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WesternSFA


The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
by Sangu Mandanna
Berkley, $17.00. 336pp
Published: August 2022

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....

In a world where witches and magic are real the “Rules” insist that each witch live alone, not associating with other witches and, of course, making sure to hide their magic. It is a lonely life for them all, only meeting with other witches once every three months for a short period and never in the same place twice. For Mika, an orphan like all other witches, life is lonely - she never stays anywhere longer than 6-7 months and never tells anyone her secret. She creates a series of social media videos pretending to be a witch thinking it will be harmless, no one will believe it is real but then she gets a message that makes it clear that someone does believe she is really a witch and asking for her help in teaching three young witches.  Traveling to Nowhere House to see if the request is real she finds an unusual group of people and three young witches, Mika ends up taking the job and breaking the rule that says witches, even children, must always be isolated from other witches.  There is an urgent need to teach the children to control their magic as their guardian’s lawyer is coming to check up on them and if they cannot convince him everything is alright the children will be separated and lose their home and the family that has been created. As Mika comes to love the girls and the feeling of belonging somewhere, things are coming to a head if they cannot convince the lawyer that everything is alright and the girl’s absent guardian is just on a trip.

This was such a lovely read. The characters are real, diverse and fully developed; each with their own wants and fears and secrets. They make good choices and bad choices but always for totally logical and understandable reasons.  The story flows along slowly and sweetly as Mika and the girls and the rest of the family learn to trust each other and build bonds.  I can’t think of when I have enjoyed a book as much as this one, It is one that I believe will become an annual read. Very highly recommended. ~~ Stephanie L Bannon

For more titles by Sangu Mandanna click here

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