Review: The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

I have always been fascinated by witches. There’s something about magical power that has entranced me. And The Nature of Witches takes the concept of weather magic and expands upon it! The world building had to be one of my favorite elements of The Nature of Witches. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.

Summary

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.

Review

(Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

After listening to an interview with Rachel Griffin, I was so excited to begin The Nature of Witches. One of my favorite elements had to be the magical systems. I loved the idea of weather magic paired with climate change. The ways that greed has wrecked havoc on the Earth. Where we’re pushed nature to its limits and it’s fighting back. The Nature of Witches weaves the climate change threads from the beginning. And I just love the concept so much! One of the other themes that Griffin wanted readers to take away from The Nature of Witches was the positivity of change.

How we can think of change as bad. As “you’ve really changed”, but it’s a part of nature. Seasons change, plants die, and new life forms. While I loved what Griffin was saying in the panel, I wish that I had seen this more in Clara. I felt like this theme – which I love the idea of because I think that for girls especially change can be weaponized against them – was eclipsed by other elements of Clara’s character. Additionally, I thought the necessity of her healing from her trauma and the loss of her best friend took a smaller role than I would have liked as well.

Overall,

At the beginning I had a hard time figuring Clara out, but as The Nature of Witches progressed I found myself liking her more. It just meant that I had to kind of push myself, as a reader, to get through the beginning (same thing with the romance as well – for the beginning I was SUPER wary). While I would have liked a few more elements to be developed further, I enjoyed the story and world of The Nature of Witches. It’s ultimately a book that celebrates the idea that sensitivity isn’t a negative. That we cannot isolate ourselves and our heart in order to be powerful. Magic is a balancing act, much like nature, and it comes with growing pains and transformation.

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Discussion

Do you have a favorite weather witch?

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