In a world where witches aren't very welcome, Iris Gray deals with her frustration by writing curses she doesn't cast. When an owl swoops in and steals the curse Iris was about to dispel, Iris risks turning everyone in the region into a witch if the owl dies. If that happens, the Witches' Council would strip Iris of her magic...

Wild is the Witch by Rachel Griffin is an easy 5 star read for me. The story was both character driven and fast paced, which is a combination that's hard to execute well. I don't know how, but somehow Rachel managed to do it. I was up reading until about 3 am, with is something I never do. I read 60% of the book in one sitting and even though I already possess the e-book, I'm planning on getting a hardback because I enjoyed this book so much.

The book has an enemies-to-lovers trope that is incredibly well executed. I never knew what was going to happen next and I love how the interactions between Iris and Pike felt very natural.

In short, Wild is the Witch is the perfect autumn read that makes you want to go adventuring after you've finished it.

I was confused at first because I thought this book was a sequel to the first book but it didn't seem that way. Perhaps they are set in the same universe but you don't need to read the first book to understand this one.

Once I got over that confusion and immersed myself in the book I was really into it. It was a beautifully written story with so much personality and thoughtfulness. It read very literarily to me, almost similar to how the Practical Magic series is written.

Iris is a hardened witch; she's been burned before and is terrified to do anything that might expose her secret. She strongly dislikes Pike and as soon as you are introduced to his character you can see why. He's smug and cocky and he hates witches. Iris is taken aback by his revelation and it only strengthens her hatred of him. That's also when you realize they are probably going to fall for each other.

While this is a book about secrets, personal growth, and life lessons it also reeks of romance and I loved that. It wasn't the main plot point but having that romantic development between Pike and Iris in the background was really great and added so much to the story.

As the pair try to find the owl that is holding the curse, they grow closer and secrets are revealed. However, will they be able to survive the revelations that are in front of them? What happens when everything explodes in their faces?

There are a few twists in the story that I didn't see coming. I thought I knew how the book was going to turn out, especially after the major twist.

I thought there was so much great character development and growth throughout the story and it added so much depth to the plot. Iris was a great protagonist and I loved being inside her head. I especially loved seeing how she saw magic... it made me wish witches and magic were real.

If you like the Practical Magic series I think you will really love Wild is the Witch!

I loved the first book, and even though this one took me a bit to finish, I very much enjoyed it! I love how the magic and nature are so tied together! I love the way Rachel Griffin writes, I absolutely felt like I was in the book while I was reading it! I think this is a very cozy book because of that! I love Iris and Pike together, it was fun to see more of them!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wild is the Witch was so much fun to dive into. From the very beginning, I was pretty intrigued by Iris. She's a witch and knows that most people wouldn't be very accepting over that little fact. Heck, her own father left her because he just wanted to live a normal life without magic. Which, he's a losing so much because of that in my eyes.

In this new place, she has to be very careful when it comes to her own magic. Which is hard for her to do when it comes to Pike. Oh, he pushes her buttons and one day she snaps (sort of). I mean, sure, she created a "curse" for him but didn't mean for an owl to catch it and play a never-ending game of hide and go seek. Also, this "curse" sounded amazing because it would make him a mage. The only thing is he could potentially die from it but details!

Thrown into a forest adventure, her and Pike set off to find the Owl and bring it back. Along the way, they start to see each other in a different light. Emotions and romance start to flicker between them, and things start to take off. They were pretty adorable throughout the entire book, and it just made me smile.

In the end, it was all bittersweet. Things made me sad and happy, and I'm just really overjoyed that I got the opportunity to dive into this. I can't wait for the next amazing book Rachel writes!

very rarely does a good enemies to lover book miss -- i can't decide if this one did or not.

wild is the witch follows iris, our protagonist who accidentally enacts a curse which could lead to the downfall of everything she knows. with no choice but to ally with a boy who hates her kind (witches), they embark on a journey to protect the world around them.

there were a lot of positive and negatives about this book. i really liked the characters, and how quickly i became attached to them. i also really liked the romance that ensued. with that being said, i think this book could have been a lot shorter and just as impactful. pacing issues and info dumps did make some parts difficult to read. overall, it was still a good book. 3.5/5 stars, rounded down.

thank you to both netgalley and sourcebooks fire for an e-arc. all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Great book and enjoyed the characters . loved the slight romance and the how well the group worked together. Overall a great book . I would read this author again.

Iris Gray is such a fun character to meet and watch grow in this fun, witchy novel. She reminds me of so many teenagers- having strong enough feelings (whether good or bad) for someone that you unintentionally mess this up for that person! In this case, Iris can't stand Pike, and in her efforts to deal with those feelings, she accidentally curses him and puts a wounded owl in danger..

The story follows Iris in her efforts to keep her mistakes hidden and save the owl. I enjoyed the characters, the story line, the atmosphere of the story....I am a fan of Rachel Griffin and her work.

If you are looking for a witchy/paranormal book without the spooky or scary element, this is it. It has all the atmosphere, magical vibes, and the forest setting that I always look for in my fall reads. It’s a quick read, perfect for an afternoon. I loved the setting and the little bits of magic that we got to see, but would have loved it if there was just a little more.

Overall, I enjoyed it and look forward to more of Griffin’s writing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire, and Rachel Griffin for the e-arc of Wild is the Witch in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first read by Rachel Griffin and while I wasn't fully impressed, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fast paced witchy book, an emotional story, and atmospheric PNW vibes! Iris and Pike can't stand each other, but when her curse goes wrong, the two of them set off on an adventure to save an owl, Pike, and possibly the fates of the entire region. The ending of the book was good and the point of "the truth shall set you free" was absolutely proven. I felt that everything fell into sync and came together so well in the end and I loved how the magic system was written.

It was full of slow burning romance, sweet interactions and unstated suspense that made me keep flipping the pages. In Wild Is The Witch, Griffin puts her individual spin on the enemies to lovers (kind of) trope and gives you all the warm fuzzies by its final pages.

Going in, I kind of expected something different but also, I’m not at all mad that it isn’t what I thought it would be because I really enjoyed what it turned out to be. The two main characters are at odds with each other over pretty much everything for the first few hundred pages. Iris is the perfect prickly protagonist while Pike is just kind of obnoxious but in that ‘drive you mad but also endearing’ kind of way. Once they’re forced together by an owl called McGuffin (I see what you did there and I thoroughly approve of literary jokes), all bets are off.

While not usually a fan of romance and fluff, it was a good change from my usual reading. But also, as was evident in The Nature of Witches, it was a sort of commentary on environmental conservation in the form of a young adult novel. Is it OTT? No, but it’s just enough to realise what the author is attempting to accomplish. This novel also, in part, dabbles on broaching the subject of consent, subject matter that is so important in this day and age.

I have to also mention the excellent world building in Wild is the Witch. While not familiar with craggy mountains or lush forests myself, the way in which the story of Pike and Iris is told left me wanting to go adventuring – I literally hated camping as a kid and for a good day or two after finishing this one was contemplating packing up for the weekend and heading our into the nearest national park.

Overall, it was a very beautifully written and engaging novel, firmly depositing Rachel Griffin as a must buy author for me. With its lush scenery and enemies to lovers plotline, it’s the perfect weekend read. The fact it has some real magic as well as some romantic makes it a favourite of mine for this year.

Iris Gray keeps the fact that she is a witch a secret. She and her mother had to leave behind their last home after Iris was involved in a spell gone wrong. Now the Witches' Council is keeping tabs on her closely and Iris doesn't want to destroy her mother's newfound happiness. So when her coworker, Pike, threatens their happiness Iris casts a spell she thinks will be perfect for him, but it ends up going horribly wrong and only she can fix it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had so many good elements and I enjoyed the chemistry between Pike and Iris. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I’m very quickly becoming a big Rachel Griffin fan! I absolutely love the way her magic systems are so closely tied to nature. Just like in The Nature of Witches, this book was very atmospheric. The entire time I felt just like I was in the middle of a forest in the PNW.

This was a pretty quick read, and I thought Iris and Pike had a really lovely relationship. The more they had to work together, the more they had to reveal about themselves and let the other in. The mutual respect and forgiveness they were each able to find for each other was very special.

A perfect cozy read for a rainy day!

Witches are a known part of life, but Iris knows that they aren’t always welcome, she isn’t always welcome. After being forced to leave her home, Iris has kept to herself, not wanting anyone to see who she really is. When Pike, an intern who she works with, mentions hating witches, Iris can’t let it go. Following her grandmother’s words, she creates a curse to get rid of her feelings about it, but right as she is going to dispel an owl swoops in and steals it. Now she has to find the owl before he dies and the curse is unleashed. To do this, she has to work with the very individual she was trying to curse, Pike.

This isn’t what I was expecting when I picked this up, but I enjoyed this fast-paced ride.

Part of what caught me off guard about this book is how it really felt like a contemporary book. There was some witchy things and enough mentions of it that I didn’t completely forget it was a thing, but I did fully expect more throughout this.

I loved seeing Iris’ magic with the animals and how that worked with them. The connection she could form between them to help them was wonderful. I would have loved to see that go a little more in depth, but I did love what we got to see.

I also would have loved seeing how other powers worked as well and just a little more world-building in general. The witches seem to have a whole system in place that we hear about, but never really get to see or experience. I think that would have been nice or even a sequel/companion that kind of expands on this world.

On the flip side, for me, the lightness of it really helped me get into it and dive back into fantasy worlds. So, if that is something you are looking for, give this book a shot! It could be exactly what you need to start getting back into that.

The romance wasn’t something that worked for me. Iris and Pike didn’t click for me which is a shame as their romance is the focus of this book. The book became more about forcing them together. They did have a lot of conversations, so it was nice to see how their opinions of one another changed instead of being told, but I don’t feel like they really had any chemistry. I would have loved to see more focus on world building than their romance.

Wild is the Witch is a book that I did have fun with, but do to the lack of world building and the focus on a romance that didn’t work for me, this isn’t going to be a book that sticks with me for long. It is fast-paced and a light fantasy, so if you are having trouble getting back into fantasy novels, this could be a good place to start.

#ifthennextreadbooks Showcase Series:

IF you like watching Fate: The Winx Saga on NETFLIX …..
THEN you might enjoy reading Rachel Griffin’s books!

Her first release THE NATURE OF WITCHES was featured right here previously on The Erudite Bibliophile with Wanderlust, and her latest release WILD IS THE WITCH was just published in August. Although both are listed as YA , this latest release felt more so upon reading. When starting to watch Fate: The Winx Saga, I actually looked back on Rachel’s Insta to see if it had been based on THE NATURE OF WITCHES and I had possibly just missed seeing that connection previously — that is how alike and similar they felt! Although I didn’t find that connection, it made Griffin’s books the perfect fit for the next #ifthennextreadbooks showcase series!

This was a wild and unbelievably wonderful story about a young witch who can communicate with animals - definitely one thing I really wish I could do in my own life. This story is atmospheric and highly emotional - it's a story of dealing with your emotions and finding yourself in the process. I loved the enemies to lovers story between Iris and Pike, I am a sucker for an enemies to lovers trope. I also loved their adventure in nature to find the enchanted owl and stop the curse from happening. A truly beautiful, romantic and utterly magical story.

Words cannot express how much I loved this book. I picked it up and could not put it down. I literally devoured it in one day. From the concept, the characters and the way the story builds up, I found myself wrapped up in the world that Griffin has created with this one. I loved the dynamics and the depth of the way the witches are done in the story and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.

I really thought I would enjoy this book, but I was bored by the entire story and very tempted to DNF it. The story itself was very easy to follow, but the FMC had a very bad tendency to over stress about everything. I think it was designed to build stakes within the story, but it became overkill.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rachel Griffin did it again! Wild is the Witch is the perfect book to cozy up on the couch with on a rainy day. The writing is incredibly atmospheric and transports you right into the magical world. I love the fast paced storytelling. It had my attention from page one till it the end. All in all this book was done beautifully.

I have been so excited for this book and it didn’t disappoint! Rachel did suck an amazing job with her first book that I had to read her second book. They are both stand alone and this one was a good break from what I’ve been reading lately.

It gave such cozy vibes while reading it I just wanted to stay home and devour it. But alas I had to adult and parent and what not.

Iris character was very likable, she was purely human and showed that we all make mistakes. The thing that separates us all is who is willing to take accountability for those mistakes. I really liked that she as willing to do everything to make up for those bad choices. I also really appreciated her anxiety and her panic. As someone that has anxiety and panic attacks, I liked being able to see characters experience this and how real it was written. I found myself having to take a few deep breaths as I got tense reading how her anxiety took over.

Pikes character was the best because he wasn’t written as a cliché. He was the nerdy guy who was so unapologetic and cared without being all in your face about it. He was observant and tries to make Iris less anxious without asking questions or telling her what he was doing. He was the support everyone needs that experience anxiety.

Iris and Pike were inevitable I saw that immediately but it was enjoyable to see what they had to go through to lead up to the trust and comfortability.

I unexpectedly fell in love with The Nature of Witches so I had high hopes for this companion novel and as you can see, it fell short. From the start, I felt disconnected from Iris, a witch who's been hiding her abilities after her and her mom have started over in a new town, away from their magical community. She "accidentally" curses a boy her age named Pike, a co-worker who seems to hate witches, and the whole plot is about how she gets him to help her track a bird to reverse the curse (while lying to him about why, naturally). Predictably it was just a series of things blowing up in her face (starting with the accidental cursing) but I just wasn't thrilled with the direction of the story or the ending and I honestly felt kind of bored with it all.