I really thought I'd love this one, but it's too much like a Hallmark Channel movie with magical creatures, and a couple of witches. It's also VERY slow moving; the 39% of the book that I finished could easily have been written as two well-edited paragraphs. I have no doubt that many will love this book, and I wish the author the best of luck, but I'm happy as an enchanted clam that I don't have to read it anymore.

House of Frank follows Saika, a witch who is still grieving the loss of her sister but wants to follow through on the last promise she made to her and bury her ashes at the magical Ash Gardens arboretum. When Saika hesitates to bury her sister and ends up stuck at the sanctuary during a storm, the estate’s caretaker Frank invites her to stay on and work to care for the arboretum alongside a misfit group of other magical beings. As a witch, Saika knows Frank wants her to use her powers to help fix the estate. The problem is that Saika is actually powerless, a fact she’s hiding from Frank and everyone else at Ash Gardens—both because it would potentially risk her position there, but also because it would mean opening more old wounds she’s trying to keep buried. However, not everything is as perfect as it initially seems at Ash Gardens, and it becomes clear to Saika that the sanctuary is in trouble. Figuring out how to help could save Ash Gardens, but it will also require her to learn to open herself up to others again.

While I usually have a clear sense of where I stand with a book by the end, I am oddly unsure how to feel about this book! I was really hopeful that this would be a slam dunk for me, but I personally struggled to love this one like some other reviewers have.
❤️ What I loved: I thought the way that this book depicted and spoke about grief was honest in the variety of experiences and emotions displayed through the cast of characters. The book was touching, the setting was unique, and I was really compelled to find out what happened next!
💔 What I didn’t love: Most of my qualms about this book are a matter of personal preference. I did not personally love the writing style of the book, where the main character was speaking to the reader/her dead sister. It added an odd shift in the perspective of the storytelling that didn’t feel necessary. I also struggled with the characters, which is usually a make-or-break for me. While I was rooting for all of them to heal, I didn’t personally feel the relationships they were supposed to have with each other—there was more telling than seeing in this way. I see a lot of read-alikes for Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune, but I unfortunately didn’t feel the same kind of connection to the characters here.
Despite this book not quite hitting the mark for me, I do think a lot of people will find a lot to love in House of Frank. I recommend fans of fantastical settings and emotional stories give this book a try.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5 (3-3.5)

Acknowledgments & Disclaimers ✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Kay Synclaire, and Bindery Books/Ezeekat Press, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book. ✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. ✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

Really enjoyed this cozy fantasy exploration of grief, found family, and decision making. I can always go without a romantic subplot and I feel like it wouldn't have done much to lose that in this book, as well. I kind of wish it was longer, because I wanted more of the market time and more time in the arboretum, but I have no doubt that the author will continue to publish and maybe we'll be able to see some more of those cozy and low stakes places.

This was such a sweet and moving story about life and death and the grief that comes from both losing someone and subsequently living without them. The story of how we wish we could bring someone back, no matter the cost to us while also knowing it’s likely not what they would choose is so real. The cast of characters were easy to like and relate to and each had their own distinct personality. I love the found family aspect of the story and the message that even if our birth family rejects us, we can choose our own family to surround ourselves with. And while I know the memory loss pictured in this story isn’t Alzheimer’s, that’s how I thought of it since I lost my grandmother to that and it definitely shares similarities to it. Overall, I thought the story was a beautiful tribute to the love of family, both through blood and those we choose for ourselves.

House of Frank is a cozy fantasy that hits all the right spots. It’s heartbreaking and full of hope.

This book explores life, with a particular eye on death and grief. The overall tone is slow and melancholic. But the worldbuilding is intimate, with lush and vivid details. Even the characters feel fully fleshed-out and real with very human emotions.

I will say that the start of the book felt a bit abrupt. The worldbuilding unveils itself slowly, leaving readers to try and piece together what is going on at the outset. But other than the somewhat rocky start, this debut novel really was a beautiful and unique story that culminates in a celebration of life.

I got about 15% of the way into this and it feels a bit amateur - struggling to connect to the story and the characters, and I'm not invested enough to keep going.

Soft and heartachey and real. I stayed up reading this and found that despite the magical world of it, it has powerful realworld truthes.

I wasn't quite ready for this. This is a read for when you're really wanting to get in your feels. Charming awhile also so sad. I grieved with Saika and mourned for Fiona. Putting someone to rest is never easy, but watching them bloom is an entirely new idea. I loved that the magical aspect brought her sister back in a symbolic way.
I'd much prefer if the POV was kept either second or first person, but overall a beautifully written debut novel!

Special thanks to Bindery for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 2.5 stars

TL;DR: House of Frank is a title I've been looking forward to reading since I stumbled across it on NetGalley many months ago. Judging from the synopsis and the cover, I was 93% sure that it would be a 5-star read and so it is with the greatest disappointment that I say that this book was not for me. The main problem is that I felt no connection to the characters and for a book where the "found family" element is a big part of the story, I thought they were all rather uncaring and unforgiving towards each other. This is a house where, instead of dealing with grief healthily and healing from past trauma, its residents sweep it all under the rug so they can live in denial and pain with unhealthy coping mechanisms. I know some readers have loved this book and I'm sad not to be one of them but I am glad that I gave it a try!

I love cosy fantasy. I can be happy with a slice-of-life type of story so long as the characters are compelling and the story exudes a comforting quality that feels like a warm hug. I don't want to be irritated reading a cosy fantasy and if there's a found family element, I want to fall head over feet for these characters and I want to deeply believe in their connection. I want to root for them and scoop them all up into my pocket so I can carry the good feeling they give me everywhere I go. I thought House of Frank would be a cosy fantasy I'd fall in love with but unfortunately, it was far from it. The world-building was minimal but descriptive enough that I could easily picture the surroundings of Ash Gardens. I loved the magic in the arboretum and the house was interesting. I think this fantasy world had a more historical setting but it was never 100% clear to me. The magic system was also a bit vague but I was intrigued by what I saw. This world is populated by all sorts of magical and fantastic creatures such as wolf-men, half-gargoyles, witches of all kinds, elves, fairies, cherubs, dragons, and ghosts—and the ones we meet all have unique personalities. There is a loose plot as Saika comes to Ash Gardens to put her sister to rest after years of avoidance just as the weather worsens and the house begins to fall apart alongside Frank's, the owner's, rapidly deteriorating health. There was a mild mystery element that moved along at a plodding pace and it was fine for the most part.

I was most excited about meeting the characters and this is really where my main issue was. I stand by the fact that characters don't need to necessarily be likeable to be good, but I did not find that to be the case here. Aside from frustration and disbelief, I struggled to feel any other type of emotion toward these characters and that disconnect greatly contributed to the lowered rating for me. From the beginning, I found myself frustrated by Saika's character. She is entitled, selfish, ill-mannered and extremely judgemental and at first I thought that maybe it's because she's still stuck in her grief, but even as she "heals" as the story progresses, I found there was little change in her attitude. I thought this would at least be balanced out by kind, loving, and compassionate side characters who form the "found family" aspect but I was wrong. Don't get me wrong, the side characters weren't awful all the time—some of their banter was corny but funny—though neither did I find them particularly compelling as they weren't very kind to each other. Their barbs were bitter and hurtful and they often deliberately said things to hurt each other. While I did feel for some of them after learning their stories, it wasn't enough to create a warm fuzziness in my chest whenever I thought of their 'happy family'. I didn't feel as if they would drop everything to help each other and that was proven to me when everyone got stroppy with Frank when he forgot about a client or conversation or he forgot to do 'his job'. This brings me to the character who I felt was done so dirty and it's a shame considering the book's title has his name in it. Despite being called "House of Frank", Frank's character felt very much like an afterthought. He very quickly took a backseat as Saika settled into the house and everything started to fall apart. For all the "worrying" that everyone in the house did over Frank's deteriorating condition, no one *actually* took the time to speak to him or figure out what was wrong. Saika in particular was such an enabler but she also made dumbfounding decisions on his behalf thinking it was her right to help him sort out his grief when it's clear she hardly knew him. There was also the romantic element which, unsurprisingly, I was not sold on. I'm sorry but cheekily snide remarks, reluctant kindness, flirting after a fashion, and lopsided smirks do not chemistry make! The love interest confused me and was not a character I gravitated to at all.

I'm getting worked up now just thinking about the things Saika did and how disappointed I was by the characters, so I'm just going to wrap it up here and say that despite being the right target audience for this book, it just didn't work for me. As I mentioned earlier, some readers have loved it and I'm glad that it's finding the right audience to appreciate the story and again, I'm bummed that does not include me!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Bindery (Ezeekat Press) for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

From the very first pages, this book had my heart!!

I have never read such a tender exploration of grief, and love, the ending had me tearing up!!

Please do yourself a favour and check it out!

I've read more than 200 books this year, and this is the best thing I've read in 2024. As a person navigating my own form of grief and loss and a total sucker for a found family of "misfits" this was literally meant for me.

Our main character makes her dying sister a promise, to have her ashes planted at the House of Frank Arboretum. When she gets there, she discovers that the household may need her, and she may need them.

This is a beautiful and tragic story of loss, grief, chosen family, trust, and sacrifice. It was absolutely stunning. I am so grateful to have been approved to read an eARC of House of Frank!

"Young. Old. We all experience life whether we've had lots of it or very little."

I knew from the first chapter that this book would emotionally devastate me and I ended the book in tears. The way Kay Synclaire handled grief was beautiful. The characters were amazing and the story of House of Frank was phenomenal.

This story felt like a giant hug to my soul, and I loved every moment.

Thank you, Bindery and NetGalley, for providing me with this ARC.

This is a cozy book about death; a little close-quarters look at a group of people in a magical funeral home who plant ashes to grow trees, and each of them is wrestling with death and loss. tw for alzheimers, death of family and loved ones, and the effects of age.

It also leans really hard into whimsy and found family, with a quirky cast of supernatural people who all work together at this funeral home and consider each other family.

Unfortunately, this book simply didn't work well for me. I like the concepts, and think it might work well for others, but I found the characters TOO whimsical, and the plot too convenient--most of the things that happen in it are happenstance, and the protagonist doesn't even Find Out The Others' Backstories because of bonding with them in the majority of cases; the back half is page after page of her either having psychic dreams in which their backstory and trauma are inexplicably revealed to her, or her being nosy and digging into their personal things and learning about it that way. For me, this really dampened any sense of bonding between them because it felt so forced--and it was especially awkward when this revealed the trans character's trans status without her consent, and this was sort of brushed over.

The found family aspect wasn't really there for me either. Everyone was constantly arguing, bickering, lying, hiding things from each other, and being passive aggressive. And maybe this was on purpose--that IS very common in many families, and is of course a common reaction to grief--but it was at odds with the way the found family element was being described in the narration of everyone loving each other and being close and at harmony. And again, this might have been deliberate? The public appearance vs the private truth. But the narration was meant to be Saika's observations, and we the reader see that her observations aren't that.

I will say it's very queer; most characters are queer in some form or another, and it does feel a bit more like a queer collective. I did appreciate that.

At any rate, if you're looking for a cozy story about death and grief, give it a shot! What didn't work for me might work better for you. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bindery Books and Ezeekat Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book!
Cozy fantasy, dark and sometimes challenging topics but love at the heart of it all.
This is perfect if you like TJ Klune's work! It's got a similar style but not a copy cat at all.
In this story, cozy doesn't mean boring or slow, there is a lot going on and the character development is exceptional. It's such an interesting magic system. Witches can have a speciality in their craft...nature, music, architecture etc. There are cherubs, a fairy, an elf, a ghost and a beast along with a magical arboretum where loved ones are planted when they pass.
Our main character Saika comes to the Ash Gardens to bury her sister as she requested. That proves harder than she thought and we watch as she struggles to come to terms with that loss and try to move forward. There are dark secrets in the house and in Saika so not all is as it seems.
I felt very emotional during this book but in a good way. Death and dying are subjects we should be open about and this book handles it all so well. Amazing writing!

I was generously provided with the ARC to review compliments of #NetGalley #Binderybooks and the lovely author #KaySynclaire. My thoughts are my own and totally honest.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

It's not often that I want to reread a book immediately after reading the last page...but this is one. It was so sweet and funny and heartfelt. I laughed and I cried. Oh did I cry. What a touching story of love and loss and the lengths we are willing to go to for the ones we love. I will be recommending this one for a long while.

2.5/5 stars.
Sadly, this book just wasn´t for me. Maybe at this point I´ve read too many cosy fantasies, but this did not reach other author´s standard.
I just didn´t feel anything towards the characters besides a level of frustration. I thought the plot was rushed, the dialogues bland and some of the "banter" a bit mean spirited.
All in all a bit disappointed.
All of my thoughts of this reading experience can be found in my dedicated reading vlog where I read all four fall releases of Bindery.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bindery Books/Ezeekat Press for an e-arc of House of Frank.

Ever Since Ezeekat posted about a new book by Kay Synclair I knew I was going to need to read it ASAP. I was so fortunate to be able to get an arc. This has been my most anticipated 2024 release and it was everything.

This book was so beautiful and even now I’m weeping while writing this. Books that make me cry are just on a different level and this was just… I don’t even have the words to describe the emotions this book brought forth. I found myself crying to sleep afterwards and any book that does that is an easy 5 star.

Saika is a witch, who has found herself at Ash Gardens, a place just outside the city for resting the dead. Saika is there for her sister Fiona who died 2 years before and requested that she be taken to ash gardens for her final resting spot. We are met with a lovely cast of magical beings who call Ash Gardens home, including Frank the owner and overseer of the house.

Saika isn’t quite ready to let go and perform the burial she came to do and instead finds herself being offered a job of caretaker by Frank. She accepts and in turn learns about the house, the gardens, Frank, and everyone else in the house.

Along the way, she discovers secrets about the house, those around her, and also shares secrets of her own. In doing so she is able to process her grief and still remembering to find the joy of life as well.

This book is just so heart wrenching in the most beautiful way and I could not put it down! The topics of love and grief are hard for everyone, but Synclaire absolutely makes you feel all the emotions while creating a stunning world around them.

Please, run and grab this book today, because everyone needs to experience it.

2.5 stars

I was beyond excited and am still grateful for the opportunity to read this e-ARC. I ended up not enjoying this as much as I thought I would. I think this book is going to find it's audience but it didn't land for me.
As for positives, very rich setting details. There are quotes I adored throughout that felt so relatable.

As for the rest, I struggled alot with the slow pacing, personalities, and my own expectations based off marketing. This was boasted as a cozy fantasy dealing with themes of grief but hopeful. Nothing about this was cozy outside of the quirky setting. It was all grief, no warm hug. Until the last two pages, this book is dripping with grief and sadness which I wasn't expecting. It was hard for me to pick it up each time to read farther because I knew I'd be sad the whole time. There is a theme of a character having dementia which was never mentioned in the content warnings at the start of this book. Please add this. So many of us have seen what dementia does to someone and it can be so hard to read especially when you're not expecting it. I do not read reviews of books I will be reviewing for e-ARCs so I'm not sure if other people mentioned this in their CW section but it needs to be put in the beginning of the book. The characters themselves outside of Frank felt incomplete/ only there to serve a plot progression but overall forgettable. The found family dynamic didn't feel loving ever until the very last part. I wouldn't have wanted to be a part of that in anyway so it was hard to feel cozy at all. this felt like being followed by a really stormy cloud all the time and didn't work for me.

Again. I want this book to find it's audience and I don't think my review will offer anything other than an emotional warning to others so I won't be sharing all parts of this review to my other platforms. Good luck to this author on all future endeavors!

I don't even have enough words for how much I loved this. Whimsical and cozy, heart breaking and thoughtful, I loved every minute of this book! It reminded me of TJ Klune and my favorite book of his, Under the Whispering Door, and held the same elements of working through and understanding grief. I was not at all expecting such a moving plot. As a debut novel, I'm SO EXCITED to read more from Kay Synclaire.