2.5/5 rounded up to 3 because I love the cover.
Thanks to the publishers, author, and Netgalley for approving me for an e-arc of The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin.

The premise is amazing!! Seasonal witches who are stronger during their season and weaker the other months out of the year, but our main character Clara is an Everwitch meaning she harnesses all seasons within her magic. These witches are struggling to deal with climate change that humans (known as shaders in the book) have continuously ignored the warnings of. Although the witches have tried to reason with the shaders previously, they were unsuccessful and now are struggling to keep global warming at bay with the use of their magic.

This sounded like a book right up my alley because I love books about witches and I also do my best to make others aware of what they can do to help Mother Nature. Sadly, the premise and idea behind the book is amazing, but I couldn’t stay interested throughout the entire book. I trailed off about halfway and couldn’t get back into it. A lot of readers seem to enjoy this though so I would say if you’re considering reading it, give it a shot!

What a refreshingly new take on witches! I enjoyed the connections between the seasons and how these witches are being trained to help balance climate change. I would’ve liked more on the magic, training, school, overcoming a bad guy, etc… This turned more into a romance story and overcoming one’s own fears of getting close to someone. The magic took a back seat. The second half took a more middle school vibe than one for high school teens. Overall a strong start that faded for me.

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

9781728229423

384 Pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: June 1, 2021

Fiction, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Teens & Young Adult, Magic, Witches

In this world, Witches are born on the equinox or solstice and control the magic of the season. Clara is the first Ever Witch is almost a century. This means she changes with the season and can control magic of each season. She is powerful and not in control of her magic. Anyone she has a connection with is at risk.

Sang comes to the school as a graduate student in botany. One of his tasks is to work with Clara and help her gain control. Unfortunately, she starts to get close to him and her magic knows it. She pushes him away to keep him safe. Now she is debating staying for the eclipse so she can be stripped of her powers so she cannot hurt anyone again.

The book is written in first person point of view and is fast paced. It is divided into seasons so we can see how magic changes with the seasons. The characters are well developed. I really enjoyed this book and the author’s writing style. I look forward to reading more by her in the future. If you like books about magic schools by Chandelle LaVaun, Michelle Maddox, or Megan Montero you will definitely like this one.

I loved this book. I read it in one sitting. This is the story of an Everwitch a witch whose magic works in all seasons rather than just one. She doesn't want to use her magic and is scared to hurt others with it. I found this book hard to put down and would recommend it to anyone interested in magic.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

👍🏻 The Good: I really loved the idea of “a witch for every season” and thought that was fleshed out very well. Each season has their own set of skills and personalities, as well as unique magic. Griffin did an amazing job at painting lush and vibrant portraits of the magic — the warmth of Summer, the beauty of the Spring flowers, the crisp transitional air of Autumn, and the cold, steady beat of Winter. Her setting was stunning and her words were like strokes of a paintbrush on the page, dotting her rich world in multicolored hues. I also loved the relationship between Clara and Mr. Hart, I thought the peer/mentor quality was very sweet and well built. The cover is also quite beautiful!

👎🏻 The Meh: Clara is self-described as “in her own head” and that definitely came across over and over again to the detriment of the story. I think the choice to use 1st person narrative exacerbated this as well — we kept reading the same thoughts swirling in her head and it gets extremely repetitive. Though mirroring perhaps the cyclical nature of the seasons, her thoughts just kept circling back and forth along the same internal conflicts, and it got quite boring. Too much tell, not enough show, with little room for the reader to make their own inferences. I also wanted the plot to be grander — the stakes were a bit low throughout, and with witches I really want an epic story!

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I would recommend this book for its beautiful, poetic writing and its unique magic system. I wouldn’t recommend it to someone looking for a plot-heavy novel, as it is more introspective and slow. All-in-all I enjoyed the book, but it did take me a bit to get through it as I wasn’t “hooked”.

So this is a weird one, i liked this book enough to finish reading it but i didn’t feel connected to it at all. I liked the tone and feel of the writing, i just thought this would be something else from reading the summary.

This whole book made me think of Avatar the last airbender, for the premise of the elements and the one witch that could control all at once.

I don’t want to say this was meh but it felt dry to me, not boring but just enough to hold my attention. The thing i LOVED was the tie in to nature and the climate and how it resembles the state we are in now. Nature working against us and the juxtaposition between humans working for nature but against it.

The greed of humans and how it shapes every aspect of our world.

I really loved this book. I was hooked from the first chapter and I love the magic system-it felt fresh and new and kept me interested the whole time. There was good character development and I love how it wrapped up at the end. Definitely recommend to anyone who loves witchy stories!

There are lots of fictional books out there about elemental magic but rarely do authors tie them to the seasons; witches being ‘stronger’ in their own season is such an intriguing idea and I loved reading about Clara, an Ever whose magic is unique and changes with each season. The way each seasons magic makes its presence known to her is completely different and each is described beautifully - my favourite is the Summer magic which obviously has more warmth and, encourages passion.

Clara, as an Ever, has growin up knowing she has an important role to play in healing the atmosphere from the corruption and pollution of the shadowers - those without magic who have relied on witches to solve their problems (greed) for too long. The atmosphere is unstable and only becoming more erratic and Clara has yet to realise her full potential as a witch.

Claras magic has just one major limitation - it seeks out the people she loves, recognising her emotional bond with them and travels along it to harm them. As a result, Clara lives separate from her school and tries to isolate herself and wants nothing more than to be rid of her magic - with no intentions of unleashing its full power. Sang, a trainee botanist, is brought in to help her train as someone she hasn’t formed an emotional connection to and might be able to keep safe.

This book is beautifully written, the author is obviously a strong fan of botany and a scientist at heart. There are some fantastic truths in here about global warming as well as facts about nature that I didn’t know myself as a scientist. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a magical escape for a few hours and I would have loved to read more about the world that’s been created here. It definitely could have been more fleshed out as the plot itself was quite simple, but that does make it a nice easy read.

A unique take on magic, the author seamlessly weaves weather and witches, seasons and spells. Clara is a likable character with a tragic backstory and unreliable control of her magic. She must learn to trust herself and her power...

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
True Rating: 4.5/5

The magic of this book seeped through the pages of this book and into me and I fell head over heels in love with it. Wow, what a beautiful prose. A solid build up with so much teaching, learning, loving and how to fail. Clara was such a breath of fresh air. I loved her as a character. Following her through the seasons as she tried to tame her powers as an Ever, the first in 1000 years.

This story is genuinely a tale of learning how to overcome self doubt, self loathing and growing while doing it. Also, it didn’t hurt that Sang was literally a cinnamon bun. A botanist spring witch? I love him so much! This whole story truly was beautiful and I adored it. Every minute. It was a little slow in places, but I don’t think it detracted from it by any means. I also loved that the MC was bisexual!

If you’re looking for a witchy tale about perseverance with a cinnamon bun love interest, read this!

Witches, each born with an affinity for a specific season (winter, autumn, spring, & summer), procure their power from the sun and use it to maintain Earth's climate. They train at schools for solar magic, working together to restore balance when natural disaster looms. Clara, an Everwitch tied to all four seasons, is both a rare and powerful but her power is volatile and wild seeking out those she loves when she loses control. In an attempt to protect others she isolates herself from everyone and chooses to restrain her magic. Meanwhile witches everywhere are dying, depleted of their magic, as they struggle to control the planets erratic weather. Sang Park, an advanced botany student and spring witch, is assigned to work with Clara to help her learn to control her power. As they work together, Clara's control grows stronger along with their bond placing Sang in harm’s way.

The Nature of Witches is a spellbinding YA fantasy from debut author Rachel Griffin. The cover art is visually stunning and the plot synopsis promised a fresh take on my favorite subgenre> witches. Clara's character is fascinating as a rare witch whose disposition is as changing as the season. Unlike the other witches Clara's power has led to traumatic events which cause her to fear and restrain power rather than embrace it. Sang's character provides a nice balance, the calm to Clara's storm, providing a sweet romantic story about difficult choices. A unique blend of witchcraft and environmental concerns this is a must read for 2021!

I'm not a big fantasy reader. Sure there are some I like but for the most part, meh. So, then why on earth would I request a book that is clearly fantasy? I'll tell you why, the cover. The cover was amazing. However, I was shocked to discover that I enjoyed the book. Is it my favorite book? No, but as far as fantasy goes, it is up there.

This book is beautifully written . Which may surprise some people since the heart of the book is climate change. Clara is tied to each season and is just coming into her own power which allows her to fight the crazy weather.

I will give a more detailed review once the book is released because I don't want to spoil is!

Thank you #NetGalley and Sourcefire books for the arc.

Interesting take on climate fiction. The idea of seasonal witches is somehow a pleasurable concept. It allow vivid descriptions of the seasons and the witches. It was just fun to read.

I absolutely loved this book. It was such a unique take on magic. It was interesting how each witch only had access to their magic during their season (Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring) I feel like I would be jealous during my off seasons, knowing I wouldn’t have access to my magic.

I am sure many readers can connect with the main character, Clara. She often feels alone in the world, being the only Ever witch, who’s magic changes with each season.

Although this is a YA book, I feel like anyone could enjoy it. The writing was done sooo well and kept pulling me back for more. I highly recommend this one. I was disappointed to discover we have to wait until next year for another book from the author!

Witches fighting climate change (and there's a cat!) yes please! This started off kind of slow for me, but it definitely picked up once most of the introductory items were out of the way. I loved the magic and honestly wish we got to see more of it. I thought Clara's emotions were beautifully written, and I definitely teared up a few times while reading. I enjoyed this book a lot, and I definitely recommend it!

The Nature of Witches is about a world where the are 4 types of witches(for each season) and regular non-magic folk who they refer to as Shaders.
Clara, the main character is a young witch, who is a rare "ever" and her magic is powerful in all seasons. She is still learning how to control and work with her magic.
The author does a good job of explaining the 4 types of witches and how each type of magic works and differs. However, there is no explanation of Shaders- why are they called Shaders? who are they ? The reader realizes they are just non-magical folk, but the fact that they are called Shaders makes them feel more sinister to me, and more of an enigma. I felt like there needed to be just a bit more about them, and maybe a different label.
The story follows Clara as she learns to try and control her magic, and explains what happens when she doesn't. A young man, a transfer student named Sang, arrives to help Clara progress.
This all happens under a background of violent climate change, which the witches have historically been able to control, but things have rapidly been getting worse.
I liked the way the climate change was woven throughout the story, without being preachy. It certainly resonates with the current world situation.
I also liked the way Clara's previous crush was a girl, and there was a lot of teenage longing, and I understand this is intended to be a YA book, which was likely why the author kept the action on the "clean" side, but I did feel it was not realistic, that in the circumstances of the story, Clara and Sang would likely have made love at some point.
I enjoyed the story, and it ended nicely but not with an obvious set-up or cliffhanger for a next book. Still it would be easy to see this as a series. It would also be easy to see this as a TV show/movie.
Thanks go to NetGalley who provided me with an ARC in return for this honest review.

In Rachel Griffin's debut novel, the Earth's atmosphere has become erratic, and all hope lies within Clara.

'The Nature of Witches' follows Clara, an Everwitch whose rare magic is tied to every season, and her struggles to control her own power to be able to combat the unpredictable and dangerous weather.

Clara is very weary of her magic since in the past she has accidentally hurt several people. Another struggle she must overcome to really learn to take control of her magic. When fighting a tornado she meets Sang Park, a handsome Spring witch who will turn out to be her tutor/trainer/loverrrr 😍

“You are the most magnificently disruptive thing that’s ever entered my life.”

Seriously, I loved Sang so much. He was the absolute sweetest, kindest, and most heartwarming character in this entire book! Next to Nox of course...

I don't want to get in to too much detail or I will risk spoiling this book. Just know... I couldn't love this book more. It was a perfect blend of magic and the forces of nature.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to read this wonderful world for my honest review.

I’m so glad I was lucky enough to snag one of these copies from Netgalley. This was a completely original story—I loved the beautifully descriptive weather and the nature in each season, including the decor for celebrations. I could feel the magic and the connection with the atmosphere. Clara’s emotions and feelings were also well described. I looked forward to picking this book back up whenever I could to continue reading. I felt Paige was a good side character that could’ve been expanded on even more. I think this book would’ve had a stronger impact with more world building. The school, perhaps the history there, more interactions with the students, even if she was isolated, she was in the group setting briefly and could’ve expanded on her memories and the culture there. Even more expansion on the world outside of the school, home memories, where she grew up, her family. The shaders. Are they good friends with the witches? How do they work in society together, outside of controlling and contributing to the weather? Were they always so comfortable with the existence of the witches? There wasn’t anything there, really. Sang was really sweet and I liked how they worked together, with the magic and communication. They had some really fun scenes together. They had great chemistry and that, along with Clara herself and her connection and disconnect to her magic and her coming more confident in herself and growth were the strongest points in the story. I felt the pacing was a bit too fast between seasons. Overall, this was an easy, entertaining read that I would gladly share with my teen. I would read more from the author. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC copy of the book.

First of all, thank you so much NetGalley for an early copy!
I totally loved the cover, description and everything about this book was awesome! I loved this story of loving yourself because I don't think many books portray this message. I loved Sang the most! This was an amazing story of love, loss, acceptance and loving yourself. I don't think I will stop ranting about this book any time soon. Thank you Rachel for this gorgeous story! I loved the ending and the way Clara embraced her true self. Although I do feel so sad Mr. Hart wasn't there to see her progress, I still loved it!
This was a 4 stars for sure!💖

I’m so sad because the cover for this book is so pretty but for the life of me, I couldn’t get into this book. I just wasn’t immersed in the story, I didn’t care for the characters and I am so conflicted with the ending.

I think my biggest issue was the pacing. It was so slow and not a lot happens and it honestly pained me to finish this book because of that. I also didn’t understand the world building and Clara’s magic confused me.
I also wish we got more romance and I honestly struggled to connect with any of the characters as they were so bland.
I went into this book thinking two things: witches and climate change and I was so excited for this which is why I think my expectations were so high. I think this book is best going into blind and I know I’m in the minority for not liking this.

Anyway, I think Rachel’s writing was good and I would read more from her in the future, I just don’t think this was the one for me!
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.