I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Change by Kirsten Miller Narrator: January LaVoy
Published by HarperAudio, William Morrow on May 3, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Magical Realism
Length: 15 hours 24 minutes
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher, Purchased
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Big Little Lies meets The Witches of Eastwick—a gloriously entertaining and knife-sharp feminist revenge fantasy about three women whose midlife crisis brings unexpected new powers—putting them on a collision course with the evil that lurks in their wealthy beach town.
In the Long Island oceanfront community of Mattauk, three different women discover that midlife changes bring a whole new type of empowerment…
After Nessa James’s husband dies and her twin daughters leave for college, she’s left all alone in a trim white house not far from the ocean. In the quiet of her late forties, the former nurse begins to hear voices. It doesn’t take long for Nessa to realize that the voices calling out to her belong to the dead—a gift she’s inherited from her grandmother, which comes with special responsibilities.
On the cusp of 50, suave advertising director Harriett Osborne has just witnessed the implosion of her lucrative career and her marriage. She hasn’t left her house in months, and from the outside, it appears as if she and her garden have both gone to seed. But Harriett’s life is far from over—in fact, she’s undergone a stunning and very welcome metamorphosis.
Ambitious former executive Jo Levison has spent thirty long years at war with her body. The free-floating rage and hot flashes that arrive with the beginning of menopause feel like the very last straw—until she realizes she has the ability to channel them, and finally comes into her power.
Guided by voices only Nessa can hear, the trio of women discover a teenage girl whose body was abandoned beside a remote beach. The police have written the victim off as a drug-addicted sex worker, but the women refuse to buy into the official narrative. Their investigation into the girl’s murder leads to more bodies, and to the town’s most exclusive and isolated enclave, a world of stupendous wealth where the rules don’t apply. With their newfound powers, Jo, Nessa, and Harriett will take matters into their own hands…
Unfortunately, I didn’t like this quite as much as I had hoped that I would. I thought that the book was okay, but it wasn’t the stand-out read I had anticipated. I tend to enjoy magical realism so I was incredibly excited to give it a try. I was so sure that I was going to love this one that I bought a physical copy and even bought the audiobook so that I could get to it a little faster. There were a lot of things that I really enjoyed about the book but in the end, I felt like it was a fairly average read.
I thought that the book had a rather strong start. I was eager to get to know Harriet, Nessa, and Jo and enjoyed seeing them come together. Nessa is able to see the dead and her power has allowed her to find the bodies of young women that the town has seem to have forgotten. The women are determined to get to the bottom of the deaths even when they meet some resistance. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and there were times that the book felt like it was all over the place. Unfortunately, there weren’t any big surprises in regards to the mystery.
January LaVoy did a great job with the narration. I liked the various voices that she used to tell this story. I thought that she did a great job of bringing the characters to life by adding just the right amount of emotion to her reading. I had no problem listening to her narration for hours at a time and do believe that her narration added to my enjoyment of the book.
I think that a lot of readers will enjoy this book a lot more than I did. This was an interesting tale of three women with remarkable powers coming together in a world that caters only to men. This one didn’t knock my socks off but I encourage readers to give it a try if it sounds interesting to you.
I received a digital review copy of this book from William Morrow via NetGalley and purchased a copy of the audiobook.
I have been seeing this one pop up On different blogs and have been growing more excited about it – I’m sorry it wasn’ as good as you’d hoped, but I take your point on giving it a chance.
Sorry this one didn’t live up to your expectations, Carole. Especially after buying a physical copy. That’s so disappointing.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it more. Some books are just tricky like that. I love Lavoy as a narrator.
Sorry to hear you didn’t like it as much as you had hoped you would.
Bummer it didn’t grab you as much as you wanted it, too. The young women with powers part sounds intriguing.
I like the thought of these women with newfound powers coming together to solve a mystery. It’s too bad it didn’t resonate more with you. Some books are like that.
This does sound like it good be good for me
I love January LaVoy as a narrator but this one doesn’t really grab me. I’m glad you enjoyed it even though it wasn’t a winner for you.