To be fair, I think this is a fine, maybe even great read within the popular cozy fantasy genre. But am I that big of a fan of the genre to begin with? I'm not sure, and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches didn't do anything to change my mind.
But let's start with the good stuff. First of all, this book isn't without its charms. In fact, as Mika embarks on her adventures at Nowhere House and meets all the loveable side characters, I thought the writing and dialogue were both snappy enough—if a bit cutesy wootsy—to give the book that necessary oomph to carry it through. But then the more I read, the more the book started to succumb to the usual things that plague a cozy read.
The issues probably all stem from the fact that everything is very low stakes, pretty much the de facto benchmark for cozy fiction. Every problem will always be neatly resolved, everyone will always get their happily ever after. So with nothing really on the line, I had a lot of trouble keeping my focus on the story, and my attention kept drifting away.
Since it's all very low stakes, the majority of conflicts that did exist felt very forced. The issues were by and large interpersonal in nature, and the characters were forced to behave in ever more melodramatic ways in order to keep them going. The initial snappy dialogue slowly but surely was replaced by ever more precious and saccharine lines, and I couldn't keep my eyes from rolling around.
The other thing that really stood out here was the book's excessive use of f-bombs. Lest you think I'm a prude, let me reassure you. I don't have a problem with swearing in books, and I myself happily partake in real life (something that has landed me in hot water with my toddler on more than one occasion). But here it was used so much—my kindle count came back at 47!—that it jarred me out of the cozy atmosphere constantly.
While we're on the topic of jarring, was the steamy scene even necessary? (Now I'm really starting to sound like a prude.) I'm all for spice, but this one didn't really gel with the rest of the cutesy vibes. The characters' personalities came off as decidedly young and twee, so it was odd to all of a sudden read about them having sex. But hey, don't mind me over here. Perhaps this is a common thing in cozy fiction and I just haven't read enough of them.
Sigh. I think I speak for a lot of readers when I say it's very hard to resist the lure of cozy fantasy. After all, who wouldn't want to be cozy, unless you're mean-spirited and curmudgeonly in your soul (of which I am not). So every time a cozy pops up, I feel compelled to dive into it with the greatest of expectations (and lots of blankets and teas). And inevitably, I am disappointed.
Obviously, if you're a diehard fan of cozy fantasy and you haven't been living under a rock, chances are good you've already heard about and read and loved this book. But what about the folks who don't normally consume the genre? Should they go and pick this up? I'm sorry to say that in this case, my answer is no.
Readaroo Rating: 3 stars
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