I am a sucker for a classic found family, strange children, magical, cozy, romantic book. Every single element was something I enjoyed. It was also so heartwarming to see a South Indian MC as the lead, it actually made me tear up cause this is the kind of stuff I would like to write so seeing characters who look like me in it was so lovely.

It’s predictable, sweet, and kind. It’s a story that feels like a cup of tea, with perhaps some magic steeped into it <3

Absolutely adored this charming fun book about a house full of witches and the mortals who love them. Author Sangu Bandanna creates fun and original characters to carry out a fun and original idea. Refreshing all around. I recommended this one in my annual Witchy Book List in October 2022 on the Satellite Sisters podcast and newsletter. Looking forward to the next installment.

This reminded me of House in the Cerulean Sea, a very sweet found family romance. I do wish it had been a little bit longer and we would have gotten to see more of their day to day life and not just the "big" moments, but overall I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

This is a very sweet story of found family and finding self-acceptance and love in a world that isn't always forthcoming with those things. I loved the way that these characters came together to fight for one another and the way that everything came full circle at the end.

I felt like the romance was really flat and forced, and I ended up not really caring about that part of the story, which was really disappointing. I also felt like the story was really slow and found myself zoning out quite often.

The best characters were by far the young girls, and I feel like they shouldn't have been because the MC and her love interest should have been. It was a really good concept at first but just fell flat for me in the end.

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me an ARC!
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Unfortunately I DNFed this, it just didn’t catch my attention and maybe I’ll get into it again when I’m in the perfect headspace to give this another try! But I would buy and recommend this to others definitely!

Very enjoyable. I really liked the world Ms Mandanna created. So lovely to see such diversity in characters. Samara MacLaren was a perfect narrator, good accents and differentiation of characters. A delightful story of finding oneself and a family, of loyalty and friendship. A real feel good book. Wonderful characters, sweet relationships, great description of the place. I would love to see this become a series. I want to know what happens to these young people as they grow, and how Primrose adapts to a new way of being in the magical world. My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely completely enchanting. This is exactly what it promises to be -- cozy and steamy and full of found-family goodness. I've loved Sangu Mandanna's style in her YA short stories, and I am very glad to see her continuing to publish across genres and audiences and finding great success! The characters in this one are well-layered and so lovable, the writing weaves magic into every aspect of the story and transport you straight into this strange and wondrous and entirely whimsical world. I wish I could articulate just how deeply I love this book, but suffice it to say I can't recommend it enough.

This was the coziest and most comforting fantasy book I've read in a long time. Charming characters that I still think about.

This book is so stinking cute. I had so much trouble putting it down! I love the relationships between all of the occupants of Nowhere House and how they work with Mika. It was so magical and sweet.

I am so sad I ended up hating this book, because I honestly thought it was going to be a super cozy and super wholesome read and that I’d fall in love with the characters.
What I got instead was a mediocre book, which was trying to enforce tropes by telling and not showing them. I do not care how many times you tell me the heroine is a sunshine girl and the hero a grump, or that the heroine had never had a family before meeting the characters, I will not buy it, if you are only going to tell me that, and not actually show it.
I did not like any of the characters, because they did not have a personality. They were walking stereotypes and it bothered me to no end. The were flat, uninteresting and boring. I do think they had some potential in them, but it was not used as it could have.
The romance was also not it. The two main characters had no chemistry whatsoever, and only ended up together because there had to be romance in this book. I mean, without the romance there wouldn’t have been anything else, I guess, but still…
Which leads us to the plot. There was a tag on an Italian fanfiction site called “pwp”, meaning “plot what plot” or “porn without plot”, which indicated erotic stories without any real plot. I am going to borrow the “plot what plot” definition, but in this case there wasn’t even the porn. There was nothing at all in this freaking three hundred pages book. I’m mad.
In the last few pages the author did actually try to make something happen, but let’s just say it was so absurd I eye-rolled in real life and I am not even kidding. There’s a fine line between cozy fantasy and bad writing, I believe, and this author did not have the right balance.
Now, onto the writing style we go. What can I say? It was bad. I am sorry, but it really was. The author was constantly trying to be funny, but it only resulted in me cringing every other page. Moreover, it read like both a middle grade and an adult book at the same time, but not in a good way. I have no idea what the editor was doing, but they surely weren’t editing.
Overall, I hated everything about this book. I would not recommend it to anyone, honestly, because if you are looking for a cozy fantasy you’ll be disappointed, and if you are looking for a romance, there was none in here to speak of. On the other hand, it was a Goodreads Choice Awards nominee and people have been raving about it, so maybe it’s just that I did not understand how wonderful this book actually was (if I sound sarcastic, it’s because I am). Every year, I am more and more baffled by Goodreads nominations, but I digress.

I absolutely adored this book! It is a perfect recommendation for people that enjoyed The House in the Cerulean Sea. It was very warm, comforting and in general lovely. I do wish that the book was marketed as more of a fantasy than romance, because I feel like in the romance section it will get lost among other more popular titles. I can’t wait to give this recommendation to so many customers!

Thank you so much Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for a copy of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna.

"As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos "pretending" to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.
But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat."

This book holds a dear place in my bookish heart! It gave me all the warm and fuzzy feels. From found family, to magic, to unlikely romance. I loved every second of the novel and cannot wait for more adventures of Mika and Co.

This is a beautiful story of found family and the small, beautiful ways we can make our world a better place. There's a limited amount of steam, but it's done well.

So good! While reading and when I finished this book, I sighed a big sigh of happiness. This book was just a pleasure through and through!!

Apparently, I need to check out more of Sangu Mandanna's books! I loved all of the characters and the plot flowed very well. It is one of those books that you just keep wanting to read!

Wow, I don't know why I put off reading this for so long! The story itself was fairly simple with no complicated plots or villains. However, the way the author digs into emotion and found family.. chef's kiss!

I got Miss Peregrine's vibes from this - but better! Can't go wrong with a bit of Grumpy x Sunshine!

This was utterly delightful. I'm not generally one to go in for witchy books, but this one was so incredibly good. Mika has had a frankly terrible life and has responded by being aggressively sunny and cheerful. Jamie has responded to his terrible childhood by becoming aggressively grumpy. I don't think I've ever met a grumpy/sunshine book I didn't like.

Add in a cast of charming and wacky and heartwarming characters, a trio of young witches and troublemakers, a plot that isn't what it seems, and you have the makings of an excellent story.

I loved this story so much. When Mika responds to her guardian's stricture that all witches must live alone and with the least connection to other witches possible by playing a witch on the internet, when she shows up to Nowhere House with a dog and a car full of, among other things, a greenhouse and floating koi pond, when she befriends the girls and finds her way in to even Jamie's heart... every moment was wonderful.

If you're a fan of TJ Klune's House in the Cerulean Sea, you'll want to get this one immediately as it gives the same heartwarming vibes.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an early copy for review.

This is a charming supernatural romance, though it is more than a romance as it explored ideas of family and connection and belonging. Magic is a big part of the book, but the setting is the world in which we live in (similar to the Harry Potter series, though this magic is more limited than that). I love the quirky cast of characters!

Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was perfection. That's all. Everyone should read this tender, beautiful book about found families and all encompassing love.

This book is basically a cozy hug. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator had such a soothing voice, it was such a pleasant experience. I loved the themes of found family and acceptance. I will definitely be picking up any future releases from the author.