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A review by cheye13
The Change by Kirsten Miller
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Yet another book that I don't think was pitched to me correctly. I had heard it was a sort of witchy book about post-menepausal women starting a coven and gaining powers. This is not that, but the only disappointment I have about it is I still want to read that book too.
The synopsis is more accurate than the elevator pitch I got. These are adult women (though I wouldn't call them all "middle age") who always sort of had these magic powers, and are just now beginning to embrace and express them after meeting each other and beginning to uncover a conspiracy. Essentially it is much more a crime/mystery/thriller with a little magic than it is a true paranormal.
This book gave me so much more than I expected, and I truly enjoyed it. It's cathartic, angry, vengeful. Satisfying in every way I wanted from it. It was also terribly sad. There's a lot of heavy, tense, and upsetting memories and flashbacks, and the crimes involved in the conspiracy are abhorrent. I did find myself tearing up more than once. But the book's message is clear and vindicating and never once felt exploitative.
I was genuinely pleasantly surprised by this book; this is what I want whenever I pick up something in the "women killing men" genre but rarely ever hope for. This one finally delivers.
The synopsis is more accurate than the elevator pitch I got. These are adult women (though I wouldn't call them all "middle age") who always sort of had these magic powers, and are just now beginning to embrace and express them after meeting each other and beginning to uncover a conspiracy. Essentially it is much more a crime/mystery/thriller with a little magic than it is a true paranormal.
This book gave me so much more than I expected, and I truly enjoyed it. It's cathartic, angry, vengeful. Satisfying in every way I wanted from it. It was also terribly sad. There's a lot of heavy, tense, and upsetting memories and flashbacks, and the crimes involved in the conspiracy are abhorrent. I did find myself tearing up more than once. But the book's message is clear and vindicating and never once felt exploitative.
I was genuinely pleasantly surprised by this book; this is what I want whenever I pick up something in the "women killing men" genre but rarely ever hope for. This one finally delivers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
essentially an Epstein revenge fantasy; the story is primarily intended as cathartic, but while the majority of the crimes occur off-page, the story does not shy away from acknowledging their occurrence. The backbone of the plot is a sex-trafficking ring of billionaire men who kidnap, sexually abuse, and kill teen girls. While these specific crimes are never on-page, the fallout and details of them are included. Knowing this spoiler does not ruin the story in my opinion. There are unpleasant/criminal police characters, but there is not technically police brutality.