One of the best books I’ve ever read. The writing is both magical and effortless to read, I read it all in one sitting and immediately wanted to read it again.

When I think of “cozy” my mind immediately thinks of how I felt reading this book. It is the most perfect book to read when you want to cozy up with a book and just relax. I would love to see more cozy books like this one, cozy books should be a genre all of their own.

This book is exactly what I wished The House on the Cerulean Sea had been. It’s a gift for the outcasts, a prayer for inclusion, and a celebration of found family. Can’t wait for the next book!

Mika Moon was orphaned at a young age and has spent much of her life in Britain hiding that she’s a witch. To battle her loneliness, Mika starts an online account where she “pretends” she’s a witch. But when her account is spotted by a group of young witches in need of a teacher, they ask Mika to come to their hidden home, and she finds a new family very different from her expectations.

This is just as cozy, transportive, and magical as everyone says! Despite the fact that a lot of the characters have experienced trauma and grief, it's still overall a really light and comforting read. A perfect choice for Halloween season!

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is a very cute, heart-warming story about Mika Moon, a British Indian witch, who becomes the tutor of three little witches learning to harness and control the powers, and the found family surrounding the three little girls.

Mika, who moves every few months and does not let anyone get close to her, is a fun character. She's incredibly lonely, but sunny and fiercely proud of being a witch. The other characters, Ian, Ken, Lucie, Jamie, and the three little witches (Rosetta, Terracotta, and Altimira) all have distinct personalities, which come through the page and that I found entertaining.

Other reviewers have said that this book reminds them of The House in the Cerulean Sea, and I definitely see similarities--both focus on found families, have a bit of romance and magic sprinkled in, are written in a very cutesy, almost twee fashion, but their characters really drive the books home. They're flawed and realistic (to an extent), but so incredibly loveable.

I've always felt a certain curiosity/interest in the concept of magic. I don't believe it actually exists or anything like that, but I do think it can make for some great storytelling. Combined with the cover, which itself holds a curious attraction, made me want to read this book.

As it turns out, this was a pretty damn good book!

The characters are very believable\relatable. I definitely felt for Mika, Rosette, Terracotta and Altamira - not because of personal experience or anything like that, but because I would just hate to be in those circumstances.

The plot is interesting - things start off as a nice and easy read, then there's an explosion of action and things settle down nicely to wrap everything up. I had an excellent experience reading this story, and could have easily done so in a single sitting if time weren't an issue.

My one criticism would be that the amount of swearing that goes on in the middle could have been toned down a little. I don't care much for that type of language.

Things I liked:
Magic/witches
The characters (especially Mika)
The plot
Things I didn’t like:
The (sometimes) excessive language/swearing

I would recommend this book to just about anyone who has an open mind to the fantasy genre. It really is a great read!

I adored this narrative! It weaves together elements of witches, dramatic tension, love, a newfound sense of family, and, naturally, enchantment. I particularly cherished the evolving connections between characters like Mika, the group of girls, Ian, Ken, Lucie, and most notably, the cantankerous Jamie. At its core, this tale revolves around a woman who has lived a solitary existence for years, discovering a place where she can truly belong and embrace her authentic self.

Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for my e-arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is the perfect fall, cozy witchy fantasy that should be on everyone’s fall TBRs for years to come.

This book is Practical Magic meets The House in the Cerulean Sea. I absolutely fell in love with the girls, Terracotta, Rosetta, and Altamira. I wanted to just pick them each up and give them a big squeeze.

Normally I don’t enjoy when an author sprinkles in real life like social media but I actually enjoyed it here. Bringing up TikTok and the sub community of Witch Tok was so fun to see.

And we can’t forget to mention the romance which is a deliectble slow burn and is so worth the wait.

I recommend this book to any reader looking for a cozy fall read with some magic.

Rating 4.5 stars

“This is either going to be the miracle you hoped for or it’s going to be an absolute fucking disaster.”
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna is heartwarming, fun, and full of witchy hijinks that truly need to be read to be appreciated. Mika Moon is a witch who knows she needs to keep her magic a secret, but just can’t seem to help herself when it comes to showing off on social media. Surely harmless tricks and spells can be explained by the power of editing, right?

Wrong. When she gets a desperate message and a cry for help, Mike is intrigued, and so is her magic. Once she arrives at the house to meet with the person who sent the message, Mika realizes Nowhere House is the home to not just one witch, but three young witches who are in dire need of tutelage. So begins Mika slow transformation from solitary witch to one whose home lies with a group of people who have found themselves bound together in raising three orphaned witches.

Her eyes very round, seven-year-old Altamira said, with perfect gravity, “That was some excellent Mary Poppins shit right there.”
I was instantly charmed by The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. First, by the title. Can you blame me? I quickly fell under the spell of Sangu Mandanna’s storytelling too. The snark of the three girls, Rosetta, Altamira, and Terracotta brought me to tears from laughing so hard multiple times. And it was the endearing and all-encompassing love between Ken and Ian that could warm the cockles of any frozen heart. But truly, it was Jamie and Mika’s dance of a romance that won me over.

As Mika’s time with the young witches winds down, her romance with Jamie sparks to life. There’s more to the story than just romance. I loved the plot with Rosetta, Altamira and Terracotta, as well as the plot that stems from the secrecy of the witches around the world. It is the plot line of secrecy and how detrimental it is to young witches that becomes the overarching theme of the story that ties together so wonderfully in the end, that I quickly gobbled up the pages until I was finished with this perfectly lovely story.

It’s a leap of faith to love people and let yourself be loved. It’s closing your eyes, stepping off a ledge into nothing, and trusting that you’ll fly rather than fall.
If you haven’t yet discovered the magic of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches then you’re in for one magical treat. This wonderful story can be enjoyed all year long, but is a perfect read as Autumn bleeds into Winter. Sangu Mandanna has written a story that encompasses the charm of the winter season in Northern England and honestly will make you yearn for your own holiday traditions. Full of perfectly wonderful witchiness, and oodles of charm, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches should be at the tippy top of your must-read list.

If you are tired of 'hot girl summer' and ready for all things witchy, coziness and lattes, this book is for you. This is about Mika, one of the many witches in present-day world who seeks family above all, but is not ready for the cost it comes with. Until the day that she is.

When witch Mika receives a job offer at Nowhere House, she finds herself teaching three young witches how to control their magic. Nowhere House is also home to an absent archeaologist, a retired actor, two caretakers…and Jamie.

This was a “serious” book. It was listed as a romance - and there is one between Mika and Jamie - but it felt more women’s fiction (witch’s fiction) to me. I think Mika’s journey of self discovery was as important as the romance. I thought the audiobook was good!

I loved this story! It has witches, drama, love, a found family, and of course magic! Loved the growing relationship between Mika, the girls, Ian and Ken, Lucie and especially the curmudgeon Jamie. This is a tale about a woman whose been alone all her life, finding a place to fit in and be herself.

I loved everything about this! The characters were immediately likable. Seeing this odd assembly of people who were seemingly thrown together at random finding love and family in each other was so heartwarming. There was so much about Mika’s journey that hit me hard and brought actual tears to my eyes (as someone who rarely cries while reading). I love how this story had me laughing, crying, and feeling enchanted by this small but mighty found family. I highly recommend if you’re in the mood for light cozy fantasy that doesn’t feel silly or shallow.

Spice Level: R (lead up is descriptive and steamy but not graphically detailed)

This was a very cute grumpy/sunshine, found family trusting that you’re enough romance. The family was bats**t insane and I loved it. The romance was very cute, and I loved the twist that happened towards the end.

The problem with this novel being so similar in both plot and setting to "The House in the Cerulean Sea" is that it is very challenging to avoid comparison, and "The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches" pales in comparison.

I had very little sense of chemistry or relationship development between Mika and Jamie. We are told a few times that they have simmering feelings for each other, but there is little evidence as to why that would be the case. Their eventual hookup really felt like a surprise. The romance storyline felt almost out of place in a story that otherwise focuses on child-like wonder and imagination.

Beyond that, the plot got more ridiculous as the story went on and any sort of conflict was managed a little too conveniently. There were some sweet moments between Mika and the young witches, but overall, this story just fell flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

I am a sucker for a classic found family, strange children, magical, cozy, romantic book. Every single element was something I enjoyed. It was also so heartwarming to see a South Indian MC as the lead, it actually made me tear up cause this is the kind of stuff I would like to write so seeing characters who look like me in it was so lovely.

It’s predictable, sweet, and kind. It’s a story that feels like a cup of tea, with perhaps some magic steeped into it <3

Absolutely adored this charming fun book about a house full of witches and the mortals who love them. Author Sangu Bandanna creates fun and original characters to carry out a fun and original idea. Refreshing all around. I recommended this one in my annual Witchy Book List in October 2022 on the Satellite Sisters podcast and newsletter. Looking forward to the next installment.

This reminded me of House in the Cerulean Sea, a very sweet found family romance. I do wish it had been a little bit longer and we would have gotten to see more of their day to day life and not just the "big" moments, but overall I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

This is a very sweet story of found family and finding self-acceptance and love in a world that isn't always forthcoming with those things. I loved the way that these characters came together to fight for one another and the way that everything came full circle at the end.

I felt like the romance was really flat and forced, and I ended up not really caring about that part of the story, which was really disappointing. I also felt like the story was really slow and found myself zoning out quite often.

The best characters were by far the young girls, and I feel like they shouldn't have been because the MC and her love interest should have been. It was a really good concept at first but just fell flat for me in the end.

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me an ARC!
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Unfortunately I DNFed this, it just didn’t catch my attention and maybe I’ll get into it again when I’m in the perfect headspace to give this another try! But I would buy and recommend this to others definitely!

Very enjoyable. I really liked the world Ms Mandanna created. So lovely to see such diversity in characters. Samara MacLaren was a perfect narrator, good accents and differentiation of characters. A delightful story of finding oneself and a family, of loyalty and friendship. A real feel good book. Wonderful characters, sweet relationships, great description of the place. I would love to see this become a series. I want to know what happens to these young people as they grow, and how Primrose adapts to a new way of being in the magical world. My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.