This title is ideal for anyone who loves magical realism, appreciates the magic of nature, and who understands the way grief and trauma can impact everything.

The story is beautiful and rich with quiet passion and suspense, but it's the main character's relationship with nature that had my heart.

Highly recommended.

"Wild Is the Witch" was a super easy, light fantasy read that also felt like a sweet love letter to nature and wildlife. I thought Rachel Griffin did an impeccable job of creating dynamic characters and understandable struggles and behaviors. I love a wholly believable fantasy story and this definitely delivered.

This is a fantasy romance between a witch-in-hiding and a boy who hates witches! It's very light fantasy so it was very easy to read for me, a contemporary reader. I loved how they had to camp together and how the hate-to-love romance bloomed in this story. I felt bad for the "curse" and it took majority of the story to get resolved. If you want to read a light, cosy fantasy on a rainy day then this is the book for you!

Wild Is The Witch is delightful. It manages to capture such a beauty in magic, a beauty that is so present and alive and full, that it feels like something real. It feels like it could exist as much a nature exists outside my windows.

And I loved the way the magic mixed with the real world. It felt completely natural, like magic truly was just a part of our world, instead of something laid on top of it. And the gorgeous scenery of the forest; it made it feel like inhaling a lungful of fresh air. The way that both the magic of nature and true nature intertwine was one of the best things about this book. It just brims with a love for everything around it, and it makes the story all the stronger.

And then packing it full of animal friends and some top notch enemies to lovers just makes it all the better.

Wild Is the Witch by Rachel Griffin is an amazing story! I loved every moment of it, Rachel Griffin is truly a talent.

Wild is the Witch was an enjoyable, fun, easy to read novel. I like storylines that are more layered than this one and I would've liked the characters to have more depth. I just didn't feel connected to either Iris or Pike but it was a nice story and good writing. I think will be a success with most readers.

Wild is the Witch was amazing! I loved the atmosphere so much. It's been hit or miss for me with YA books lately.. I think my tastes are just veering into more mature characters and less teen protagonists because I often find the characters or situations too immature, so I LOVE when I stumble upon a YA book that doesn't make me feel like I'm too old to be reading it. I recently moved to the Pacific Northwest, so the setting was perfect.. it was one of the first books I read in my new area and it was nice and misty and rainy when I curled up with this book.
The magic system felt authentic, as if the way it worked could really be true in this world, so I enjoyed that aspect.
I enjoyed Iris's quest to find the owl and undo her actions.. I loved that Pike was forced to join her and embark on a hike through the forest while Iris tried to hide her abilities after Pike made some offhand comment about witches. This book wasn't overly romantic, but I always enjoy a good enemies to lovers plot and this one didn't disappoint. I loved watching the characters bicker on their journey and slowly realize maybe they liked each other a bit more than they thought they did.
I highly recommend this one! It has the perfect cover that I feel really conveys the way it felt reading it.

I’ve recently become really interested in books about witches, and I love the Pacific Northwest, so I was excited to give this book a try. It took a few chapters to feel like it got going but once it hooked me I couldn’t stop reading, and the last half especially flew by! The writing was so atmospheric, making you feel like you were really immersed in the pnw setting. It did take me a while to believe the attraction between Iris and Pike, but by the end when their different backgrounds were fully explained it made sense. A really fun, witchy read that I finished in a day! Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC and for introducing me to this author. I’m adding her other book to my tbr list!

I really enjoyed this read. I’m not usually a fan of enemy to lover but the relationship between Iris and Pike are guilt in such a natural way that I really felt invested. The chapters are short but written in a way that allows for a lot to happen in the story without it being over stimulating. Both leads feel flushed out and I really enjoyed the journey of them both coming out of their shells and become more three dimensional characters. My only complaints come from the end the first being that Iris getting lost her thoughts occasionally feels like an exposition dump in the middle of high intensity scenes (particularly around the owl) that really throws off the pacing. The other is how easy Pike is with the events around the ending. I can appreciate that time has passed and he’s grown to the situation but for all conflict to be resolved off the written page to the point of him having no real reaction and immediately into acceptance makes it feel a little undeserved. That said I still found the ending to be satisfying and the read to be overall very enjoyable.

I absolutely loved this title and ended up devouring it in an evening. Tightly written and beautifully atmospheric, it kept me riveted from start to finish. The writing is absolutely beautiful and the pacing is perfect.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC. I loved this novel set in the Pacific Northwest. It was so atmospheric and beautifully written. The main character Iris was easy to love and I enjoyed the development of the relationship between her and Pike. The storyline was intriguing and kept me turning the pages. This is a gorgeous novel with themes of forgiveness, acceptance, and love. Highly recommend!

Netgalley's ARC is my entire personality now😂. Forever grateful for the whole bundle of joy I've had diving into ARCs.

On to the review!!

Let's start with how absolutely stunning the cover looks like😍♥️. I for sure want to own a physical copy once its released.

Wild is the Witch was so much fun to read. It brought this cool, fresh concept of magic being an extension of the natural world. Absolute highlight of the entire book.

Iris is really endearing as a main character. Its so easy to fall for her, to understand why she does things, to really feel for her when her anxiety hits. Her reaction to situations seems organic and not forced. I respect her boundless love for animals and nature.

Pike obviously has the best character development. It's impossible not to like him towards the end of the book. And I totally understand him using jokes and sarcasms almost as a defence mechanism. His playful bickering with Iris truly made the book enjoyable. The way I'm such a sucker for sweet banters 🥺♥️.

A major fun light read!! I had the greatest time.

Not sure exactly why but I just could not get into this one... I picked it up and put it down multiple times, as I was intrigued by the blurb and looking forward to reading it - but each time i found myself floundering to keep flipping pages. For some reason I never developed any connection to the characters and found the dynamic between Pike and Iris to be irritating rather than engaging, which significantly contributed to my lack of interest. I felt like I didn't fully engage with the magic system, and that more evocative world-building early on might have helped me develop a better connection to the story. Despite multiple attempts, I ultimately didn't finish...

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire, and Rachel Griffin for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This is a unique book that follows Iris, a witch, as she must work with her enemy Pike to stop a curse from destroying everything. It’s a very atmospheric book and describes the Pacific Northwest beautifully. I also loved how animals and magic were described. The magic system is really unique in this world, which is a plus, and the relationship between Iris and Pike is really sweet. However, I never completely got hooked by this one, so I’m giving it 3 stars.

This book was written beautifully.. I loved the plot and the story line. The characters kept me entertained throughout the book.

Seriously, this was so cute and sweet. I read it in just a few hours, and I enjoyed every second. I love how much these books (The Nature of Witches) connect with nature and life, and are all about accepting yourself and loving yourself. For a YA novel, Pike was so emotionally intelligent and mature. And Iris, even with her anxiety, handled everything so well. I’m so glad they got a happy ending. Easy 5 star rating!

While the start was a little slow for my taste, I liked the premise of this book. The main characters were well thought out and their personality showed through the dialogue. The scenes were so well narrated that I could imagine each scene as clearly as if I was there

This is one of the most atmospheric books I’ve ever read in my life. Though I’ve never visited the Pacific Northwest, Wild is the Witch made me feel as though I had. The imagery painted throughout the story was so vivid that I could practically feel the rain on my skin, smell the woodsy scent of the forest in the air, and hear the call of the northern spotted owl in the night. There’s something about Rachel’s writing that makes me, a person who truly dislikes being outdoors most days, have the strongest desire to be amidst the trees.

While this book is relatively short, it is certainly not lacking in poignancy and incredible storytelling. I wasn’t expecting to highlight so many quotes in my ebook, but here I am, scrolling through my notes and seeing one gorgeous passage after another. It honestly makes me want to read it all over again (so, I sure am glad that I pre-ordered a copy)!

I consider myself lucky that I was able to read the ARC of this novel during a really difficult time in my life. While the rest of the world felt as though it was being turned on its head around me, I was able to truly escape into Wild is the Witch. I’ve struggled with getting into a lot of fantasy books lately, especially low fantasy. However, that was definitely not a problem I faced with this. It wasn’t confusing, cyclical, or lacking ingenuity. Instead, it was creative, relatable, and absolutely magical.

Enemies-to-lovers isn’t my preferred trope. In fact, I tend to avoid it, if possible. I’ve been scarred by my own past and this particular theme can often come across as toxic. Rather than that being the case in this book, the rivals-to-lovers element was not only understandable (due to Pike’s distaste for witches and Iris wanting to defend herself and her loved ones), but it was playful (the banter reminded me of an old married couple) and dare I even say meaningful (the breakthrough and communication these two have is really wonderfully written)? It made me appreciate the trope rather than resent it.

I loved the way the magic was written. From the start, it was very well-explained. I never found myself confused by how Iris’s abilities worked. This reminded me a lot of The Nature of Witches and how easy it was to understand the elemental powers in that book. Huge props to Rachel for creating systems that make sense! In fact, the magic was so beautiful that the quotes about it were the ones I highlighted the most. It definitely solidified my love for the beautifully witchy. I don’t prefer spooky books, but I could read stories like Wild is the Witch forever.

While the romance is a massive part of the plot, it didn’t take front-and-center for me. Obviously, I already raved about the magic, which is what stood out the most. But I also loved the focus on the animals and Iris’s huge heart for taking care of all wild things. There was also a subtle-yet-meaningful undercurrent regarding justice and not lumping people together in stereotypical categories unnecessarily. In addition to all of that, there was a beautiful spotlight on finding yourself – for both Iris and Pike. Despite the majority of the story only taking place over a couple of days, the growth was really beautiful.

I truly can’t recommend this book enough. You won’t want to miss out on it.

[CW: (major) Blood and Animal death, (moderate) Cancer, Child death, Grief, and Terminal illness, (minor) Cursing]

This book truly transported me. The Pacific Northwest is my favorite place and the writing really captured the feeling of being there. The sights, smells, and sounds the author was able to convey were remarkable. I also loved how witchcraft is so entwined with nature and how witches and humans coexist together. Iris and Pike's banter was so enjoyable and I loved watching their relationship grow throughout the book. Overall this book is perfect for anyone who wants easy-to-understand fantasy, beautiful and transportive writing, and main characters you want to root for.

When you're a witch who lives in the closet because you watched your best friend make a horrible choice? What happens when *you* make a mistake that could cause you to be forced to lose your powers? Iris Gray has already seen what happens when a witch breaks the rules - and she is determined it will not be her. So she stays under the radar after a move. All is fine until a co-worker at her mom's rescue makes it clear that he hates witches, and she accidentally curses him. What will she do to try and fix the mistake, and what happens if she isn't able to?

Griffin created a space where witchcraft in today's world is real, though not what we've always known it. It's accepted - to a degree - because normal people realize they can't be magic'd without knowing. The story has a good flow and interesting characters, and surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. It feels true to the heart of both the magic within, and to the people embodying it. I would definitely read another book in this world.