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.

I loved the idea of this book more than the execution. The funeral ladies were the best part story and I wish they had been more of the main focus. The grandmas were so funny, witty and full of sass. I liked that the author explored themes of trauma and PTSD, it was well written. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and it muddied the story a bit. I wasn’t very invested in the romance. Iris and Cooper were alright, I didn’t find them super compatible. I went into this book thinking it was solely about the funeral ladies, unfortunately that isn’t what I got. I’m sure many people will love this book; it just wasn’t a good fit for me!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I find myself conflicted with this one. I found the talk of PTSD to be a bit much but I liked how the ladies gather around each other and support each other. I didn't really care for the characters, I didn't like the body shaming of another woman at a different church.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Paperback for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a Midwestern girl, this one spoke to my heart. I loved the small-town feel and the charming characters of the town. The funeral lady food aspect was completely relatable to me and relayed in a very authentic way. This book slowly unraveled the lives of the residents and it was fabulous. I loved it!

This is an emotional and tender story about tradition, grief, and community. The small-town setting provides the perfect background for this tale of found family and coming together in the midst of grief, which is portrayed in multiple ways. The author lovingly pens characters that work their way into your heart and root themselves there. A mystery woven throughout rounds out the story and makes it a solid pick for your TBR.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Avon through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Reading The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County made me hungry . . . and sad but then hopefully. This book takes place in the small town of Ellerie where a core group of elderly women prep food for funerals at their local church. Esther, one of the funeral ladies, falls on hard times and her granddaughter jumps into help. The story weaves in Ivan and Cooper who attended a funeral but become entwined with Esther and her granddaughter. A good read about community coming together and the struggles of dealing with personal trauma.

Tha k you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was a lovely read and I enjoyed every page. The story was uplifting and the characters were so well done. I am looking forward to much more from this author. Highly recommend

This book was charming AND went much deeper than I was expecting. I love the melding of faith with our messy, actual lives. I'm a Midwesterner and Claire really captured so much of the culture. If you're a fan of J. Ryan Stradal, you will love this sweet, layered book.

This was a sweet, fairly predictable book about a small, charming town where everyone knows everyone else and goes to great lengths to help out their neighbors. In this case, it’s Esther who needs help from her community after she’s been swindled by someone online.
Although it hit on some heavier topics, like grief and ptsd, it was mostly pretty mild and pleasant.
Thanks to #netgalley and #avonpublishing for this #arc of #thefuneralladiesofelleriecounty in exchange for an honest review.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley.

This wasn’t what I expected, but I still love how it turned out! Would have liked to learn more about the funeral ladies and less about other side characters drama but overall was a solid read.