3.75⭐

I've been a fan of Claire Swinarski's work for a long time and was so excited for her adult debut! That being said, I wish this book had been really upfront with content warnings for PTSD, graphic mass shooting, cancer and a couple fatphobic comments. I thought this would be a save-the-community cozy read and the graphic descriptions on page made this book much more challenging.

I love the community that Claire built in this story and thinks she captured the beauty of the Midwest so well in this book. Esther and her family and the lake were this beautiful place where people come together in the good and the bad times and help each other learn about life. This book has some beautiful moments but it also has some really hard parts that I think would benefit from a few beta readers on the future. I look forward to seeing more adult novels from Claire!

Also where the heck did Cooper charge his Tesla in northern Wisconsin woods? There's no way there were Turbo Chargers up there.

This book delivers an intergenerational tale starring Esther and the Ellerlie County funeral ladies— the funniest and most sassy grandmas. I found myself chuckling continuously throughout the story. While I anticipated a lighthearted, humorous read—and it certainly had its moments of fun—the book also delved thoughtfully into complex issues like PTSD and trauma. I was genuinely surprised by the depth it brought to these themes. My only regret is that the story had to end—I’m eager to revisit these wonderful characters soon!

This book just was not for me.
I thought it would have been a cozy take on ladies who help with funerals.
Perhaps at another time I would enjoy it more.

What I like about this book:

1. It is the story of a small Midwestern community, and it hits all the right notes.
2. It reads like a cozy novel and sometimes you need those in life!
3. The family support of each other felt genuine and real.

What I wished was a little different:
1. There was a lot of swearing and excess drinking in the book which felt not real...it was over the top.

Thanks to Net Galley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC.

Charming & heartwarming — a balm for my little Midwestern heart!

The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County tells a small-town Northwoods Wisconsin story of resilience and protecting the ones you love. There’s so many reflections on any number of heavy emotions and issues, but still a lightheartedness and comfort throughout. Just an incredibly solid read and sweet story about Midwestern values and family. A perfect summer read!

Esther has lived her entire life in Ellerie County and she and her friends serve meals at all the funerals.
Esther Larson has been cooking for funerals in the Northwoods of Wisconsin for seventy years. Known locally as the “funeral ladies,” she and her cohort have worked hard to keep the mourners of Ellerie County fed—it is her firm belief that there is very little a warm casserole and a piece of cherry pie can’t fix. But, after falling for an internet scam that puts her home at risk, the proud Larson family matriarch is the one in need of help these days. Iris, Esther’s whip-smart Gen Z granddaughter, would do anything for her family and her community. They decide to raise money by writing a cookbook and the community become ardent supporters. A story of friendship and family

I really loved the multi-generational tone of this title. It was SO true to life, from the drinking and swearing, to the role women play in the lives of everyone around them. It also showed that change is hard, even when it is necessary. It was a great book and I think any book club would enjoy it!

Well, well, well… I had to re-read about landing at my hometowns airport. THAT caught me off guard. This was a great read. Enjoyable to read at my family’s cottage in the northwoods of Wisconsin and felt so much like walking back into my hometown as I was reading this. This reminded me a lot of Amy E Reichert’s books and felt like a big hug as I was reading it in regards to multigenerational relationships and small towns.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
This was a great book and I'll be purchasing it for the library.

I wanted to like this book, but it failed to pull me in. The characters felt very flat. I decided to DNF.

Esther thinks there are few things a good casserole and a warm piece of pie can't fix. I think the same goes for heartwarming small-town stories. I'd argue that nostalgic feeling they give off as well as the power of family, friends, and community they impart do the same thing for readers. This book was a beautiful and moving read and I can't wait to recommend it to library patrons.

I really wanted to love this one and I think the characters had potential but I didn't get pulled in and didn't feel invested in the characters. It was enjoyable but not memorable for me.

The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County is a family drama about Esther Larson, the matriarch of a family from the Northwoods of Wisconsin who unfortunately falls for an internet scam. Esther is a strong member of the community who spends her free time making food for people to eat at local funerals. On the verge of losing her home, she, her granddaughter, Iris, and the other ladies who make food with her decide to sell a cookbook with their recipes to pull together funds. Meanwhile, a family comes in from the celebrity chef world and shakes up the community. I went to college near the Northwoods of Wisconsin and have never seen a book set in that unique part of the world. I also love family dramas and was excited to read it!

I absolutely loved this book! It's darker than I expected with themes surrounding grief, health issues, death, and addiction. I thought that they were portrayed well. I loved Esther as a character and liked getting to meet the other funeral ladies. I thought Iris was a good balance and I enjoyed getting to see her decide what was important to her and how to balance family, community, and career progress. There is a romance, but it definitely takes a back seat. I liked that this book focused more on the family drama than romance, but if you come into this book looking just for romance, you may be disappointed. I certainly was not, though!

As I hoped, the setting was lovely. It brought back memories of living in northern Wisconsin and made me think about the elderly pillars of the community that I grew up with.

Overall, I had a lovely time with this book and absolutely recommend it! 4.75 stars rounded up to 5. Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the eARC of this book, my thoughts are my own!

Thanks to NetGalley so much for the opportunity to read The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County - my first by Claitr Swinatski. I will look for more of her work

OK, my only complaint is that it takes place in Wisconsin and as a Minnesotan we are grown to dislike each other lo, all jokes aside I did love this book very good definitely recommended.

4.5 Stars
I loved this one and couldn't put it down. This is a wonderful multi-generational story about a family rallying together around their matriarch to help her out of a tough situation. This book was light and deep at the same time. It deals with PTSD and death. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this book.

The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County is exactly what I'm looking for in a book. There is so much going on--familial trauma, existential frustration, sweet romance, food, food, and more food.

In the vein of J. Ryan Standal, Claire Swinarski writes a story set in the American Midwest, full of of heartfelt characters. Community cookbooks are such a hallmark of small town America. In the south, they're usually church cookbooks, and I remember my grandmother pouring over her stained, yellow-paged church cookbooks, held together with some stray yarn. Sometimes they were really fancy and had actual binding.

There's quite a bit of sadness in this story, real pain and trauma that the characters are working through. At the end of it though, you're left with hope, not despair.

I think that's the biggest takeaway from this, it's like a warm hug from your grandmother. It's chicken soup on the stove. It's a cozy mug of tea on a crisp day. It's knowing that together we can keep going even when things get really difficult. This was my first book by Swinarski but it won't be my last.

Thank you to Harper Collins Publishing and NetGalley for the digital ARC. This review is my own words. I enjoyed reading this book about an elderly woman who bakes pies for funerals in her home town. She is a non-denominational pie baker since there are only two churches in town. Esther, 82 years old and Catholic, along with her friends believe that everybody in town deserves a great funeral spread even if they aren't Catholic. When it is discovered that Esther has not made her mortgage payments, the funeral ladies find a way to raise money with the help of Iris, Esther's granddaughter. Also, involved in the plot to save Esther's home are a food network TV star, his daughter, Cricket and his son, Conner. While everyone is busy saving the house, there are other dramas occurring in Ellerie County. A fun book, a realistic book of families and the problems that plague them--this book has it all: PTSD, illness, scams, death, and romantic love.

What an interesting read!

It starts out kitschy - with the funeral ladies preparing dinners for the local church funerals. But one funeral sticks out that year when a celeb chef comes to town with his estranged kids. Things get heavy from there - online elderly scams, PTSD, family drama etc. It's a really good story, I enjoyed it - it just went dark really fast. I loved the cookbook idea and all the characters are so interesting and relatable.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This is such a good book if you like heartwarming stories about community and family. It’s also a little bit of an ode to Midwest culture.