Reviews

A First Wives Club take. The first part of the book is about how men treat us women, the lesser sex (not as smart nor talented enough like a man). It did frustrate me that the men treated the women like a lesser person. We are introduced to three women who are going through the change develop magical powers that are used to uncover the island mystery. I was able to get into the story so much that I cheered the women on.

hal8752's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

biblio_creep's review against another edition

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4.0

Book Review | THE CHANGE by KIRSTEN MILLER

4/5 ⭐’s | PUB DATE: 18 August 2022

Read if you're looking for:

A feminist story where women develop “powers” when they reach menopause
Middle-age women as protagonists
Terrible men getting their comeuppance
Witches & botanical magic
Ghosts
Responding to hot flashes by walking around in the nude outside

This novel is a fun & humorous tale of revenge. We have three main characters, middle-aged women, who are going through “the change.” As they transition to menopause, they begin to discover that they are gaining some interesting powers. They all live in a community on Long Island, & through a series of events, become friends. One of them begins to see ghosts of murdered young women & girls, & the three begin on a mission of justice & revenge, leaving a trail destruction in their wake.

I am the target audience for this book, so I really enjoyed it & identified with the characters. I do love a “good for her” book, & I’m white & entering middle-age. One of the three main characters is black, & there is a lot of discussion of how the victims in the book have been targeted because many of them are poor or non-white, so I think the author did a pretty good job there. However, the book is definitely written from a white, middle class, point of view, so just be aware of that. I really loved the depiction of the caring relationships between the women, & how they had each other’s backs, no matter what. The descriptions of the characters were great, especially the annoying and misogynistic male characters. They definitely felt like people that I have met in my life. Overall, this was great fun, & I really appreciate any book that centers older women as the main characters.

CW: Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Trafficking

finedanddandy's review against another edition

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funny 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? Yes

4.0

rberdan's review against another edition

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mysterious tense 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

3.75

Not gonna lie… I’m very uncomfortable with my enjoyment of revenge fantasies. I think, particularly because I was listening to this while rage cleaning, that discomfort was very present. The author captured the darkness of rage that is driven by a yearning for justice in a captivating way. As I’m experiencing perimenopause, the phase of life the women were in and how they embraced it were really relatable.

As thrillers go, there were some interesting twists and good comeuppances. Overall, a good little read.

sbubbletrouble's review against another edition

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dark hopeful 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

5.0

laura_corsi's review against another edition

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4.0

It’s a little man hatey and a little clunky in a few places and sometimes not quite believable—but it was a pretty good witchy time.

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