Recent Reads: The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin 

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: June 1, 2021

 

Format: Paperback ARC

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

For centuries, witches have maintained the climate, their power from the sun peaking in the season of their birth. But now their control is faltering as the atmosphere becomes more erratic. All hope lies with Clara, an Everwitch whose rare magic is tied to every season.

In Autumn, Clara wants nothing to do with her power. It's wild and volatile, and the price of her magic―losing the ones she loves―is too high, despite the need to control the increasingly dangerous weather.

In Winter, the world is on the precipice of disaster. Fires burn, storms rage, and Clara accepts that she's the only one who can make a difference.

In Spring, she falls for Sang, the witch training her. As her magic grows, so do her feelings, until she's terrified Sang will be the next one she loses.

In Summer, Clara must choose between her power and her happiness, her duty and the people she loves... before she loses Sang, her magic, and thrusts the world into chaos.

Practical Magic meets Twister in this debut contemporary fantasy standalone about heartbreaking power, the terror of our collapsing atmosphere, and the ways we unknowingly change our fate.

Review: 

The Nature of Witches tells the tale of Clara a powerful Everwitch who is learning to control her powers and coming to terms with what they mean to her.  Set in the modern day world that is teaming with climate change anomolies witches are trying to do their part to help the humans or shaders. Each which has a season in which their magic is more powerful and during their seasons they are trying to solve the problems cause by pollution and over expansion. Clara is different, she is one of the very rare Everwitches that is able to change with each season. Her powers are strong all the time, but the problem is that they have hurt people and she is having trouble coming to terms with that part.

A few things that I really liked about this book were the magic system, the romance elements, and the conflict. The magic system and the seasons taking on such an important part of the power and transitions were amazing and a very creative way to have magic in a real world setting. The climate change conlfict is on the forefront of many peoples minds and this was a very interesting take on how it is affecting the world, however I would have liked to better understand the build up to this point between the shaders and the witches. Last but certainly not least, the romance was beautifully written, the fall spans for seasons and Clara doesn't even realize it is happening. My heart was torn out, tossed on the floor and stomped on a few times, but it was a wonderful sequence of events. I also really liked that there was a previous f/f relationship in this book. I think it was interesting how the author tied the magic so well into the romances.

A few things that could have used a bit more love were the obliviousness that Clara has at times, (as I mentioned already) the background details about the witch/shader experience, and also I would have loved to learn so much more about each seasons magic. The biggest ugh moment for me in this book was that Clara is often self-centered and a little annoying. Luckily she had people along the way telling her that and I was thankful for that. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The plot, the characters, the magic, it was all so fun and I really love books about witches and this one surely stood up with some of my other favorites.