I had previously read Seasons of the Witch by the same author, so I thought I knew what I was in for when I picked up this book, but boy was I wrong. I absolutely loved this book. I loved how the author weaved nature and magic together, making them extensions of one another, unable to defy the natural laws or create something out of nothing. It gave a whole new, refreshing set of rules to the magical world, and was oddly reminiscent of Alice Hoffman's The Rules of Magic, which is one of my all-time favorite books. Overall, I can safely say this is a must-read for fans of Alice Hoffman, ya fantasy, and ya romance. I will be ordering myself a physical copy as soon as possible.

Wild is the Witch is a contemporary witchy story which follows Iris, a witch, as she accidentally curses the boy who's getting on her last nerve, Pike. Unfortunately for her a nosy owl steals the curse and as she races to get it back she maybe realizes that she doesn't hate Pike so much after all.

Honestly the feel of Wild of the Witch was so cozy and the depiction of nature was so vivid. The relationship between Iris and Pike was so cute and well done. I love a good enemies-to-lovers trope. And guys, if you're on the fence about this let me tell you one thing: There was only one tent.

Some other things I loved about this book were the depiction of Iris's anxiety which I definitely relate to. As well as the fact that Iris is very connected to animals and her best friend is a wolf, and I've always been an animal lover myself and my best friend is my little part husky puppy. Plus I love MacGuffin.

It was also nice to see a YA book where the protagonist actually has a very close and loving relationship with her mother. Their relationship was very sweet.

Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books for the audiobook. I really enjoyed listening to this story and the narrator did a fantastic job.

3.5
A fast paced read with a nature based magic system.
Iris is working at her mothers wild rescue Resort, together with pike whom she doesn’t get along with. After a encounter where iris is angry with pike she curses him with the intent on destroying it after. Before she can destroy it however the curse gets stolen by a owl who flies a way with it. To get it back and prevent the curse to strike, she needs to team up with the one the curse was intended for.

I already read Griffins first book the Nature of witches wich I really enjoyed. The story felt unique in combination with a campy atmosphere.
As for the writing it was immersive and felt somehow comforting. The characters were likable and the romance was cute. I just wish there was a bit more magic.

Read via Audio Book wich I enjoyed, the narrators voice fitted well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Phenomenal. This was such a wonderful story of friendship, family, love, heartbreak, and magic. I loved the way Rachel Griffin incorporated magic into the world, and I felt so deeply connected to Iris. Special shout-out to the anxiety kids, Iris perfectly encapsulates how hard it is to cope when you feel like you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

Atmospheric, fun ya fantasy. Griffin's prose is gorgeous, and the world is enthralling. The characters, plot and romance was standard ya fun. Recommended.

🦉Wild Is The Witch 🍃

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (4 Stars)

Narration: really enjoyed the narration! Great job of distinguishing between characters and keeping me entertained.

No Spoiler Review 👇🏻👇🏻

This is another YA standalone witchy read by Rachel Griffin. About a week ago I finished her first novel The Nature Of Witches and absolutely loved it. I enjoyed this one as well!

These books are stand-alones and have no overlap. The magic system is different in this one. Iris and her mother run an animal sanctuary, Iris is a witch who’s magic works on animals, making it the perfect place for her and her mom. Pike (a human) also works at this sanctuary, he is studying birds and also hates witches, he doesn’t know Iris is a witch. They are rival employees. Iris cannot stand Pike. One night, Iris accidentally lets a curse come to light, it curses an owl and if it breaks free of the owl it will harm Pike…..

Pike and Iris must go into the woods and after the Owl. All while Iris keeps the secret that she’s a witch. This was a fun and quick read! Its rivals to lovers, forced proximity and I really enjoyed it. Like her first book, I love the connection to nature that the magic systems in the book had!

This book reads more like a YA romance with magic in the background. I wish it had a bit more magic in it (like the first one did). Which is why I am giving this one 4 stars. I liked the first book better, but this one was still such a good read. Rachel Griffin is now one of my new favourite authors! I highly recommend both of these books!

Thanks to Netgalley and Recorded Books for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
🍃🍃🍃🍃🦉🦉🦉

*I received this audio book from @netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I seriously love Griffin. She is an amazing story teller and brings words to life. You can feel that she wrote this one with enormous passion. Her connection to nature bleeds through the pages (at least I assume so. I listened to the audio book).

The narrator or was also awesome! I often find it hard to listen to audio books because I can’t stand the dramatics or little quirks of the speakers but @Laura Knight Keating was perfect.

Can’t wait to get this one for my daughter

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this one but if it didn’t completely exceed all of my expectations!

I love a good witchy tale, and this story of Iris and Pike and their owl McGuffin was both heart wrenching and heart filling all at the same time.

We have enemies to lovers, Iris and Pike work together at her mom’s animal sanctuary and Pike hates witches all the while having no idea that Iris is one.

They are forced together to retrieve an owl who escaped while carrying a curse meant for Pike through the Forrest, and things do not go as planned.

First off, I loved the worldbuilding in this one, it felt familiar but the presence of witches was both well known and accepted.

McGuffin gave me every feeling imaginable and my heart is still aching with love for that bird.

Tropes include:
Enemies to lovers
Forced proximity
Only one tent

Another surprise I wasn’t expecting was the focus on Iris and her anxiety. While it isn’t explicitly stated, Iris describes gripping anxiety in a way that was extremely relatable.

This book is the perfect fall read, don’t miss it!

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I love Rachel Griffin’s writing so much. There is something so beautiful about it and I really enjoyed it in this book. The way the forests and animals and magic were described was so intriguing. I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers POV with the twist at the end. This book was so great and has ensured that Rachel is staying as one of my insta buy authors.

This is the perfect read for someone just getting into fantasy. The world building isn’t overwhelming and the story overall is so beautiful. I absolutely loved this story and the ending had me ready to shed tears. Definitely worth the read if you’re a fan of witchy books.

The vibes in this book are really top notch if you're looking for a book set in the Pacific Northwest where you can really get a sense of the forrest and the nature. I'm not really a nature girlie myself so the vibes were nice but not the main reason I was there. The main reason I was there is because the premise of this book is essentially that Iris writes a curse to turn Pike into a witch (a HUGE no-no) because she doesn't like him, but also, she never intends for this curse to be, you know, effective. Then an owl swoops in and ingests the curse and she and Pike have to adventure into the woods to find the owl and stop the curse before things get real bad, but also Pike cannot know she's a witch. Obviously, because this is a book with a perfect hate to love set-up, we get a hate to love relationship and I think that part was done so well, because you actually get to see Pike and Iris communicate. A novel concept it feels like sometimes. But I really liked the way you see their dynamic shift throughout this book and the slow way they come to understand that they never had the full picture of the other person before.

The reason this book gets a four star from me rather than a five is because I don't think this book committed to a particular path or, alternatively, it is meant to be a series, but that part isn't announced? I just felt like there was a lot that was set up in this book and then not explored. Like, there is a whole friendship that we see established and break in the prologue and then the repercussions are felt throughout and at the end, we see that they're going to reconnect, but you never really... see it. And similarly, this book has an explosive ending with the romance side of things, but it's just not clear what or where it is going. So I think if you're more comfortable with very open ended books this book might really work for you. For me, I just wanted a few more threads to tie together or to be explored throughout.

I will add that I listened to the audiobook (thank you, Netgalley) and Laura Knight Keating, the narrator, does an excellent job with conveying the vibes. She has the right kind of voice for this book, if that makes sense.

Rachel Griffin’s newest YA novel, Wild is the Witch is an effortlessly atmospheric story following Iris Grey.

Similar to Griffin’s previous book, this one follows a young female witch whose past has a way of following her into current day. The magic in this story is animal-centered and I loved the direction the author took with explaining how magic is involved/accepted in their society. I also thought the enemies-to-lovers trope was well done and I really enjoyed watching both Iris and Pike become more vulnerable with one another. As for the audiobook, I thought the narrator did a fantastic job with the storytelling and made me really feel connected with Iris.

Overall, I will definitely continue to pick up Rachel’s future books as her ability to create atmospheric, fun, and emotional YA stories is truly incredible.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an advanced audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review!

I loved Rachel's first work The Nature of Witches and as soon as I saw the audio on this, I jumped at the chance. Rachel definitely has a gift at storytelling. I also love how she puts a different spin on witches. They are always one with the magic in nature.

Iris and Pike are forced together to find an injured owl who escaped the wild refuge that is ran by Iris's mother and Pike interns at. Little does Pike know the owl is carrying a curse intended for him that Iris created.

I felt the narrator did a perfect job at each character. I plan on checking out more of her work.

Rachel has the most beautiful books inside and out. She is now an auto-buy author for me. 💜

Overall, it was okay. Not bad by any means, but also not stellar. I hadn't read the Nature of Witches by the same author, but after all the hype, I was expecting a bit more from the characters. I felt they were a bit immature. However, I enjoyed the magic system and also really appreciated that the story involved older LGBTQ characters.

Love everything about this! I reviewed the book itself on the earc of it but the narrator for the audio is absolutely perfect!

Ohh, I really liked this one. I went into this thinking it would be your standard YA paranormal romance, but it completely subverted my expectations. This was such a fun read that I had a hard time putting down!

I absolutely loved the worldbuilding here and how witches are perceived by the world, despite magic being commonplace in society.

I also just really appreciated the simplicity of the conflict. A lot of YA fantasies try to do too much, but the central conflict mostly boiled down to Iris making a single impulsive decision. Yes, things might have gone more smoothly if everyone just communicated clearly, but Iris's decision-making process was very relatable and felt like how an actual teenager would respond in those situations.

For some reason, I'd thought there would be at least one sequel and was fully expecting a cliffhanger, so I was pleasantly surprised that this book was totally conclusive on its own. I think there's definitely a lot of potential for sequels if the author chose to do so, and I would happily read more books about Iris, but I still really appreciated that this could be read as a standalone.

I flew through this audiobook. I enjoyed the narrator and the story sucked me in.
It didn't have a ton of magical elements to it, a lot of "feelings" it pulls between people and the elements. However, it was a good reality balance. I felt that this could be part of our world.
I liked the main characters, they made real mistakes and had relatable emotions. I was rooting for them.
A great YA read.

Wild Is the Witch follows Iris and Pike in an enemies-to-lovers wild goose err owl chase. Pike is driving Iris crazy with his constant hatred of witches, so she formulates a curse to get out her frustrations. She has no intention of enacting the curse which will turn Pike into a witch, but when an owl snatches the curse, she has no choice but to track it down lest something happen to the owl, letting the curse loose on any unsuspecting non-witches in the vicinity. Unfortunately for Iris, she doesn't get to go on this quest on her own. Pike has to tag along with her.

This was a fun little book. I really liked the world building and the magic, and Iris and Pike play off of each other really well. Their romance is cute, and neither character annoyed me (which is a big plus in YA these days). There were a few times where I felt the story dragged a little bit, but all in all it was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC. I enjoyed Laura Knight Keating's narration, and I recommend this book.

🔊Song Pairing: Hoax - Taylor Swift (this book is basically folklore to a T

💭What I thought would happen:

Since The Nature of Witches I will follow Rachel into the unknown

📖What actually happens:

When Iris rages a little too hard after a particularly nasty altercation with her enemy/colleague, Pike, she conjures up a spell to turn that butthole into a witch. When Iris cannot contain it and accidentally attaches it to an owl she must track down this crazy night predator and correct her error before it finds Pike.

UNFORTUNATELY, Iris’ mother suggests she and Pike set out together to track down the owl and bring it back to the animal sanctuary. Of course Iris isn’t being forthcoming about what she’s done. Now she’s stuck with the insufferable Pike.

🗯Thoughts:

I DID NOT think this was a romance! What! I was expecting more magic and elements vibes. No this is not a sequel to The Nature of Witches.

I very much enjoyed this one from start to finish. I demolished the audiobook in a 24 hour window sooo ya know…oops? I love when a book is so delicious I can’t possibly pace myself

I have never in my life a) craved homemade granola b) laughing hysterically over KIND bars.

I think there is something for everyone in this book. Feel free to fall in love with this gem!🤍

This book contains:
🙅🏼‍♀️🙅🏽‍♂️Enemies to lovers
🔮Magic - spells, charms
🌲Nature - detailed atmosphere
🤣Comedy - quality LOL moments
🫦Witty Banter - yes please

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for providing me with an advance audiobook!

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. However, that didn't stop me from preordering the hardcover (it's beautiful).

It's a cute, easy-to-read, enemies-to-lovers book. The romance builds and doesn't feel like insta-love in the least. The forest setting is rich with descriptions, and you can feel yourself walking through the forest with Iris and Pike.

There were a few things that kept me from loving it:

1) 75% of the book is internal monologue. For every small step forward in the plot, we heard pages of the main character's thoughts, concerns, etc. Iris has anxiety, which I thought was well-portrayed. However, it does mean that we hear the SAME thoughts and concerns over and over again. The audiobook version started to grate on my nerves because you can hear the high-pitched anxiety in the narrator's voice (again, well-portrayed, but a good portion of the book).

2) This book hinges on a couple of secrets that Iris keeps, and they spiral out of control. It's a YA book and has a cute plot, but I don't like when a single conversation can derail the entire story. It screams miscommunication trope to me.

3) Because of the vast amount of IM, the plot is SLOW. It finally picks up at the 75% mark (I checked) and runs much faster. Unfortunately, that means that the ending feels rushed and unfinished. I feel like we need another book to get to the good stuff.

For the narrator, I thought she did a great job, other than the fact that the high-pitched IM parts got to be a bit much for me.