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.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing this arc!
2.5 ⭐️

I'm not a huge fan of cozy reads, but for some reason, I thought I'd enjoy this one. And while it was enjoyable, it wasn't something I'll remember for long. Still, I'd be interested in reading more from Kay Synclaire.

(+)
- The writing was smooth and engaging, and the atmosphere was perfect for this time of year.
- I really liked Frank's character.
- The arboretum setting was charming.

(-)
- I wasn't a fan of the chemistry between Saika and Oli. I wish this novel hadn't included a romance.
- I felt like the cast could have been developed more. I would have liked to learn more about Phill, Hilde, and Frank.
- I didn't feel a strong connection to the characters.

I'd like to thank Kay Sinclaire, Net Galley and Bindery Books for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

House of Frank follows our main character Saika as she travels to the Arboretum called the Ash Gardens to plant her sisters ashes. Once arriving she finds herself unable to plant the ashes, and Frank the beastly furry owner of the Gardens offers her a place to live in the time it takes for her to come to terms with planting her sisters ashes. In that time she comes to grow into a better person, and finds a family out of all the unique people she lives and works with. She finds a purpose where she has none, but something is amiss with Frank and the house, and everything starts crumbling down. Soon she has to figure out how to save this place she's come to love, or risk losing everything again.

There is such a wide variety of characters in this book, and it astounds me how easily I could tell them all apart. The book is told from first person point of view though sometimes switches to second person when Saika talks to her sister, the reader being referred to as Fiona, the dead sister. It's a bit difficult at first, it drew me out of the story quite a bit in the beginning, as well as Saika's personality being ignorant and rude to the way people in the Gardens live. It gets better a bit in, but in the beginning I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this book. I did end up liking it quite a bit, they all grew on me and I came to care for the characters.

I would say that House of Frank doesn't necessarily count as a cozy fantasy, it focuses more on living in grief, and the cost of love and moving on after loss. House of Frank is a home for those who need a somewhere to dwell in their process of grieving. It's full of hope but not necessarily joy, it's about love and moving on and holding on to those you still have with you, but doesn't necessarily make you feel happy like some cozy fantasies do.

I would recommend this book to fans of Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune as well as many of his other works, and the anime Anohana.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Trigger Warnings I Gathered: grief, loss, dementia, child death, parent death, death, pregnancy, vomit

Thank you Kay Synclaire & Bindery Books for a NetGalley ARC copy of House of Frank!

Rating: 3.5/5

This was a beautiful and whimsical exploration into relationships, loss of loved ones, and the grief/healing that comes after. We follow Saika, a witch, who is reeling after the tragic loss of her sister as she travels to the Ash Gardens to finally lay her to rest. At the Ash Gardens we meet a mismatch cast of characters, who are all also in the midst of grief and going through their own healing journeys. While I found these characters endearing and loved the relationships they formed with the FMC and each other, they felt very two dimensional. They only seemed to appear when needed to further the FMC's storyline. The side character's stories, while sad, didn't stick with me like I expected and left me with many unanswered questions.

I loved the atmosphere and setting of this book, it was absolutely beautiful and whimsical as advertised. Though I also felt like something was missing from the story as a whole. Maybe I wasn't in the right mindset to fully absorb the emotions depicted, but I felt like the highs/lows could have hit quite a bit harder, which unfortunately left the book as a whole feeling flat. I do think I will try a reread at some point in the future to see if my feelings change.

House of Frank is a unique read and it deserves the right words to describe it. I will try. Saika arrives at the famed Ash Gardens intent on fulfilling her late sister’s final wishes, to have Fiona’s ashes planted in the enchanted arboretum. As soon as Saika enters the old decrepit house, the most wonderful group of oddballs meet her. Foul mouthed cherubs, a diva witch, a dapper ghost, a tenderhearted fairy, and a smart, sharp-tongued gargoyle/witch who for me, stole the book. All of them lead by a gentle giant, furry beast who manages the bunch with an absent-minded, professorial air. Saika is also a witch but a bit of a castoff from her family and from her own powers.

The characters are the strength of the book, everybody is so well rounded as individuals. Yes, their magical elements are there but it’s the slow reveal of personalities and pasts that make their mark so strong. Because above all, this story is about grief and the struggle to get through the loss to find a way to be happy again. Saika is often at the center of the recounting of her housemates’ tellings. She’s a classic “fixer” and can’t help but want to take care of everyone, sometimes to her own detriment. I would also say this book is about found family, this group of imperfect beings holding each other up. Finally, the chemistry between Saika and Oli, although mostly fade to black, is potent and made me smile every time. Expect secrets and some suspense too.

This is a story about grief, acceptance and found family. Saika is having a rough time letting her sister Fiona go. She has been deceased for a while and she is tasked with having her ashes put into the ground in Ash Gardens. She is unable to let go and do this right away. So Frank tasks her with a job while she waits until she is ready to do this part of her duty to her sister.

She is having a rough time but as she gets to know the other people in Frank's house she sees that she isn't so different from them. This story is one of the first for Bindery Books and I can't wait to read more.

It is a very heartfelt book and I was teary eyed in some places. Grief is different for everyone so this was a sweet, warming way to show that.

This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I can barely even begin to describe it…

This book is about grief processing. But it’s not self help. It’s a fictional story with witches and cherubs and magic. And while there is a plot twist I think you’ll see coming, it won’t make you enjoy it less.

I’ve lost a brother, and this book spoke to me in a way that a book hasn’t since The Bone Witch. And it’s given words to so many feelings I’ve had. Sometimes a book finds its way to you for a reason. This book was written for me. And if you’ve lost someone, I think it was written for you too.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

House of Frank follows witch Saika as she arrives at Ash Gardens with the intention to bury her sister's remains, but is quickly enveloped into the community of the estate's caretakers.

I think, on the whole, this book definitely delivered on the cozy promise, as well as on the fantasy promise. House of Frank does seem to exist in this more nebulous New Adult space, where the characters and their struggles are grown up, but the narration and simplicity of plot almost skews young. While I loved the way this book explored loss, in all its different forms, I did also feel like it did not fully deliver on its premise. The characters were interesting, but needed more time and attention to feel sufficiently fleshed out. The plot itself stood on incredibly shaky legs, with a setup that felt frustratingly inorganic and nonsensical, and often only introduced the next plot point as it felt the most convenient, rather than when it ought to have happened (ignoring Frank's blatant signs of memory issues for most of the book had me feeling heated!!). There also didn't seem to be any meaningful justification for Saika to be the central character of this story, especially as we learn so much more about Phil and his relationship with other characters prior to his death. Beyond all that, while I'm generally on board for 2nd person narration, framing Saika's inner thoughts as directed at Fi often felt disorienting and awkward. Any time something reminded Saika of Fi, the narration was addressed to Fi, but overexplained in the way only an uninformed reader would require (at one point Saika mentions to Fi that there were some flowers in a scene, which were Fi's favorites, but Fi wouldn't benefit from being told "this flower was always your favorite"! That's information only the reader needs).

In all, I think House of Frank had some great concepts, and it's clear both what it was inspired by and what it sought to accomplish. The execution, however, was a bit clunky and left me wanting more. Even so, I think this will certainly find its place among other popular cozy fantasies on the shelf, and I do look forward to what Kay Synclaire will write next.

Oh my goodness is this book an absolute must read! In some ways, it is a cozy fantasy filled with wholesome characters and relationships, all of whom are magical in one way or another. It's also a journey of exploring profound grief and loss, the multitude of ways that is experienced, and the desperation that comes with it. Every part of you will leave this reading experience wishing the book was just a little longer so you could stay in the world Kay Sinclaire created, while knowing that it was also the perfect length!

I loved the idea and big parts of the story.
But for me not all the relationships felt very believable, if that is the right way to say it.
And the way Saika thought about other and spoke about the others while she was the new girl didn't always feel good.

This book made me cry - it was a beautiful story about friendship, love and grief and was both cozy and heart wrenching at the same time.

Cozy, Queer, Heartwarming. I loved this book! It gave me all the feels.

The characters and the pacing I thought worked really well.

I liked the choice of 2nd person narrator a lot and I can see why the parallel is made with T.J. Klune. The vibe is there, and I really enjoyed it. Can't wait to see what the author will write next !

If you love The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune, then there is a fair chance you will enjoy this one. They all have very similar vibes. I enjoyed most of this book but it did fall short in a few places for me. I found the first half very slow so I had to really push myself to keep going but the second half of the book made up for it. I also struggled to connect with the main character Saika and enjoyed the secondary characters a lot more. The motley crew were an absolute delight and I wish I got to see more of them. This is a cosy fantasy focused on grief, loss and falling in love despite it all. It might not be for everyone at all times particularly if you are experiencing acute grief but this could be a book that provides great comfort for people ready to work through their feelings of grief.