Fact #1: I wanted to love this book, I was ready to love this book, this was my book – nature, witches, it doesn’t get any better…

Fact #2: … except it does. I did not love “Wild is the Witch”. Didn’t even like it.

I’ve been hearing about Rachel Griffin’s “The Nature of Witches” for some time now and it was definitely on my list of books to buy, so imagine my surprise and excitement when I found that her book “Wild is the Witch” is on NetGalley, and that I got approved for it!

The novel is about a girl called Iris, who’s… a witch (probably no surprise there). She gets in trouble because of a very unfortunate incident she witnessed and she’s forced to move to another state to escape her past. Her mother goes with her to Washington, while her father decides he’s not up for it and stays behind, effectively abandoning his family. Iris grows wary of the world and her only desire is to protect her home, her mother and the animals they care for. Her whole life is turned upside down again when, feeling threatened by a boy who she works with who hates witches (not knowing that Iris is one), she makes a curse that will turn him into one. She doesn’t intend to use the curse, but rather to destroy it, thereby destroying all of her fears and frustrations, but the curse gets stolen by an owl, an amplifier for magic, and with the curse being linked to the life of the owl, Iris has to find a way to catch the bird and remove the curse before it’s unleashed. To the help comes none other than the boy she cursed, Pike Alder.

In theory there’s really nothing to dislike in this book. In practice though, despite the pretty writing, despite the seemingly creative world, I just… did not buy it. I don’t think there have been many books in my life that just did not manage to convince me to buy the story. There have been ones I disliked, ones I did not particularly care about, or thought boring, but I’ve never felt such an overwhelming feeling of “This is all so flimsy and improbable”.

For starters, I found the magic system weak – magic in this world is known to all, yet people don’t particularly care about it – there are just some witches who do some witching and a Witches’ Council, and normal people just keep on living. Witches can theoretically turn other people to witches (or rather, mages, as the humans-turned-witches are called), but don’t because it’s dangerous (though it can also work without much of a problem), and life goes on. It just feels… improbable. Of all the ways a reveal of magic could go, I would never imagine witchcraft would stay so low-key and unchecked as it does in “Wild is the Witch”.

Secondly, and what’s much worse, is the premise of this book – Iris decides to create an actual, working curse, with the intention of aiming it at some herbs and burning them, thus destroying the curse, but an owl swoops down and steals it and that means that if the owl dies not only will the victim of the curse be hit by the curse, but it would spread for miles and miles in all directions and hit many other people (because the owl is an amplifier).

How f***ing stupid can Iris be in this case? It’s a real curse! Maybe it’s unlikely that it’ll get out, but it may! I know that people do some dumb stuff like those who were licking public toilets to show they’re not scared of COVID in 2020, but to so recklessly create a working curse which can get out and do its work seems incredibly, shockingly stupid and reckless.
It’s explained why the curse gets taken by the owl, kinda, but… I don’t buy it. I just don’t. Makes no sense.
And then everything else that happens, which is in the realm of spoilers and shall not be explained, just continues being so flimsy and far-fetched – starting, but by far not finishing with the fact that Iris hates and fears Pike so much that she makes a curse especially for him, and then the moment the curse gets away from her, she goes after the owl with none other than Pike himself. I mean, there’s no amount of nagging and convincing my mom can do that would get me to bring my most hated person backpacking through the mountains in search of an owl with me. Also, considering that Iris is not a child but a young woman, that she needs her mom’s permission to go do her job (rescuing animals), and that she’d get it only if she brings her nemesis just gets my BS radar buzzing (of course, if her mom hadn’t forced her to go with Pike, none of the book would have happened, so as I said, flimsy reasons for the characters to do things to get the book where the author wants it to be).

Just nope.

this is my first Racheal Griffin book and so didnt know what i was getting in to, so this was a surprise for me it is a low level fantasy book with the usual loathe to love story line.
the way Rachel writes is easy and flows naturally, it give you this warm feeling when you are reading it. the story was emotional but without the damage and completely relatable.

I officially can say that Rachel Griffen’s book have my entire heart. Wild is a beautiful contemporary fantasy with enemies to lovers (there is one tent!!!) and characters you will grow to love. What really sets this book apart for be is how emotions and trauma are handled. While, these emotions are strong and heartbreaking at the same time this book is healing. Iris has Anxiety and Panic Disorder, which is shown, but also dealt with in away that still showed she was strong and brave, but still struggled. I love how supportive Rachel writes her characters, even despite there flaws and mistakes. And yeah, they do make big mistakes, but I love how it is handled.

Did I mention that the personalities of the animals in this book are beautiful. Especially, at the end with the Owl.

Overall, I loved this book! And probably wouldn’t shut up about it ever.

Thank you Net Galley for the free ARC. All opinions are mine.

Rachel Griffin is officially the queen of nuanced, contemporary paranormal. Once again, she succeeded in creating a completely fresh take on a modern system of witchcraft. Wild is the Witch is a simple story paired with fleshed out characters and magic system. It is an easy but immersive read.

Wild is the Witch is the story of Iris, a Lunar Witch (power connected to animals) living in Washington State. After a traumatic event uprooted her life, she moves to the Pacific Northwest to run an animal refuge with her mother. There she meets Pike, an intern with his own dark history with witches. The two of them go after a wayward owl in the forests of the Northwest. Will they find it in time? Will they ever stop fighting?

This book is such a gem. It takes real craft to create something that feels so simple and yet is so thoroughly fleshed out. Rachel Griffin is quickly becoming an automatic "must-buy" author for me.

The sharing one tent/enemies to more trope is EVERYTHING!
Thank you to NetGalley for giving me early access to this book. I have been eagerly waiting for this book since I read Nature Of Witches. It feels important to read about Washington knowing what it means to Rachel. It's always a joy to read her work and feel her deep appreciation for our Earth.

I absolutely adored this book. The writing was absolutely beautiful and the story felt like a warm hug. It was so captivating and made me want to keep reading, but was also so comforting. The characters we so likable and I couldn’t help but smile at the banter between Iris and Pike. The descriptions of the setting and all the connections with nature and the different animals were so beautifully written it made this book an easy one to get lost in. I know this will easily be one of my top reads of the year!

This book was like sitting next to fire while snowed into a mountainside cabin. In other words, it was warm and cozy. The author's writing style is so atmospheric and her world is so rich and vivid. I loved how the magic system in this book felt so nature to how the earth actually works and the idea of witches being out and accepted (mostly) by society made me feel all warm inside. Because of this the book reads a lot like a contemporary and it feels like witches are just a natural occurrence in our world, as though it was the way it always should have been.

The book is very character driven with just a spice of magic and I loved it. I think it's the perfect book for someone wanting to get into fantasy but is a little scared to jump straight into more complex magic systems. Speaking of magic systems, I really loved the way it was explained. The way magic was used, the limitations and consequences of using too much of it felt very believable. The only negative I have is that I wanted more. There is an entire sanction of magic that we never really got to see and I hope there are more books set inside of this world.

This book is for anyone who loves natural magic, realistic witches, and a whole lot of atmosphere.

There’s something about Rachel Griffin’s writing that just feels so cozy and comforting. This book was absolutely beautiful. The atmosphere felt lush and so incredibly real. Wild is the Witch felt like a love letter to the woods and the Pacific Northwest as a whole. It was obvious that Rachel Griffin herself has a huge amount of love and respect for nature and animals and that love just jumped off the page.

The pacing was great, and there were no issues with the gorgeous writing and descriptions of the world slowing the book down. Everything was really well explained and the magic system was simple, but really unique. Similarly to The Nature of Witches, nothing was overcomplicated and the magic was written in a way that makes it seem like it could exist in our world. I will say, this book is very light on the magic and is much more character and setting driven than it is fantasy driven. That wasn’t a bad thing in the slightest, but definitely something to keep in mind before going in.

The characters/romance are where this book fell down a little for me. I really liked both Iris and Pike as characters and I felt like I had a really good grasp of Iris’s own personal motivations, but I didn’t feel particularly immersed in either of them. Because of this, they, as individuals and as a couple, didn’t feel super real to me. I think this felt more obvious to me because the world and magic felt so real that, in contrast, I was left a bit disappointed by the characters.

Overall, however, Wild is the Witch was a beautiful story that featured really great representation for anxiety and grief. This is the kind of book I foresee myself revisiting time and time again when I feel like I need to be surrounded by nature but can’t be. I absolutely adore Rachel Griffin’s writing and can’t wait to read what she writes next.

Content warnings: Death (human and animal,) grief, cancer, injury (human and animal,) illness, burning alive, parental abandonment.

Wild is the Witch is a whimsical novel about new chapters, finding love in the most unexpected ways, and the power of nature and the stories we carry on.

Rachel Griffin pulls together a stand-alone YA urban fantasy novel that follows Iris Grey, a young witch following an unfortunate accident. Eager to start over, Iris and her mother move to the NW coast. But, after a curse goes wrong and gets snagged by an amplifier, Iris's magic threatens to harm all in her community and the boy she cannot stand, Pike. Together, Pike and Iris embark on a journey into the whimsical nature around them and try to track down the curse. The only problem? Pike hates witches and he can never know Iris cursed him.

Three Things I loved:
1) THE THERE WAS ONLY ONE TENT TROPE. If you love there was only one bed... prepare to be shook.
2) The beautiful writing. I felt like the nature and imagery were so strong in this novel and I felt as if I was right there, magic swirling around me.
3) THE QUOTES. So many amazing moments that I had to stop and take a deep breath because they hit me so hard. So many good lessons, realizations, and story elements that left me in awe.

If you're looking for a quick read this August I highly recommend adding Wild is the Witch to your TBR! Out August 2nd!

Thanks Netgalley and Rachel Griffin for providing me the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

i'm starting to think that contemporary fantasy just isn't for me. i had a rough time getting through this and i just wasn't fully invested. that doesn't mean someone else won't love this!

i adore what the author is doing for proceeds of this book.

please go read it

Rachel Griffin’s The Nature of Witches turned out to be one of my favourite books, so when I heard there was going to be a second one I was beyond excited. Wild is the Witch is about Iris who binds a curse on an owl without meaning to. In a quest to save the owl, she and her colleague Pike go into what was supposed to be a two day backpacking trip in an old forest.

The bar was high for this book and it delivered. I was afraid it would not be as good as the first novel, but Wild is the Witch brought tears to my eyes (for an owl!). The book had lgbt representation, well developed characters and a super cute ennemis to lovers story.

I would absolutely recommend this book. It just proves that any Rachel Griffin’s book is an insta buy. 5/5

Another magical masterpiece from Rachel! I adored The Nature of Witches and this book was just as wonderful. I love the way her magic systems are crafted, there are wonderful queer characters, and high stakes with his emotions. I'm far outside the intended age group and sometimes the teenage angst of it all was a bit much-but it was realistic. A beautiful story and one I can't wait to have physically on my shelves.

Wild is the Witch is a lovely new tale from Rachel Griffin. All Iris wanted to do was get her curse back from the bird who interrupted her spell-making. She wanted to bind it to the earth and not actually hurt anyone in the process. However, her mission gets considerably more complicated when her mom asked for Pike to go with her on the journey. The longer she spends with the boy who drives her crazy, the more dire the consequences become, and the more she realizes that she may not be able to undo what has been set in motion.

After really enjoying Griffin's writing in The Nature of Witches, I was eager to continue with her latest novel. Wild is the Witch takes the reader down a completely different interpretation of what it means to be a witch in the modern world. Griffin is skillful in her relationship building between characters and her descriptions of the natural world.

While I still hope for a sequel to her first novel, I have no doubt Rachel Griffin's work will continue to create magical worlds for years to come.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this book.

Wild is the Witch likely has the most grounded magic system that I've encountered in recent memory. I really enjoyed how Griffin explained the limitations, while not allowing it to feel contrived. Instead, the magic in this world feels lived in, and easy. No over complicated monologues, no long winded speeches on how something works. Just a push and a pull. I also really enjoyed the characters! Iris is a lovely protagonist, and Pike does well as the love interest.

I think the biggest weak spot for me was the choice of using first person narration here. It made the entire book feel a little more childish than I really wanted it to, and I think that just by changing the tenses a lot of my issues would go away. Beyond that, this book was an enjoyable read, with fun interactions, and a classic one tent scenario that I absolutely knew had to happen.

Thank you to @netgalley
for giving me the chance to read Wild is the Witch early…and let me tell you, the range of emotions I experienced was astronomical! I laughed out loud and sobbed just as loud and I may of screamed a time of two.
Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down, I started it yesterday afternoon and finished it at 4am today.
@timesnewrachel thank you for this book and I can't wait for your next ones! I will never stop recommending this book.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdiuz_yrQlc/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The atmosphere of this story is spot on and the best part. I loved learning about the witches powers and how it correlates to the animals and wild.
The romance was sweet if a little too corny but it is directed at a younger audience so I feel like they will enjoy it and relate to it more.
As a mother I couldn't even imagine sending my child out to track an owl alone in the mountains for a few days. I had issues with that part, I don't care how much she trusted her or if she is a Witch or if she has a boy who she barely knows or likes going with her that's a big no.
I guess it had to be done for the story to work but still. That was probably the only thing I didn't enjoy about the book.

After releasing a curse into an owl who is also a sacred amplifier, making the curse dangerous, Iris must seek out the help of Pike, the very target of the curse and boy who hates witches.

I loved this book. As soon as I started reading it, I could not put it down. I fell easily for the magic in this book, I love how in tune it is with the earth. This magic is beautiful and I wish it was real!

Iris and Pike are such a fun dynamic. Iris is a bit grumpy and likes animals more than people, whereas Pike is humorous and more open to people.

This book was well written, it was fun, contained a beautiful magic system, an awesome romance and high stakes that kept you pushing through. I highly recommend to anyone who loves witches and ya contemporary fantasy. It's a perfect, quick read!

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks FIRE for the opportunity to read an arc.

Wild is the Witch is a gorgeous, atmospheric story about finding love, but more importantly finding yourself. With a lush Pacific Northwest setting, enemies-to-lovers romance, and nature-based magic, readers will be pulled under it's spell.

Thank you sourcebooks fire and Rachel griffin for the opportunity to read this book. It made me crave going back home to the PNW so bad. The descriptions were so vivid and detailed. I absolutely adore Rachel’s writing style, I want to curl up by a fire with coffee and this book forever. I loved every moment of this book. Iris is such a closed off quiet soul trying to prevent anymore hurt, while pike is arrogant and loud. But every person has their own pain and we all deal with it a different way. This book felt like a therapy session with a sprinkling of magic, I was so rooting for iris from the very first page and loved all her strengths and weaknesses. Not only are the characters so easy to love but the tropes are superb. I love a rival to lover and can now die happy after reading about their one tent. The slow build love was so perfect and now I need a pike in my life to notice when I’m hurting and to kiss it better.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this book through NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: I read this in pretty much one sitting. This is a well done novel in a modern day world where witches have become part of normal society but are still shunned by some. The story focuses on Iris. Iris and her mother were forced to flee their old home when Iris was involved in a magic accident. They now make their living working in a nature sanctuary.

When Iris accidentally releases a curse that could hurt the sanctuary's intern, she is forced to chase down the animal the curse accidentally bound to. The intern, Pike, accompanies her and things get a bit out of control.

This was a simple story about magic, family, animals, and love. It's a quick read and there is a cute love story in here. Most of the story focuses on Iris becoming more comfortable with her magic and on her relationship with Pike. This is very much a traditional YA paranormal love story.

The writing is beautifully done, with amazing descriptions and the characters are decent. I didn't love the characters here but they were well enough done that I was rooting for them to work things out. I liked the subtle way magic is woven into the world and story.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this. It is a simple and engaging story about magic. The description was well done and the romance is sweet and touching. This was a quick and engaging read that I enjoyed. I would recommend it to those who enjoy YA paranormal romance about witches.