Description: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, and is used to keeping her head down 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. When a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will decide whether protecting her found family is worth risking it all. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Author Biography Sangu Mandanna is the author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom, and several other novels about magic, monsters and myths. She lives in Norwich, a city in the east of England, with her husband and three kids. Review "An effervescent stunner." - The New York Times"This whimsical romance is full of quirky, lovable characters who will charm even the grumpiest of readers. Its an enchanting story that brings to life the wonders of finally finding your people and letting love find you." - The Washington Post"The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is a warm and witchy hug of a book. Full of endearing characters, romance and found family, its the cozy magical romance youve been waiting for. I absolutely adored it!"—Tasha Suri, Author of The Jasmine Throne"A cozy tale about the powerful alchemy of believing we are worthy of the family we find. Full of charm, wit, romance, and an affirmation that we are all deserving of love and real magic." —Travis Baldree, Author of Legends and Lattes"This gorgeously cozy romantic fantasy sparkles with real magic, love, and joy. A perfect comfort read."—Stephanie Burgis, Author of Scales and Sensibility and Snowspelled"Witty, witchy, and wonderfully romantic, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches will warm your heart with its endearing characters, grumpy-sunshine love story, and gorgeously sparkling magic."—India Holton, Author of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels "Absolutely charming, adorably witty, and features an endearing cast of characters and a wonderfully tricky and romantic plot. This is a lighthearted tale of a coven everyone will long to join!"—Louisa Morgan, Author of A Secret History of Witches "Sangu Mandanna spins a bewitching tale of found family, magic, and the power of love. Dark humor and bright writing abound in The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, and readers are sure to be charmed."—Award-winning author Suleikha Snyder"Mandanna crafts a cast of winningly quirky characters, each with their own part to play in Mikas path to belonging... This charming romantic fantasy is a gem."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)"This book is like a warm welcome home and is sure to find itself being a comfort read for many… Mandannas first adult novel is a positively adorable romantic fantasy." —Library Journal (starred review)"Beautifully written with gentle humour and a lot of heart; it will wrap you up in a warm fluffy blanket and surround you with joy, laughter and contentment." - The Nerd Daily Long Description A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family--and a new love--changes the course of her life. 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 dont mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, shes 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 hes concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat. As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isnt the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didnt know she was looking for.... Review Quote " The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is a warm and witchy hug of a book. Full of endearing characters, romance and found family, its the cozy magical romance youve been waiting for. I absolutely adored it!"--Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne "This gorgeously cozy romantic fantasy sparkles with real magic, love, and joy. A perfect comfort read."--Stephanie Burgis, author of Scales and Sensibility and Snowspelled "Witty, witchy, and wonderfully romantic, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches will warm your heart with its endearing characters, grumpy-sunshine love story, and gorgeously sparkling magic."--India Holton, author of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels "Absolutely charming, adorably witty, and features an endearing cast of characters and a wonderfully tricky and romantic plot. This is a lighthearted tale of a coven everyone will long to join!"--Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches "Sangu Mandanna spins a bewitching tale of found family, magic, and the power of love. Dark humor and bright writing abound in The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches , and readers are sure to be charmed."--Award-winning author Suleikha Snyder "Mandanna crafts a cast of winningly quirky characters, each with their own part to play in Mikas path to belonging... This charming romantic fantasy is a gem." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "This book is like a warm welcome home and is sure to find itself being a comfort read for many... Mandannas first adult novel is a positively adorable romantic fantasy." - Library Journal (starred review) Excerpt from Book Chapter One The Very Secret Society of Witches met on the third Thursday of every third month, but that was just about the only thing that never changed. They never met in the same place twice; the last meeting, for instance, had been in Belinda Nkalas front room and had involved freshly baked scones, and the one before that had been in the glorious sunshine of Agatha Joness garden. This meeting, on a cold, wet October afternoon, happened to be taking place on a tiny, abandoned pier in the Outer Hebrides. A pier. In the Outer Hebrides. In October. Of course, they werent actually called the Very Secret Society of Witches. They werent called anything at all, which was why Mika Moon had decided to come up with a name for them herself. She had cycled through several alternatives first, like the League of Extraordinary Witches and the Super Secret Society of Witchy Witches. She was still rather fond of the latter. The ridiculous names were mostly to annoy Primrose, the ancient and very proper head of the group, a position Primrose had presumably bestowed upon herself at some point in the past hundred years or so. (This might have been something of an exaggeration on Mikas part, but it was impossible to tell how old Primrose really was. She wouldnt say.) Now, huddled as deep into her coat as she could get, Mika rocked impatiently on the balls of her feet as twenty other witches joined her on the pier. This, she supposed, was another thing that almost never changed: their number. Mika was one of the newest additions to the thing-that-was-definitely-not-a-society, and shed been part of it for almost ten years, which meant it had been a very long time since theyd welcomed anyone new. This was not to say that there were only twenty-one adult witches in all of Britain; witches were uncommon, certainly, but Mika knew that there were others out there. Primrose, who had appointed herself the duty of finding and inviting new witches to the not-society, had mentioned that some had turned her down over the years. Mika found it difficult to believe anyone had been able to resist Primroses persuasions (which an uncharitable person might say better resembled genteel bullying), but still, it was rather comforting to know that this small, soaked group on the pier wasnt all that was left of them. Not that their numbers mattered. These meetings were the only time any of them were ever supposed to speak to one another. Primrose Beatrice Everly would never dream of telling anyone how to live their lives (so she said), but she was of the firm opinion that Rules would keep them all safe and so those Rules really ought to be followed. Too much magic left unchecked in one place, she said, would draw attention. For the sake of all of them, they had to lead separate lives. There could be no connection between any of them, no visits, no texts, no emails-nothing, in short, that could lead anybody from one witch to another. (Primrose, of course, was an exception to the Rules. Mika supposed it was just one of the many privileges of being the oldest, most powerful, and most bossy.) Consequently, any sense of community and kinship in the group had to be crammed into these short hours once every three months, which made it a very nebulous sense of community indeed. As rain dripped steadily down from the cold, muddy-grey sky, Primrose cleared her throat. "How are we all, dears?" "Wet," Mika couldnt resist pointing out. "Your contribution is noted, thank you, poppet," said Primrose, unperturbed. "Were pretending to be a book club, Primrose," Mika replied, exasperated. "We dont need to hide in the middle of nowhere! Why couldnt we just meet for a sodding coffee somewhere with central heating?" "I, for one, think our safety is worth more than our comfort," Primrose said, and then went straight for the jugular. "But, considering the most irregular way you spend your time, dear, I am not in the least surprised that you dont seem to feel the same way." Mika sighed. Shed walked right into that one. At thirty-one, she was a rather young witch in a group that mostly skewed older. While she didnt exactly have a handy spreadsheet with each witchs age on it, she was quite sure that she, Hilda Kim, and Sophie Clarke were the only ones this side of forty, so she should perhaps have been a lot more intimidated by Primrose than she actually was. But the truth was, she knew Primrose a lot better than most of the other witches here, and she and Primrose had had a wobbly relationship since before Mika could remember. The problem, really, was that witches were always orphans. According to Primrose, this was because of a spell that went wrong in some bygone era. Mika was certain this tale was a figment of Primroses imagination, but she also had no better explanation because the fact remained: when a witch was born, she would find herself orphaned shortly thereafter. It didnt matter where in the world the witch was born, and the cause of death could be anything from innocuous illnesses to everyday accidents, but it was inevitable. Some witches were then raised by grandparents or other relatives and, in time, came to discover the existence of their own magic. All things considered, assuming that they werent catastrophically reckless with their spellwork, they grew up to lead quite normal lives. But some witches, like Mika, were the daughters of witches. And some of those witches, like Mika, were also the granddaughters of witches. It was unusual, certainly; most witches, only too mindful of the axe over their heads, chose not to have children of their own, but it did sometimes happen. And so, when Mika Moon, the orphaned child of an orphaned child of an orphaned child, found herself left in the care of an overworked social worker in India in the early nineties, Primrose found her, brought her to England, and deposited her in a perfectly proper, comfortable home with perfectly proper, comfortable nannies. Mika remembered none of this, of course, but she remembered growing up in the care of nannies and tutors of all genders, ethnicities, and temperaments, each of whom was only permitted to stay for as long as it took to catch a glimpse of something magical (which was not long) before they were replaced. So Mika remembered having plenty to eat, a warm bed, and all the books she could possibly read, but very little in the way of companionship or love. And she remembered Primrose, who visited from time to time, usually to hire a new caregiver or to remind Mika of the Rules. Mikas feelings about Primrose were, thus, mixed. Primrose had kept her safe, for which she was grateful, but she also resented having such an inconsistent, autocratic figure in her life. Once she reached adulthood, the nannies and tutors went away and Mika declined Primroses offer to stay. She moved out of the house and, for the past thirteen years, she had more or less only seen Primrose on the third Thursday of every third month. While it seemed to Mika that she had never done anything Primrose approved of, she had not done anything Primrose especially disapproved of, either. At least, not until last year, when Mika had started uploading videos to her social media accounts. Witchy videos. Hence their present feud. For the moment, Primrose seemed to have moved on. "Is anyone having any trouble?" she asked the gathering. "Im having a hard time not telling my fiancZe the truth about my magic," Hilda Kim offered. "I feel like Im hiding so much of myself from her, and I hate it." "You could always try not getting married," said Primrose, who felt it was everyones duty to make sacrifices for the greater good. "And while you ponder that, dear," she went on as Hilda opened her mouth and then shut it again as if shed thought better of whatever she was about to say, "Is anyone having any actual trouble? Any inquisitive neighbours asking too many questions? Any uncontrollable magical outbursts?" There was a round of shrugs and heads shaking. Primrose shifted her gimlet eyes from one witch to the next, lingering a little too long on Mika. She looked rather disappointed when no one spoke, like shed been hoping to be able to chastise someone for being careless. "Then," Primrose continued, an enormous spellbook materialising in her hands, "does anyone have any new spells to share?" There were a few: a spell for more restful sleep, a potion that would temporarily turn cat fur pink (only cat fur, and only pink), a spell for the finding of a lost thing, and a spell to instantly vanish dark circles under the eyes. (Upon hearing this last one, Primrose, who hoarded her own spells like a dragon hoards gold, looked incredibly annoyed that she hadnt been able to figure it out first.) When the spellwork part of the meeting was complete, Primrose cleared her throat. "Finally, does anyone have any news theyd like to share?" "Its okay to say its time to gossip, Primrose," Mika said merrily. "We all know thats what comes after the spellwork." "Witches dont gossip," sniffed Primrose. This was patently untrue, however, because gossiping was precisely what they proceeded to do. "My ex-husband wanted to get back together last week," said Belind Details ISBN059343935X Author Sangu Mandanna Language English Year 2022 ISBN-10 059343935X ISBN-13 9780593439357 Format Paperback Publication Date 2022-08-23 Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2022-08-23 NZ Release Date 2022-08-23 US Release Date 2022-08-23 UK Release Date 2022-08-23 Pages 368 Place of Publication New York Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc Imprint Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S. DEWEY 823.92 Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:136484460;
Price: 26.42 AUD
Location: Melbourne
End Time: 2024-11-17T05:01:30.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 AUD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
Returns Accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Format: Paperback
Language: English
ISBN-13: 9780593439357
Author: Sangu Mandanna
Type: Does not apply
Book Title: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
ISBN: 9780593439357