Wild Is The Witch by Rachel Griffin Book Review!

 

Title: Wild is the Witch
Author: Rachel Griffin
Publish Date: August 2nd, 2022
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy!

When eighteen-year-old witch Iris Gray accidentally enacts a curse that could have dire consequences, she must team up with a boy who hates witches to make sure her magic isn't unleashed on the world.

Iris Gray knows witches aren't welcome in most towns. When she was forced to leave her last home, she left behind a father who was no longer willing to start over. And while the Witches' Council was lenient in their punishment, Iris knows they're keeping tabs on her. Now settled in Washington, Iris never lets anyone see who she really is; instead, she vents her frustrations by writing curses she never intends to cast. Otherwise, she spends her days at the wildlife refuge which would be the perfect job if not for Pike Alder, the witch-hating aspiring ornithologist who interns with them.

Iris concocts the perfect curse for Pike: one that will turn him into a witch. But just as she's about to dispel it, a bird swoops down and steals the curse before flying away. If the bird dies, the curse will be unleashed―and the bird is a powerful amplifier, and unleashing the curse would turn not just Pike, but everyone in the region, into a witch.

New witches have no idea how to control their magic and the consequences would be dire. And the Witches' Council does not look kindly on multiple offenses; if they found out, Iris could be stripped of her magic for good. Iris begs Pike to help her track the bird, and they set out on a trek through the Pacific Northwest looking for a single bird that could destroy everything.

Penelope's Review

Another witchy standalone by Rachel Griffin! Who could resist that?! This book was surprisingly touching, and had me feeling all sorts of emotions throughout. Any book that brings a tear to my eye is a great one in my books. 

Wild is the Witch follows Iris, a young witch who was forced to leave her old town with her mom due to an unfortunate event. Now the two run an animal refuge together, and Iris keeps her identity as a witch a secret, especially given that the intern working with her happens to hate witches. When a harmless ritual goes wrong, Iris finds herself trekking through the wilderness with witch-hating Pike by her side as she tries to find the curse-stealing owl before it's too late. 

This book has so many fantastic elements to it - the writing style is fantastic as usual, the raw emotion bleeding through the pages is so real, and we get deep moments of vulnerability lightened up with just enough humor to make it feel real. The beginning of this book sets the stage well, and the story flows from there pretty well. We have a few slower spots in the middle there, but everything picks right up as we get to the end. 

Overall, it's a really great YA contemporary story, with such a beautiful take on magic and witches. The romance is slow and sweet, and the book ends exactly as it should have. It will definitely leave you with a smile on your face.

Rating: 4/5 Devils!