This book was an absolute delight to read and one of my favorites of the year by far. It was included in a round-up of cozy books to read on The Everygirl and will be personally recommended to readers on The Everygirl's Instagram page.

thank you PRH International for sending me an EARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

5 STARS!!!! <3 (if i could give it more, i would)

this book spoke to my soul. i feel like it was written FOR ME. it is literally what i would call a warm, fluffy hug and it had EVERYTHING i could have asked for. first of all, the main character is INCREDIBLE and a self call out in the best (and most painful) way. i don't know for certain if this was intentional or not, but she had so many autistic behaviors, that it almost felt to me like the book equaled being a witch to being autistic in our wold, and if it was planned it was just simply so incredibly well done. Mika, the mc, constantly talks about how she has a mask she puts on and how it varies depending on who she interacts with, describes her "love for sensory joys", has hyperfixations that she talks constantly about and that make her happy, and even has an episode where after wasting all her energy on a powerful magic spell she then has to rest to recover (also known as autistics masking for so long that they end up having burnout and having to rest for some time before they are able to interact again). Mika was such a real, and incredibly well done character that i already miss her with my entire heart.

Then, every other character was INCREDIBLE as well. how so many broken people found each other, and their love is so strong that they will fight anyone to protect their little found family. how those three little witch girls were adorable and a joy to read about (even if i hate kids). how the DOG was such a joy to read about every single time. literally i have not one bad thing to say about this entire book.

Not only is it a warm and cozy found family with witches, it's also a grumpy sunshine romance that was so incredibly well developed that i was screaming and kicking my feet in the air when they finally kissed. This book is just pure absolute joy, and the ULTIMATE COMFORT BOOK. it even made me cry by how much i related to Mika's feelings. this book spoke to my soul and it honestly feels like it was meant to be read by me. it will be hard to pick up any other book after this, and i'm certain it won't be long before i re-read it, since i miss it already.

Boy, do I have a Halloween treat for you!

Sangu Mandanna's first novel for adults, "The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches," is an absolute gem. It's a perfect fall read, filled with lovable witches and whimsical magic. And it will lift your spirits and make you happy grin. (You know the type of grin I'm talking about, where you smile the entire time you're reading simply from the pure joy of the story.)

Mandanna's writing is infused with kindness and amusing humor, and she has crafted characters you just want to hug. The novel has a gentle feel to it, too, and is in some ways reminiscent of T.J. Klune's "The House in the Cerulean Sea," only there's the added bonus of a hot and sexy romance.

"The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches" is a big-hearted novel, focused around the wonderful themes of found family and self-love. I am so grateful to have read it, and you can bet I will be recommending it for years to come.


My sincerest appreciation to Sangu Mandanna, Berkley Books, and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

Thank you, Berkley Publishing, for the gifted copy of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. {partner}

Genre: Fantasy
Trope: Romance (grumpy/sunshine & found family
Format: 📖🎧
Pub Date: 8.23.2022
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆.5

“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.”


I sometimes feel that witchy romance books can toe the line of being overly cheesy. I’ve read a few, and they have just felt straight from a hallmark movie (which isn’t bad, just not what I wanted). The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is EXACTLY what I was looking to read this season.

It’s full of heartfelt moments, laugh-out-loud moments, and a little steamy open-door romance. It didn’t feel overwhelmingly like a romance, but when it was, it was a lot of fun and sweet; the relationship between Mika and Jamie felt natural. The whole book was one big breath of fresh air for the witchy romance trope, and I recommend adding it to your Spooky Season reading list.

🧙🏼‍♀️Delightfully witchy
🥰 About learning to be loved & loving in return
🤗 Triple Hug
👌🏼 That ending

I recommend reading The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches if you enjoyed reading The House in the Cerulean Sea.

This was a cute book. At times it was too cute, but if you’re in the right mood it will definitely win you over.

Mika Moon was raised by the leader of a group of witches in England who believed that witches need to stay apart and stay secret to stay safe. This has understandable led to a rather lonely existence. When Mika is offered a job as a live-in nanny for three young orphaned witches being raised by an odd group of adults, she takes a chance on them.

I struggled to stay interested in this one at times, I think partly because the romance was underdeveloped—it felt shoehorned in, and took time away from the other characters. I didn’t feel like I knew the love interest very well as a person.

There were a few plot points that didn’t feel resolved, like how the witches were cursed so that when a witch is born her parents die. This was brought up many times, and seemed like something that maybe could be undone, but it never was? So I guess our happy couple can never have kids—not that they have to, but it seemed like something that needed to be discussed at least.

I also read this book thinking it would be a great selection for fall/Halloween, and yet most of the book revolves around the winter solstice/Christmas.

There were a lot of tropes that people might like, including found family and grumpy x sunshine. Overall, I can definitely see why people enjoy it but it won’t be a personal favourite.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mika Moon is a witch.

From a very young age she's been told that it's very, very dangerous for witches to congregate in one place so that means Mika has had to hide who she is from nearly everyone in her life. So she turns to the internet where she posts videos "pretending" to be a witch as a way to share herself with others without getting caught.

But that doesn't work when someone watching you on the other side knows what to look for. Only the situation doesn't turn violent or involve blackmail. No, what results from the discovery is a plea from an old man asking Mika to travel to a remote destination called Nowhere House. Nowhere House is the home to some interesting characters. An absent archaeologist, an older retired actor, two caretakers, and a handsome librarian. Oh, and Nowhere House is also home to three young witches who need someone to guide them along their magical journey.

The situation at Nowhere House breaks all the rules Mika has ever known but it also holds everything she's ever wanted. A community of witches and people who know what and who she really is.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches was a truly wonderful read full of hijinks and sweet interactions between everyone in Nowhere House. Both the set of adults and the set of kids are lively and it's a book with a decent amount of characters and yet there's no risk of confusing them once you get to know them because these characters are lively and jump off the page.

And, at the heart of the book, it's truly a heartwarming read all about found family and finding a place to belong, for everyone.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who likes witches, magic, found family, quirky characters, and heartwarming stories.

Absolutely brilliant book! Perfectly autumnal, romantic, and the best group of outcasts brought together for a found family. I will be reading this again!

What a fun book! Miku is a fun character and when she and the witch girls get together mayhem ensues! I thoroughly enjoyed this book

Rather too self-consciously heartwarming, but that didn’t stop me from immensely enjoying this story of found magical family and romance, and even tearing up in a few places.

Thank you, @netgalley for my copy of this book. This story was such a cozy, romantic story about magic and family. It was the perfect Fall read!

I absolutely fell for this. Imagine the cute, cozy vibes one feels as an adult watching Kiki's Delivery Service, and now transfer that feeling to an adult setting. Found family, sweetness, and a deep-rooted loneliness. Highly recommend!

If House in the Cerulean Sea had witches and was a little less heart warming it would be this book. It was cute but the characters fell a little flat for me and I struggled to emotionally commit to any of them really.

If you like The House in the Cerulean Sea + Mary Poppins + The Sound of Music; read asap. It is just so so cute, funny and cozy with a grumpy + sunshine romance, amazing side characters and three cute kids. I will be recommending to all looking for a cozy fall read.

This book was unexpectedly twee. I couldn't tell if it was meant to be a romance or a cozy family fantasy story. It felt a lot like The House in The Cerulean Sea. The romance honestly felt forced/ out of place, to the point that the sex scene felt awkward.

This is the cozy found family witch story you're looking for. I wasn't fully in love with it because I found it sagged in the middle — it can be tough to keep up a low stakes plot. And I wish some of the world building had been fleshed out a bit more (Why only women witches? That kind of thing sets off my radar a bit.) Also, the romance is sweet but it doesn't take up as much space in the book as I might prefer. Still, very cute, and a trend I hope to see more of.

I wish I could have lived in this book! I loved the characters, the setting, and the whole energy of the book. I found it to be completely charming without too much sweetness, Great humor and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The first word that comes to mind after reading The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is ADORABLE. Sangu Mandanna is a new author to me, and I am already looking forward to reading more of her work.

I adored Mika and Jamie, and Rosetta, and Terracotta, and Altamira, and Lucie, and Ken and Ian; they were a wonderful cast of characters. The love story between Mika and Jamie was so sweet, both were hesitant and more than a bit skeptical about each other, but the attraction was there from their very first meeting.

Mika was a lonely witch, she always had to hide her true self, she could never trust anyone's real intentions, she never had a real family, and in Jamie and Nowhere House she found her people, she found a home.

"More than anything, I just want one place I can be myself. I just want a home."

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches had everything good; enemies to lovers, magic, found family and it left me feeling happy and warm inside. A fantastic read to start the fall season.

This was what I wanted House in the Cerulean Sea to be. That other book was massively underwhelming, but this met all the things I wanted. The romance was 100x better, and far less forced. The children were more true to how children truly behave. I enjoyed all of this. We have sold a few copies already as well.

I have to admit I didn't find the romance portion of this romance novel at all compelling, but all the rest of it was a delight, so it didn't even matter. All the characters, the magic, the plot—all highly enjoyable

This book is so good! It gives all the cozy fantasy vibes that are needed in the SFF community.

Found family perfection about a young witch who is hired to tutor three young witches in an old, but cozy estate. Raising these young witches are two older gay married men, a grandmotherly housekeeper, and a grumpy (and hott) young male librarian. The gumpy-sunshine romance is also perfection, but the real heart of the story is the found family.

For fans of all cozy sci-fi fantasy books. And perfect for a display by the same name!

Read this book. :)