Witchy, vengeful, middle aged women? COUNT ME IN! I'm sure this book will trigger a few people but I loved it and hope it becomes a series because I want more Jo, Nessa, and Harriet!

Nessa has a "gift", dead people come to her looking for justice, Jo is trying to make her all women's gym a success while supporting her husband and daughter, and Harriet has been deemed the town witch and is so done with men's BS in general. They team up to figure out who has been killing girls in their idyllic beach town.

I had a feeling I knew who the real "bad guy" would bev early on, but I still really enjoyed getting there!

The Change is a unique and engaging portrayal of how women are seen and treated in middle age. I loved the women relationships and the wonderful atmospheric vibe. A hit!

The feminist rage and revenge novel we all need right now! This was fun, compulsively readable, and relevant. I really loved my reading experience, although it lost some of its magic at the end for me. I will be recommending this one to friends for summer reading and beyond.

I really love a character driven story and The Change certainly delivers on strong, memorable characters. This book was a mix of so many things; with magical elements and women being bad asses, I could not put it down!

My favorite character had to be Harriet, but I also loved the relationship she formed with Jo and Nessa. I thought their interactions were comical at times, but also heartfelt. I also appreciated how the author included their backstories throughout, leading up to the present.

There were so many moments while I was reading when I felt enraged by how the women were treated or the misogyny of some of the male characters, but what made this book so great was how the women in the book took that rage and spun it into action. It was magical, vengeful, and a really great read. Would highly recommend reading THE CHANGE if you haven’t already!

How refreshing to read about some bad ass women who get their strength later in life. And using that power to screw with some big shot evil. I loved every moment of this story. I don’t know where Miller got her idea but I’ll be reading everything she writes. The characters were SO enjoyable. Their back stories, transformations, relationships- all so lovely. I got this as an arc from net galley (thank you!) and had no idea it was considered fantasy. Not usually my thing but this was a bit of everything. I bought a copy thru BOTM to send my mom and sister. :)

I enjoyed this suspenseful story. This is not my first book by this author but it is one of my favorites by her. This is a well written story where the author used details to make you feel part of the story. I also enjoyed the author's writing skills that made the story come to life. This is a story about three women who find a murdered teenager. As the bodies begin to pile up, these three find new powers and take things in their own hands. You don't want to miss what happens in this story. The characters pull you into the story from the first word. They are connectable and have great growth throughout. The twists and turns had me turning pages fast just to see what would happen next. This is a great story that I really enjoyed and what the characters add to the story is great. I highly recommend reading this book.

This was a great read! Who doesn't love reading about strong women taking a stand and making their own way?! I loved this book from start to finish.

This was too much of a stretch for me, and not my typical genre. But after all the amazing reviews I knew I needed to give it a try…fair enough. But I think my initial instinct was right. Just not my cup of tea.

I loved the message of strong powerful women of ‘a certain age’. Great theme.

But the book itself just felt too long. And I found myself setting it aside on many occasions.

I’m much in the minority here, as most every reader I’ve come across has loved it. Enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow.

LOVE, love, LOVED this read and want more from these characters. This would be an EXCELLENT screen adaptation. Great pacing, great characters. I loved the connection created between the main characters and found myself simultaneously wanting to be part of them, while feeling as if I were just by reading.

I was so excited for this book as the reviews for it were outstanding. And while I thought “The Change” was fun, I thought the story stretched out way too long and it was hard to keep my interest toward the end. It was a unique concept, but it started getting so dark at times that I just found it hard to mesh with the magic realism. There were plenty of laughs and all of the foregoing combined just make it challenging for me to rate this numerically. However, because I liked and didn’t love it, 3 stars ⭐️ seems appropriate. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy for review.

I went into this one with high expectations, and unfortunately I think the hype ended up being a disadvantage.
The premise of women coming into supernatural powers later in life was immediately intriguing. The prose, dripping with satire, was relatable and quite humorous. I was eager to see how the plot would unfold.
Alas, I didn’t realize going in that it’s ultimately a whodunnit, and I am not a fan of crime thrillers. Especially when they drag on too long in the aim of suspense (did we get the killer? Nope! How about now? Still no! 480 pages!) which has the exact opposite effect on me: boredom.
I also felt as if the (rightfully!) angry feminist message became overwrought. As someone nearly the age of the characters, and absolutely the right audience for understanding misogyny and wanting to smash the patriarchy, it began to feel farcical and the characters like caricatures.
If you are a fan of thrillers and crime novels, I think this would be a perfect book. It was a romp, but just not for me.

I loved that this book has so many little sub plots within sub plots for lack of a better word. It’s a witchy read, a murder mystery, feminist elements and even growing plants and herbs guide.. I loved every character and every world with the characters and how they came together and overlapped. It’s a book hard for me to describe but it’s certainly one of my top favorite I’ve read so far this year. I didn’t want it to end.

What a terrifically creative, unique, and surprising story. While there was definitely a thriller-esque element to the novel, I felt like Kristen Miller wove a story that was truly her own that did not conform to any sort of typical trope – it was wholly refreshing. The feminist rage that poured through this book was exhilarating. At a time when the U.S. seems to be turning its back on women, Miller reminds us that women have always needed to fight, unfairly so, but they have the means and community to do so. I liked that each of the three main characters brought her own story and gifts to the plot, allowing the reader to see the benefit of individuality within the context of working together to “solve” a larger issue.

I did find that the writing style of the book seemed to be conflicted on which element, plot or character, would better develop the story, that led to a bit of clunkiness. However, after finishing the novel, I actually think this style encouraged me to take a minute to stop and think upon the underwritten cultural messaging, which was not only incredibly important, but was so appreciated.

Harriet, Jo, and Nessa are living in the lovely seaside community of Mattauk on Long Island. They are all in their late 40’s and each in a different stage of life. Plus, they have some magical abilities. Harriet is a witch who can do amazing things with plants. Jo has super human strength. Nessa can see dead people. The three women are drawn together and at first aren’t sure why. They stumble upon what they think is a serial killer seeking out teenage girls. The three women vow to bring justice and maybe some vengeance to the victims that no one else deems important enough to look for.

This book is good! It’s one of those where you are telling yourself to put it down and go to sleep but then you don’t. These women are tough and take no prisoners. The story is suspenseful and a good whodunit. I did figure it out (though I was hoping I was wrong).

The book is pretty dark and there will be some sensitive spots. There’s human trafficking, child abuse, spousal abuse, and some violence.

Lucky for the characters in 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘, menopause turns them into complete badasses, each with their own power. This book is loaded with magical realism, female friendship, and female empowerment as these three ladies take on the case of disappearing young girls in their hometown. With humor along the way, it is no surprise that @gmabookclub picked it for their May book!

I'll warn you that it is a bit long with multiple subplots. My favorite was the relatable mother-daughter relationship between Jo and Lucy. From self-defense classes to similar discussions, I only hope my daughter has taken my messages to heart like Lucy did. Raising a daughter is tough enough, without the worries of the outside world interfering.

5 stars... if I could give more I would.

So far, best book I have read this year.

Dark, violent, smart, amazing women who are done with all the horrible men in their lives. Yes. I will read another book right this moment with the same ladies.

Kirsten Miller- I will read whatever you write from this day forward. You had my interest, now you have my full attention. Well Done!

Audio was awesome too.

It isn't very often that I request a book on Netgalley that I don't really know anything about. I sometimes will see a contemporary romance with a cute cover being published by a favorite imprint and just request it, but that's the extent of it. Requesting a mystery-fantasy-combo is definitely not something I usually do on a whim. Needless to say, I went into this with almost no expectations but hoped it would be a fun ride.

THE CHANGE involves a few middle-aged women as they start to age and gain witchy powers. Jo has superhuman strength and some kind of fire energy that can melt things. Harriett has power over plants and nature. Nessa can see ghosts of the dead when they haven't been laid to rest and/or have unfinished business. The story starts with these three women coming together, finding a dead body that a ghost led Nessa to, and helping figure out what happened to her. They each use their powers and strengths to solve the mystery, find other girls who have been murdered, and avenge them.

The book is set in Mattuak, a fictional town on Long Island that I have to imagine is a play on Montauk in the Hamptons. The story also feels a littttle bit like a riff on the Long Island Serial Killer murder, where girls were kidnapped, assaulted, and murdered on Long Island and left on the beach. The cases are still open today and a lot of that has to do with police incompetence... much like this book! I loved these parallels because I've spent some time on the Hamptons and know a lot about the LISK case.

I loved our three characters - they had completely different personalities from each other but each was a badass in their own way. All three were pretty much equally important in solving the mystery of what happened to these dead girls - starting with the one in the blue dress and ending with a couple more in other nearby places to point to a serial killer situation.

Without getting into spoilers or too many details about where the story goes (is it actually a serial killer or something more?), this is really a big ol' middle finger to men. If you're in the mood for a feminist revenge story, this is the book for you. Add in a little bit of magic and mystery and you've got a really well-rounded story. I like that it primarily alternated between Jo, Nessa, and Harriett's points of view, but there were also really important and relevant side characters (key women and girls in the story) who were given some page time.

This is a long book and honestly I've avoided reading anything over 300-350 pages lately because my reading life is so crappy at this point. It never FELT long - it was super addicting, especially in the second half. There was a lot of slow burn introductions in the first half that never felt like a slog, even though I was waiting for the story to pick up a little bit. It also is definitely a mystery, for the most part - it's not like a full-blown investigation with twists and turns that you never see coming, but there are plenty of "let's solve the case and get the bad guys" vibes between the three main characters. The ~bad guy~ was pretty obvious from the beginning and I was never shocked by any development that happened, but I don't mean that in a bad way at all. It was about the journey and punishing those who deserved it. It never felt like it needed to be a full-blown whodunnit for the reader, if that makes sense.

I mixed in the audiobook (narrated by January LaVoy, one of my absolute FAVORITE narrators) and honestly wish I listened to more of it for that reason. I got so addicted the other night and read half of the book in one sitting instead of being able to finish with the audiobook on my morning commute. Needless to say, highly recommend that format if you're thinking about it. 

Overall, this was such a good story and I'm so glad I took the time to read it. I wasn't sure what to expect or if it would take me an entire month to read but I found it to be very addicting and intriguing the whole way. It's a bit creepy and atmospheric at times where I wished I wasn't reading before bed, but nothing crazy. I loved the mystery, the F-U-men vibes, the three badass ladies at the center, and the overall message.

I did not finish this book. I made it 50% of the way in and unfortunately, I was not drawn in by what was happening in the story. I felt as thought this book could not decide what it wanted to be. I loved the idea of more mature women as the main characters but we didn't get enough from them. I loved the idea of the mystery but at 50% in, I still wasn't quite sure what the mystery was, where it was going, what was involved. I wish I loved this book like so many others did but it just wasn't for me.

This wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be.... a little more revenge and little less female power than I expected. I did enjoy aspects of it but I do believe it would have benefited from tighter editing as some parts seemed to drag on, and a book nearly 400 needs to be something extra special and merit the addition of length. I'm glad to see mature female protagonists for a change! Hooray for 40 somethings that make the world turn and aren't taking any more from the patriarchy. Thanks so much for the chance to read an advanced copy of this book!

I liked this book but didn’t love it. What worked for me was the focus on the female characters and I did like the idea of being able to communicate with the dead girls. What didn’t work for me was the polarity of the male and female characters. I liked the main characters and how they found their power and joined forces. The ending was weird but good.