The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna delivered a tale of magic, found family, secrets, witchcraft and romance. It is easy to see why this tale won a Goodreads Choice Award and the narration by Samara MacLaren made it even more delightful!
by Sangu Mandanna
Narrator: Samara MacLaren
Length: 9 hours and 59 minutes
Source: Library
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Narration: 5 cups Speed: 1.5x
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 a threat 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....
What a wonderful story of found family, magic and romance. Mika Moon is one of a few witches in Britain. All her life she has lived alone by a series of nannies who were whisked away with their memories wiped if Mika ever displayed magic. Her ward and coven leader. Witchcraft is banned and must be kept hidden, so witches are forbidden to congregate.
Mika is a rule follower, except for an online account where she shares videos pretending to be a witch. It is there she receives a strange message asking for her help in teaching three young witches at Nowhere House. Curious, she gets in her broom (car) and heads to Nowhere House. Suddenly, she is breaking all the rules and questioning everything.
I absolutely loved Nowhere House and its inhabitants. The young witches each had unique personalities and created some mischief. The other adults, Jamie, the girls ward, Ian, Ben and Lucy, tend the home and grounds. Each character felt genuine and endeared me to them. The romance was a grumpy-sunshine, and the author wove in some trouble regarding the young girls and the owner of estate.
I honestly didn’t want the story to end and was completely swept up while listening. Samara MacLaren narrates and captured not only the characters and their personalities, but the tone of the story. I highly recommend listening.
About Sangu Mandanna
Sangu Mandanna was four years old when an elephant chased her down a forest road and she decided to write her first story about it. Seventeen years and many, many manuscripts later, she signed her first book deal. Sangu now lives in Norwich, a city in the east of England, with her husband and kids. Her work includes Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom, A Spark of White Fire, Color Outside the Lines, and more!
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature)
This one sounds really good! I hope I get to read it at some point. Great review!
Sophie
That makes me so happy to read your review Kimberly! I adored that story too!
Carla@CarlaLovesToRead
Great review, Kimberly. I also enjoyed this one, especially the theme of found family. It’s one of my favourites.
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
I absolutely adored this on audio! I got an eARC of the second book and am so excited.
Kimberly
I did too, but will probably listen to the audio since I am part of their early listen program. I am super excited.
Anne - Books of My Heart
I’ve seen positive reviews of this but haven’t read it. Glad to see you enjoyed it.
Mary Kirkland
I love finding a book that I don’t want to end. This sounds good.
Janette
I really loved this one and am so pleased that she has a new book coming out in a month or so
Kimberly
That prompted me to grab this one!
Steph
I enjoyed this one as well. Happy you had a good time with it.
Kimberly
Yay! I am excited for her next book!
Lin
I loved this one tok and gave it the same rating! I really hope Mandanna writes a sequel because so many things felt left out and not explored enough. Love the writing and love Mika for once we got an older FMC!
Kimberly
She has a new book coming in July. Not sure if it’s tied to this one. But I would love to visit this world again!