The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Written by Sangu Mandanna

Narrated by Samara MacLaren

“This is one of my coziest reads of the last year, and I find myself thinking about its enchanted setting all the time.”−Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author

USA TODAY BESTSELLER • A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family—and a new love—changes the course of her life.

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos "pretending" to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when peril comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for....

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: Aug 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9780593590843

Sangu Mandanna

Sangu Mandanna was four years old when she was chased by an elephant, wrote her first story about it, and decided this was what she wanted to do with her life. Seventeen years later, she read Frankenstein. It sent her into a writing frenzy that became The Lost Girl, a novel about death and love and the tie that binds the two together. Sangu lives in England with her husband and son.

Reviews for The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

[sy2cjfzpg2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely loved this book! I wanted to branch out in a new genre and so glad this was my first for Romantacy. I liked that there was a touch of spice but it didn’t go on and on. I laughed out loud multiple times, highly recommend the audiobook. I feel this would make a fabulous BBC adaptation!

[Shirin Rahiman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

That was such a fun cozy train ride of a novel!

[edificioenllamas · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A sweet and cozy romantacy. 3 young girls you fall in love with, diverse characters, and tons of magic.

[cnichols2016 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was a very slow start and I was on the fence if I liked it or not but kept going and did end up liking it. Got very mad at the group when they finally told the truth. But glad it all worked out and it had a good ending.

[electrascaife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mary Poppins meets The House on the Cerulean Sea with a grumpy/sunshine romance. The characters are great and the story is lovely.

[cgalvin-774225 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fun cozy. I would share with cozy mystery readers but there’s a lot of salty language some cozy readers wouldn’t like.

[r26gs228m5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A cozy read that was well written and extremely enjoyable.

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lovely! It's a fun little mild adventure story, with serious underpinnings of trauma and abuse and dealing with them, what love and family mean, and hope. Wonderful ending. I'd love to see more in this world (are they going to tackle the spell? What will the kids be like as adults?) but in any case I'll be reading more by this author.

[rmarcin-630843 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this sweet story of a woman, Mika, who feels that everyone has abandoned her, and taken advantage of her.. She spends her time making videos pretending to be a witch.
Then, she is contacted to help out a group that believes she is a witch. This group has a secret, and they need Mika. to help them.
Some of the group don't want her there, and she has to work to be accepted by them.
It is a really sweet and unique story of belonging.

[krau0098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this on ebook from the library.

Thoughts: This was a very cute and heartwarming cozy contemporary fantasy/paranormal read. This is all about finding one's worth and making a family for yourself. The characters are quirky and fun. The plot is fairly simple but well done. There is romance in here as well.

Mika Moon is a witch and witches have always been taught to keep their heads down and not spend time together. Yes, Mika has a witchy Youtube channel, but everyone assumes that is fake witchy stuff. That is until an old man named Ian sees the magic around Mika and thinks she would be a great tutor for the three young witches that live in the household he helps run. Mika jumps at the idea and finds herself at Nowhere House, with three out of control young witches and their caretaker, Jamie. Jamie is not at all happy that Mika is there but he can't think of another option to help get the girls under control. All of them are about to find out they need each other more than they thought.

Everything about this is cute and cozy and heartwarming. Both Mika and Jamie have tough pasts that have led to their current attitudes and issues. Both are determined that the three young witch girls in Nowhere House will live better and happier childhoods than they got. Add to this a wonderful gardener, his artsy flamboyant husband, and a dedicated housekeeper and you end up with a crazy family that all wants the best for these girls. When a legal threat to their ability to all stay at Nowhere house arises, the situation gets a bit more dire.

The main themes in this book are definitely about making a family for yourself, learning to find self-worth, and of course finding love. The girls are adorable and terrifying all at once. Mika and her magic were enchanting to read about as well.

I did feel like this book pulls a lot of elements from cozy fantasy types of books already out there. This book reminds a lot of Klune's "The House in the Cerulean Sea" and also reminds of Riggs' "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children". It has similar cozy vibes as Baldree's "Legends and Lattes" as well, but set in a more contemporary setting and with a more traditional romance. Even though I enjoyed this, I couldn't help but think of all the similar types of books like this that I enjoyed more.

This is well written, and it is a quick read. I breezed right through it, and when I was done I though "well that was nice". It is cute, entertaining, but honestly a bit forgettable with all the other cozy fantasy that has flooded the market lately. It is easier to relate to and more mainstream than a lot of the other cozy fantasy I read, though, so I totally understand why it's been so popular.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a cute, funny, heartwarming read that made for a nice quick cozy read. I enjoyed the characters and the way they made a family for themselves. I did feel like this had a lot of elements that have already been done numerous times in other books and couldn't help but think of this reminds me of (insert cozy fantasy here). While this wasn't all that original, it was a fun read and I would recommend if you are looking for a cozy contemporary fantasy read with family vibes and romance.

[lacrimamundi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was absolutely brilliant. A wonderful story everybody who loves cosy stories about witches should read.

[cutesy_nay · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another witchy read I really enjoyed.

I surprisingly I enjoyed the element of our main character growing up and being kept at arm length from her guardian and then getting the unexpected chance to prove that being present and teaching her new ward's magic in a more hands on way Is better for all but also healing for herself and her covern.

this was such a healing journey for myself in a way ?

[jennybeast · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don’t think I could like this book more if I tried. Gorgeous characters, funny quirky people in a found family, witchcraft, shenanigans, and one child who defaults to murder as a solution to everything. Perfect. Also chalk through with people surviving and overcoming trauma, and love, love, love. The floating carp pond and collapsible greenhouse are also the best. And the bookstore and the sea. Yep, I return to perfect.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mika Moon knows that witches need to be solitary or risk a rise in magical activity that would give them away and be a danger in a bigoted society. However, when a few adults who have been raising three young charges ask her to help them by teaching the girls magic, Mika finds herself drawn to the strange family at Nowhere House, despite the risks and a rather brisk Jamie, who doesn't trust her. Mika herself knows not to get close to others, too. After all, she'll just have to leave eventually - won't she?

A delightful cozy fantasy romance that hit the sweet spot for me to read during vacation. No, there's nothing particularly unexpected, but it was a fun romp and I loved Mika, Ian, Ken, Lucie, Jamie, and the girls Altamira, Terracotta and Rosetta. I'll definitely be looking for more by Mandanna.

[smashbasile · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a lovely book. I loved the children. The author should consider writing a trilogy for them as adults! Mika is wonderful, and I loved the world they all live in. Very cute!

[dianekeenoy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A cozy witch book.

[adonisguilfoyle · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I swear that the recommendation which prompted me to borrow (thankfully) this book promised that the focus was on magic rather than romance, but no. Same old same old. The magical main character predictably falls in love with the only man of around her age in the vicinity, who of course is suffering from childhood trauma (fucking yawn), and the actual plot of the book gets derailed by tedious sexual tension and deep and meaningfuls until the final chapters. And dear lord in heaven, could the author nor find a different facial expression for him? She described the crease in his forehead so much that I wanted to lamp him with an iron.

There is also a very American vibe to the writing, from 'gotten', cookies and ATMs, to nauseating self-help paragraphs like this gem: '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 ... Sooner or later, you'll fly.'

I really, really wanted to like this book, and I did enjoy the initial irreverence (and the dog), but the 'romantic twaddle', as Primrose would say , put me off and I lost two weeks trying to get through 300 pages. No more book recs from Threads for me.

[barnesbookshelf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book truly is like a warm and cozy hug. I appreciate that the romance is not the main theme and that family is instead. It's great watching characters deal with their traumas and grow in self and their relationships in such a sweet way. I also love the kids. I did not see the sunflower twist coming, but I did guess the peony twist early on and was happy to see I was right. This book makes me want to read more of Mandanna's works. I hope they're just as cozy.

[treebeard_404 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Delightfully cozy, with sparkling dialogue.

[midmomo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A different take on witch culture. What happens if you were a witch and couldn't be around others like yourselves? I like this found family book and would recommend to others who like a light witch novel.

[kimberly103164 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Book Club is today @capitalbooksonk and hosted by the lovely Hilarie @hilarie_reads . This was the book chosen, so today I decided to write my review.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Stars: 4 of 5
Author: Sanga Mandanna @sangumandanna
Publisher: @berkleypub (@penguinrandomhouse)

31 year old Mika Moon is a witch and a member of what she calls”the very secret society of irregular witches“. Mika is an orphan who was “raised“ by another witch name Primerose who is the head of the witch society. Primrose has strict rules that witches are to follow. The society only meets every three months.

Mika has a tendency to be a loner and moves around quite often. She has a YouTube channel where she pretends to be a witch. It is one of these videos that catches the attention of a man namedsimply stated ”Witch Wanted”. Mika finds this message very intriguing and she contacts Ian. Mika ends up driving her car aptly names Broomstick to Nowhere House to meet Ian and the rest of the gang. When she arrives she is told there are three young sisters who are witches and needs some on to teach them.

The story is about Mika and how she teaches the girls and the relationships than ensue with the members of the house. The interactins and shenanigans between all the book’s characters is very enjoyable. The ending of this book is surprising and well worth the read. This book is sweet, heartwarming, very entertaining and would recommend it to all.
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[zjakkelien · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely lovely. It's cosy, it's romantic, and it's heartwarming. Basically it's a warm bath.

[dknight0918 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best books I’ve read this year.

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mika Moon keeps herself to herself. She is one of a very few witches in England who keep apart and keep themselves safe. As her life is going nowhere, her last job finished up a while ago and her tenancy of her house is about to lapse she's at a loose end when she spots an ad for a witch wanted to be a tutor to three girls, she decides to take the chance and joins a mixed household where three young witches have to learn some self-control and some adults need to learn to find a place in their world, and also face a lawyer who is suspicious of what they're up to.
This was a fun, cozy read that I really enjoyed and I was rooting for the characters to succeed throughout it, some of it felt a little contrived but overall it was a good read and I want to read more by that author.

[bodagirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very cute. I don't think this story is finished though, it felt much more like an introduction to a world rather than a complete story. The plot point I'm most concerned about is the curse that witches dies shortly after they give birth - doesn't give me a lot of hope for Mika and Jamie, unless they decide not to have biological children (which is totally valid).

[rudyleon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My favorite book so far this year

[Almacd · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it, it reads quickly and all the characters are charismatic. I really liked the humor. (Translated from Spanish)

[verixsilvercrow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book sets out to be a cozy, feels-good read and accomplishes that brilliantly. The cast of characters are diverse and completely lovable, the magical aspects are lovely, and the "grumpy-and-sunshine" romance warms my heart. Love this book as a comfort read.

[romonko · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was given to me as a gift, and when I picked it up to finally read it I expected silly, sappy, romance with a witchy twist. Guess what? That is exactly what it was. I read the whole thing because it was a gift and that is why I gave it 2 stars. If I DNF it, it would have gotten 1. This may be an enjoyable book for the YA crowd. If nothing else the three young witches in the book were the best thing about the story. It wasn't a complete waste of time for me because of them and that is why I finished it. I can't recommend this one unfortunately.

[untitled841 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A feel good story about finding your family.