Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read!

The setting alone is like eating apple pie on the holidays! Such a warm-hearted comfort read, the perfect book for a break in your favorite go to genre!

This book a quick comfort read set in small town Wisconsin and centers on 3 POV: Esther Larsen, a stern but caring matriarch, her granddaughter Iris, and Cooper who is finds himself in town for the funeral of his stepmother with his sister and father. I loved the setting- the small town pride and midwestern spirit is strong in this book. I also enjoyed the depiction the small town, the complicated family dynamics, and the friendships of the funeral ladies themselves. This book had me yearning for a community of my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this multigenerational story set in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

What I loved:
-The Funeral Ladies—I want to have a cocktail with them!
-The setting of Wisconsin, through most of the seasons. This FL girl loved reading the vivid descriptions of life on a lake.
-The Catholic Church community and 70 years of memories.
-Found family, amongst friends and strangers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the advanced copy.

I loved this book so much! The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie county is definitely one of my top reads of the year. The Wisconsin scenery is right at home for me (WI born & raised) and I loved the strong friendships that the women have created over the years. They cook together for funeral luncheons where they discuss what happens in their lives. One of the women falls for an online scam, and they work together to save her home. Some really heavy topics are brought up and I think it really made me love and connect with this book even more so. Trigger warnings are gun violence, mass shooting, PTSD, emotional abuse, alcoholism and flashbacks of Vietnam.

“The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County” by Claire Swinarski is sure to be the next big book club hit! The book is very engaging and has a great cast of characters who pull you into the story right away and make you feel like a friend. I love the bond between Iris and her family and Esther and her Funeral Ladies. This reminds me of my own family, friends, and the power of community. Church groups, friend groups, and library book clubs would all be great audiences for this book.

The story deals with some heavy topics and is filled with generational wisdom but doesn’t feel overdone. It is said that children are more like their grandparents than their parents, and we see this play out between Iris and Esther. Both women have boundless compassion and strength. This is both a great gift and a burden. This compassion is what gets Esther into trouble in the first place- she is in danger of losing her house due to an internet scammer. While she feels this is her burden to bear and her mistake, her friends, family, and community quietly rally around her. Esther has made the food for Ellerie County funerals for years, helps others in their times of need, and never once gossips or complains about it. When it is her turn for similar support, she is reluctant. Iris and the Funeral Ladies decide to make a community cookbook to raise funds. This project ultimately becomes bigger than Esther, Iris, or the Funeral Ladies ever imagined. It is an important reminder to honor and cherish this moment in time, preserve those memories, and remember the past. I can see groups reading this book and getting together to discuss it while bringing their own important dishes and recipes to swap.

Some trigger/content warnings would be helpful for the beginning of the book. The synopsis doesn’t mention that a past mass shooting plays a major role in the novel. Flashbacks, PTSD, emotional abuse, and alcoholism are also prevalent.

While I did love this book, I gave this novel 4 stars out of 5 because some of the characters felt less developed and their plot lines felt less necessary to the book overall. Felix’ characteristics changed depending on how he was needed for the plot. In some part, this was due to how other characters remembered Felix, but overall, he felt inconsistent and only written as a plot device. We also started to see some generational trauma be dealt with by both Iris and Cooper, but it would have been nice to see that go further. The ending wrapped up very quickly, and perhaps needed an epilogue after a longer time to really show true growth and change. I’m not sure the mass shooting and PTSD storylines were actually necessary to the book, it could have focused on Esther, Iris, and the lives of the other Funeral Ladies and been just as successful. However, it did allow characters to work through some personal issues. Also, very minor, but the synopsis says it includes recipes and there is only one recipe, and that recipe does not include a time or temperature for baking. Having the pie crust recipe, then an actual pie recipe to go with it may be better. I would have also liked to have seen the cheesy potato casserole recipe, which was mentioned multiple times in the story.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. The story is engaging and powerful. It is a testament to the power of women, friendship, and community. It is also testament to the power of homemade food to heal the heart and mind. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and HarperCollins for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County are known for providing food for those suffering the loss of a family member. Esther is one of those ladies. She naively gives an internet scammer $30,000 to help with their (fake) pregnancy, she is in trouble with the bank and close to losing her home. The funeral ladies (and Esther’s granddaughter, Iris) work together to make a community cookbook to raise the funds.

Cooper Welsh is the son of the Food Network star, Ivan Welsh. When his stepmom dies and they return to Ellerie County for the funeral, the funeral ladies make certain they don’t run out of food. And when their accommodations don’t work out, Iris rents them the cabin that she just purchased.

I liked this book. I love the funeral ladies. Esther is a spunky elderly woman who hates handouts and laziness. While she lives in Wisconsin, I think she will remind you of any Southern grandma. This little group would be a hoot.

There are some tough subjects: death, PTSD, cancer, domestic abuse.

🛑SPOILER🛑

One thing I didn’t like- You find out Cooper has PTSD from a mass shooting while he was a medic. When he starts dating Iris, it’s portrayed as very sweet and romantic. But, then after he becomes aggressive a few times, it starts flashing back to more minor infractions that you weren’t really privy to before. I feel like I would have personally preferred to “live thru” those episodes as they happened rather than more as a flashback. Because it almost felt like it came out of nowhere. That may have been a “me” thing though.

I enjoyed the growth and development 😃 that all the main characters went through in the book. The plot is engaging and I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

I Absolutely loved this book! So much so it gets one of my rare five star ratings. Some of you can relate to my admitting that I shoved off a whole pile of work today so I could keep reading and finish this sweet book in one day (and it was so worth it!). Who wouldn't want to live in a place like Ellery with all the kind and giving people? Fun (and realistic) mostly elderly characters who cherish the ability to feed people in need almost more than their close friendships. Can a hug be a book? If this one, then yes!

Oh my gosh. How do you even write a review on a book like this. These characters feel like family before you are done with the story. As someone from a small, religious town this is an incredible show of community and loyalty the residents of small towns have.
Esther, what a complex women (like so many are) having lived most of her life but always striving for more, not just for herself but friends, family and strangers. Fran and Olivia, being so supportive and loving of their family. Iris, I absolutely adore, she is such a real character. She has feelings and experiences I can definitely relate with. I also admire her love for her fellow humans, it’s just amazing. She definitely gets it from her grandma. Cooper, you can’t help but feel for the guy, all he wanted to do was help people. I am so glad in the end he made the choice to get himself help. I just love Ellerie County and adore the funeral ladies of St. Anne’s. The best book I have read this year!

I also have had chicken sisters on my book shelf and definitely will be reading it next!!

In the last few years, I've absolutely fallen in love with Midwestern stories that span multiple generations, from Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club to Shotgun Lovesongs. The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County absolutely hit the spot: it's full of true-to-life characters who love their community (and good recipes!). This book touched on grief, faith, PTSD, and love in such special ways. I can't wait for the world to read it!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC!

PS: This cover is fantastic

The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County by Claire Swinarski is a captivating literary masterpiece. From the very beginning, this book envelops readers in a comforting embrace, skillfully employing food as a powerful symbol of communication. It introduces a remarkable sisterhood of women, who have been inseparable since their youth, residing in the charming confines of a small town.

This book was a roller coaster from start to finish. This book was so quick and it is so easy to just lose yourself into the world. It was much darker and dug into some deeper issues than I was expecting. I was expecting just a fun lighthearted read but this is the kind of book that stays with you. This was my first Claire Swinarski, but it will not be my last.

A lovely novel about a Midwestern community that felt like it could have been my family- a heartwarming book!

The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County is a book that reminds me of my extended family and life in a small Midwestern town.

This book is about Esther, her granddaughter, Iris, and Cooper who moves is in town to bury his step-mother. However, in my opinion, there really is a fourth main character - the entire community.

When Esther falls prey to a scammer and loses a large amount of money, her beloved home is in danger of being lost and the community, led by Iris, comes together to save her and her home.

Of course, Iris and Cooper have a love story, but the main story is how a good community takes care of it's own and the love - through the funeral dinners, for example - is just a way that love is shown.

I really enjoyed this book and am going to recommend it to my book club when it comes out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I'm giving this one 3.75 stars, rounded up. PTSD, emotional relationship abuse, cancer, alcoholism, death and grief trigger warnings.

A quick, heartwarming story of a small town in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. I found myself relating wholeheartedly to the feel of the location, being a Midwesterner who has grown up with northern cabin vacations myself. I could absolutely tell the author was from the area also–mentions of various city names, Kwik Trip, all the cheese (though literally everyone knows this is what Wisconsin is known for lol), Spotted Cow (you KNOW this is THE Wisconsin beer!!), and of course, the good ol' Culver's. It's little things like that that make me more appreciative of a book, that the author understood and acknowledged the location in which they set their book.

I honestly didn't know what to expect after reading the book's description. But hey, I love food and I love complex family stories, and along with the beautifully illustrated cover, I was sold, and ended up pleasantly surprised. Three generations of Larson women, and each have such distinct personalities. Esther absolutely is the stern, yet warm grandmother figure you'd expect. Very much set in her ways, but is always there whenever someone is in need. Fran, Esther's daughter, isn't a main character, but serves as a supportive figure to both Esther and her own daughter. Which brings us to Iris, the pretty remarkable Gen Z (this is something that is mentioned a bit too often IMO, but pretty on point for Gen Z–they do like to remind us all of their generation) granddaughter of Esther. A freelance graphic designer and owner of her own home + a cabin Airbnb she's renovating on her own? Wow, goals. This next brings us to Cooper, our third and final POV of the book, who is brought to Ellerie County due to the death of his stepmother Annabelle(personal opinion but I hate whenever I see this name in books–that darn doll's face always pops up in my mind), with his sister Cricket and famous chef but absent father Ivan. Cooper suffers from PTSD, and we see the consequences of that throughout the book. The PTSD was written very well in my eyes, and was extremely tough to read through. Such a complex thing that could have been glazed over, but was given the gravitas it deserves.

I'll be honest, the first thing that drew me into this book was the cover. As a graphic designer and illustrator, I thought it was so beautiful! However, after reading this book, I feel like I would have loved to see the cover mimic the simple, brown and green one of the Funeral Ladies' cookbook? A little missed opportunity to me. The writing style was also very matter-of-fact, which isn't necessarily bad, but not usually my favorite. I would have also loved an epilogue to this story! I feel like that would have pushed my review a little higher.

Overall, enjoyed this read. And a very special thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books/Harper Voyager for sharing this advanced copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The Funeral Ladies provide meals to mourners after funerals. A celebrity's wife was tragically killed in a car accident but had wanted to be buried back home in Wisconsin.

I'm not sure what I was expecting. It gets complicated. Of course grief could be a trigger, but I wasn't expecting PTSD to also be included.

As a Midwesterner, I really wanted to like The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley for introducing me to a new-to me author. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Publishing for the advance read copy of The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for approving my ARC request.

Probably between 3 and 4 stars, decided to round down. Providing feedback to publisher. .

I enjoy stories about small towns with women of a certain age and The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie county fits that bill perfectly. The ladies of the town are excellent cooks who are in charge of the funeral luncheons at St. Annes. Not only do they cook together they are long time friends who are known to gather and share a nip or two of their beverage of choice as they discuss what's going on around them, When they learn that their long time member, Esther has fallen for an on-line scammer to the tune of $30,000.00 they all jump in (along with Esther's family) to gather money to save Esther's lakefront home.

I enjoyed this book. The Wisconsin scenery, the small town close knit group of friends, Esther's family - especially her granddaughters meld together in a believable way. The famous chef and his off spring who rent an airbnb make up a good part of the plotline.

Trigger warning for PTSD due to a random shooting as well as Vietnam conflict flashbacks, The difference between treating PTSD in today's world compared to how it was in past is spot on,

I will certainly read more by this author and thank #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for a fair and honest review.

I related strongly to the story about living in a small town and the closesness of the people and how people help one another. I lived in a big city and I now live in a small town and you can't compare the two.

It's an important story about not letting pride get in the way of healing and when you keep problems a secret or try to ignore the problems it may end up making it worst, and its when you let the ones who care for you help the problem becomes less overwhelming.

I loved the warmth of the characters who banded together through all sorts of sorrows; death, disease, scammers and PTSD and when the problems were to much to handle they sought help and each other for comfort. Even though one of the characters is a celebrity figure, who has not always been there for the ones he loves, the towns shows him that everyone messes up and that you do the best you can. That love is in everything you do.

I want to thank Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon and NetGalley for an advance copy of this comforting and beautiful story about togetherness, love and helping one another.

So, friends, do you know what you’re doing on March 12 of next year?

Let me tell you.

You’re going to get a package on your doorstep. And you remember, “Oh, yes, today is the day my pre-ordered book comes! Faith Elizabeth Hough loved this one so much I just couldn’t resist the chance to have it the day it comes out.”
​
You tear open the packaging, and pull it out. The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County, by Claire Swinarski. It is gorgeous. “Just as beautiful as Faith said it was!” you think. But you’re a smart, experienced reader, so you won’t be swayed by something so superficial as a gorgeous cover. (You’re totally swayed, but your secret is safe with me.)

So you think, “I’ll just read a page or two to see if it’s as good as she said. Then I’ll make a cup of tea and really settle in.”

You open the cover and slip into the world of Ellerie County, Wisconsin, a place where the winters are snowy and cozy and the sumers are spent on the docks and the people come together to help one another through thick and through thin. A place so vivid it’s almost a character in its own right. But the characters! The characters are even better. There’s Esther, who reminds you a bit of your own grandmother, with her steadfast faith and the perfect pies and casseroles she whips up with her “Funeral Lady” friends for each and every funeral at the town’s little Catholic church. There’s Iris, her granddaughter, who is thoroughly modern with her Instagram savvy and her business plans, but who also is happy to fill in for her mom’s hour of Eucharistic Adoration every week. You get excited right along with them when Ivan Welsh, the Food Network celebrity chef, arrives in town for a funeral, along with his sassy teenage daughter and kind but haunted son, Cooper.

​At this point you realize you’ve made some good choices in your life, because somehow a cup of tea has appeared in your hand and you don’t even remember how it got there. (You’ll thank them later.) You enjoy each sip, even while wondering what that chai would taste like with a hint more cardamom, or perhaps accompanied by a slice of apple pie. But you can’t dwell on it long, because Esther's kind heart got her in trouble, and Iris has a plan to help, but it’s kinda crazy and she might be falling in love with Cooper, and he’s got issues to deal with and what’s going on with Ivan, anyway, and can Esther’s good heart and perfect pie crust really save the day?

Somewhere mid-description of a gorgeous culinary creation by either a midwest grandmother or a Food Network celebrity, you realize you probably should eat something (and, for some of you, make a meal for those wonderful little humans that have been uncharacteristically self-directed in their play or schooling all day). You prepare the meal with exquisite attention to each detail, because your reading has reminded you that the little details matter and that food is a pretty darn good way to show love.

After your meal, you’re dying to get back to the book—but you pause. Because it’s also made you think a little more carefully about the time you spend with those little humans or other people around you. You muse, “If I take anything away from this book, it’s going to be that we have to be there for one another. We have to love and we have to forgive, but first we just have to show up. With a casserole or a book to read or arms open for a hug.” So you choose the right thing, and you hug your humans, and you just might slip into bed and read under the cover until you turn the very last page.

Sometime around March 13, you order a few extra copies, because The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County is the perfect choice for your brilliant idea of a three-generational-book club with your grandma and mom and sisters. While you’re on the computer, you think, “I should send a quick note to thank Faith for convincing me to click on that pre-order link back in September. What a difference it made!” But instead you remember what Faith said, and you send a quick email off to the author, Claire Swinarski, thanking her for the time and energy and heart she put into writing such a beautiful book. Because imagine what a bleak March 12 it would have been without the chance to lose yourself in a perfect pie and a midwest town and your new favorite story.

Besides, Faith might be busy re-reading her shiny new copy, if she's not making a pie.

Written like a love letter to Midwest ladies of a certain age. The love of food, community, and family really shines through this book, and the drama, while it isn't too earth-shattering keeps your attention to see how it resolves. The pacing is slow and leisurely, much like a late fall evening around the bonfire.