House of Frank by Kay Synclaire
☀️☀️☀️

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

This cozy fantasy is reminiscent of many powerhouse storytellers like Diana Wynne Jones and TJ Klune, but it lacked a level of depth to earn a place alongside them.

The setting of this novel is lovingly described and has a quaint, magical feel. It really sets the tone for this quirky and relatively light-hearted tale.

I liked the choice of having our MC tell the story to her sister, but Saika's narrative voice got repetitive quite quickly. It also meant that Synclaire fell into the trap of 'telling' rather than 'showing' a bit too often, which weakened the story overall.

As a character Saika is a good vessel for exploring grief through, though she struggles to be likeable. Most of the supporting characters are unfortunately not drawn broadly enough to truly appreciate, because their backstories are all interesting enough to warrant more exploration; I think the book would have benefitted from editing out some of the members of Ash House to allow for focus on the remaining ones. I also struggled with the reveal of so many characters committing the same cursed act, which cheapened the effect for me.

I can see how this story will appeal broadly as a comfort read, and I did enjoy myself while reading it, but I couldn't help but see more potential in it than was ultimately achieved.


"You pick out the fine linens, Saika. You pick out the extravagant fabric, and you wear them. You buy the expensive tea or the book you've always wanted. You eat the pie you've always wanted to bake, because after knowing how precious life is, those little moments start to feel quite damn big."

Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this amazing ARC!
I just knew I would love this book. The queer, found family, fantasy mix just really hits home every time.
The House of Frank is a beautiful story and truly a five star, must read.
The only thing that confused me a tad was the “you”, however, it just took some getting used to and made complete sense for this story.
Overall, amazing read!

What a precious book.
It gives a whimsical look at grief and grappling with loss with carefully crafted lovable characters.
It’s cozy like a warm cup of tea or hot soup when you’re sick. I hope others find this as healing as I did.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

House of Frank is the perfect cozy fantasy book that wraps you up in a warm hug and makes you feel ALL of the feels.

Powerless witch Saika arrives at the stormy Ash Gardens to fulfill her sister’s final wish of planting her remains, where she is welcomed by Frank, a fluffy mythical beast who offers her a role as a caretaker. Desperate to avoid her grief, Saika accepts the job, despite being disconnected from her magic since her sister’s death. Using a fragment of a fallen star to cast enchantments, she hides her lack of intrinsic power while getting to know Frank, the decaying house, and its eclectic staff. Over time, Saika learns to reconcile her joy and grief, rediscovering the meaning of love, and healing in the process.

This book just swept me up in its magical world and I just adored my time with it! I read the whole book in one sitting, which is quite an impressive feat for me and speaks volumes about how all-encompassing and engrossing the reading experience was. The characters popped off the page and I felt so connected to their storylines. I was brought to tears multiple times during the book. Multiple times!! I just wanted to wrap them all up in a huge hug, they were just so wholesome.

The romance in the book was also just adorable, so if you like the dislike to love (not really hate to love) trope, this one will give you exactly what you need.

Oh, and if you are a sibling, you are in for a ride. let the tears ensue.

I do want to say that while the book is cozy, it heavily deals with grief. The story essentially follows a cast of characters grieving different losses, so it inherently feels heavy, but with that dash of magic, it balances out perfectly.

If you're looking for something to warm you up in the Fall, curl up with this one. I'm sure you won't regret it.

Thank you NetGalley and Bindery Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: October 15th

House of Frank is sort of like being wrapped in a soft blanket. This is peak cozy fantasy. At the same time, it's also heavy; it's about grief, in every aspect. It's the story of Saika, a witch who has lost her powers, and is finally fulfilling her sister's dying wish to be put to rest at Ash Gardens, a beautiful arboretum where the deceased are planted and can become something beautiful. When Saika arrives, she realizes she's still not ready to go, but Frank, the owner, offers her a job. The Ash Gardens are crumbling and need another witch to keep it going, so Saika doesn't mention that her powers aren't exactly working, and she takes the job.
The cast is beautiful. There's Oli, the half-witch who doesn't know her own strength. Phil, the silent but knowing ghost. Evette, a fairy and incredible cook. Cherubs Merry and Morose, who are twins but can't agree on anything. Hilde, the empath, Ignatius, the engineer. And Frank, who is just trying to hold Ash Gardens together in the wake of his wife's loss, trying to keep her memory alive by carrying on her life's work.
It's definitely character driven; at times, it can be slow and dense. As I said, it's heavy, but it's beautiful. It's absolutely worth it.

This is a book that those walking through grief need to read, one that will wrap them up in a world that they will feel a little less alone in. This is a cozy fantasy but definitely a heavier one as it tackles some harder topics such as grief and loss. If you love TJ klune, and found family . Pick this one up.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

You know you are in for a tear jerker when the main character is mourning her sister, and is carrying her ashes with her, as the story opens.

Saika has lost her sister, but we dont’ know any details, other than she is a witch, as is her family, and that in this world that is quite normal. She is a music witch, and she was asked by her dying sister to have her ashes put in the Ash Garden, where the remains will be used to grow magical trees.

But Saika isn’t ready to let go, so Frank, who is some type of mythical furry creature with horns, offers to let her stay, and work, until she is ready to bury the ashes. Everyone else who works at Ash Gardens, Saika learns, also came when they lost family members, and never left.

Although this is a sad book, there is humor. There is also a mystery. We know that something happened, we just don’t know what, or how.

And certainly there are lots of things to be sad about, throughout the book.

I enjoyed having my heart played with. Because there was such beauty in everyone, from grumpy elves to cherubs to other witches. We even have dreams that are trying to tell Saika…something.


Thanks to netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book will be published the 15th of October 2024.

Overview
This book is sad, heartfelt and so beautiful. The author's love for the story and the characters just vibrates off the page. House of Frank is filled with magic, mystery, love and grief - it's almost overwhelmingly beautiful. The author portrays the sense of grief in a deep, heart-breaking way that feels so, so real. I'm not going to lie. I cried reading this. It's just beautiful.

Characters
This is one of those rare books where my favorite character was actually the main character, Saika, but honestly, it was a tough call, because I love the entire crew of Ash gardens. (Especially Frank, Phil, Oli, Merry, Morose, Evette, Bee and Ignatius 😄) Each one of them adds to the story in their own way, each one of them has their own burden to bare, yet they still manage to love each other more than anything. House of Frank is the ultimate found-family story. Not to mention that the cast of characters includes pretty much all the colors of the rainbow. 🌈

Plot
House of Frank read as cozy fantasy to me, yet it certainly had a story to it. I absolutely adored how Saika gradually uncovering the hidden secrets of the house and its inhabitants - and even herself. There was zero info dumping, (much appreciated ❤️) When I found out something about, say, the characters, it felt earned. (And trust me, there's a lot to find out.)

What did I love the most?
How the book proudly stayed true to itself until the very end, no matter what.

Anything I didn't like?
A few overused phrases. Occasional over-explaining. I could've used more worldbuilding. But that's honestly just me being a wannabe-writing professional.

Favorite quote?
"I trust you with my pain. I trust you with my heart. It's all I can give to you."

Similar books?
TJ Klune: Under the Whispering Door (Close similarity)
TJ Klune: House in the Cerulean Sea (Same type of crew of characters)
Travis Baldree: Legends and Lattes (Similar concept)
Maja Lunde: History of Bees (I don't know, just had the same, beautiful vibes)

Final thoughts
I predict a very, very bright future for House of Frank. For anyone who loves found family, uncovered secrets and sad, beautiful stories - this is for you. From now on, I will constantly recommend House of Frank (meaning I won't shut up about it) and I just feel really blessed to have been able to read it before publishing. It is truly a ride.

A lovely, heartwarming story about grief and learning how to move on. I loved the cast of characters and how they all had their own reasons for ending up in the arboretum. I also really liked how Saika narrates as if she's talking to her deceased sister. However, I didn't find Saika to be a very compelling narrator; I think she wasn't super likeable to me, and I ended up liking the side characters more. I also think the pacing was uneven, especially in the first half. Nevertheless, this was a warm, comforting book that I'd recommend to anyone looking for a cozy fantasy story.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC! This was a heartbreakingly beautiful story of love, loss, grief, and healing. I felt such a strong connection to the characters and I cried many times. Highly highly recommend.

This novel is a gentle hug. Thank you NetGalley and Bindery Books for sending this egalley in exchange for an honest review! What a warm, cozy fantasy about a witch's grief, about the piece of Saika that passed, her sister Fiona. This book confronts that pain and the journey that follows. What I loved about this piece, apart from the found family element, was Saika's second person address to Fiona. This thread continues throughout the book, and it greatly expresses Saika's struggles with greif, love, and loss. I did, however, want to explore that aspect even more. I would highly recommend this book to cozy fantasy lovers, especially if you're looking for something healing, something comforting. 3.5 / 5.0 ⭐️

This book was okay. I ended up skipping through a chunk of the book because I could not get into it and life’s too short to force yourself to read entire books if it’s not clicking. The dialogue for me was the weakest part of the book. There were quite a few conversations that just felt a bit clunky and cringy. The characters felt flat to me & I found the MC not super likable.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this book. I absolutely loved it! I will be posting my review on Goodreads.

Reading this book was such a beautiful experience. Every character was so unique and their relationships with each other were intricate and wonderfully written. I’m truly in awe of how Kay managed to capture such complex emotions and share them in such whimsical and tender hearted ways. 5 out of 5 fallen stars ⭐️

I loved this book so much!!! I recommend everyone to read this book asap. I gave it 4 stars. Loved every single second of it.

Thank you Netgalley and Bindery Books for the eARC - Opinions are my own


House of Frank does what it promises really well. It talks about grief and how it affects different people and does so effectively. The main character talking to her dead sister was interesting, at times annoying but used wonderfully near the end of the story.
I thought the main plot was good even if at times a bit predictable.

Sadly where this book falls flat for me the most are the characters. The main character was unlikeable and her love Interest wasn't much better. The rest of the cast of characters was fine in my opinion but it felt like they all had the exactly 1 character trait/falls into one archetype and besides that everyone gets a tragic backstory but that's it. They just felt really flat to me so I didn't care for any of them which is not good for a book that wants to have found family as a theme.

Also the pacing was a big issue for me. Nothing really happens in the first halt. The second half becomes way better and the ending even felt rushed. I really had to push through a quite boring and slow first half to finally get in a groove.

I liked the the different LGBTQIA+ representation and it's also nice to have more MCs of color.

I liked the ending although I wished it would have been given the time it deserved so I'm not mad that I pushed through and even glad I finished it but I didn't really connect with the rest of the book.

Overall I'd say If you want a book that talks about grief because you're also struggeling with it this may is the perfect book for you but I just thought it was okay.

This was absolutely wonderful. Cozy, heartwarming, magical... honestly, a warm hug in a book. Wonderful portrayal of grief and comforting.

The cover is gorgeous.
And the blurb sounded great.
However, every single character in this was argumentative, rude, selfish and honestly, awful. The main character was the worst of all - so judgemental and aggressive. I also found her talking to her dead sister off putting rather than emotionally touching. And the romance dynamic was unappealing. The characters were just unlikeable.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review
This book was really cute, and the characters were very charming. I loved all the LGBTQ+ representation and found the themes of grief endearing. However, it felt really lacking in certain aspects when it comes to the plot and writing. It just felt a little boring at times, and while the characters were interesting on the surface, I felt like they needed to be explored just a bit further, at least some of the side characters. This book really had such a great setup, but I just felt like it needed more substance, and I would have enjoyed it more. It's still a nice book with some really cute characters, and it's still worth checking out once it's released.

Such a beautiful exploration of grief, that readers will absolutely connect with. The voices of the characters were real and meaningful, along with authentic character development throughout the story. I loved the setting too, the house and arboretum came alive in my mind. I will be handselling this to those interested in cosy fantasy and diverse representation in the genre.

I really loved this quick and cozy story about love and grief. I found the narrative style of having Saika speaking directly to her lost sister added a lot to the use of grief in the story. You can really feel her pain, and see her struggling with her journey through her inner dialogue. I also loved the way the unknown elements of the story unfold themselves naturally, and the reader gets to slowly pick up the pieces as they go along. I always find that much more enjoyable than being spoon-fed the backstory.

This kind of isolated story often feels limiting in how much exploration of the fantasy world and background we get, and while that did feel present here I think the length of the story allowed it to be a minor setback rather than a large glaring issue. It feels like a small bite of a grand world, and that makes it very digestible and focused.