On the romance blog Kat mentioned that the thing with enemies-to-lovers is that if it is not done well you end up hating both characters and Wild Is The Witch gets real close.
Wild is the Witch is set in a contemporary world where witches live out in the open. The story follows Iris , a young witch who has recently settled in the Pacific Northwest.
Iris works in a wildlife preserve and has as an enemies-to-lovers relationship with her older (he’s finishing up college) nerdy co-worker Pike Alder (referred to as Pike Alder many times in the book to show her annoyance with him). When an owl steals a dangerous curse that could kill Pike Alder–Iris sets off into the wilderness to track the owl with an unsuspecting Pike.
Overall I thought this book was fine. It sort of reminded me of throwback early 2000’s YA. It’s a small character-focused standalone story with an intriguing concept. Griffin does a good job of bringing the setting into focus. You can feel the quiet foreboding nature of the Pacific Northwest. I’m always entertained by outdoorsy survivalist books because it’s the only way I will ever experience the wilderness.
I did feel like this book was trying to squeeze itself into as many popular trends as possible. I mean in a way this is straight out of central casting for what internet readers have been wanting from YA. It’s an enemies-to-lovers romance with older YA characters and the only one bed tent trope (tension no spice).
Enemies-to-lovers has never been my jam. I personally don’t see the appeal of a MMC who constantly needles a character and then later we find out he does it because HE acTUAlLY CarEs anD secRETlY knOwS AND LOveS eVERYthiNg AboUT her. Iris is also relentlessly judgey and mean towards Pike for no reason.
I think this book would work for any teen reader looking for older YA. Not sure it would appeal to the New Adult crowd.
1/2 of the blogging duo at Books and Sensibility, I have been blogging about and reviewing books since 2011. I read any and every genre, here on the blog I mostly review Fantasy, Adult Fiction, and Young Adult with a focus on audiobooks.