Honestly I loved this book so much. I cried, but I felt like I was getting a hug each and every step. It was really lovely and I don't know what else to say.

Maybe add a TW/CW list? This book was filled with grief and loss. Those aren't things that all people can manage at every point in their lives.

This was such a delightful story! I loved getting to hear the story of the house of Frank and just the dynamic of the characters and the complex emotions and issues that this author addresses. I think they did a beautiful job. I will definitely be telling others about this book and asking them to read it as well.

How do you grieve? Everyone does so a little differently, but sometimes, grief will take you to unexpected places. like the House of Frank, where people who grieve seam to linger, comforting each other, as well as the others who come to bury their loved ones in a remarkable garden that turns the ashes of magical folk into brilliant plants to live on in a new way. this book is filled with emotion, a cast of amazing characters, and a thrilling mystery that has to be solved before the magic of the house vanishes, and Frank, it's owner, succumbs to a mysterious illness no one seams to notice. all the while, dealing with a loss not properly grieved, and grief that has been too heavily clung to.. the pain of loss is heavy, and the themes of mourning are heavy in the book, but there is also a lot of hope, found family, cozy vibes, and a lot of coming together to overcome adversity. a brilliant book from start to finish.

This story is incredibly touching, offering a profound exploration of grief and the journey of healing without forgetting. The sense of found family is beautifully portrayed, and each character is genuinely endearing. It's impressive how the author managed to create such a large cast of characters, all of whom are so easy to love.

A fantasy book about dealing with grief and finding found family. I laughed, I cried. This book needs to be on any cozy fantasy lovers TBR, right now!
Synclaire will be on my auto buy author list moving forward, and am excited to see what else she creates.

House of Frank is a delight. It's cozy, it's heartfelt, it's perfectly imperfect. A lovable cast of found family and such an interesting world of beasts and magic really take the edge off of such a beautifully raw depiction of grief. I love the idea of Ash Gardens, it's unique and well done. At first the mixture of first and second person was rather jarring, but you get used to once you get settled into the novel. I thought it was a rather clever to do that, given the topic. (:


I wish so badly to go searching for that red door and find peace within my grief at the House of Frank. A wonderful debut from Kay Synclaire! Thanks NetGalley and Bindery Books for the ARC!

A cozy fantasy filled with found family, learning to cope with grief and a magical arboretum. This book will make you feel all the feelings, and I recommend it to T.J. Klune fans!

Saika arrives at the infamous Ash Gardens to have a burial for her sister’s ashes and sticks around to help rebuild the house after a massive storm. The magical beings inhabiting the home come in all shapes and sizes, my favorite being Evette.

I really enjoyed the story overall, even though it took me a bit to adjust to Saika's narrating style. She often uses a second-person POV when speaking to her sister, but it catches on after the first few chapters.

I recommend House of Frank to anyone looking for a cozy fantasy this fall and if you are a fan of emotional, diverse, found family stories!
I would also suggest looking into potential triggers before starting this book

3.75 ⭐️ rounded up

Thank you to Netgalley, Bindery Books, and Kay Synclaire for the advanced copy in exchange for my review.

Incredibly heartwarming. Such Incredible commentary on grief and moving on, but not letting go.
I love the found family vibes, and each character was truly lovable. For such a large cast that's a rare accomplishment.

Saika is a witch who has lost her magical powers following her sister's death. She has arrived at an arboretum to plant her sister's remains at the Ash Gardens. Consumed by grief, she is taken in by the beast, Frank, who owns the sanctuary. She begins to help the magical creatures that run the garden. Saika uses the power of a fallen star to perform enchantments to protect the refuge and the magic beings from powerful storms. She gradually comes to terms with her grief and begins to reconnect with her sense of magic and self-worth and discovers that love and grief can coexist.

The book explores the slow, painful process of healing and the importance of community. Saika's vulnerability and self-doubt make her relatable and resonate with the reader. I identified with her struggle; she gives us hope to find joy after loss. The story's whimsical and mystical atmosphere balances the deep emotional themes of the story. It is perfect for readers who love cozy fantasy and the healing power of love and found family.

I received an ARC ebook for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Bindery Books, Ezeekat Press.

House of Frank by Kay Synclaire dives into family secrets and supernatural twists with an engaging narrative. The setting and character depth are strong, though the pacing slows down at times. Despite this, the blend of drama and eerie elements makes it a captivating read, leaving me keen to check out more from Synclaire.

Reading this book felt like watching a Ghibli movie in the best way possible! I even noticed some similarities between this and my favorite Ghibli movie Howls Moving Castle, which made for a fun and lovely reading experience.

The ever growing home/found family and the shooting stars imagery are the two most prominent similarities I noted, but I also think that Sophie (from Howls Moving Castle) and Saika had a few similarities as well. Both are somewhat flawed main characters who are stubborn and do things they believe to be in the best interests of their hosts (Howl & Frank) even if their hosts don't appreciate it much and even have minor meltdowns over it lol (think about Howl sliming everthing when Sofie cleaned the bathroom and then with Frank & Sophie something similar happens regarding a dragon 👀). In the end though they both grow tremendously as characters and are fiercely loyal and well loved by their new found families.

Please note that while this book reminds me of a Ghibli movie, be warned this is an adult book and you should be prepared to cry! House of Frank has very strong themes of grief, loss, depression etc. and is obviously much more of an adult story. However, while the "heavier" parts of the book did make me cry, it still felt like a warm hug and was immensely comforting, cozy and an all around beautiful story.

I absolutely loved all the characters in this book, Hilde especially has a warm place in my heart. There were times I was frustrated with Saika, Oli, and even Frank, but I know that's because the narrative needed to show how each of these characters deal with grief in their own ways and I was really happy to see them each grow and learn.

I wish there had been a bit more information on the magic system of the arboretum and would love to see more of Kye's journals/backstory on how she built the arboretum. I also wish Saika had been a bit more communicative and honest with everyone earlier on, but again she is MEANT to be flawed and it didn't annoy me *too* much.

Frank's story also hit me hard and reminded me of what my grandma went through in her later years.

Sometimes you need a book that will make you ugly cry in the best way possible and this is that book. Cozy and Cathartic are the best adjectives I can use to describe my experience reading House of Frank. I can't wait to see what Kay Synclaire writes next!

When I first started this book it gave me “the house in the cerulean sea” vibes - which is one of my favorite cozy fantasy books. Unfortunately that vibe disappeared soon after starting.

I really liked the whole “found family” vibe it was giving right off the bat, and plot is entertaining enough, but I did find myself bored quite a few times - it just felt repetitive and a bit dragged out at times. And, to be honest, the whole book could have been a lot shorter if the characters only communicated with each other (spoiler alert, they suck at communicating).

I didn’t care for the MC talking to the reader as if we’re her dead sister, and there was so much of it. Sometimes it felt like more inner monologue than anything else.

The characters fell a bit flat for me. I just never felt any chemistry or connection between them, and some of them are generally very hard to like.

All in all it could have been better, but I’m not upset that I finished it. And I did enjoy how it ended (it might have made me shed a few tears).

I adored this book!

We follow Saika, who has lost her sister to illness and, according to her sisters last wish, travels to Ash Gardens Arboretum in order to plant her sisters ashes there.

This story packs an emotional punch the likes of none I have read before. I laughed, cried, cried-laughed and everything in between.

It’s very well written, well thought out, with wonderfully fleshed out characters that were likable and with a depth that made you care deeply about each and every one of them. I especially loved watching the romantic subplot between Saika and Olivie grow. Characters are flawed and feel real, as well as the banter between them.

It’s a story about life as opposed to living, grief and death, healing and those left behind. It’s about forgiving yourself and finding your place in the world and where you belong.

I would note that though this is a cozy low stakes book, you do have to make sure you’re in the correct frame of mind to read it. There’s joyful emotions but there’s some rather painful ones too. It deals with serious and meaningful issues that you have to be at a point where you can read and keep an open mind.

I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Thank you to Bindery Books and NetGalley for the Arc. These opinions are my own and I am posting them voluntarily.

This was brilliant! I went straight online to order a physical copy. This is a great start for Bindery

The concept of this novel is striking- an arboretum where people are laid to rest, and there is a cozy found-family involved. Unfortunately, this just didn't do it for me. I found the characters a little grating at times, but the overall plot and message was lovely. If you are someone who doesn't care as much about depth in character interaction, this could totally work for you in ways that it didn't for me. I'll be keen to look for other books by the author, this one just didn't quite meet what I expected it to be.

I couldn't quite engage with the narrative or the characters, though others might find it more appealing. It just wasn't for me.

Look. No one wanted to love this story more than me. I admire the premise of Bindery Books Publishing who promotes reader communities to choose books they’re passionate about. This book was chosen by someone I personally follow on IG, who has many a time recommended reads I’ve enjoyed. Sadly, this was not a win.

Just like the blurb says, Saika is grieving her dead sister and arrives at Ash Gardens to finally lay her remains to rest. There, she’s pulled in with the denizens who reside at the sanctuary and finds a place of belonging and redemption. Everything else in between missed the mark.

When I don’t like a book, the last thing I want to do is nitpick it to death but inevitably a review must review. This book promised healing and found family but really fell short for me. Most of the characters were clueless as to what was going on around them which made no sense if this “family” truly cared for one another, and many were not at all likable, often coming off antagonistic and abrasive which also included the main character. The sapphic romance was not believable, mistaking insults for flirty banter and desire, and don’t get me started on the multitude of secrets everyone is keeping from each other. It didn’t help at all that Saika jumps from first person pov to a stream of consciousness dialogue to her dead sister constantly, and it was absolutely jarring everytime she did this, ruining storytelling flow and momentum.

I will concede that the magical system was interesting, and I liked the variety of fantastical beings that were included. Each character had their own tragic grief that they dealt with separately and that did nudge me a little in the feels. Otherwise, I was mostly bored and impatient to get conclusive answers to all the issues, challenges, problems that Saika and her “friends” were confronted with, and when the reveal and solution finally came, it just didn’t satisfy my particular self in its simplistic incongruous answers.

Overall, my unimportant opinion in the grand scheme of things is miniscule, as the vast majority who has read this book emphatically adored it. I just wish I was one of them.

Thank you to Bindery Books via NetGalley for a copy in exchange for a honest review posted to Goodreads

I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn't fully connect with it for some reason. The story was cute overall, but I struggled to finish the book.

In House of Frank by Kay Synclaire we meet Saika, a witch, who has come to Ash Gardens to plant her sister in their magical arboretum. Saika, however, is not ready to say goodbye and instead takes an offer from the owner Frank to stay and work for as long as she wants. Ash Gardens is falling apart and Saika and the other magical inhabitants are working to keep Frank’s home and dream standing. Everyone at Ash Gardens has been touched by loss and grief in some way.
This book does a great job showing the different ways we all handle grief and loss. As well as the dangers of holding on too tight and the comfort that can come with time, perspective, and connection.
With such a large cast of characters and found family it does take awhile to learn about everyone, but once you finally get there you are not left wanting.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever experienced loss or felt alone or just wants an emotional story. Overall, it is a satisfying read where you can take comfort even in loss.

Thank you Ezeekat Press/Bindery Books, Kay Synclaire, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Content Warnings: Grief, Memory Loss (Alzheimer’s/Dementia level)

The novel was a great read. It’s a gentle, but engaging, story of navigating and overcoming grief. I loved the amount of LGBTQ+ representation present, which included men loving men, sapphic romance, asexual, and trans. These are all just portions of the characters, but to have such a diverse array interacting within the same space really made it feel queernormative. People of color are also well-represented, especially in the main character, Saika. I wish there had been a bit more world building at times (see also: if Architecture and Music Witches exist, what other kinds exist?), but overall I really liked this book.