I was delighted to read an e-ARC of The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin. With a magic system that I’ve never seen before and a lot to say about environmentalism and global warming, this was a unique and different read. And look at that COVER 😍 https://www.instagram.com/p/CNOZG6DgHgR/

Let me start by saying I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy the book but I knew it sounded good. Clara is a witch. She attends a witching school. The witches essentially keep the humans safe from catastrophe. But with the humans continuously building and expanding on land that the earth isn’t happy about- constant issues arise. Clara however is special, she’s the only witch that can channel all 4 seasons rather than being a witch of one season. She is what they call an Everwitch. Something that is rare and not known very much about. She is distanced from everyone out of fear of what her powers can do. But Sang comes in to teach her and in doing so opens her heart and eventually she saves countless lives. I love how fiery Clara can be. The growth in this book from her is amazing. I couldn’t put this book down! Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to review this!

3.8⭐️

This book is the perfect example of that feeling of how a book ends changes your feeling as you go though it.

I was not sure at the start, not convinced that there was enough besides Clara. But there was, she was enough. For herself, for her world, for this story.

Also, while more drastic than our own Earth (at this time at least) I really liked how there was so much mention of how we’ve harmed the planet. How bad things are happening and it’s our fault—and our opportunity to fix it.

“together is where the magic lies”
I felt like this sums up the book, and was a powerful statement and reminder to us in our world.


Thanks netgalley and Sourcebooks for this arc in exchange for an honest review

This is a cute YA tale about witches and the environment.

Most witches favor a season but Clara is an Ever, so she favors them all. The witches are in a race to figure out a way to counter extreme weather conditions caused by damage done to the environment. Clara has to learn to use her power but she is afraid of it and afraid of what it might do to anyone else she loves.

It's pretty basic, but I think it's intended for a younger audience.

A refreshing young adult novel where there are no bad guys. The main antagonist of the novel is climate change. The young witches try the hardest to learn magic to combat climate change and save the world from its troubles. In the end, everyone recognizes that the Witches are unable to solve these problems on their own and with help from the "Shaders' (non-magic folk) they work together to start changing the world. Danger, Fear, Love, Friendship, Hope, everything exists in this wonderful book.

I wanted to like this book so much. I really did. I thought the idea of a contemporary fantasy novel was fabulous, and I did really like the concept of this book. The characters, though, just ruined this story. The main character especially was so unlikeable that her flaws leaked into the story until I could see in the story were flaws. I didn’t form a single attachment to anyone in the story, and honestly, the content and quality of this book pales in comparison to other recently released fantasy novels with a similar backdrop (magical, etc).

I tried really hard to like this book, and it just didn’t happen for me. I feel like the characters needed more flushing out, the storyline needed more development, and the plot just wasn’t strong enough to compare with other fantasy novels. I am very thankful for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review, and I sincerely hope other readers DO enjoy this book! It just wasn’t a book for me.

Rachel Griffin told an utterly beautiful tale, both exploring a new time of magic in a world similar to our own while highlighting just how dangerous our human desire to consume and expand has affected our environment -and how our whole doesn't have witches to help us; fix the problem!

BISEXUAL REPRESENTATION always makes me feel so happy. It connects me to a character easier (since I myself am Bisexual), so I adored the representation and how healthy the past relationship was -yes, it ended because of a tragedy. Still, it was pure before and pure to have a healing relationship after.

I LOVE Paige, Sang (Asian Representation was done lovely) & Mr Hart!
Mr Burrow is an asshole, and I will die on this hill! I don't care if he was doing what needed to be done, he put people in danger, and I will fight him.

My only dislike is that Clara got too in her head, and sometimes that was too wish-washy for the scenes that followed and made it pointless in my head. The other dislike is not really negative; I just wanted it to be A) longer and B) a series because I need more!

The Nature of Witches includes a lot of magic and a little bit of romance: what’s not to love, right? And that cover is to die for! The writing is descriptive and the pace makes for an intriguing read, but it did take me a little while to get into it the story and I wasn’t a huge fan of the main character, Clara. But if you have a paranormal-type itch that needs to be scratched, this could be the book for you!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy, and congratulations and best of luck to the author!

CW- fire, grief, death
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The Nature of Witches follows Clara, an Everwitch, as she fights to find a way to control her powers while also finding love.
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I don’t really have strong opinions on this book. I was super excited, seeing as it was one of my most anticipated reads this year, but I just felt like the plot fell short.
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There was very little plot, and eve though the book moved quickly, some plot points did have too much time spent on them. I did love the seamlessly integrated climate change discussion though,
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The same thing happened with the main relationship in the book. It was fine, but really just not that great.
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Overall, I would recommend this to fans of Practical Magic.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love the subject of the book. Witches.

I felt the author did a great job by breaking the book up into sections based on seasons. It was a lovely read though slow at moments.

That said I really liked Clara I wanted to protect her. She was a young woman who was given powers that she could not control and yet she has to for the well-being of others. However, she wasn't the strongest heroine.

I loved the author's description of the setting and how she described some of the scenes using magic.

Overall not a bad read but not my favorite either. It fell somewhere in the middle.

I LOVED IT!
I loved the unique mechanism of Magic’s working around the witches!
I loved the air pollution, climate change messages of the story!
I loved the Hogwarts school of magic for witches premise meets Practical Magic books with sweet, romantic vibes and resemblances of Jan De Bont’s terrifying Twister movie scenes !

I loved Clara even though I found her too stubborn and I pissed off the way of her never stopping self pitying!

I loved badass, loyal friend Paige!

But I mostly loved the charming, sweetest botanist who melt our hearts with his genuineness! Yes, Sang was amazing. At some parts I thought Clara didn’t deserve him! Didn’t she act so paranoid around him when only thing he did was treating her so kindly! Anyway this Korean, romantic botanist who can whisper to the flowers stole my heart!!!

After seeing mesmerizing cover, I knew I would truly fall hard for this book!

I can hear you may ask me what this is about if you are too lazy to read the blurb. Don’t worry, I’d love to talk more about the story line. Here we go:
An ecological, thought provoking, unconventional fantasy with witches who have their unique abilities based on each season’s strengths and weaknesses and an Ever Witch who holds the powers of entire seasons who needs to learn controlling them without hurting her loved ones, not making the same mistakes again!

17 years old Clara is the Everwitch whose magic tied at every season. When the autumn’s equinox comes, she forgets her feelings about someone she truly cared before. She’s evolving, changing. And her past traumas which lasted the death of her family and her close friend Nikki forces her to put barriers between her and other people.

She’s still suffering with guilt feelings, pain to lose loved ones. She’s afraid of channeling her real power even though she is forced by her instructors, she keeps holding herself back!

But as an ecological disaster starts to raise and the witches’ population at the risk of extinction, she’s the last one who can solve the problem and brings the balance nature needs for healing!

She’s paired with botanist Sang who is spring witch, can soothe her fiery nature down and help her fulfill her potential. But as they practice more, Clara not only learns to put her guard down, using her magic with its full potential, she also lowers down her emotional barriers and not only their powers merge, but their hearts crush and fall for each other!

Now Clara faces her most excruciating dilemma: she can strip down her powers at eclipse to chase her HEA with Sang or she can leave him not to put his life in danger and resumes her plan to save the lives of witches!
But there must be other way! She can save lives and she can be with her love of her life. But how!? What if she kills Sang as like she’d done to her parents, her friend Nikki.

Overall: a quick, gripping, lovely fantasy with amazing hero and tolerable heroine and unique depictions which remind us of real power and beauty of each season earned my five equinox, witchy, conjuring, eclipse stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I found the premise of magic being tied to the seasons intriguing along with the story taking place in a modern setting. Normally those with magic have full power during the season that they were born into, but in Clara's case she is the first Ever in 200 years. Her power is strong in each season, though tied to which season it currently is. She is in her last year of school and is still trying to figure out how to use her magic while coping with the losses of those she loves to her magic.

I received a copy of this book to review through NetGalley and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed The Nature of Witches! I was hooked from the very beginning to the very last word. I absolutely loved Rachel Griffin’s writing. It was beautiful, descriptive and so atmospheric! I cannot wait to read more from her in the future.

The magic system was so intriguing. In this book witches can control the atmosphere. Each witch is tied to one of the four seasons. I’ve never read anything like this before so I was very invested and I enjoyed learning about how each season’s magic worked. I also think that the author did a great job discussing climate change and how it’s impacting the world around us.

The main character Clara was fantastic. She is an Everwitch, which means she is connected to all four seasons. These type of witches are extremely rare and very powerful. Throughout the story Clara really struggles with her magic. It has caused her so much pain and heartbreak so of course she is afraid of losing control. Clara goes on a beautiful journey to not only trust her magic, but herself as well. It’s an emotional rollercoaster for sure but it is by far the best part of this book!

The romance was oh so cute. I really loved Sang. He was so sweet and supportive. He really believed in Clara and he helped her connect with her powers on a level that she didn’t even know was possible. Definitely one of my favorite relationships for sure!

Overall, The Nature of Witches was fantastic! Between the writing, magic and characters, I couldn’t get enough! I’m honestly ready for a reread. I really hope that one day Rachel Griffin decides to write more books set in this world. I would read them in a heartbeat!

I really enjoyed the magical system in The Nature of Witches. The connection to nature and the seasons reminded me of Practical Magic, but with a more modern twist due to the climate change message. Rachels Griffin's writing was also beautiful and lyrical.

However, I didn't love Clara. I had a hard time rooting for her and connecting with her. I loved Sang and I felt that she changed for the better once he came into her life, which was obviously the point the author was trying to convey because Clara's magic also improved. However, their connection was a little lackluster because I wasn't rooting for her from the beginning and it felt disingenuous to who she was before he entered her life.

I would definitely still recommend this book to other readers who love witch-themed books.

Honestly, I could not get drawn in. I've put this book down and revisited later thinking perhaps it was the mood I was in, or maybe I was looking for something else and just didn't know it. But I just couldn't get sucked in. I'm sorry to say, I think this one just isn't for me. It may be exactly the book for you, so give it a go.

I enjoyed this book because it made you think without knowing you were thinking.

The theme of climate change is very poignant and I think this book tackled it in an interesting way.
I also feel that being an ‘Ever’ witch and having moods that change with the season is very similar to having Seasonal Affective Disorder and that the moods of the seasons were written beautifully.

I seriously questioned the weight of ‘doing the right thing,’ in a dilemma, and couldn’t decide how I felt about our protagonist Clara when she wanted to strip herself of her powers, despite the witches she could save by retaining it. I felt torn. Why should she personally have to live a life in isolation for the sake of others? Why should anyone have to die so that she may experience love? Can anyone honestly say they’d save themselves over saving many? On the contrary, can anyone honestly say they’d save many over themselves? (I wasn’t lying when I said this book made you think).

The book wasn’t plot heavy. The progression of the story was measured by the improvement of Clara’s magic for the first 80%. I feel a little more plot would of made this is a higher star rated book for me. Chapters 16 & 17 specifically perplexed me! I felt they were inconsequential and problematic.

Having said that, I love the quotes at the beginning of every chapter. I especially love that they come from “A Season for Everything.” (If you know, you know) Enjoyable read.

Thank you for my copy of the ARC.

Actual star rating: 3 1/2 stars

Note: This Review contains NO spoilers

An intriguing synopsis. A beautiful cover. These are the two that caught my attention. Thank you to Netgalley for the advance reader copy (ARC). A captivating story of magic and nature which also intertwined the real issue of climate change. I also enjoyed the subtle romance that developed throughout the story. I also liked the thorough and descriptive writing of the main character, Clara, from her magic to her struggle/journey to accepting who she is and what she becomes in the end.

I was fascinated by the way the author divided up the book by seasons which made for an eloquent story. The flow of the book was... eh, it felt slow. Every so many chapters, I would lose interest, but the appeal of magic and nature kept me interested. I also felt that Clara's drama and insecurities was a bit... much. I pretty much kept "rolling my eyes" every time Clara kept being so over-dramatic about herself.

All in all, I found The Nature of Witches a captivating and dramatic story of growth and acceptance of oneself with nature and magic woven in. Moreover, I think that readers that enjoy this genre should read it.

Thank you for this ARC! The story was super engaging and I couldn’t put it down. I appreciated that while it was a ‘magic school’ trope, this book didn’t overwhelm with characters and instead focused intensely on the main protagonist. Love the representation for bisexuality, loved the writing style, loved the earthy connection vibe.

I really enjoyed this fresh take on a world with witches. I have read a lot of paranormal YA and sometimes it can all sound similar, but Rachel Griffin has found a way to make her world of witches and shaders unlike any other I've read before. I loved that there was also a underlying message on sustainability and how the overuse of natural resources, even witch power, can have devastating consequences.. This book had everything I look for in a book, a great story, a romance and a search to find and accept oneself.

I wasn't really sure what I was expecting this book to be. I see a book about witches and I read it.

Clara was a great character. We're in her head for the whole book, and I don't think the book could have worked any other way. Going through her development with her as she's experiencing things is the heart of this book. This book has a strong focus on climate change, with the witches and regular humans (who they call shaders) having worked together for centuries on maintaining the climate. But with expanding resources and the use of fossil fuels, there aren't enough witches to maintain the atmosphere witches start dying from using too much magic.

The witches in this book are connected to certain seasons, except Clara, she's a very rare Everwitch. A witch who can connect to every season. The last Ever was alive over 200 years before and very little is known about them. Clara has had a rough time with her magic, it's wild and not fully in her control. Her magic has taken people from her and has left her both hating and afraid of her magic.

Sang is a great character. His presence has a way to calm Clara's magic, and at first, she takes it as a relief. And their romance is probably one of the best in a YA book I've read in a while. It's sweet and romantic. There is a small measure of drama, but considering the situation, they're in it's not angsty. Clara is scared of her magic for 90% of this book, her magic has taken people from her. As her feelings for Sang grow, she gets more terrified of her magic hurting him.

The one, small, thing in this book that I have a complaint about is, the whole four-seasons thing. Four seasons is a very Northern Hemisphere thing. And even then winter doesn't look the same everywhere in the continental US, where this book is set. It would have been interesting seeing something about this mentioned, at least in passing. But other than that the worldbuilding was very well done. And for the setting focusing on the distinct four seasons, works.

I really love the way this author writes, and can't wait to read future books.