This was such a break from the typical books that I read. And I loved every minute of it.

It was much slower paced then the high action packed fantasy I've found myself ready more often lately. And having that break was needed.

I loved how light hearted and whimsy almost this book was.

I I loved the every day feel this book gave me. And just solidly fell into the pages and enjoyed my time eith these fun women.

Ever so charming! Claire Swinarski seems to have captured the essence of a group of Midwestern “church ladies” as well as the northwoods of Wisconsin, and the result is a mostly heartwarming, cozy story I read in a day. The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County is at its best when focusing on friendship, family, food and community, and Swinarski’s prose evokes the peacefulness of the beautiful setting in Ellerie. Layered into the tale is a strand regarding PTSD and its manifestations, however, and while it is timely - and the book’s message pertaining to gun violence of critical importance - the level of detail regarding the experienced trauma does not always serve the story well.

Three and a half stars rounded up for the gorgeous depiction of northern Wisconsin and delicious home-cooked meals. I am now craving a good cherry pie!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon for a complimentary ARC. Opinions are my own.

This book was...okay. It wasn't what I expected going into it, especially from the title.

In the beginning, I was loving the vibes of the book - small town, a friend group of older women, cooking/baking, family, found family. I was loving it.

About halfway through, the story took a darker turn and focused more on the granddaughter, Iris and a young gentleman named Cooper. I definitely could have lived with less of that storyline. It took so much away from "the funeral ladies of Ellerie County" - which was the whole reason for reading the story.

Despite the darker turn, the story was still interesting.

The title of this book guaranteed I would HAVE to read it. When you read as much as I do, you look for the unusual, but not too unusual. I'm happy to say THE FUNERAL LADIES OF ELLERIE COUNTY is indeed as good as the title promised. The community built around Ellerie County and it's citizens could be found in most any small town. The scam that starts the drama is sadly typical of today's criminal landscape. The story brings emotions to the forefront and keeps readers invested in saving Esther's home. Claire Swinarski has written an excellent book. I hope we will see this group of characters again soon.

Favorite Quotes:

Esther was from an age where loving your neighbor meant loving your actual neighbor, not just adding an emoji to your Twitter name in times of crisis.

Olivia was pregnant with her first and acted as if it made her incapable of lifting a dirty cup into the dishwasher.

The funeral ladies grouped organic devotees in with PETA activists, war criminals, and people who bought designer shoes. One time Iris’s dad had accidentally brought plant-based queso to a cookout at Esther’s, and they’d acted as if he’d murdered an entire village.

It was so different from Los Angeles, where everyone walked around as if they might bestow upon you the honor of doing them a favor.

Mary Frances had come into the world screaming and never stopped. The nurse kept asking, What’s her name? What’s her name? right after she was born, and Esther couldn’t even hear the question. Her daughter refused to be put down for the first two years of her life. They had her tested for everything under the sun, but she didn’t have any medical problems. Just an opinion, at such a young age.


My Review:

I adored this tale as well as all the inhabitants residing within. The characters were knowable and endearing, as well as amusing and authentically drawn. I fell right into their storylines and felt for each and every one of them as their vulnerabilities and regrets were exposed. Ms. Swinarski’s agile writing was well-honed, well-paced, and perceptively scripted. I’ll be on the lookout for more of her clever arrangements of words.

2.5 stars - This book was not what I was expecting. The quality of the writing was good, but it was so depressing! It starts off pretty light, but then moves into dealing with PTSD, grief, death, alcoholism, etc. The drinking and driving and casual alcoholism were disturbing and even more disturbing that they was made light of. There was a bit of romance, but I didn’t particularly root for them being together after how he behaves. The older ladies are funny at times and are mostly loving and sometimes wise, but man there’s so much wrong there too. One of the main characters flat out says it’s despicable asking for help. They slag off anyone taking any time off work, etc. I think this book will appeal to a select group of people- especially Catholics. It’s very obvious the author is Catholic, so anyone who’s not a fan may just want to avoid this book.
Overall, the book was fine- and luckily not too long, but it just wasn’t for me.

This was such a sweet and heartwarming book. Although it was also filled with hard and sad topics such as PTSD, emotional abuse, and death, it was wrapped in redemption and hope and community. This book takes place in the Northwoods of Wisconsin following a family and the grandmother, Esther, who is trying to save her home from foreclosure and the community that rallies alongside her. In the mix is a famous chef and his family, who collide with Esther’s family initially over delicious pie. Living in Wisconsin, I had to laugh at the comments about drinking in Wisconsin because it is a lot around here. A bit shocking to an outsider. But the Midwest community and love is something to be admired and that’s not just fiction.

Thank you to the author and to netgalley for this advanced copy of this book. I can’t wait for it to be in the hands of readers.

Thank you Avon for a copy of this wonderfully charming read. Claire Swinarski's The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County reminded me of the value in a simply told, but richly stylized, family and community story. Every once in a while I want to put down my thrillers, let go of my romcoms, and dive more into stories about everyday life, of family and small town life, and the little things that make a book captivating in special ways. This book has it, a charm and friendship and a sense that the author loved her story, the small town setting, and loved her characters. The friendship and family notes sing out and I loved reading this book.

A feel-good story about community, food, family and mental health told from multiple POVs as a small mid-Western town bands together to help one of their own in crisis. I really enjoyed this book, especially on audio. It was a heartfelt, easy read that felt like a giant hug and an important reminder about the goodness of others. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks to Avon Books for a #gifted copy of The Funeral Ladies fo Ellerie County as were all NetGalley access to read it digitally in exchange for my honest opinion. This was a short (~260 page) book that kept my interest and was quite enjoyable.
Esther Larson, a Northwoods of Wisconsin resident, cooks for her church's funerals along with her cohort of similar-aged and like-minded friends, known locally as the “funeral ladies”. She believes strongly that a handmade pie crust and a warm casserole are needed to make the bad times better, and she thinks offering a visitor a beer is hospitality rule number 1, even if it’s 11am.
When Esther falls victim to a scam, out $30,000, her close-knit family and friends come together to help her earn the money back, coming up with the idea of a cookbook made of the recipes used by the funeral ladies - even though they’ve never written them down. While there are feel-good messages, like the town coming together to support Esther, the book also tackles some heavier topics like PTSD, neglect, and cancer. While the overall tone is bright like the colors of the book’s fun cover, I wasn’t expecting those serious topics when I picked up the book.
I really enjoyed this read. Perhaps it’s because my mother grew up in Minnesota, but a lot of the customs of the funeral ladies seemed similar to ones I’ve heard about from my mom, though they probably aren’t considered popular. I loved the families described - both Esther’s actual family members and her found family of funeral ladies friends. Esther’s granddaughter, Iris, was a welcome addition, and I liked following her relationship with her grandmother as well as her relationship with Cooper, an LA-transplant by way of Milwaukee. The family dynamics felt genuine, and I got tears in my eyes by the end. I definitely recommend this one - and even if you think eating french fries with mayonnaise sounds gross, Iris and I will both continue eat them that way!

Read this one if you enjoy:
Multiple POV
Mental health representation
A group of sassy and loving grandmas who cook their pants off
Small towns
Second chance romances

This was a very touching and funny story with characters you will love. It made me miss my Grandma a lot and I found myself thinking of her a lot after reading this.
I think stories that focus on the power of friendship and how important community can be are so relatable and always steal my heart.

Claire Swinarski's debut adult novel is such a delight! The title characters are the women who serve food after funerals in the Wisconsin Northwoods. Esther, one of the ladies, suffers a serious financial loss after falling for an internet scam. While her granddaughter, Iris, helps the ladies compile a cookbook to recoup the stolen money, she also starts to fall for Cooper, a recent arrival in town who suffers from troubling PTSD symptoms.

I loved all the Catholic references and details in this book, including a wonderful young priest character. I was deeply invested in Iris and Cooper's relationship and appreciated the realistic and healthy way Iris dealt with his untreated PTSD. Some readers might be put off by some of the language in the book (especially the use of the Lord's name in vain), but it didn't upset me enough to lower my rating from 5 stars.

🥧 When I finish a book crying in public, it’s really hard for me to make a case against giving it five stars! Thank you to @avonbooks and @harpercollins for giving me a sneak peek of this one. It’s out today!

🥧 So first of all, I just want to say there are parts of this that are so much fun! @claireswinarski’s writing is so atmospheric— you’ll certainly get swept up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin! The funeral ladies remind me a lot of the gals in ‘The Lager Queen of Minnesota’ — they’re hilarious, and their sense of pride in their cooking and their community is so joyful.

🥧 There are also some more serious storylines at play here. I really appreciate the fact more authors are taking on characters who have been impacted by mass shootings. That’s a very real thing in our country, and I think fiction is just one way we can grow and learn about what people are going through. There is one scene in particular that is so gut-wrenching and visceral— it left my body buzzing with empathy and sadness.

🥧 Overall, I just really loved this story. Every character is so well-thought out. Every scene is filled with rich emotions. And I really liked where everyone landed in the end. I can’t recommend this one enough! This is also my first book by this author, so I’m excited to check out more of her work. Again, this one is out today!

Here is my review of Claire Swinarski’s book the Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County. Thank you for allowing me to read the arc!

"The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County" was a rare literary fiction read for me, and like most lit fic books I decide to pick up, I really enjoyed it. This book was emotional, both heartwrenching and heartwarming, and a love letter to the Midwest.

"Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County" was filled with wonderful and complex characters. All of them had moments where I loved them and also where I was frustrated with their actions, thoughts, or beliefs. This is a very character driven novel and I could tell that there was as much love put into writing these characters that these characters had for each other. I will say, while I could keep all of the primary characters straight, I occasionally found myself unable to remember which minor character is which, or if a minor character had been mentioned before.

This book has romance, but I will warn romance readers that if you're looking for a fluffy, lake town romance you will not find it here. That is not a criticism. All of the relationships in this book (romantic, familial, and otherwise) are real, raw, and often difficult. I think this was an asset to the book and worked really well.

As someone born in Wisconsin, and raised in the Midwest, I loved the setting of the book. The references were fantastic (I miss Culvers) and while Ellerie County is made up, it felt very real to me. The Midwest can be a magical place, and this book was filled with Midwest magic.

4 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

If you like:
-redemption stories
-awesome grandmas
-Wisconsin (especially Up North)
-casseroles and those who make them
-strong communities
-heartwarming stories
-niche and hilarious Lutheran/Catholic comparisons

Then definitely check out this book! While there were a few moments where the plot lines felt cluttered, I was impressed by how the author captured the Midwest and loved spending time with these characters!

This book kinda ripped my feet out from under me, to be honest. I expected a cute and humorous small-town story that mixed heartwarming family content with a side romance. And, ya know, I got all that… but I also got slapped in the face with a whole lot of trauma, heartbreak, and more sad plot points. In general, that isn’t a bad thing, but given that I wasn’t expecting this and went into it for a cute light read, it was a bit much.

The novel has some incredibly deep and real discussion of both grief and PTSD, both of which I think many books could serve to do better with. I appreciated that immensely, and really enjoyed the scenes among the funeral ladies and other characters that allowed me as a reader to see how they all grew around their grief. I also just loved the character of Katharine Rose, and wanted to give her a hug at all times.

That being said, there were a few things that really took me out of the story and reduced me to a frightful number of eyerolls. For example:
- Every character fucks up in some way (some big and some small), and their internal monologue seems to acknowledge that they know that, but no one acts on trying to correct their behavior till nearly the last 50 pages. Sure, it’s realistic insofar as people can be in denial about their struggles, but it created an infuriating reading experience to just want to shake them all and say “GET HELP!” (looking at you two, Esther and Cooper)
- Ivan’s arc felt a bit rushed, and I would have enjoyed that being stretched or deepened a bit more, as it held my attention a lot more than the other side stories
- Iris continually mentioning she is Gen Z. As a 26yo myself, I can confirm we are actually a cusp between Gen Z and millennial lol, but that’s neither here nor there. Either way, you don’t need to mention it nonstop
- Iris also having this perennial chip on her shoulder about being wayward and not having a glamorous job or knowing what she’s doing with her life… while owning a house at 26. Sorry not sorry, but no one owns a house in the year of our lord 2024 at 26 unless they’ve got generational wealth or some extreme luck. Couldn’t really bring myself to have sympathy for her lack of career passion when she owned multiple properties; it just felt out of touch

The combination of the shockingly somber story plus the irritating little things noted above brought my rating of the book down. I enjoyed it generally speaking, but the marketing presented this as a cozy Midwest comedy, and while some of those elements were there, there was something missing for me personally. Overall, I give this 3.25⭐, rounded simply to 3 here!

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Don't let the cute cover and sweet summary fool you. This book is not a lighthearted read at all which I must admit hindered my enjoyment of it. I don't like being duped by a darling cover.

The story does have endearing and funny moments as character deal with death, old age,community, illness, PTSD, faith (specifically Catholicism), infidelity, family drama and online scams.
There is a fair occurrence of crass language but the romance is closed door and sweet.
Those who are foodies will enjoy all the food references as well as the recipes included at the end.

Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to review this one.

I enjoyed this different read, it is told from 3 different perspectives. It had a few different things going throughout the story. Just be aware of a few different triggers going on; PTSD, grief and loss, and scams. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins Publishers for the opportunity to read it was a nice change of pace.
3.5 stars

First things first -- I really liked this book, but it is SAD. There were so many moments while reading that I thought, maybe this book will turn around and have an HEA. And then something else bad happened. Content warnings for PTSD, alcoholism, death of a parent, cancer.

The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County tells the story of Esther, a family matriarch and "funeral lady" who cooks food for funerals in their small Wisconsin who gets scammed by someone on the internet's fake sob story and loses enough money that she might lose her house, Iris, her granddaughter who is determined to figure out a way to help Esther keep the house, and Cooper, who is in Ellerie for his mom's funeral, along with her little sister and his dad (who hasn't been present at all in the last few years) and who is also struggling with PTSD from being a paramedic at a parade where there was a shooter. Their stories, plus Cooper's sister and dad's stories, and the stories of the other funeral ladies, are woven together so beautifully. Esther's late husband also had PTSD from Vietnam (though of course that wasn't what it was called), and when she sees Iris and Cooper falling in love, she tries to intervene in some way, because she knows what it's like to care for a partner with PTSD. Cooper's dad is a famous Food Network chef, and when Iris comes up with the idea to sell a cookbook full of recipes from Ellerie County to raise money so Esther can keep her house, Cooper wants to help -- and he wants his dad to help, too.

I did cry while reading this book, but I also laughed. There were some things that were so funny, and moments that were so sweet and tender. So many ways that showed the closeness of family, including your chosen family. But, wow, this book was a tough read. It ends on a slightly hopeful note, but it is tough. So know that going in, and take care of yourself while reading, too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with an eARC of The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County in exchange for my honest review.