story about withces, magic and fantasy should have that overall feeling when reading and I did not get that from this book.

*eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I also purchased a copy from Fox & Wit.*

This book is so freaking good! Now, I will say, if you go into this book expecting an epic fantasy battle of good vs evil, you won't get that. This is a story of person vs self, person vs nature. Clara's biggest battle is accepting herself, and accepting the power within her.

This is a world of witches. Every witch has powers relating to one season- spring, summer, fall, or winter. Except for Clara, she's an Everwitch, her power is tied to every season. Her power is extremely volatile, and Clara struggles constantly with the fact that if she grows close to another person, her power may kill them like it did her parents and best friend (dark, I know). Eventually, Clara comes to terms with her powers, she finds love, and starts the fight against climate change (because that is what witches are for!).

I really loved this book, and read half of it while I was getting my hair done, then came straight home and finished it. Clara's story is one of self-acceptance, and I find it really beautiful. Clara is also bisexual, so this book features lovely LGBTQ+ rep.

5 stars.

This was such a unique book and story. It was a great twist on magic and I loved thinking that witches control the weather. It was really sad and heartbreaking, to see Clara struggle so much with her power but it was also really empowering. This is a great book to read during the fall season. It was really well written, beautiful and poetic. I loved the layout of the book...how you were reading a book within a book and it was a great small addition.

I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review, thank you so much!

Clara is the first Everwitch (a witch with magic in every season_ in over 100 years, which comes at a good time. The witches have been warning the regular people of the world and that they are doing to the planet is disrupting the climate and weather. Witches tasked with maintaining the climate and weather are losing control of it, with devastating results, leading to huge weather events and depleted, dying witches. An Ever witch, not only able to have the magic of all seasons, but is also the strongest, can help so much with the ongoing climate crisis, but the pressure is too much for Clara. After some incidents with her magic targeting those she loves and killing them, Clara is at war with her magic and unable to do the things she should be able to. Until Mr. Burrows and Sang come into her life...

I absolutely adored this book. There is such a good message to it and I think that every girl should read this. It really leaves you with this sense of self assurance and self strength. I loved Clara, and how they protrayed hers struggles. She was immensely personable and I saw a lot of myself in her. I loved Sang and how supportive he was of her always, and how he helped her come back to herself and heal on her own time. It was so entertaining and the magic system was amazing. This is one of my favorite reads for this year and I just loved it so immensely.

I read "The Nature of Witches" in the span of one day. Yes, I was hooked—but more than that, this book felt really special. Knowing the backstory of how the author spent about 10 years writing books and trying to get published, only to have this beautiful book be her debut this year (AND make the NY Times Bestseller List!), well, it's amazing. I was really in awe of this book, how sentences were worded, the beautiful magic system, chapter 35, the creativity, all of the botanical references. It's a beautiful, beautiful story and I'm so glad the world gets to read it.

story just to drI thought this might make an interesting winter read, but it just never drew me in. I am going to try reading it again in the fall, when the natural season's pace starts to slow down again. Maybe it will read better as the year is winding down and a slower paced book will be better read. I have, so far found the story too dragging. Sorry. It seems well written and I am sure many readers will love it. I might too, in October..

This book is absolutely fantastic! I was hooked from the first page and could not put it down. I don't even know how to put into words how much my soul needed to read this. It was exactly what I didn't know I needed.

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC !
3.5
I enjoyed reading this book and the story, but I can't lie and say I wasn't bored or annoyed sometimes.
We follow the personal development of Clara and her improvement as being an Ever and therefore a witch. The development of Clara is really detailed and if you like this, this book is for you.
But definitely not for me, the pace was too slow and uneventful. It is just a book describing a year of the main character and how she improves herself as being a witch (and not in the exciting way). I get annoyed by her and was often thinking that she needed to get a grip and just do something about her issues and not just self reflecting about it and complaining. I felt we needed to empathise with her when actually she annoyed me by being so apathetic.
The romance in the book is cute and actually was more looking forward to hear about him than her. His life seem so much more interesting !
Read it to make an opinion for yourself. It is a meh for me.

The Nature of Witches follows the pattern of bringing Witches into the real world while standing out to focus on climate change and pollution.

Compelling Story
I loved the realism that went into developing the plot of the story. In The Nature of Witches, Griffin gives her Witches a well-rounded foundation to coexist with non-magical folk. Non-magical people can give birth to witches and vice versa. A delicate balance allows the story to move forward out of cliches and predictability while also giving the reader enough backstory to Clara, her power, and how Witches exist in the world.

There are also five types of witches: Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring, and Ever witches. All witches are born within one season. Their power grows in the season, giving them specific control over the elements and particular storms and waning outside of their season on the equinox.

They are fighting to put nature back into balance, learning to fight forest fires, heatwaves, sudden tornadoes, and flooding brought on by pollution and climate change. It is a compelling message to the reader that our actions influence the planet because people are losing their lives in these situations, much like the witches try to ease the damage.

The message here is that things need to change; how we humans treat the planet needs to change for things to get better.

Great Characterization
What also makes The Nature of Witches so good is the character growth that goes into developing Clara. Clara, as an Ever Witch, is the most powerful Witch in existence. Instead of diminishing each equinox, they change with the seasons, giving her power over all the seasons, changing her personality, desires, and wants.

However, the power is also too much for her. If she loses control over her power, it latches onto someone she loves and cares about, killing them instantly. So it killed her parents and her best friend, leaving her with this hate she has for herself.

Clara strongly believes that she is a danger to others and can be no help since she has no control over her abilities. However, throughout the novel, following the death of another person she loved, after reading the journal of the previous Ever Witch and training with Sang, Clara learns to accept her power.

It is such a compelling journey to watch unfold as she comes to accept her power and love herself. She spends so much of the novel hating herself and feeling guilty, wrapping herself in loneliness instead of being a part of the group. Finally, Clara learns to open herself up to love, to loving herself, and letting others love her as well.

Clara’s journey is relatable because she spends so much time denying this significant part of herself, hurting herself more than others. No one should deny a part of who they are; that is what Griffin is teaching readers. Every bit of who we are deserves to be loved and accepted.

Final Thoughts
The Nature of Witches delivers readers a compelling read, focusing on character development and climate change.