It seems to be the dawn of feminist books and I am here for it! I have lots of female-led books on my TBR lately and two of them centred around women who have entered the menopause and are fighting back against society.

The Change is rage inducing for all the right reasons and it’s also an incredibly quotable book which draws attention to the shortcomings of our patriarchal society. I’m not sure what it would be like to read this book as a male, but as a female the lead characters are instantly likeable and easy to relate to. Each of our three main characters; Nessa, Harriet and Jo have been wronged in some way, whether by the careers they dedicated their lives to, their husbands or their family. Through flashback chapters we learn about their backstories and we are outraged for them - for example, the high flying ad executive gets side-lined for being female past a certain age.

Although this book has a lot of relatable points for the time we are living in now, there is also a supernatural element to it. Nessa can see and hear ghosts of dead women, Jo has a powerful and dangerous energy within her and Harriet can mould the natural world to her will. Together they are a force to be reckoned with and when multiple bodies of young women are found in their area they work together to bring those responsible to justice. I would love to read another book with these characters at the centre as well.

I really enjoyed this book, although at 480 pages it is very long. It is very engaging though and I kept wanting to pick it up to find out what happened next. My only criticism would be that past the main event (no spoilers but around the release of the podcast episode) I felt like it started to drag a little. I think after this point it could have been edited down a little and my enjoyment would not have decreased at all.

Overall, The Change is a rage inducing look at our society through the lens of a paranormal thriller – great for lovers of multiple genres. Thank you to NetGalley & HQ for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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.

This was pitched as a menopause thriller and our three main protagonists are ladies of a certain age. And boy do they change from meek and mild to badassery, although there isn’t really that much discussion of the actual menopause aspect it is very much an exploration of how women at that age claim their power and place in a society that deems them replaceable and invisible.

This quote from near the end of the book sums up its tone of rage. But I enjoyed how from our three main characters it came from that place of protection. Of making sure future generations don’t suffer the same way.

“Our lives are designed to have three parts. The first is education. The second, creation. And in part three, we put our experience to use to protect those who are weaker. This third stage, which you have entered, can be one of incredible power.”

“Can be?”

“There have always been those who want to deny women power. And there are also women who refuse to accept it. Some, who’ve mastered the games men play, choose to betray their own kind. These women are our most dangerous enemies. But many women are simply too frightened to see things as they really are - or to accept that the world men have made must be destroyed.”

This is a really pacy thriller with hard hitting content so please do check the content warnings (sexual assault, rape, paedophilia, kidnapping, revenge, gore, misogyny).

I’ve seen some reviewers say that the book is too angry and man hating but I’d say that considering what the men in this book get up to the character’s anger is pretty justified. There are some male characters who are presented in a more positive light too although their place in upholding discrimination is rightly pointed out. This is righteous anger against the system of patriarchy and capitalism, not all men!!!

The relationship between the three main female characters was joyful and it’s good to see what happens when women lift each other up. Their power in this case is very real and there’s a hefty dose of magical realism and witchy energy included. I think there are some similarities between this and When Women Were Dragons which I’ve also just started reading so I’ll be interested to compare the themes and how they are handled.

The reader is ahead of the characters in terms of the mystery element and this adds a layer of tension, and also frustration at times. It might have been slightly stronger to have the characters finding out some of those aspects rather than getting other character POVs to tell us what was going on.

All in all this was a pretty fun read that reminds me of The First Wives Club x Practical Magic x Carrie.

If you enjoy a ragey feminist slant to your writing where the bad guys get their comeuppance then I think you’d enjoy this. The Change is coming!

This book follows three women: Jo, Nessa, and Harriet.

Harriet is divorced, living in her marital house. She used to be perfectly groomed with a wonderful career, but after her husband left, she became the talk of town with people saying she let her garden grow wild and let herself go. However, these people know nothing about Harriet and her inner strength.

Jo is married and has a daughter, Lucy. She is the owner of Furious Fitness, female only gym in Mattauk, New York. She is going through the menopause, experiencing hot flushes. She is also very angry and swears like a trooper (my kind of gal!).

Nessa is widowed, with two adult daughters. She is the total opposite of Jo: she is quiet, never swears, and used to attend church on Sundays. She meets Jo when she walks into her gym and the two women become friends. Nessa also has a gift: she can see dead people who need help.

With Nessa hearing a voice of a dead girl on the ocean, the three women uncover her body. Soon, more bodies crop up and the women become entangled in a series of events that leave their lives in danger.

In the world dominated by the patriarchy, the women will have to fight with all their might to bring justice to those dead girls, and their families.

However, these men don’t know who they are messing with…

I cannot stress enough how much I LOVED this book.

I wholeheartedly agree with everything that the author portrayed – in this world white males are seen as superior to females, women are viewed as the weaker sex with a sell by date. We are useful in our reproductive age, but once menopause hits, we immediately become invisible to the society. Miller captured this phenomena perfectly.

There is rage in every page of this book, however, these women aren’t moaning about the world as they are sipping margaritas by the pool. Oh no, these women take it up on themselves to make a change, a lasting impact, and to change the world for the future generations.

I honestly wish I had friends like Nessa, Jo, and Harriet (especially Harriet) in my life. I feel we would get on like a house on fire.

This book takes us on a journey to empowerment, embracing your own strengths, and taking a stand against the male oriented society.

Women of every age should be valued. We do not take up space after we hit a certain age, and we certainly are intelligent enough to make our own choices.

It’s time for change.

That time is now.

Thank you to HQ Stories for accepting my NetGalley request to read and review this book.

4⭐️ A raw and real feminist thriller that had me hooked and made me feel every ounce of rage that the characters did

I am so excited to be working with HQ on the review tour for this new Feminist Thriller! (I was gifted a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review on this tour)

This was an absolutely fantastic book, it invoked so much feeling in me and I think the thing that made it so powerful was the fact that even though these women essentially had magic/powers and the book was magical realism, everything else was so real, so easy to empathise with and relate to because the struggles these women faced were ones we face every day. There were three quotes that really stood out to me in this book that essentially sums this up:

’That doesn't offend me. 'Witch' is the label society slaps on women it can't understand or control.’

’Yes, you’re afraid of me because I’m better than you are. And if you give one talented woman the power she deserves, another will follow. Then another. And together they’ll show that their way is better. Then your whole fake fucking world will come tumbling down.’

’And in case you haven't noticed, somebody's always killing women.’

The thriller aspect of The Change kept me on my toes with a few twists and turns and although this was a big part of it, I also loved the representation of friendship, motherhood, sisterhood of girls and women living their lives. Although it wasn’t explicitly stated, and the point of this book is around older women, I still got Maiden, Mother and Crone vibes from our 3 main ladies and I liked them all although can I just say, Harriet is an absolute QUEEN

I think the only thing that I would have liked to be improved in this book was that the ending felt a little rushed but it was still a good ending that tied up the loose ends!

I got The Change by Kirsten Miller from NetGalley For a fair and honest review.

The Change tells the story of 3 women, who just as the reach the menopause, start to gain powers which allow them to fight crime.

When You are talking about the Long Island oceanfront community of Mattauk, there is a lot of crime particularly when you're talking about missing young girls that the police do not care about.

The Change by Kirsten Miller is one of those novels, that when I read the synopsis it drew me to the book straight away. This is because the novel uses the plot line from fantasy novels where when you reach a certain point in your life the powers that have remained dormant come into use.

While those novels it, usually happens just as the character hits puberty, this used the female menopause as the trigger point.

The Change by Kirsten Miller is a novel that labels its agenda on the page for all to see in plain sight, with no hidden meaning, between the lines. This for me and I assume for you the reader as well, make a novel almost unreadable.

I am not saying that I do not mind works of entertainment being used to get a message across, but the message needs to be done in a way that will keep me wanting to still enjoy the work.

In this case The Change did that in spades, which was not an easy job particularly as one of the messages contained in the story was the problems women have because of the way men treat them.

One of the ways that The Change kept my attention was the 3 main female characters, Nessa James, Harriett Osborne and Jo Levison, all of whom with their back story and development throughout the book could have held the story together on their own.

However with Kirsten Miller, bringing three main female leads to the story it really enhanced the novel and allowed her to cover more issues.

As I said previously, The Change works mainly because the story that all these issues are raised in is one that really holds the reader's attention with twists and turns all throughout the book.

In Addition apart from the three main characters, many of the side characters really added to the story line, by being well rounded and having a well expressed back story.

This is a fine line in novels when the writer knows the back story of a character fully to work out their actions in the novel and give the reader enough of this without making the book seem to drag.

This is where Kirsten Miller really came through this can be seen especially in the wife of the chief of police.

All this makes The Change by Kirsten Miller a novel well worth reading.

I was rather unsure when I began reading The Change but the more I read the more I loved it. It has an unusual feminist premise and an engrossing narrative and is set in a luxury gated estate

Three middle-aged women from different backgrounds, Nessa, Jo and Harriett set out to punish the guilty after they find the body of a young girl early one morning. Convinced there are further bodies to be discovered they undertake their own detective work which becomes dangerous and puts their lives and those of their loved ones at risk.

I loved The Change! So clever and unusual. Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the opportunity to read and review this book. One of the best books I've read in 2022. It deserves to be a huge success.

Harriet, Jo and Nessa 'discover that midlife changes bring a whole new type of empowerment.'

Harriet's life changes spectacularly when she leaves her job and marriage. She takes refuge in her forest of a garden and her study of plants and their uses. Jo is raging against the effects of her periods and impending menopause. Nessa discovers she can hear the voices of the dead. When she hears a girl calling to her it leads to the discovery of a body in scrubland near a beach. The local police are disinclined to put much effort into their enquiries, so the trio take up the case. The evidence they find and further voices in Nessa's head suggest a serial killer is at work.

Oh my word what a book! It has three of the best female characters I have come across in a long while. They are funny, smart, powerful and angry. Their rage centres on how they see women being treated and used. The plot is set against a background of the ultra rich, the majority being men who think women are there to look good on their arms and serve their needs. Our badass trio are determined to bring them down by fair means or foul. As a team they bring unique attributes to their investigation,

This novel had me helpless with laughter one minute and shocked at events the next. The balance between the two is perfect. I really can't put into words how much I loved this fabulous book about strong women seeking justice. The writing is vibrant and the pace is just right. The Change is a more than five star stunner! I know I will go back to it. I miss Harriet, Jo and Nessa already.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ Stories for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I wasn’t expecting this book to go in the direction it did. When I first read the blurb, I was expecting some kind of comic relief type super hero read, but I was happily so wrong! There is such a dark storyline to this book, peppered with some incredible characters. This book is not about hating men, it’s about the power of women but dove in such a brilliant way. I loved Harriet best, I like to think I have a little of her spirit in me!

Dear heavens, what a book. I was gripped from the very first page. The pace is relentless, so much so that while I read it as quickly as I could, I was almost hoping for it to slow down a wee bit, for a rest! It all ends neat and tidy, and it's handy that the women are all financially comfy, but I was able to ignore all that and revel in this story of righteous indignation.

Enjoyable and impactful on so many levels, this story of three women in their late forties delivers a powerful message through the enigmatic yet believable characters. The writing style is inviting and the content addictive; I loved it.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

What a phenomenal book. The words and women are as powerful as the bold cover depicts. This has to be a must read for everyone but especially women of a certain age heading for or in the midst of the change.
I couldn't help nodding in agreement with many of the observations and scenes in the book and cheering the characters on as the fight against misogyny in all its forms but especially when it ends up in murder.
It's always great to read about a powerful person in a book but this has three. All have different strengths and experiences and together they are seemingly invincible.
It has soul, emotion and suspense and a thrilling mystery. It is perfection.

Wow... what a cracking book this turned out to be. And a reminder that I really enjoy magical realism and that I really should seek out more of the genre.
In this book, we follow three mature ladies who are about to undergo a coming of age. I think a coming of golden-age describes it better. All are about to be awoken and their gifts and talents - some of which have shown themselves before but have been tamped down - being accepted and embraced.
Nessa's husband has died and her twin daughters flown the nest. She is alone but not really alone as she starts to hear voices. She's reminded of something that happened to her as a young girl and the voices are familiar. They are the dead calling for her help. A gift passed down from her grandmother.
Harriett's career has imploded, leaving her shocked, stranded, and alone. She has become a recluse. But a recluse with very green fingers, and the knowledge of what to do with what she grows.
Jo is the owner/manager of a gym for woman. She is suffering menopausal hot-flashes which she hates and detests with a passion. Until however the day comes when she realises that she has the ability to harness that energy, and channel it.
Circumstances mean that the women meet, team up, and guided by Nessa's voices discover the body of a young woman. Shocking enough, but it is only really the tip of a very big iceberg of heinous, horrible, behaviour, that our heroines are about to discover...
To say I loved this book would be an understatement. I especially loved the characters. Three mature women, being empowered. And going out and kicking butt against all the odds. Being a 50-something year old menopausal woman myself I blooming love them apples!
It also defies the genre stereotyping. Yes it's magical realism, but it's also mystery, women's fiction, coming of age, action packed, etc etc. It kinda defies pigeon-holing in the same way as the characters refuse also to be defined.
And the story woven all around this is harrowing. I won't pull punches. But it is also real, and happening more often than you'd think. And it's dark. But there are some lovely seams of humour interspersed throughout the book, along with an underlying feeling of hope. And a knowledge of the fact that these women can conquer the world.
And I so hope this is not the last we see of them...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Gosh, this is one of those books for which I don't want to write a review,
But only because it is so good, I'd rather you read it yourself, too!
For any lady in their middle years knows the menopause causes changes
But for the trio in this book, the changes their lives totally rearranges!

For one, an advertising director, life as she knew it totally implodes,
But that's when her botanical new knowledge and skills explodes!
Another is a former executive who with her body has been at war
Now she learns to channel her hot flushed and is at war no more!

The third inherited her grandmother's ability to hear
The call of the dead who have died somewhere isolated but near.
Fate brings the three together with their different knowledge and skill
To find a young teen's remains - who was she and why was she killed?

A story with humour but an enthralling crime thriller, too,
About powerful men, their excuses and what some like to do.
But also about the women who come into their own power
And find just how to make those men pay and cower!

A fascinating mystery with surprises and twists
One that I'm so glad that it isn't one I missed.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and hope you will, too,
As I can't recommend it highly enough to you!

For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

This is a mystery with a difference. A trio of menopausal women find that they are growing into new powers with the change, and they come together to investigate and avenge a number of murders of young girls whom nobody cares about, by rich and powerful men who think they can get away with anything.

Its heart is definitely in the right place, but I will confess I found the writing style irritating and not very good. It is overstated, tells rather than shows at every step of the way, and just doesn't do suspense very well. By the end I was skimming through it for the sake of finishing it, but there is no meat to the writing style itself, and that is something I look for in my reading - I want a good story, which this is, told well, which this is not. A shame, as the subjects dealt with are extremely topical: women's worth generally, and particularly so in their postmenopausal years, rich men who think they are above the law, the value of nature, institutional corruption and prejudice. It reads like a YA book, which makes sense given that that is the author's background. But it didn't really do it for me.

In 'The Change' by Kirsten Miller three women, Nessa, Harriot and Jo discover that the Menopause is not a time for invisibility, but instead a time for coming into their own and protecting younger women from predatory men and the wider patriarchy. When young women go missing in their hometown they are recorded as run aways, drug overdoses or prostitutes, and little is done. However, using powers acquired following 'the change' the three women are able to solve the mystery of what happened to them and avenge their loss.

This is a very engaging and well thought out novel that uses touches of magical realism to make its point. Miller was obviously influenced by recent horrors in the news and weaves this in, in a clever and absorbing way. Nessa, Harriot and Jo are characters the reader will get behind, and the way the plot develops keeps you drawn in. I found the ideas within it empowering, and think this book will appeal to women of all ages.

I was really up for reading a book about women who are moving towards middle age. Women become more interesting as they get older, more confident and full of wisdom and experience. I certainly found that in the characters of this book who I fell immediately in love with. They are definitely meant to be a trio.

Nessa: The Seeker 
Jo: The Protector 
Harriett: The Punisher

Each woman finds herself bestowed with incredible powers. When Nessa is widowed and her daughters leave for college, she’s left alone in her house near the ocean. Finally, she has time and quiet hours to herself, and she hears voices belonging to the dead – who will only speak to her. They’ve possibly always been there, but she’s been too busy with her family’s needs to hear them. Harriett is almost fifty, her marriage and career have imploded, and she hasn’t left her house in months. Her house was the envy of the neighbourhood and graced the cover of magazines, but now it’s overgrown with incredible plants. Harriett realises that her life is far from over – in fact, she’s undergone a stunning metamorphosis.
Jo has spent thirty years at war with her body. The rage that arrived with menopause felt like the last straw – until she discovers she’s able to channel it, but needs to be able to control it too. The trio are guided by voices only Nessa can hear and discover the abandoned body of a teenage girl. The police have already written off the victim. But these women have not. Their own investigations lead them to more bodies and a world of wealth where the rules don’t apply – and the realisation that laws are designed to protect villains, not the vulnerable.So it’s up to these three women to avenge the innocent, and punish the guilty…

The time has come to embrace The Change.

I loved these women, they were powerful, sexy, sassy and deeply committed to their fellow women - dead or alive. Harriett is wonderful! She’s unapologetically sexy and partakes of beautiful men when she fancies, but doesn’t feel a need to be attached. She lets her garden run riot and has her own methods for dealing with those who complain. I loved her fearlessness and sense of humour. Nessa has a gift that’s past down through the generations, but has laid dormant till now. I loved that Nessa’s situation is a positive spin on the empty nest, although her gift is not one most people would want. I loved her compassion for the girls she sees and her drive to help, to the extent of taking a ghost home with her. Jo’s gift felt like the embodiment of the rage a lot of women feel about the injustices of the world we live in. The author tells us tales about what women face every day: husbands who control their lives; young girls preyed on by their sport’s coach; vibrant and intelligent women overlooked for promotion; creative women having their ideas stolen by men; women excluded from the gent’s club where a group of millionaire men rule the world. These women are determined to speak out, be open about what women’s lives are like and educate other women to speak their truth and feel their power. It’s inspiring and exhilarating.

The mystery of the serial killer is compelling and really keeps you reading. I kept picking this up in every spare moment, wanting to spend time with these women and see where their investigations lead. I really loved the clever way the author took on the concept of serial killer stories while writing one. She talked about the popularity of crime thrillers and true crime podcasts and how they appeal to men. They’re written as if the victims are expendable and the killers get special nicknames as if they are comic book villains. I’ve often thought this about the Yorkshire Ripper. He’s notorious, but I couldn’t tell you a single name of his victims. There is a truth about the world right at the heart of her story. It comes to light when the women involve the police. There are women in the world who matter and there are others who are worthless, both to law enforcement and to the powerful men encountered in this book. They can be dismissed because they’re sex workers, or drug addicts, or live in poverty. The Yorkshire Ripper’s first victims were possibly sex workers, then a young girl was attacked after walking home from a night out. She was perceived, by law enforcement and the media, as coming from a decent family. Media headlines screamed that the Ripper had taken his first ‘innocent’ victim. The implication being that the other victims deserved their fate. The author really got this message across, but without losing any of the power, the tension or the desperate need to see the killer caught. Finally, I have to say something about magic realism and being a huge fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Alice Hoffman, I’ve been reading some of the best writers in the genre. Miller’s story is so strong and the characters so well constructed, that I never felt a sense of disbelief. I have quite a collection of magic realism starting with a teenage love for Fay Weldon and Angela Carter. This book can easily sit next to my favourites. It is that good.

Well, this was an amazing read. Being of a certain age, this was a very timely book for me right now too!

Harriet, Jo & Nessa are very different women. Their individual gifts are impressive enough, but when they have finally had enough and decide to right some wrongs together, they become an absolute force to be reckoned with.

Nessa is a retired nurse suffering with empty nest syndrome when she finds that she can't ignore the voices that she hears anymore, so follows one and her discovery will change a lot of lives.
Jo has had to find a more productive outlet for her perimenopausal rage, but it comes in handy when doors need kicking in or heads need banging together!
Known as the local witch, Harriet is the master of her wild garden and lets her natural abilities flourish growing all kinds of herbs and weeds and using them to amazing effect when needed.

Difficult to pinpoint a genre for this story, but I love that! Bits of mystery, womens fiction, crime, thriller with some added supernatural elements in there and touching on some very real and relevant social points. All done really well and blended together to make a gripping read.
The three main characters were all so real and I think every woman will identify with at least one of them, if not more, at one point in their life. I loved all of them, but definitely identified more with Jo!
It is a pretty dark plot but the humour thorughout and emphasis on friendship and female empowerment gives it the balance needed and I recommend for everyone.

I’m not normally a huge fan of crime and thriller books but this absolutely won me round. It’s one of the best, most original books I have read in recent years.

Three women in mid-life who all live in the same town in the U.S. find themselves endowed with special powers. There is Nessa who inherits a family trait of being able to speak to the dead, Harriett whose marriage and career implosion sparks a transformation and a keen interest in horticulture, and Jo who has always felt rage but finally finds a way to channel it. They work together to investigate a crime when the ghost of a murdered young girl reaches out to Nessa. Will they be able to get justice for her and other victims while keeping themselves and their families safe from the perpetrator?

As I have already said, I really, really enjoyed this book. I have never read anything like it. I loved the characters, I loved that it was a female lead book with so many feminist topics and I was absolutely gripped. I would recommend this book to fans of crime and those who love good writing!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

This has a nice blended modern-day living, with a differing contemporary witch theme that works really well.

It tells of 3 maturing women, withal that entails such as hilariously relatable heavy periods dilemmas and menopausal symptom onset. They have the combined knowledge and powers to find dead people that call them, so that the victim can be found before moving on.

Harriet, known as the neighbourhood witch, who tends to her wild yet purposeful garden, often naked. Jo, a former hotel executive, now owns a female-focused gym and channels her rage through workouts. Nessa, a former nurse, hears the voices of the dead. All strong, likeable and memorable characters.

It is a BIG read but flows well, is fast paced and coursing with energy throughout. Misogynistic men are not their favourite flavour, so do come in for some real stick, but they are dealing with the not so nice ones, so it’s possible to let that slide. Lots of the story is larger than life, so you just have to ride it and enjoy the read. Certainly a bit different, at times wild, with some light heartedness to balance the comeuppance stuff also.