great! I loved the relationship that the three main characters, Nessa, Jo and Harriet build together. They each have powers (aka “gifts”) that complement one another and help them bring justice to a community with a lot of buried secrets. There are lots of twists and turns in this enjoyable book. Such a good read! Thank you #netgalley for the ARC of #thechange

I love a good story featuring a strong, independent woman ascertaining her own power - her own voice. The Change features three such women staring down midlife crises while struggling with the tough hand dealt them by life. It would be easy to fold, but instead they combine their newly discovered powers to challenge the status quo and thumb their noses at men who have relegated them to lesser positions in life. The end result for readers is a fantastic blend of genres including fantasy, mystery and women's fiction with a heavy side of social commentary all rolled into one high action, graphic story that I believe will appeal to readers across the board.

Three middle age women who have been dished by the men in their lives in one way or the other are dealing with the dreaded "change" and they resent it. Is this it? Is their life over? It wasn't suppose to be like this. When faced with more of the same old, same old, they must decide what they will do with the rest of their lives. Forming a friendship leads to each of them realizing and sharing their individual special gifts with the others. Nessa hears voices as her grandmother did before her - of people who have passed on. Harriet is a plant guru and healer, and Jo can channel all the rage she's feeling through her body and into other objects. When the three band together to seek revenge for a brutally murdered seventeen-year-old girl, no force on earth can stop them from hunting down and eradicating the evil hiding in this town. They're on a mission for justice and revenge for the dead girl/s discarded like yesterday's trash, for all the injustices women have suffered at the hands of men, for the poor, the forgotten, the lost. In doing so, these three hellions blaze a path of fury through the wealthy city of Mattauk, Long Island. Heaven knows, the self-claimed entitled residents' money won't protect them from these three as they put the world on notice. They're taking it back.

The Change is a stunning story that runs the gamut of human emotions. Readers are sure to find themselves cheering these women on as I did - laughing and hollering one minute and raging mad the next - producing the perfect balance to keep me turning all 500+ pages as the stakes are raised and the violence escalates. The author's expertise at interspersing wit and sarcasm into the grim story line helps tone down what might otherwise be considered male bashing, although one can argue that most men in this book certainly deserve what they get. Nessa, Harriet and Jo may be considered vigilantes - and I guess on one hand they are - but I see them as women coming into their own, shedding the roles forced upon them by society and welcoming their new found freedom and the many changes occurring in their lives. It's powerful watching them come to the realization that they're more than they've been told, that life isn't over at forty or fifty or even sixty. It's out there waiting for them if they're brave enough, strong enough to seize it with no fear.

Miller has rendered an epic, genre-defying, action-packed story featuring a mixed smorgasbord of genres with something for everyone. She flawlessly weaves in backstory, pulling readers in as they learn where these women came from and what sparked and fueled their rage. Support characters's stories are also shared, making readers privy to what drove them to become the people they are - good or bad. The end result is an intimate connection with almost all of the characters. The pursuit of a serial killer serves to drive this story forward at a breakneck speed through twists and turns to the final reveal. Miller brilliantly wrestles the multitude of threads together by the end, turning them into a masterpiece - an extraordinary story that flows from beginning to end showcasing several tough social issues with humor and grace.

The Change is for every person of a certain age who has been passed over, turned down and made to feel somewhat less. It's raw, at times dark and yet inspirational. I hope readers catch the double meaning of the title The Change and embrace this book with all the wonder and excitement it so richly deserves. Readers of all genres - fantasy, mystery, women's fiction, realism - I highly recommend this book. Don't let the classification or the long length deter you. The Change is simply phenomenal. The book to read in 2022!

This is the feminist mystery thriller I needed this week. Five stars. - I really couldn’t put this one down. I’d give almost anything to your Harriet’s garden.

In the Long Island oceanfront community of Mattauk, 3 women discover that midlife changes bring a whole new type of empowerment. Together with their unexpected new powers - Harriet, Nessa, and Jo get swept up in the murder investigation of a young girl, that the police have decided isn’t worth their time. What follows is a tale of ghosts, murder, feminism, witchiness, and revenge. ⁣
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Harriet and her plant magic was the best part for me of the whole story - she definitely stole the show! It was a bit of a slow burn, but the message is kick-ass, the females are fierce friends, and the ending was so very satisfying! This would be so great to watch on screen!

oh my gosh ... THIS BOOK.
I'm getting to be at "that age."
I rarely need the heat on when it's freezing out.
I almost always need a fan or ice-cold drink within arms reach.
Estroven is one of my new best friends.
Nothing I have ever done before to lose weight works anymore.
Yes, boys and girls, your resident Pirate Queen is well and truly in the midst of peri-menopause on top of everything else. Thanks to Kirsten Miller, now I'm just waiting for my own special super powers to take hold like Jo, Nessa, and Harriett. I would especially be happy with Harriett's. She ranks right up there with Robert Thorogood's Judith for "I want to be like her when I grow up" characters. Although, being able to scald horrible people with my hot flashes like Jo can wouldn't be so bad, either. Not sure I could handle Nessa's without freaking out completely.
You'll just have to read the book yourself to know.

I did read The Change last week after all the hype surrounding this book on Bookstagram. This was the bonkers story of 3 women with special powers focused on solving the murders of various girls in their beach town and taking down men who have wronged the girls and themselves. Bonkers. It was magical realism mixed with female empowerment and female friendship. I am here for all the strong women. I am here for the small town crime vibe. I am here for the quirky characters that made me laugh out loud. But I wasn’t here for the fact that it was ridiculously long but it entertained me and distracted me.

This book is everywhere right now and I've only seen glowing 4 and 5 star reviews. There is so much hype around this and I was SO excited to pick it up. It's being marketed as Big Little Lies meets The Witches of Eastwick and a feminist revenge fantasy. This is a very unpopular opinion and I know I'm in the minority on this one but I really did not care for it. It has very similar vibes to The Whisper Network which also was not for me. My main issue with the book is it's about 200 pages too long. I was bored for so much of this and the 'reveals' were quite underwhelming and I rolled my eyes so hard at them. I considered DNF-ing several times but wanted to see it through to see the hype and if things would turn around. This truly felt like 'all men are evil - women are far superior' messaging that was pushed throughout and yet the women are also evil and take no responsibility for their role in the drama.

In the Long Island oceanfront community of Mattauk, three different women discover that midlife changes bring a whole new type of empowerment…

This story is about three women, who have come to a turning point in their life, and find each other. They all have unique abilities and need each other. 

At nearly 500 pages, I was quite intimidated by this book but this did not feel like a long book- this flew by! I was completely enamored by these characters, especially Harriet. She is honestly one of my favorite characters of all time. I loved that the author really dissected these characters and let the reader get to know them. The slow burn writing was necessary to really bring these characters to life. 

This is a murder mystery with some magic sprinkled in. This story really highlighted how powerful determined women can be. 

I listened to some of this on audio and it was so well done. The narrator uses a silky all knowing voice for Harriet, it fit her to a T. 

This was a 5 star for me! Loved every minute of it.

“Yes, you’re afraid of me because I’m better than you are. And if you give one talented woman the power she deserves, another will follow. Then another. And together they’ll show that their way is better. Then your whole fake f*cking world will come tumbling down.” I like the quote. Three women are lead to the body of a teenage girl once they reach middle age and discover gifts they never knew they had before. The teen girl was brushed off by authorities as a sex worker with probable connections to illicit drugs, but the trio are determined to uncover the poor girls’ truth and prove police wrong. Who knew that in the process they find many more girls with the same unfortunate fate, a serial killer, AND an even bigger shock along the way?’
Thank you Netgalley, Kirsten Miller and William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review this book. Wow. I don’t even know where to start. This book had so much to offer and then some! The book itself was very powerful and amazingly written! It is a very lengthy book, and I feel like if I were to reread it I would probably get even more out of it the second time around. Very feminist and some very in-depth talk about periods, so if that doesn’t interest you, then this isn’t a book for you. It also had some serious twists involved. I really liked the characters and loved watching them grow not only as individuals but as a group as well. This book has a lot of triggers in it including drug use, rape, suicide, abuse and more. There were some parts that were a bit confusing for me, but overall I really enjoyed the book. I’m rating this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Change by Kirsten Miller is a tour de force on the power of women and the satisfaction of revenge. I enjoyed every page of this novel. The characters felt like the kind of women I hoped would become my friends, and if not, certainly not my enemies. I would love to see these women in a second novel or even a movie version of the book. A definite read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Change.

Three women from the small community of Mattauk, New York are going through "the change". Nessa starts hearing voices of the dead; a skill which she inherited from her grandmother. Harriett has recently lost her job and has become a recluse, but has acquired a green thumb of sorts. Jo has a hot temper and is also literally hot--all the time. These three women come together to try and catch a killer of young girls targeting their community. The police aren't much help and not enthusiastic about finding the person responsible. Nessa, Jo, and Harriett take matters into their own hands with the help of their newly-acquired powers.

I really enjoyed The Change. It was refreshing to get the perspectives of people in different age groups than we see in most books. These women are strong, powerful, and don't take s#!t from anyone. If this was a series, I'd definitely continue reading more about these ladies!

"The Change" by Kirsten Miller was an incredible murder mystery. A plot full of women empowering scenarios, epic bravery, friendships, motherhood, career dilemmas, supernatural abilities, and intuition. Was a breathtaking, fierce adventure. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are mine.

<i>“Anger's like rocket fuel. Either it pushes you forward or it burns you alive. " </i>

The Change follows three women that discover more than the expected in their midlife changes. With these changes brings power to the women to bring justice to victims that are written off by the authorities and to right despicable acts that would be otherwise swept under the rug.

I went into The Change for the thriller and the murder, but loved it for the feminine power, the neighborhood messy gossip, the absolute <i>thrill</i> of seeing the wrongs of the world being righted, even if only at a small scope. Hariett came out as a show stealer for me. Regardless, I still loved the back and forth point of view of each woman and did not think that any of them dragged, a common problem for me with multiple perspectives.

The Change delivers the revenge we have all considered when questioned "what would you do if you had magical powers?"

Fantasy might by my one true love, but the social commentary added to it skyrocketed The Change into my top books of 2022.

Thanks to #Netgalley for the ARC - the opinions (muddy tho they might be) are my own

3.5 stars, rounded up

I didn't hate the book, but didn't love it either. A story with a touch of magical realism is something I generally enjoy and this one is very light, so even if you're someone who likes stories completely grounded in reality, you might like this one. That is, if you like reading about women taking/owning their power, their voice.

The 3 women main characters each in their 40s, in the prime of their midlife, gradually discover that they matter and what they can do matters, so they proceed to use that knowledge, that power, to make a difference. One realizes that her family's power of hearing the dead has been passed to her and she hears the voices of dead young women from around town. She gathers her friends, and together they solve and resolve the murders.

If you enjoy reading about strong women being empowered and putting men in their place, this is for you. For me, it was a little over the top, and a little too one-note ...... all the men were bad, all the women were invincible. But, the story does move along at a steady pace, and the dialog is good.

I really enjoyed The Change but felt it may have been a bit too long. The story keep my attention but felt a little disjointed at times with the shifting back in time. I very much enjoyed the feminist female power angle also.

Overall a good book just a bit too long.

The Change is quite simply an empowering thriller, particularly for women who know what it is like to become more and more invisible with age. Here, we have three menopausal superheroes who come into their own after "the change," completely rejecting male definitions of female power. Set in the beach community of Mattauk, New York, the novel focuses on three menopausal women: Nessa James, a black former nurse who can see dead people; Jo Levinson, "the Protector", who owns a women-only gym and channels her hot flashes to burn down people and property; and Harriett Osborne, the "Punisher", a former advertising executive repeatedly passed over for promotion. After walking off the job, Harriett stops dying her hair and becomes engrossed in botany, using weed and mushrooms to improve the depression of other "invisible" women, and growing all sorts of unknown plants in her garden which she uses for both beneficial and destructive purposes. These three women team up after a dead girl leads Nessa to the toney neighborhood of Culling Pointe, and the other dead girls Nessa sees there lead to the conclusion that a serial killer is afoot. The novel is timely (think #metoo and Jeffrey Epstein), and well-written, quickly paced in short chapters so that the reader never loses interest. It is also extremely funny in a snarky way fitting for the subject matter. I would love to see a sequel to this novel. 4.8 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for gifting me with an advanced copy of this book. All opinions in this review are strictly my own.

This was a very enjoyable book. It was a break from my normal thrillers. This had a thriller aspect with a woman comradery feel along with some fantasy mixed it. I definitely enjoyed it.

I really loved this book. It definitely keeps you guessing. It does have a Witches of Eastwick feel to it and it was an enjoyable, on the edge of your seat read. I like suspense and thrillers and this book definitely has both!

The Change challenges what you may commonly believe about menopause. What if instead of losing an ability, you gained something. Something that was a superpower that changed life as you know it? When I first requested this book, I thought I would be in for more of a creepfest based on the cover alone. Instead I found a celebration of womanhood amidst a thriller enmeshed with magical realism. I loved the interesting and even sometimes nutty (Harriett) characters and couldn't help but cheer for Nessa an Jo to right the wrongs of men. Even though the villains were pretty much a given from the beginning, there was a nice twist at the end that most will not see coming. Read this book to rid yourself of some rage, live revenge vicariously, and fuel you inner Wonder Woman! This is a fantastic pick for your lovely ladies book club and would be a great mother-daughter read as well. Thank you @NetGalley and @WmMorrowBooks for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. #NetGalley #TheChange

The Change is exactly the book I needed to read right now! As I am beginning this journey at this point in my life, it was fun and refreshing to read about women of a similar stage in life as they find their inner strengths and gifts to make a difference in the second halves of their lives. It was witty, humorous, mysterious, heartfelt and charming! I was rooting for each of these ladies while in my mind, I was envisioning the perfect casting adaptation for Netflix/Hulu/HBO: Harriet=Nicole Kidman, Nessa=Octavia Spencer, Jo=Amy Schumer/Rebel Wilson/Amy Adams. I couldn't put this book down and look forward to this author's next work!