My favorite part of House of Frank was the different grief depictions. It’s a beautiful foundation to this book that I think will be relatable to so many readers. Grief doesn’t come in the same shape or size, and this is the first book I’ve found to show multiple representations.

I think it’s important to show the myriad forms of grief. I personally don’t think we have enough examples of it in media, so it was heartwarming and occasionally heartbreaking to read it throughout HOF.

Saika was a perfect protagonist to have because she essentially went through all stages of grief. She considers allowing it to overwhelm and destroy a part of herself, but because of Ash Gardens and the people living there, she slowly begins her healing journey. She even becomes a sort of stable force for Ash Gardens, which is currently going through its own problems and uncertainties.

Asking for help, especially during times of grief, was another underlying message from the characters. Time and time again I saw characters rejecting help because of their fear or insecurities or pride, but Saika and other Ash Gardens people repeat that they’re always there to help.

Overall, I do have complicated feelings for House of Frank (reason why there’s no rating), but the grief depictions certainly were the best part.

As my first Bindery title, I was very satisfied with my reading experience! I cannot wait to read more from this imprint and the publisher.

I am so glad to have gotten this book to review. What an incredible look into the ways people grieve. Magic realism all throughout, diverse magical and non-magical creatures, LGBTQ+ representation and done in such a way that it's completely normal in the world; something I absolutely adore. We walk through the FMCs pain and grief as she talks to her deceased sister. We get to know the other characters, their great losses, the way they have dealt or have not dealt with those painful blows. It was mysterious and dark and very emotional. Beautifully done.

House Of Frank
Kay Synclaire
4⭐️

“Young. Old. We all experience life whether we’ve had lots of it or very little.”

This was a beautifully touching story. Our FMC Saika is a witch who has experienced a terrible loss. We follow her journey managing that grief and the friendships she makes along the way.

I like that the story was very character driven. Although the character's are whimsical, their reactions to grief are so very human and relatable.
The pain & suffering that comes with loss can lead to some poor decisions , our cast of characters including our FMC are no different.
I felt their sadness and frustration, but also their hope that things could be better.

The style of writing interchanges from first to second person throughout the whole story. In other books I've read I have found this to be quite jarring, however (without giving too much away) this style of writing flows perfectly when you see how it is used in this story.

I believe this is the author's first novel, I'm very much looking forward to reading anything they write in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Bindery Books/Ezeekat Press for providing the ARC.

Unfortunately this is a DNF.

I'm sad to say that as much as I like the concept for the story, the narration is driving me up the wall. I read three chapters in one go but the main character talking to her dead sister in second person was so distracting. And it intensified going into chapter 4— I just can't do this. For the entire book? Nope.

This is a really sweet book that explores grief and found family. The characters are wonderful, and the worldbuilding is pretty on-point. There are a few minor issues with the pacing - it takes 70% of the book to find out what is going on with the MC - but the story itself does a pretty good job of making up for it.

This is like cozy fantasy, grief edition and I cannot wait to reread it once my audio preorder comes in next month! The story is super heartwarming and magical, featuring a diverse cast of creatures and histories. Saika, our main character, has suffered the devasting loss of her sister and is trying to fulfill her last wishes, to have her ashes planted at the ash gardens. When Saika finally works up the courage (or desperation?) to visit the ash gardens, she doesn’t expect to find such a group of welcoming characters and that’s where the bulk of our story takes place.

Told from the perspective of Saika sharing her thoughts with her dearly departed sister, Fiona, the voice of this story stands apart and feels so real and intimate. The cast of characters who live and work in the ash gardens are so well done and different, creating a wonderful found family. The story deals heavily with grief, but ultimately is a hopeful and heartwarming tale of life and death and what it means to live and love.



House of Frank releases next month on October 15th. It’s being published by Ezeekat press via Bindery and is the first book Ezeekat is publishing with his imprint.

Be sure to check out storygraph for the full blurb and content warnings:

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/c8fe051e-5eeb-4f7e-b090-77026f6154f0

I really enjoyed the premise of this book and how it gently addresses grief. I do think there were some pacing issues, as it felt like the questions I had were answered fairly late in the book.

Thank you NetGalley, Bindery books and Kay Synclaire for the ARC of House of Frank.

I am still crying while writing this review. This was a magical heartfelt book that deals with hard topics but makes you want more. I fell in love with all the characters in their own way. They were all different but so special. This is a book that will stick with me long after and reminds me of TJ Klune. I will revisit this book over the years and most definitely read anything this author writes.

Give me a fantasy or horror that targets grief and I'm there for it. I was sold this as a grief driven story in a cozy mystery/fantasy setting. Mystery where? Each conversation of grief felt surface level, much like the character's we're exploring the concepts through.

DNF at 13%

House of Frank by Kay Synclaire should have worked for me. I love cozy fantasy stories, including the works of Travis Baldree and TJ Klune, whose works this book was compared to. A story with witches, creatures, found family, and nature ticks many of my typical wheelhouse boxes. Sadly, I had to put this one down at 13%.

I wasn't feeling connected to the main character or the cozy world. The slight hints of a deep backstory of grief were not intriguing to me. I did not feel compelled or drawn to pick this one up and when I did, I only got a few pages before getting bored. I often struggle with stories where I feel plopped down in the middle of a story with little context and I think that was the case for me here. We get no world-building or backstory on the main character when the story begins. I assume those elements unfold as the book progresses but that is too late for my reading preferences. Not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery for the advanced review copy.

This was a lovely, gentle book. It does a good job of showing the different and sometimes desperate reactions to grief. It’s not plot heavy but the characters are nice to spend time with. I felt like explanations took too long to arrive for certain things and that often made the pacing slower at times. But overall I really liked it.

Be prepared to cry from start to finish.

This book deals heavily with grief and other intense subjects. There’s a lot of pain within these characters. And amazingly, there’s a good balance between cozy and soul destroying!

Hoping to fulfil her dead sister’s wish, Saika travels to Ash Garden, a magical place where the ashes of your loved ones turn to beautiful trees.

But is Saika finally ready to let her sister go?

Luckily Frank, the owner, offers her a position at Ash Garden for as long as she wants, or until she is ready to let go of her sister. But what can Saika help with? She is a useless witch that doesn’t have her power, but they don’t need to know that, right?

Another ARC I’ll absolutely have to buy once it comes out!



- review will be posted on instagram on september 27th and on amazon after publish

I expected this book to be a cozy fantasy - which it was - but it also had so many more layers. The main character is dealing with grief and I thought the author beautifully explored how deeply grief can impact us and the slow but steady healing process - in this case by helping others, which is particularly beautiful. I loved the found family elements of the story, especially for how it balanced out the grieving and became a part of the healing process.

Thank you Bindery and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This book follows Saika who is lonely and grieving her beloved sister as she visits Ash Gardens in order to lay her sister’s ashes to rest. What she doesn’t expect is to be welcomed to stay by the owner Frank and the kooky but loving group who all make Ash Gardens function. Something is going wrong with the house and Frank though as they both seem to be deteriorating at a rapid pace, little do they know Saika has a secret of her own.

It’s difficult to rate this book as it caters to an incredibly specific reader. The story as a whole centers around a grieving main character who works through their grief by helping others. I should also mention the story is set in a fantasy world with every character being magical in some way. It’s incredibly cozy with a strong found family theme, and while there aren’t really high stakes I’m unsure if this should be recommended to the cozy reading crowd. There are quite a few trigger warnings that could take someone out of reading this including mentions of suicide and talk of death and grief. However, the mentions and triggers throughout the story are added in such a gentle way that I think someone who has gone through a grieving process would appreciate. There is so much diverse and LGBTQIA+ representation that is done so incredibly well. In my opinion, this author did an amazing job weaving the grief into the story in a way that could help someone cope with loss and remember that when we lose someone we don’t have to continue to be alone. I will absolutely be recommending this book to my followers and friends with the caveat that they have to check their triggers and note that it does get cheesy.

Much like the movie Up by Pixar, this is a gentle magical meditation on losing people, grief, recovery and renewed purpose. Also like the movie Up, this is the perfect book to read when you've just lost someone to help with your own processing. LGBTQ friendly and involving found family, this book is a lovely song in written form. Recommended.

I absolutely adored this book! Such a sweet, moving story about loss, love and finding your true family. If you loved TJ Klune's Cerulean Sea, then you're going to love House of Frank! I was so excited to get approved for the digital ARC because I follow Ezeekat and when I saw he was publishing this thru Bindery I knew I had to read it!! I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy!!! Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Ezeekat Publishing for my digital ARC ❤️ ♥️!

This was a bit of a cozy fantasy which isn't usually what I pick up so I wasn't sure what to expect. The cast of characters were wonderful and complex, and the exploration of grief and healing really tugged at my heart. It was an emotional journey from start to finish and I loved every second!

Cozy fantasy is hit or miss for me, yet when it hits it hits, and I was fully expecting House of Frank to do just that. A warm-hearted story of found family, grief, hope and finding comfort in small things, set at a magical arboretum; sign me up!
Unfortunately, despite its wonderful elements and promising premise, the execution didn’t live up to my self-imposed hype…

The Story:
We follow Saika, a witch stripped of her magical powers in the wake of a tragic series of events that cost her beloved sister her life. Consumed by her grief, she leaves with nothing but the clothes on her back to travel to the famous Ash Gardens, where she plans to lay her sisters ashes to rest. When Saika arrives at the always-stormy sanctuary, she is welcomed by its owner, an enormous, knit-cardiganed mythical beast named Frank, who offers her a role as one of the estate’s caretakers. Accepting any chance to put off her final goodbye to her sister, Saika accepts and is taken in by the colourful “family” of staff at the Ash Gardens. Soon she realizes that not everything is as magical as it seems; from Franks increasing forgetfulness to the decay that threatens to break their very house down. Saika must unravel the mysteries in order to prevent losing the life and family she’s just beginning to build for herself.


What I loved:
As mentioned, there are plenty of individual elements to love here. A tender story of grief and healing made a little less “heavy” by a good helping of magic and whimsy: yes please. A cast of wonderfully diverse characters, all with backstories of their own, creating a patchwork found-family: absolutely! Set amongst magical greenhouses, functioning as the final resting places for the ashes of loved ones: brilliant! The issue wasn’t the concepts, but the fact that many of them didn’t make it past the “concept-stage”; they simply lacked development.

House of Frank sure has its moments, especially when it comes to Saika. The portrayal of her grief over her sister felt authentic. It’s not easy to make a reader care for a relationship with a character we’ve never actually seen on page, but Synclair manages that well. Similarly, there are some endearing moments between Oli and Saika (fans of sunshine-grumpy-romances will adore these two), and Saika and Frank. If you’re able to enjoy the story on just that surface level, enjoying the ambience and “aesthetics” only; you might have a great experience. Unfortunately, when you give it more than a passing thought, things crumble faster than the walls of Franks house.


What I didn’t love:
Underdevelopment is the keyword here, which I’ll explain by 3 hallmarks of a good (fantasy) book (story, characters, worldbuilding) and finally a small spoiler-section on the resulting plotholes.
First things first, the story is less than wafer-thin. It’s a McGuffin-hunt for a magical fallen star that will magically solve all the problems around The House. The plot is driven mostly by “time-to-falling-star”, rather than characters actions, which makes for a very passive story. The few actions the characters do take often feel out of left field, lacking decent character motivation.

Speaking of which: the characters. Apart from Saika and Frank, they exist to make for a cute and whimsical ensemble, but are little more than window-dressing. There are “grumpy elf”, “magical-grandpa-like-beast-who-wears-knit-cardigans”, “semi-invisible-ghost-with-bowler-hat”, and “pair-of-cherubs-who-constantly-bicker”. Sounds more like character-prompts than actual characters, right? That quickly becomes a problem when your story hinges so much on found-family and character relationships. We’re told to root for this bunch and think of them as a tight-knit and cozy community, but what we actually see is often the opposite. For a “family” there is surprisingly little love and surprisingly much indifference on display here. Many of the characters have a clear problem that Saika must solve for them throughout the story. Except all of these problems should’ve been solved easily by other “family-members”, if only they’d shown a single grain of attention and care for each other. E.g. It’s clear very early on that patriarch Frank suffers from memory-issues (and has for a long time!), yet I’m supposed to believe that all of his “family members” have just shrugged this off and offered him no help whatsoever. Same for Phil: he’s a mute ghost who’s made it abundantly clear that he wants to communicate something to the rest of them. Yet everyone just ignores, dismisses him or even laughs at his antics. How is this a family I’m supposed to root for?

Thirdly there’s the worldbuilding. I’m not expecting a Brandon-Sanderson level epic from a cozy-standalone, but still… I want something more than “just roll with it”. We barely get an impression of the immediate setting. I was excited for the descriptions of the house (just look at that cover) or the gardens, but was left so disappointed. There’s also no rhyme or reason to the magical creatures or their powers. From the cherubs to the ghost in the bowler-hat: they’re there because the author thought they were cute. The issue with that is that it creates massive plot holes along the way.

Beware spoilers ahead:

Poor Phil is the accumulation of all this novels plot-holes combined. When death and grief are your novels central themes, introducing a ghost is a big deal. Why is Phil a ghost who lingers beyond death, yet other deceased characters are not? we learn that he used to be a human, in fact: a close friend to Frank and some others in the house. That makes it even more unbelievable that his “family” would treat his ghost with so much indifference, and don’t even attempt to give him tools to communicate with them. It’s shown he can open locks and move cutlery: give the man a pen and paper and let him speak!
Of course, that would spoil the mystery that Saika needs to solve, which hinges on him and his knowledge specifically. Yet again; as he’s shown to be able to manipulate objects (locks/boxes/cutlery) just fine: Phil shouldn’t have needed Saika in the first place!!
Final note: Death as a character makes NO sense in this story. His deals are ridiculous and benefit no-one. In combination with the presence of the ghosts and cherubs, it became increasingly clear that there’s no thought behind the way the afterlife works in this world…


End of spoiler-section


This novel takes clear inspiration from other cozy fantasies like The House in the Cerulean Sea, Under the Whispering Door and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. Unfortunately for it, I’d recommend any of them over this title.

Many thanks to Bindery Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was absolutely wonderful, and I look forward to purchasing a physical copy once available. Thank you NetGalley for letting me have an eARC in exchange for a review!

This novel follows Sai as she struggles to fulfill her sisters final wish, to be planted at Ash Gardens. As soon as she arrives at the House of Frank, she meets Frank: a large mythical creature in a cardigan. That alone I think helps set the tone of this book. This book had my crying multiple times, and in case you’re looking at reviews prior to reading the blurb I will mention that the book is dealing with grief in multiple different ways, and it could be a very difficult read if you’re not in a place to do that.

Please check for trigger warnings.

I adored the light touch of representation done in this book, bringing enough attention for you to see it and feel what’s happening, but not enough that it becomes their entire character. It remains a facet of them, and I appreciate when representation is done this way.

This book made me cry as I said, but it also made me laugh and smile. It was wonderfully cosy, but also heavy. I’m thinking about getting multiple copies to give out as gifts this year because I think it’s imagery and exploration of grief and working through it was wonderful.

I wanted to mention my favourite character, but I don’t know who I would give that title to. Saika, Frank, Olivie, Hilde, Merry and Morose, Evette and Phil - even Ignatius and Fiona - all of them felt like dear friends by the end. I hope you’ll give this one a try and see if you like them as much as I do.

4.5 on Storygraph, rounding down to a 4 here!

Thank you to Netgalley, Bindery Books, and the author for allowing me to read an advanced digital copy of The House of Frank in exchange for an honest review!

Sitting at my computer and trying to formulate a review for The House of Frank has proven to be difficult. I'm so overwhelmed by the emotions that were evoked throughout the book, especially those last two chapters, so perhaps it is fitting that I name those first: comfort, grief, sorrow and bittersweet contentment. The House of Frank is a book that is earnest and honest in the conversations it brings about death, grief, loss and finding yourself again.

It's impossible to not feel that strongly while reading regardless how familiar you are with the presence of Death. Kay Synclaire wrote a beautiful story that brings forth emotions first before anything and in the hands of a different author, it might not have worked for me. While it's not rare for a book that make me feel, it is rare for a book with the backdrop of whimsical and cozy to clearly bring me to tears.

I absolutely adored the cast of characters and felt like I was back in my childhood years reading a fairytale when it came to them. They felt familiar despite me not having known them before and I think that is such a wonderful example of Synclaire's talent. I enjoyed the simplistic, uncomplicated world that was established and am thankful that the author didn't attempt to do too much when it came to presenting information about the world building. It allowed her to focus on the interpersonal relationships, Saika's own emotions and journey, and the main plot without being bogged down by anything else.

The only reason this isn't a five star review is because of one tiny, itty bitty hang up I had and that is the sometimes repetitive nature of scenes. There are a few occasions in the book where Saika or another character would have a conversation about doing something and then that would be followed immediately by that same thing being done or restated, resulting in the paragraph feeling unnecessarily clunky. I'm not an editor, but if I was the editor for this book I would've suggested cutting those bits out to have the overall experience flow better. It wasn't enough to totally disrupt or ruin the reading experience, but enough that I did notice it a handful of times throughout the story.

That aside, I truly fell in love with The House of Frank and cannot wait for it to be released in October! I will definitely be buying a copy for myself and some for my friends!