Wild Is the Witch

This book was like a breath of fresh air and a cozy sweater you want to wear all the time.I hadn’t read anything from this author before so I went in without any bias. After just one book, I can assure you this will be an auto read now for me.Being more of a contemporary fantasy, it was enjoyable in the beauty and simplicity of the magic and how pleasing the descriptiveness of the magic really was. The romance aspect of this story was executed well without being cheesy for an enemies to lover trope.Iris was vulnerable without being passive and submissive. She was exactly what I wanted for a FMC. Pike was cocky and full of himself, but not in a bad way. He was alluring and charming and even if you didn’t love him at the beginning you did by the end.Ultimately, a beautiful story and my only complaint is that I wanted more.

After reading and loving Rachel Griffin’s debut novel, The Nature of Witches, earlier this year for the exploration of self doubt and integration of nature and seasons into the magic system, I knew I had to read her sophomore novel, Wild is the Witch. It’s another standalone Fantasy novel with a slice of life feel, and I adored the characters, interactions and magic system even more, making it my favorite read of 2022 so far, and I read it all in two days on a beachside balcony!This book gripped me from the prologue, where we witness Iris Grey’s trial for not stopping her friend from accidentally killing a boy, with the world building and Iris herself. Two years later, she’s starting over with her mother at a nature conservatory in Washington State, connecting with the animals there. Shame that the intern, Pike Adler, hates witches, so much that Iris makes a curse for him. But things go wrong when an owl interferes with plans, and has to go with Pike to find said owl.The depth of every character was done well, each having their storyline that has a beginning, middle and end, even for those that don’t appear for long. Iris, being our protagonist, is fleshed out the most. Her guilt and regret and consequences shape her whole life, being friends with animals more than humans due to two years of ridicule and it’s eating away at her, but that instinct of hers can’t be matched.I especially love the “hate to love” relationship between Iris and Pike, who I see as the Performer vs. Tactician respectively. Iris is in touch with nature through instincts, while Pike relies on acquired knowledge. As the story continues, it evolves, and it got me laughing a few times, and I love the depth of each of the characters and the journey, and I was surprised a couple of times. I’ll never look at KIND bars the same way again.The story isn’t a “save the world” or “beat the villain” type as seen in most Fantasy, but reads more like a slice of life book that has magic and witches in it. It’s mainly about Iris and Pike and their relationship to each other and the world, as well as nature and conservation, themes that are important to me personally. While there are some plot twists, I saw most of them coming a mile away, but that’s not a bad thing, as it’s not built on shock value. The pacing flowed naturally and went by pretty fast, as the status quo kept changing. The prose was very easy to read and I breezed through it in a weekend (which is something I rarely do), and yet immersive at the same time, with several powerful life lessons that I take to heart.The world building here was done really well, which is what brought this book over the top. The idea of witches being public knowledge, how magic works and governed all feels like it could happen in our everyday world. And tying the magic to everyday problems grounded fantastical ideas to something many can relate to. Chapter Two brought it home for me and I was hooked for the rest of the story.I highly recommend this for those that want to deep dive into dealing with grief and an entertaining hate to love relationship, as well as looking for fantasy with a more slice of life tone. Rachel Griffin is now going on my auto-buy list.*I received an ARC from the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire. All opinions are my own.*

Snabb leverans- var en julklapp

Avec ce second roman, Rachel Griffin confirme sa place d'autrice doudou dans ma bibliothèque. Dès les premières lignes, j'ai été happée dans cette atmosphère qu'elle sait si bien dépeindre, celle de la nature, de la forêt, de la magie environnante. Même pas besoin d'intrigue, et d'ailleurs, celle qu'elle nous propose ici est très simple et plutôt linéaire, même si elle offre quelques bons moments de stress. Mais c'est pas grave, les décors et l'ambiance se suffisent à eux-mêmes, ainsi que les personnages qui nous emportent dans leur sillage.Ça aurait d'ailleurs été un réel coup de cœur pour moi si la romance n’avait pas pris autant de place. Elle n'est pas niaise, elle n'est pas (trop) clichée, franchement c'est une chouette romance mais voilà, je suis toujours dans cette période relou où la guimauve et les paillettes m'emmerdent un peu. Du coup je trouve que cette histoire aurait été tout aussi intéressante avec une simple histoire d'amitié (même que ça lui aurait conféré un supplément d'originalité, parce que l'éternel [une fille + un garçon = bisous]... voilà voilà) mais bon, c'est très subjectif. Et c'est vraiment le seul reproche que je puisse faire à ce roman. En dehors de ça, j'ai absolument tout aimé, particulièrement me promener parmi les arbres du Nord-Ouest Pacifique comme si j'y étais. C'était une balade vivifiante, enchanteresse et réconfortante.J'ai vraiment hâte de partir pour ma prochaine promenade en compagnie de Rachel, qui devrait arriver cet été.C'est de la VO mais qui, je pense, est très abordable. Si vous lisez l'anglais, même sans être bilingue, je ne peux que vous recommander chaudement l'aventure.

It’s the second book I read from R. Griffin and I loved it. I loved the story and the characters. My only negative point would be that it felt too short. I’ll keep an eye on her upcoming releases!