The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

This book is, probably primarily, a Romantacy, though it could also be considered Cozy Fantasy (if an erotica scene and sexual tension doesn't disqualify it from that genre for you.) It's modern day fantasy featuring witches. If that sounds good, and you truly just want an uncomplicated, standard grade read of either of those genres, this book will serve you well.

What follows is a breakdown of why it wasn't really what I wanted, in the end.

Firstly, and primarily, I wasn't impressed with the overall writing. The pacing is not very good. Events are supposed to take the course of a few(?) weeks, but it's hard to tell what is happening relative to when, because a lot happens and evolves in the relationships of the characters that really feels like it should have evolved slowly over a long period of time. Especially the romance--rushed to the point that I kept wondering why these two characters feel the way they day about each other. I feel like I read the cliffnotes version of a longer romance story instead of actually getting to enjoy the entire story. Overall I'd say the romance has the same feel and depth as a Hallmark movie.

The erotic scene + the sexual tension also feels a bit strange in this book. For me, personally, it pulls it out of the Cozy Fantasy genre--too explicit for that. But it was also just one scene. I feel like if the author had wanted to go in that direction, then commit! Draw it out, make it extra steamy! Throw in a couple others! It could have transformed the meh, lukewarm romance into something more interesting and complicated; the characters didn't like each other at first, but make them attracted to each other sexually, and acting on it, while the emotional development is still struggling, and bam, you've got some pretty standard erotica tension to work with.

It also loses marks for the prose, which has some amateurish weaknesses in spots. Some sentences simply do not flow how they should; some, the word choices are questionable (using 'primly' and 'Primrose' in the same sentence really rubbed me the wrong way.) The inner monologue of charaters gets repetitive--a lot of people's mouths seem to run away without conscious input from the characters and it's invariably followed by some kind of inner mortification of the fact. And yet, it keeps happening.

The child characters frequently don't feel like children. Their ages are given to us but I can't remember for the life of me what they were because everyone talks like a young adult, even though I'm fairly certain all the kids are supposed to be under the age of ten.

Some of the writing feels, again, kind of rushed. We get brief overviews of activities instead of being allowed to sink in and experience them slowly and leisurely. There's a bit too much telling over the showing. Scenes feel very short. Instead of being tight and snappy, they feel lacking as a result. This is a book that should have either been cut down to novelette length or allowed room to grow so each scene could be marinated in detail.

There are some good, important themes and morals in this book but I kept feeling like I was being bludgeoned with them repeatedly. It circles back to telling more than showing. The same statements get repeated by the same characters, over and over. By the end of the book I was exhausted with it. I was also kind of exhausted with that Hallmark feel I alluded to. Nothing really felt earned enough, so the saccharine ending was just And Then They Lived Happily Ever After.

For me this book started really strong, but ended with a whimper. I think it could have benefited from being cut in half.

It's simplest to say that I'm simply not the target demographic for this book. I came in blind and found it on the shelf at my local library with no idea what awaited me.

Mika's story is about unlikely romance and a 30 year old witch coming into her own and embracing her role as a mentor, and a woman of color in a white world.

And that's beatiful and worthwhile

But it's also incredibly boring.

The book makes magic feel mundane and unexciting, and the struggles all feel weightless, with no real tension.

I finished it mostly out of obligation after growing bored with the story and its cast. There is no twist. There is no second hook.

Someone is going to love this book. It will be exactly what they're looking for. I, on the other hand, left feeling distinctly like i should look elsewhere to find a book that makes me feel that way, or any way but bored.

This is either going to be the miracle you hoped for or it's going to be an absolute focussing disaster.

This book was the right mixture of everything without overdoing it on one or the other. There was a sprinkle of romance, a touch of magic and some surprises along the way.

From the first chapter The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches grabbed my attention and didn't let go. Sangu Mandanna writes in a very casual way that allowed me to read a short chapter in a single sitting or go for hour plus reading sessions.

Magic meant well, but it did so want to be used and it had an irksome habit of taking matters into its own hands if witches didn't take the hint.

Magic isn't a focal point in the book and Mandanna doesn't go into the details of how the magic works because that's not what this book is about. There are Rules for the witches to follow, and for better or worse their clandestine relationship with each other was a main motivator for Mika. Our past shapes who we are but doesn't need to shape who we become.

It's not always enough to go looking for the place we belong...sometimes we need to make that place.

This book is about a sense of belonging and finding your community. In some form or another we have all experienced cliques, being on the outside of the majority and feeling like you didn't have someone that shared your views and interests. This is a book about friendship and how a family can persevere, and just so happens to feature a few witches along the way.