Being unfamiliar with Rachel Griffin’s previous work, I went into this book with very few expectations. Sometimes a story with an interesting sounding plot delivers the goods, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Wild is the Witch delivered, and then some.

I think I loved every single aspect of this story: the writing, the setting (a rainy PNW forest wonderland, just what my parched soul needed!), the magic system… but most of all, I loved the characters. Pike was an absolute dreamboat of a cute nerd, with his ability to switch from sarcasm to tender observation at the drop of a hat. But Iris, our heroine, spoke directly to my heart. As somebody who lives with generalized anxiety disorder, I related so strongly with Iris’s struggles. Anxiety isn’t always panic attacks; it’s often a quiet, constant doubt, making you question every move. This isn’t always well represented in media, but I think Griffin did an incredible job with Iris’s anxiety. It felt very real, in a way I have read only once or twice before. I truly felt myself falling head over heels for these characters the more I read, and I know this story will live with me for a very long time.

Thank you so much to the punisher and NetGalley for allowing me access to an ARC of this book!