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Darling readers, we are so close to starting October’s Virtual Book Club pick, The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman, and hope that you are too.  If you’re counting, as of this publishing, we have just over two weeks until we gather with our brooms beverages and festive attire on Friday, October 21, 2022 at 7:30pm Central to discuss this deep dive into one of our favorite witchy families, the Owens Family.  Please sign up here, so we know you’re coming and you can get the Google Meets Link!

Where we live this time of year, we have nice, crisp, fall mornings, and hot, steamy, summer afternoons, so color me delighted when I realized that in The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin, the witches have seasonal power that feels like the seasons.  Most witches align with one season, but Clara, our protagonist, is an Everwitch, and as such, her power changes to match the current season, all year long.  She doesn’t have the ebbs and flows other witches who are tied to one season do throughout the year, and strengthen and weaken depending on proximity to their season.  And, she’s the first Ever in a very long time, supposedly born for such a time as this when the shaders (non-magical people) have bled the earth of all it has, and the atmosphere has become too much for the witches to control, even with their magic.  Because Evers are so rare, no one really knows how to train them to control their powers, or how they can use their power for the greater good.  Combine all of this this with a teenager about to graduate school who thinks she’s killed the people closest to her by not having control, her ex-girl friend she pushed away to protect her from said power, several adults who mean well, and one calming, attractive research assistant, and that my friends is the making of a really fun, quick novel.  

The best part of The Nature of Witches isn’t the fantastic, inventive plot, it’s the atmospheric writing.  This novel takes us throughout all four seasons, and the way Griffin writes about how the magic feels is just breathtaking!  It is everything this shader thinks seasonal magic would feel like.  As we just transitioned from summer to fall (sometimes in a day) here, 

Summer magic is big and bold, taking advantage of the heavy dose of sunlight. It feels like a flood, one I’m constantly worried I’ll drown in.

Autumn magic builds on an undercurrent of thankfulness and sorrow, a symphony of contrasting emotions that’s easy to get lost in. Thankfulness for the harvest and the fruits of the earth. Sorrow because death is on the horizon. 

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin is a coming of age / trusting oneself book, and also a book about relationships, or perhaps its one and the same.  As communal people, we all need to be in relationship with others who will support us, both calmly and more forcefully, and I really enjoyed how each was demonstrated, as well as romantic and friendly / familial love, both in healthy ways, which we all need to see more.  

I’m giving The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin four solid stars and definitely looking into Griffin’s other work (which is also about witches).  The plot is interesting, the pacing is fantastic, and the writing is glorious.  I had no idea this was a YA book and it didn’t have the angsty feeling of many YA books, but it did have the struggle to find and trust oneself, which felt really supportive to read during this real life season of business.  

What’s a book you knew (or remembered) nothing about and really enjoyed reading?

~Nikki

Rachel Griffin is a nature lover born and raised in the pacific northwest and “hopes more vampires settle down in her beloved state of Washington.” She is the New York Times bestselling author of YA novels The Nature of Witches, Wild is the Witch, and Bring Me Your Midnight, releasing in 2023. Before settling down to that writing life outside of Seattle with her husband and dog, she received a bachelor of science in diagnostic ultrasound from Seattle University, and additionally collects houseplants.

I was so very pleasantly surprised with this YA novel. It was so lyrical, so magical, so inventive, that it didn’t feel like your typical YA novel. As Nikki mentioned above, there were a lot of big internal feelings for our protagonist, but those feelings were almost secondary to the big save the world vibes. And even though we do experience all four seasons in The Nature of Witches, it brings me big autumn energy, like most witchy books do. This was one of my favorite quotes: “If spring is a whispered promise that everything can be made new, autumn is a brilliant sacrifice born of love. Because if the autumn did not love the spring, it would not fall to winter just so the spring could rise.” What a beautiful homage to the seasons, both those of nature and of life! 

But, it wouldn’t be a Heart.Wants.Books. Review if we didn’t tell you a wee story about our buddy reading experience. After I had started the book, a few chapters ahead of Nikki, I texted her that there’s a really cool name up in here! After a bit, she asks if it was “Nikki” I said, good guess, but no…it was Nox! Clara, our Everwitch protagonist, has a black cat named Equinox, Nox for short, and it just gave me all the feels for my own little shadow-cat. Here’s a picture of my handsome boy, Nox Underfoot of the Leaky-Eye. (Don’t ask, it’s Adam’s fault.)

The Nature of Witches was such a delightfully quick read of perfection, I am also giving Rachel Griffin’s debut novel a four starred review. It was the best way to celebrate the beginning of the season..both fall and our witchy season!

~Ashley

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