If you follow my book reviews, you'll know I enjoy all subgenres of fantasy but there's one I haven't paid attention to—cosy fantasy. I'm not even sure how this became a subgenre until recently when I was recommended The Very Secret Society Of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna on Goodreads. Interestingly, the reviews were encouraging. I wondered how a genre built around magic, the supernatural, mythical creatures and often centred on battles of good versus evil could be “cosy”. So I got an ebook copy of this book and read it.
Set in an urban world where people cannot know that witches are real, the witches in a part of the UK meet once every three months for fear of drawing unwanted attention. This secret group is chaired by Primrose Beatrice Everly, an elderly witch, who takes in young Mika Moon and hires nannies to raise her. Whenever Mika displays her magical abilities, Primrose wipes the memories of the hired helps and lets them go.
Now, Mika is a grown, self-assured, thirty-one year-old woman, an expert at potion making among other magical abilities. She starts an online account where she posts videos “pretending” to be a witch until she receives a strange job offer. Curious, she travels to a remote and mysterious Nowhere House in Norwich and meets a fun-loving group of people raising three young witches. They need her help to keep their unconventional family together because of the threat that looms at their door.
A lot is at stake as the job conditions breach the rules she had been raised on and threaten the anonymity of witches. Can Mika Moon take this job without Primrose's knowledge? Can she fulfill her part of the contract within the given duration?
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Magic, Witches Publication: August 2022 Pages: 336
My Review And Rating
Unlike most fantasy books that I've read, this book was a bit of a slow read for me. The idea of a cosy setting in a fantasy world is cool but reading it can be a struggle if the reader prefers a fast-paced story. Still, the plot is easy and inviting, the kind that fits this subgenre. The author's writing style is warm and easy to read, no complex worlds or situations thrown in. The inclusion of other POVs and backstories are well placed in the story without any confusion.
I like that this book is more focused on the characters and their growth is admirable. Mika Moon is the central character who pulls in other characters. Without her, there would be no The Very Secret Society Of Irregular Witches essentially and the author handled this aspect very well. She's easy to love and understand. Her desires, beliefs and courage ground the entire story taking readers from fearing for the witches' safety to smiling at a world that accepts them for who they are.
Other characters I find particularly interesting are the three young witches: Rosetta, Terracotta and Altamira. They are adorable and smart except for Terracotta who played a kind of villainy part.
Mika's love interest, Jamie, is a particularly annoying character for me and their romance feels rushed. The romance subplot is unnecessary in my opinion and the story would have pulled through just fine without the inclusion of a grumpy man hating on almost everyone. I mean, who needs grumpy in a gloomy world where a whole community of witches are struggling to find their place? But I guess, a little romance was needed to spice the tale for some readers and perhaps at the request of the publishers. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this book.
Here's one of my bookmarked quotes that I found eye-opening in this book:
Niceness is all about what we do when other people are looking. Kindness, on the other hand, runs deep. Kindness is what happens when no one’s looking.
Rating this book, I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. This book is a well-written, magical story about identity, love and family. If you want a quick, cosy read in between heavy reads, I'd recommend you pick this up.
Image generated with Chatgpt using the e-book cover
Rating: 70/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/books.
