Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Change

First read of 2023 started off with a bang! I absolutely adored this feminist, witchy read. With multiple POVs, but mostly focused on Nessa, Harriet & Jo, I loved to hear their life experiences and yow they got to where they are now. The strength, power and pursuit of justice, a world where all women and girls can be safe was so beautifully crafted and inspiring, I just I did not want to put this book down. Plus, January LaVoy was incredible as a narrator. She has such a talent for distinguishing voices for each character in a way that is so immersive—my favourite narrator to date! I can’t recommend this magical realism revenge thriller enough & I really hope a sequel is in the works.

Content Warnings

sophsg88's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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ida's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

The seer. The protector. The punisher.
Nessa, Jo and Harriett.

When three women discover the body of a young girl, they start out on a journey to uncover and unravel the insidious network of abuse that has been going on in their community for decades.

This book is magical realism mixed with furious feminism and I loved it. I immediately bought into the whole idea of some women having magical powers and I loved how differently it manifested in the three women.

At times, the pace seemed too slow, and I could have been without some of the background stories of minor characters, although I do think they give a lot of depth to the story. In fact, the flashback chapters were my main gripe with this book - I often spent the first few sentences being confused as to why characters were suddenly in different locations, before realising it was a flashback, so I would have loved some an indication of that in the chapter headings. I listened to the audiobook, so I don't know if there was a visual clue in the printed copy.

The plot is absolutely believable; powerful men doing what they want because no one stops them, and the many instances of bias and outright misogyny is straight out of the real world.

Nessa, Jo and Harriett were all amazing characters, but my favorite by far was Harriett. She had a quiet menace about her, and no qualms about meting out punishment.

I also liked how, towards the end, a lot of hints were dropped, just enough to keep you on your toes, and although could tell where the story was going, it was a joy to be confirmed in my hunches, definitely foreshadowing done right! And there was a twist I didn't see coming, much like the characters themselves.

All in all a really great book, but tw for sexual abuse, violence against women, and graphic violence to name a few. It will make you sad, it will make you angry, and it will make you want to be as kick ass as Harriett Osbourne.

Content Warnings

sidekicksam's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

When murdered girls start calling to Nessa to find their bodies and their murderers, she teams up with Jo and Harriett to solve the mystery. All three women have newly discovered their powers and only together they can solve it.

It was fun to read a story about women in their forties/fifties who aren't having a mid-life/menopausal crisis, and the witchy element made it perfect for seasonal reading. I loved the friendships that blossomed in the search for justice, and the powers that the three women found were also cool (give me Harriett's garden please).

I will say that this book was not entirely it for me. Though it was interesting to meet more characters and histories, it would have served the story well to have let out a few and keep the pace of the story up. For me, the book lost some of its thrill and mystery because of its length.

Also, the general undertone of the book was very bitter. I work in a male-dominated field too, and I am very young, so I get the misogyny and the inequality in business. I would have preferred the writing to work it into the characters and their actions more subtly, not only to make the characters displaying such behaviour more interesting, but also to make the responding women come across as less sour, bitter and discarded women.

I'd recommend this to everyone who is into thrillers, witchy-themes/magical realism or who wants a spooky season read without having to sleep with the lights on for the rest of the month!

Content Warnings

lpdx's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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ellenwilberg's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious

5.0

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The Change was fabulous, fiesty, furious, feminist fun. Three menopausal women who are tired of all the sexist, misogynistic, patriarchal crap in the world, channel their powers and combine forces to burn it all down. Literally. While I couldn’t in good faith recommend their approach in the real world, I certainly understand their motivations. And it was cathartic to read and to fantasise about being able to join in. Not only did I love seeing menopause portrayed as a source of power, I loved that Harriet, Nessa and Jo weren’t focused solely on themselves but wanted to right the wrongs down to other women - sisters supporting sisters - since the system, both formal and informal, had no interest in doing so.

This book is not all fun. The fun is in seeing revenge and retribution exacted but reasons it is needed are not fun at all. There is a very heavy storyline at the core of the book - think Epstein like sex-trafficking combined with murder so reader beware, although thankfully that is not directly depicted on the page. The added vulnerability of women on the margins of society, poor women, young women, women of colour is rightfully highlighted.

This wasn’t a perfect book. It did drag a little for me in the middle. Certainly don’t pick it up looking for subtlety and nuance. But if you are in the mood to rage and see some bad ass women do some of things you wish you could do in the name of revenge then this is the book for you.

Content Warnings

anapthine's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Thank you Net Galley and HQ for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was such fun to read. The Change follows three women in their late 40s who are sick of how they are treated by men and the world being full of misogyny. Jo, who is my favourite character in the book, runs a women’s only gym and is incredibly witty. Harriett is a botanist who has an ability with plants and used to work in a company full of men. Nessa can see the dead. One day, they find a girl dead on the side of the road. With children of their own, they vow to find who did this and punish them.

The Change is a feminist thriller exploring the power of women in menopause and the strength that they have. This does mention some quite serious topics, so I do suggest reading the content warnings before reading.

I would recommend this to fans of ‘The Power’ and anyone that enjoys women-strong thrillers. The fast-pace makes it enjoyable. One thing to note, however, is that the pace does slow down halfway through and at times it got a bit boring and for me personally there wasn’t enough action in these parts.

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