The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
I thought I’d give you all a break from travel photos temporarily and talk about a paranormal romance that I recently read and thoroughly enjoyed.
Sangu Mandanna is a British author who is new to me but after this book, I’ll be keeping an eye out for her new releases. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches (2023) was ridiculously charming and yet still managed to give you all the feels you want from a good romance.
Mika Moon has been alone for most of her life and only meets with other witches in a remote location once every three months on a Thursday afternoon. History hasn’t been kind to witches and our modern magical women have established a protocol to keep them safe that involves isolation and lying about who they are to everyone else.
When Mika starts doing “pretend” witchy videos on social media, she discovers a community at last. What can be the danger? She makes it clear that this is only a bit of fantasy and fun.
But someone out there is looking for a real witch for a vitally important job and that someone immediately picks up that Mika possesses genuine power. A retired thespian named Ian Kubo-Hawthorn is the guardian of three young witches who are in desperate danger unless they learn to control their powers before Boxing Day. He invites Mika to Nowhere House near the sea in Norfolk with a view to engaging her as a tutor. Much against her better judgment, Mika accepts the invitation.
At Nowhere House, Mika discovers a place where she belongs at last. She finds friends in the other eccentric residents and a purpose in training the three children, Rosetta, Terracotta and Altamira. The only fly in the ointment is the spectacularly handsome but very grumpy librarian at the house, Irish Jamie, who makes it clear from the start that he thinks Mika’s arrival only increases the danger to the girls. Already there’s too much magic at Nowhere House to continue to escape detection and Mika just adds to the mix. Apart from the fact that’s she’s far too pretty and distracting for a man determined to keep his heart untouched.
But all is not as it seems at Nowhere House and Mika has much to discover about herself and about her friends before the story is done. And all the time, the intrusion of the hostile outer world in the person of bigoted solicitor Edward Foxhaven on Boxing Day is coming closer and closer.
As you’ve probably guessed, the romance is between Jamie and Mika. Jamie has more than a touch of Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music about him, which I loved. I do adore a gruff, bad-tempered hero who is really melted caramel inside, and it’s lovely seeing Jamie tumble in love with Mika despite everything that tells him not to.
There are lots of funny moments in this story and lots of breathtaking romantic ones too, and underneath all the fun, there’s a message about mutual tolerance for difference and finding one’s place in the world. The characters are wonderful and warm (apart from Edward F. who is suitably horrid) and the story kept me captivated the whole way along. I read this in one gulp last Sunday morning and it was such an enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours.
If you like sweet, witty, heartfelt romance with a touch of the woo-woos, I’d strongly recommend this one. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.