{Book Review} The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin (@TimesNewRachel @Sourcebooksfire)

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

​Clara Densmore is the first Everwitch to exist in a hundred years.  Unlike other witches whose magic is ruled by a single season, her magic can wield the power of them all.
 
Her training at the Eastern School of Solar Magic is becoming more important than ever.  Witches are no longer able to keep Earth in balance. Violent disturbances are now common and leave nothing but pain and destruction behind.  If Clara can learn to harness her magic and somehow stop them from happening, countless lives will be saved. But the ones closest to her will die. 

Witches have controlled the atmosphere for hundreds of years, keeping everything steady and calm. We’ve always succeeded. 
We’ve always been strong enough. 
But the shaders—those without magic—were swept away by the possibilities of a world protected by it, of a world where every square inch could be used for gain. They began to push the limits of our power and our atmosphere. At first, we went along with it, caught up in their excitement. Then their excitement turned to greed, and they refused to slow down, ignoring our warnings and charging ahead, behaving as if magic were infinite. As if this planet were infinite. Now they’ve overplayed their hand.

​Sang Park came to Eastern to advance his study of botany. At least, that was the original plan. Sang’s magic is like that of any other Spring witch, but his contains an unmistakable feeling of calm. He’s tasked to help Clara lose her fear of the immense power inside of her.  
 
Spending every day with Clara, Sang catches a glimpse of a girl who is not only a powerful force but someone who loves with all that she is. Falling for her is easy.  Convincing her that her love won’t destroy him will take far more time. But time is not on their side. The storm is getting closer and Sang must show Clara that she has the strength to hold both her magic and his heart – forever.

Even kissing Sang, dancing with him under the stars, laughing with him so hard I cried—that was fighting too. Fighting for myself, choosing to believe I deserve more than a life of isolation and fear. 
Choosing to hope. 
I put my trust in myself and my magic, hoped so badly that I’d finally learned to control it, and I ended up devastated. That’s what happens when you let yourself hope. It crushes you like an avalanche, cold and heavy and suffocating.

​Rachel Griffin brings the seasons alive with The Nature of Witches! In an almost wistful prose, she illuminates a tale so filled with longing and love that it seeps right into the soul. The closer that Clara gets to understanding her magic instead of denying it, the more urgent the feeling becomes. 
 
It’s empowering, provoking and inspiring all at the same time.  And it’s so easy to let it sweep you away...  

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