House of Frank

A good story about many kinds of grief, with magic and way too many secrets, ruined by a really off-putting and weirdly written romance. The "romantic" interest is cruel and disdainful, for literally no reason, like a school bully. It's instant and gross; this person is out here negging the main character by belittling her name before introductions are even complete. Literally interrupting the introduction to get in some insults. What a charmer! An enemies to lovers thing is fine, but if the enemies part is just one character hating the other on sight based on their outfit, then purposefully endangering them several times for kicks, I'm thoroughly bewildered by the lovers part. This is not some legitimate grievance, a misunderstanding, show more or an inital incompatibility that has to be overcome, this is just a deeply unpleasant person with no explanation ever provided. show less

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

House of Frank is a queer, cozy fantasy that delves deep into hearty emotional issues around death and letting go.

Saika is a witch without magical power, a fact that she hides just as she hides her hair and her hands. She goes to the Ash Arboretum to at long last fulfill her sister's final wish that she be interred there, magicked to grow into a beautiful tree. Saika is defensive and angry, resistant to the overtures of the diverse staff of a household headed up by Frank, a unique monster. As Saika's heart softens, she realizes that the house and its residents hold many secrets, and their pasts--like hers--will soon be exposed.

I really like the vibe of this book. I love a good found family story, show more and this setting is incredibly original: witches are common, as are extraordinary beings. I was frustrated, though, because details about the greater world are teased but never explained. Such as, there is never an explanation for how death and grief are usually handled in this setting (much less how religion works as a comfort, if it does), which means context is nonexistent around the arboretum's beautiful work. show less

This book was not what I expected at all. It's absolutely YA, and I think folks haven't shelved it as YA because it deals with themes of grief, death and dying? It's a little bizarre, the writing, the character voices, Saika's prissy self-centeredness... All steeped in YA.

My biggest complaint was the lack of death acceptance. I think a lot of the exploration of grief was lovely, but I'd hoped the message would be something along the lines of "these folks all came here to grieve, and now they've finally accepted death as a part of life," not "Saika continues to make profound decisions for others against their will, but now it pays off!"

Last bitch: why would any of the characters feel fondly about Ignatius in the end? He was an asshole show more the whole time he lived at Ash Gardens and he died doing an asshole thing? I can understand forgiving him or sympathizing with the taboo he committed, but when Saika was thinking of Frank and Phil in the afterlife, she lumped Ignatius in with them like he was a close friend. Just dumb. show less

Look. No one wanted to love this story more than me. I admire the premise of Bindery Books Publishing who promotes reader communities to choose books they’re passionate about. This book was chosen by someone I personally follow on IG, who has many a time recommended reads I’ve enjoyed. Sadly, this was not a win.

Just like the blurb says, Saika is grieving her dead sister and arrives at Ash Gardens to finally lay her remains to rest. There, she’s pulled in with the denizens who reside at the sanctuary and finds a place of belonging and redemption. Everything else in between missed the mark.

When I don’t like a book, the last thing I want to do is nitpick it to death but inevitably a review must review. This book promised healing show more and found family but really fell short for me. Most of the characters were clueless as to what was going on around them which made no sense if this “family” truly cared for one another, and many were not at all likable, often coming off antagonistic and abrasive which also included the main character. The sapphic romance was not believable, mistaking insults for flirty banter and desire, and don’t get me started on the multitude of secrets everyone is keeping from each other. It didn’t help at all that Saika jumps from first person pov to a stream of consciousness dialogue to her dead sister constantly, and it was absolutely jarring everytime she did this, ruining storytelling flow and momentum.

I will concede that the magical system was interesting, and I liked the variety of fantastical beings that were included. Each character had their own tragic grief that they dealt with separately and that did nudge me a little in the feels. Otherwise, I was mostly bored and impatient to get conclusive answers to all the issues, challenges, problems that Saika and her “friends” were confronted with, and when the reveal and solution finally came, it just didn’t satisfy my particular self in its simplistic incongruous answers.

Overall, my unimportant opinion in the grand scheme of things is miniscule, as the vast majority who has read this book emphatically adored it. I just wish I was one of them.

Thank you to Bindery Books via NetGalley for a copy in exchange for a honest review show less

I had such high hopes for this one since the premise sounded amazing but unfortunately it did not quite live up to my expectations. Most people seem to love this book though so it is very much just a me thing. I did like the setting and some of the worldbuilding (like how witchcraft works) but overall I found myself hoping for more. Before I go on to the rest of my thoughts I'll just say that although it is heavily marketed as a cozy fantasy, it does deal with some heavy topics like grief that may push it out of the cozy category for some readers. This did not impact my experience, but it could affect how others experience the book.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with this book, there were a few small elements (no, not the show more heavy themes) that came together that made it difficult for me to read. Although some of the writing was beautiful, I wasn't a big fan of the combination of first and second person narration. I tend to struggle more with first person narration than third person narration in general though. A combination of first and second person narration is even more difficult to get right so it was a very ambitious choice, especially for a debut novel. There has to be a kind of connection with the character that third person doesn't quite require to make it work. And I just didn't feel that with Saika. Although she had her moments, I wish we had gone a but deeper into who she is (especially since she can come across as harsh at times). It is possible that some of this is explored later on but I need a bit more earlier on in the book to make it work. I would also have loved to have more information about the other characters. Again, it might have come later but for a book that relies so heavily on characters over plot it felt like it was developing very slowly. Unless all of this was intentional (and it's just a me thing) I feel like a lot of the issues could have been improved on with some extra editing/expanding on some of the interactions and the like. But I do seem to be in the minority with most people rating it highly so there could be something happening that I just wasn't "getting".

This could also be a matter of the wrong book at the wrong time and I might pick it up and try again in the future, but looking at how slowly I was getting through the book (and having to reread sections I apparently glossed over) now was clearly not the right time.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own. show less

I made it through, and I think it's an excellent book on grieving that features creative world building. I found the narrative to be a bit of a slog to get through, with way too many secrets to be revealed and accepted. Aaaaaaangst is not my cup of tea, and while I see why people classify this as cozy, it doesn't hit that mark for me.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.

A sweet, sad story of dealing with loss and the repercussions of our actions. It's a cozy fantasy/mystery featuring diverse characters (witches, fairies, ghosts, and more!). It reminded me of books by TJ Klune and Travis Baldree with a touch of Stardust and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.