If you want to read about 3 middle age women coming into supernatural powers and taking on all the toxic men in their town, read this. It’s a perfect f yeah, you go girl, f ‘em up kind of read and it’s a ton of fun!

I really adored this feminist / murder mystery / revenge fantasy. I loved Harriet, Nessa, and Jo so much and loved watching them come into their powers to get justice for missing girls and wreck the elite scum of Mattauk. One of the most unique books I've read in a long time!

I hadn’t read anything by this author before, but I’ve really been reading a lot of the more “mature” women’s paranormal fiction lately, so I thought I’d try this. At first, I wasn’t sure I was going to like this, but the more I read, the more enthralled I became until I had finished the book in one day without putting it down. This is more than just a group of women solving a mystery; it’s about how women are expected to still be in the background, how they are the ones always blamed for wrongs, and how they are still kept down by themselves and by others because of the expectations of the “weaker” sex. Not only that, that women are supposedly not supposed to enjoy life after menopause. This takes those ideas and throws them on the head in a very creative way. This book is very well-written, has amazing characters you both want to admire and keep at arm’s-length, and is really hard to describe other than to say it’s truly worth a read. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Menopausal witches? Yes please! I loved how this book spoke to my middle aged heart. We need so many more books like this of women of this age being strong and taking care of business!

Pub date: 5/3/22
Genre: magical realism, suspense, crime fiction
In one sentence: Three women with magical gifts unite to bring justice to murdered women - how far will they go for revenge?

It's not often I read a book that gives me that "five star feeling" from the very first page, but The Change did just that. I loved getting to know these women - Harriett, Nessa, and Jo - and seeing how they chose to fight society's expectations. Miller did a great job weaving in multiple perspectives from the other women in town, and she sprinkled plenty of twists throughout the narrative.

If the concept of witches who help bring peace to female murder victims (and justice to the perpetrators of violence) sounds at all interesting to you, you need to read this book. It is one of my favorites of the year (even though it's only April), and it will stick with me.

Thank you to William Morrow for providing a NetGalley ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An absolute masterpiece by Kirsten Miller. It's just too good. The blurb that calls this The Witches of Eastwick meets Big Little Lies is spot-on. The way the story is told is perfection.
It's the female empowerment.
The magical realism.
The over-40 badassery.
The healthy female friendships.
The mystery.
The murder.
The back-stabbing.
The backstories.
for me.

This is creepy and unputdownable--I've heard it likened to a cross between The Witches of Eastwick meets Big Little Lie, and I could not agree more. The women are fascinating...and bizarre, and you want to know more. It's a feminist story and I was here for it. I think this will be THE book for the summer. I expect to see this in beach bags everywhere!

An exciting and very inventive novel about the power of female friendships and what it means to be a woman in a world run by men. Loved it.

Karma's just sharpening her nails and finishing her drink. She says she'll be with you shortly.........

The Change by Kirsten Miller lays out its storyline like the spreading span of a deck of cards. All 52 are out there and one of those deadly cards are meant for you. And we can only imagine how this story will play out.......especially when you have three ultra-determined women of a certain age.

Mattauk, New York boasts of a fine community with beach access and lawns trimmed to perfection. You'll meet its individuals with some citizens who care more than others. But something dreadful will have the residents eyeing one another and searching for answers. Today will be the day.

Miller presents a change of pace with her three main female characters. They still have a long fuse left on the dynamite of their lives even though society says they're over the hill. Let's sort through the fineness that makes them who they are.

Nessa James is a nurse whose police officer husband died over ten years ago. She's dedicated her life to her two daughters who have now left for college. Nessa feels her best days are behind her. But life will provide a corridor for her to use her special gift.......a gift passed down through generations of seeing and feeling the presence of the dead.......especially those taken too soon.

Jo Levinson now suffers from the onset of dreaded menopause. The heated energy wafting from her body in the wee hours could light up Time Square. She lives with her out of work husband Art and her eleven year old daughter, Lucy, a little spit fire. Jo has been burned and scorched by the corporate world in which she was a former hotel manager. The male footprint stamped out her own. Jo walked away and started her fitness center strictly for females.

Harriett Osborne had an amazing career in advertising until she, too, got ambushed by the powers that be and by her own husband. Harriett flipped the switch on her own super powers and became a wizard with botany. The neighbors cross to the other side of the street when her shadow falls on the sidewalk. They whisper that she's a full-time, card carrying witch with crazy powers. You'll soon find out.

While walking with Jo and Harriett on the beach, Nessa finds a large disguarded black bag in the brush. Being a nurse, Nessa knows that particular smell. Indeed, it's the body of a young girl. They call the police. And now they will become a three-sided agent of positive energy to find who murdered that girl. Nessa "sees" that it is far more than just one. And each of those dynamic older women will set the wheels in motion beyond what you could ever imagine. They will become the new version of the Power Rangers kicking ass and taking names.

The Change is a wonderfully written novel that heralds the oncoming of women who still maintain their strength, their inner verve, and their massive lightning bolt of intelligence tested at any given moment. One woman is a raindrop, but pooled together, they create a reckoning thunderstorm. And Miller captures it so well in The Change. You'll be rooting for them throughout and begging for a sequel soon. Bravo!

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to William Morrow and to Kirsten Miller for the opportunity.

Older women rule in The Change by Kirsten Miller. The story combines female power with witchcraft and mystery to produce a plot line having lots of twists and turns. Some of the descriptions are intense and things get bogged down a bit. Nice to see older women the hero of the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Kirsten Miller for the opportunity to read and comment on this book.

Interesting premise. Loved the concept of female empowerment, just didn't’ completely love the execution. The story focuses on 3 main women who have “magical” powers. Once these ladies reach a certain age, they are able to use their powers. They choose to use them against the men who have wronged women. There aren’t enough books with female lead characters in their 40s and beyond, so this was a plus for me. Woven through the plot are other women who have been victims of men and a mystery element that involves murdered women. Felt like too much going on for me. Lots of POV with some only popping up once to convey made it hard for me to care and connect. Focusing on just the 3 main women would have been a much better reading experience for me.
The magical elements wasn’t as strong as expected with this being hyped as a modern Witches of Eastwick.
I really enjoyed Jo and her sassy daughter Lucy.

While I believe we still have a lot of work to do for equality and a safer society for women, this very much focused on the bad male/female interactions with little room for the good ones.. This depressed me more than expected instead of making me feel empowered.

Graphic descriptions of menstruation were a bit unexpected. Should not be shameful to discuss, just didn’t realize I would be reading about it.
This was a fresh take and look at the struggles women face in a male dominated society. I applaud the author for shining a light on these situations.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow & Company for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I started this book and unfortunately I am going to be unable to finish. It had too much language and I wasn’t comfortable continuing.

~ Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an early copy in exchange for an honest review! RELEASE DATE: MAY 3 ~

3.5 stars!

What in the Jeffrey Epstein...

I'm really conflicted with my rating for this one because I loved so much of this book, and I think it's going to definitely find a devoted audience. That being said, I think it was a little long for its liking. I didn't find myself truly engaged until the 45-50% mark, and that's too far in to wait in a nearly 500 page book.

But besides the fact that I found some of it to drag, THERE IS SO MUCH THAT I LOVED.

First of all, I really enjoyed reading about women/characters in general that weren't in their 20s or 30s. All of these women were at least in their 40s or much older and gained magical powers after reaching menopause. Is that not the coolest concept you've ever heard??

We follow three main characters, Jo, Harriett, and Nessa, and each of them have powers that complement each others' in a common goal: bringing justice to murdered girls they find in their Long Island town, Mattuak.

For me, the introductions of these characters were too long in the beginning, BUT once things got rolling and bodies were found and the thriller aspects started coming into play, I was hooked. One thing to note is that is definitely not a mystery. It is a fantasy/thriller, but at no point are you really left wondering about much—it's more just adrenaline from watching terrible things unfold. There are a few twists at the end of the book—one that I saw from the very beginning, but another that I totally did not (but should have!! smh emily you were slacking).

Overall, I found this feminist revenge fantasy/thriller very unique and fun, though it was sometimes bogged down by a little too much character exposition. I'd still definitely recommend this though if it at all interests you, and I hope we see more books following older characters in the future!

The Change is a feminist revenge story filled with mystery and suspense. Three women come into supernatural powers mid-life, and after discovering the murders of several young women, vow to punish the toxic men responsible.

If a book is sold as a feminist revenge story, I will read it. I need no other information. I am in. Few things make me more happy.

The Change is both a mystery and a story about women finding their power in a patriarchal world. There is discussion of important, and often overlooked, issues that affect people today – from workplace discrimination and power dynamics to the differential treatment of the wealthy to violence against women. Do not let that deter you from reading this book if that is not your thing. These topics are expertly woven into the plot in a way that highlights them as problematic without distracting from the story.

In The Change, Kirsten Miller does a fantastic job balancing tone and subject. While books of this nature can veer into campy or ridiculous, Miller managed to maintain the serious tone the subject matter required while still making the book a fun read that I did not want to put down. I also loved the writing in The Change. I cannot quite pinpoint what it was, but it was refreshing after other books I have recently read.

I loved the three main characters. They were women not defined by motherhood, their jobs, or marriage. Instead, Jo, Nessa, and Harriet were fully developed as their own people. Saying that may sound strange, but so often, women are not written as complex beings with motivations, desires, etc. outside of what the world sees as gender norms. Miller kills it and adds in some magic.

Overall, I loved The Change and will be recommending it to any who asks for a rec. My only wish is that peri-menopause actually gave all women magical powers.

3.5 stars rounded down. Almost dnf'd a couple of times but kept going. Felt more juvenile than I was expecting, though the reviews compared it to witches of Eastwick which I've never seen so maybe that is a fair comparison. Thought the twist at the end was good.

Felt like two different books with different tones. Wish it was more of the lighthearted petty revenge and less of the sex trafficking/murder story line that was pretty obvious given the similarity to the Epstein case

The Change by Kirsten Miller

Published: May 3, 2022
William Morrow
Pages: 480
Genre: Fiction
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Kirsten Miller grew up in a small town in the mountains of North Carolina. At seventeen, she hit the road and moved to New York City, where she lives to this day. Kirsten is the author of the acclaimed Kiki Strike books, which tell the tale of the delinquent girl geniuses who keep Manhattan safe.

“Some forces in life are so strong that the only thing you can do is submit.”

Harriet was the best at what she did. She was intelligent, observant, and bold. But she was a woman in a male-dominated field, which meant she had her ideas stolen and watched as the men around her were promoted. Nessa lost her husband and had to raise her daughters alone. She devoted her life to making their lives memorable. She was quiet but wise and kind. Jo was a powerhouse. She quickly rose through the ranks and made a name for herself. Until her temper gets the best of her, together, these three women will change their town.

This novel makes me want to shout. What a beautiful nod to female empowerment and strength. I loved this book.

The characters were so well done. I loved the personalities, quirks, and confidence. I found Harriet, Jo, and Nessa the most unlikely of friends. But I adored their friendship. They were beautiful examples of women helping women.

This was a fantastic book. I am not much of a supernatural reader, but this was the perfect blend of mystical and thriller. The plot moves along at a quick pace. And the twists are never-ending.

I loved Harriet’s calm confidence. After years of being seen but not heard, she had enough. And she takes her life back. I loved Nessa’s compassion; she was a lover through and through. And I loved Jo’s passion. She was loyal and determined to protect the ones she loved.

The plot was well developed, and I enjoyed the way things played out. When you think things can’t get any crazier- they do. The twists and turns were unreal. And I loved how the story was told.

This was a fantastic book, with amazing characters, a great plot, and the twists played out well. I loved the idea of the truly guilty being punished.

This would be an incredible series, if done correctly. Tough women being everything they want to be? Loving that!

Harriett Osborne may just be one of my new favorite literary characters! Miller's adult debut is razor sharp, showing the casual misogyny that many women face every day that isn't taken seriously and pairs it with a multi-layered murder mystery and women that are real, strong, funny - and tired of putting up with s***. Harriett, Nessa and Jo all have supernatural abilities, ones so normal that the book never really stretches the bounds of believability. And casual meetings eventually lead up to the women teaming up, when Nessa has a connection with a dead young girl. As empowered as the women are, their odds of righting wrongs seems stacked against them. The police chief doesn't take them seriously, and the billionaires residing near the beach where Jane Doe was found aren't enthusiastic about the publicity. But are they concerned about more than just bad publicity? The three women quickly discover that the first young girl isn't the only one, and that there's a very complicated web of power that does not want them exposing secrets. While writing a good mystery and addressing the indignities women regularly face, this story also has many moments that are just laugh-out-loud funny, and keep the story from getting too dark. There are easily a dozen lines of Harriet's that are hysterical and likely to be regularly quoted. And lest you think that Miller makes every male member of the species into complete jerks, she doesn't. There are several great male characters in this story, that while they have their own flaws and insecurities, are genuinely good human beings and support the women in their lives. Put on your big girl panties and prepare to burn the world down - it just may need it. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Wow! A millions times, yes! This book had me hooked from the very beginning and what a wild ride it was. This story was told with so much wit and sarcasm. This book was billed as Big Little Lies meets Witches of Eastwick and this description could not be more on point. This was so much fun filled with a mystery, the greatest characters, friendship, a little romance, girl power, and revenge! My favorite book of 2022!

This book was everything!!! Definitely a top read for me and added to my all time faves. Feminist vengeance?! Yes please.
Jo, Harriet, and Nessa each possess their own supernatural gifts. Together they link up and form a force that is unstoppable. They work together to find out who is killing young women on the island in which they live. Through their journey they come into their power and fully reject all of the boxes women are forced into. A fast paced read that gripped me from the start!