Since we are covering yet another witch book, I am dubbing this time on the blog Summerween (I’m borrowing that name from Gravity Falls, just so everyone’s aware). I don’t need to waste too much time reiterating my enjoyment of witch stories, especially since this one belongs in the same cozy fun category as the previous witch read.
As a practicing witch, thirty-one-year-old Mika Moon was cursed to lose her parents at a young age, and so she spent her life under the care of many tutors and nannies. At the slightest trace of anyone learning of her magical heritage, people leave her, take advantage of her powers, or become subject to a memory loss charm. And so Mika chooses not to get attached when she is asked to become the tutor of three powerful young witches at a place called Nowhere House. However, there is a group of very quirky and loving people in that house, and they have just as much to teach Mika as she does them.
Once again, we have a low-stakes, cozy story about the magical happenings in a young woman’s life, and an instantly relatable one at that. Mika’s quest to find connection in a world where she is forever the outsider is poignant and truer to everyday life than you might think.
Witches are discouraged from getting together because when their magic comes in close proximity, it can send off powerful magical static, alerting unsuspecting humans to something strange. At least, that’s the rule that Mika’s guardian, Primrose, has pushed for many years. Primrose is an old-fashioned, domineering force in Mika’s life, and she finds it hard to speak against her, which makes finding connections in the witch community very difficult.
Despite the fact that magic has brought harm plenty of times, Mika still has an unabiding love for the craft, and even dreams of opening her own magical tea shop someday. She longs to be connected with other witches, but again, because of Primrose’s discouragement, and her track record of people abusing her or her magic, doing so is difficult and scary. She’s barely settled down in one place for a long time, working in coffee shops to support herself and her golden retriever Circe. In other words, she has spent her entire life in survival mode.
And in this day and age, what’s more relatable than wanting love and connection while also just trying to survive?
Obviously, I would not be talking about Mika for this long if I didn’t find a lot to enjoy about her. So let’s move on to the other players in this plot, shall we?
The people who live in Nowhere House are charming in their British countryside ways. From the moment they walk onto the scene, you know who they are and are instantly enjoyable, especially Ian, the flamboyant retired actor who is married to the house’s gardener Ken, and Jamie, the closed-off librarian who wants nothing to do with Mika. The other characters are nice, but those two make the biggest impression. Ian shamelessly tries to play matchmaker between Jamie and Mika, and given Ken’s reactions, it probably isn’t the first time Ian has hinged all his hopes on a potential relationship.
And of course, the three children that Mika tutors are cute too. Rosetta, the oldest at ten, is extremely curious and excited to learn magic. Terracotta, at eight, is extremely difficult toward Mika and cracks several dark jokes about murdering her. And Altamira, at six, is playful and mischievous in her magic. Terracotta is easily the most memorable because she is downright cruel to her sisters and Mika at times, consistently testing Mika’s near-boundless patience. I would have bound her powers long before Mika ever snapped at her, but at least she grows up and learns to point her petulance to more deserving parties.
Mika does form a relationship with Jamie, the librarian of Nowhere House, but honestly, I enjoyed her relationship with the children better. She gets to showcase her love of magic and potion-making with them, and their excitement at learning all these new incredible things is sweet. Jamie is fine, I guess. He’s got a tragic backstory I cannot recall, and he’s just too curmudgeonly for my taste. He is Irish, so I guess that’s a point for sexiness, at least.
If you like found family stories, I think this book should scratch that itch. The folks of Nowhere House are sweet and fun to watch and they take good care of Mika.
As a romance, I think there are stronger magic stories out there. The tension between Mika and Jamie is serviceable, but the romance itself barely exists, since the tension breaks quite close to the end. I won’t call that a bad thing, though, since this is Mika’s journey to finding the courage to take a risk on a meaningful connection, and she stands enough on her own that Jamie is more an accessory than a main event.
This book is nothing that special, but it does have a very sweet heroine and some fun magical hijinks. If you’re in the mood for something fun and with very little intense magic use, and with a teeny tiny touch of romance, this could be the book.
The Library Key 