this is a book that pulls no punches and what an incredible book it is , it is the first book I've read of Kirsten's ., I wont lie its a very long book it has 500 pages but I was very lucky to get the audio book which helped set the scene.
the book is full of magical realism and strong female friendships .


its based around three woman which have powers, (witches ) you have Harriet which is the punisher which use plants anything mother nature can do she can use , jo the protector which can channel rage in her body , and Nessa the seeker who can hear the dead , all of witch are pretty bad ass and if you come against them a behaviour poorly they will take you down .

I love a witchy magical read we all know that but this was beyond that it was raw and deep and dark at times I'm here for that I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good witchy feminist read




I love a good witchy reads we all know that and it didn't disappoint me , this was so much more it was raw and deep

What a powerful and wonderful story! Absolutely loved reading/listening to this book.
Highly recommend it!

As damn near perfection as a book can get! I listened to the audiobook and wow! Narrator January LaVoy is incandescent, putting in a phenomenal performance. I'm so glad I got to experience the book in this way. The tone felt quite 'Desperate Housewives on the rampage'. The plot is a bit supernatural/witchy, a bit crimey and a whole lot girl power/feministy. Rage pulsates from every page.

I loved the idea that there are three phases in a woman's life and that once the childbearing years are over, it's our time to protect the voiceless. Themes include taking up space, who makes a 'good' victim and who can be ignored, power and corruption and, of course, the menopause. I don't wish to provide any spoilers but if a women-only gym isn't a thing, it needs to be!

Aside from the sizzling plot, dialogue, characterisation, setting and everything else I loved about this book, it has made me feel so much better about approaching the next stage of my life. I feel empowered and alive. I know I'll read/listen to this book many more times and I simply cannot wait to experience it all over again. I'll be recommending it to everyone I know! Allow me to leave you with an example of the great humour in the book…

'"Impressive. What was the secret to your success?" Harriett asked.
"A penis," Leonard deadpanned,'

Narrator 5 stars

Story 3 stars

I have quite mixed emotions about this book. I would be really into it, then really struggle with it and this theme continued throughout.

The story was interesting and it's core concept was original.
The cover is very eye catching and made me want to pick it up as it reminded me of Circe by Madeline Miller
The writing was good but the men bashing was very exhausting after a while.

If women reading this have met more than 5 assholes in their life my heart really goes out to you, but fortunately for me I haven't had this experience where it's so saturated with horrible men and behaviour. I married a unicorn of a man, so it really was hard after awhile to keep hearing it over and over.

The Change is a much talked about and loved book at the moment and I was keen to see what all the fuss was about. When I saw that January LaVoy was the narrator I was happy, she is a fantastic choice and she plays each part so well.

It is a hard book to describe. It is not my usual kind of book, although there is murder, a serial killer and a police investigation so maybe it is. 😅 It was refreshing to read about older women, whose lives are not perfect, and who had some powers .

A mixture of a murder mystery, domestic suspense and revenge drama. It was a long book that took me a while to get through but it was enjoyable for the most part. Thanks to Harper Collins UK for the advanced listening copy.

I loved reading this book - I'm firmly in the menopausal demographic and it's both refreshing and unusual to find a good book with characters within this age range. It is fascinating to imagine having some of the gifts these ladies have, who unite to seek answers and mete out vengeance for the despicable acts carried out against innocent girls. Harriet, Jo and Nessa all have interesting back stories which are covered in the alternate timeline narrative - all having been screwed over by men. You also get a good insight into the side characters and victims whose stories need to be told. This is a pretty long book/audio, with the audio book being over 15 hours, but it all adds to the story and it doesn't feel like it has been padded out to fill pages unnecessarily. I would say that this is part mystery and part revenge fantasy, with a sprinkling of family time and romance. There is a twist at the end which I was sad about, but which did not spoil enjoyment of the book for me. I really hope that this book finds it's audience - if you are middle aged and enjoy a good revenge fantasy this one is a firm recommendation. Thanks to NetGallery and HarperCollins UK Audio for allowing me to get a copy of the book - it is great.

After Nessa is widowed and her daughters leave for college, she’s left alone in her house near the ocean. In the quiet hours, she hears voices belonging to the dead – who will only speak to her.

On the cusp of fifty Harriett’s marriage and career imploded, and she hasn’t left her house in months. But her life is far from over – in fact, she’s undergone a stunning metamorphosis.

Jo 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.

Guided by voices only Nessa can hear, the trio discover the abandoned body of a teenage girl. The police have written off the victim. But the 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.

With an eye for precise detail balanced by a sweeping imagination, this beautifully constructed book is built on deep foundations. Read it at least twice….

The Change by Kirsten Miller has been getting universally rave reviews and is the current 'it' book on my little corner of Instagram, so I was thrilled to get a copy from Netgalley and Harper Collins Audio.

Nessa is a widowed mother of 2, who realises she has supernatural powers as she hits the menopause. Harriet has crashed out of a high powered career, mainly foiled by sexism, and is embracing her inner forces (not least the ability to whip up a potion from her garden that can instantaneously cure a hangover) and Jo is a kick ass feminist who has recently opened a gym.

The 3 women come together to solve the mystery of missing teenage girls, somewhat hampered by the initial evidence being Nessa hearing the voices of the dead girls. Delving into a pit of sleaze and sexism in their small town, it is left to the women to right wrongs.

The Change didn't chime with me. The women's characters were too extreme and enshrined with clunky metaphors. The plot was over-egged and the men were generally bad because of their gender. I am however in the minority, as others have fallen for the charms of the book.

I listened to the audiobook and the narration was excellent.

This book isn’t my usual genre at all, but in the aim of trying something different I thought I would give it a go.

The bright orange and black cover is eye catching and it would make me pick it up if I saw it on a book shelf. It almost has a mythical, gothic feel about it.

There are three main characters in the book, Harriett, Jo and Nessa. They’re all a similar age and form a close friendship in a short space of time. They’re bonded by their powers which they use to avenge men who have wronged them. When Nessa discovers young girls have been killed, the women set out to get revenge.

I really liked the three women and found their characters worked well together. The powers and supernatural parts of the book didn’t really work for me and I found them totally unrealistic. The idea that the menopause somehow triggered powers I also found implausible and don’t think many women would relate to it.

Menopause is often a taboo subject and it’s good the author has attempted to bring the subject to the reader’s attention. However, the pages of description about periods just felt unnecessary and a bit excessive.

Throughout the book there’s a real hatred of men and only a couple of male characters in the book are portrayed well, the rest come across as sex obsessed misogynists. I found this off putting at times.

I found the book too slow paced for me and it lost the gripping thriller element it could have had. I also thought it was a bit of a long book and could have been cut down a bit.

The narration was fine, but I did find the narrator’s voice a bit annoying after a while.

Overall the book was OK, but not really for me.

2.5 stars rounded to 2.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins HQ Stories for an advance copy to review.

3.5⭐️

🎧 A new author to me.
Audiobook version of a murder mystery/ magical realism, morale crusade, narrated by January Lavoy, she does a great job.

Three women Nessa,Jo and Harriett are are drawn together, all in the menopause. They discover new found powers and with the guidance of voices that only Nessa can hear they are guided to the body of 17 yr old girl.
They find more bodies, with their investigations they are focused on avenging the innocent and punishing the guilty as they can not get the police to take action.

I really liked the easy writing style it had me chuckling. The pace is slow as it’s very character driven, but it’s engaging. We not only get to see their adventures but their lives.
Be warned it’s a long book.

I found the 3 main characters likeable in different ways. Harriet is the strongest, and the leader of the group. My favourite I think is Nessa.

The premise of the book is absolutely brilliant, and really could have been a 5⭐️ but for me it needs a big prune, so that’s really affected my rating. The narrator helped to maintain my interest.

As a middle-aged menopausal woman I found this one of the most pleasing books I’ve read in years. If you’ve ever felt patronised, dismissed, overlooked, cheated, harmed or generally dismayed/frustrated/angered by the way society treats women – young and old-, sit down and escape with this absolute knock-out of a story, which celebrates women’s intuition, talents and innate powers. It’s a hymn to sisterhood too as we follow Nessa, Jo and Harriet as they discover and nurture their natural gifts to uncover the reason girls are going missing and turning up dead in Mattauk, New York and to mete out punishment. The narrator was great and I was rivetted.

I cannot express how much I loved this book! The first half felt more universal than the second, but I loved every moment,
The beginning made me feel as if I was reading a sequel to Naomi Alderman's incredible The Power. Here however, we meet three women on the cusp of not puberty but menopause. Here lies the joy of this book with its vision of older women made fierce, powerful and sexy by the power that they can 'hear' now that their other lives of family and career have quieted.
Nessa, Harriet and Jo are rare literary creatures, strong, loving, occasionally terrifying but extraordinary in their power and strength,
Kirsten Miller has woven this tale of mighty females a plot that reminds one of real life stories about Epstein, Weinstein and the infamous murders of the LISK. It's enough to intrigue and entrap any self proclaimed feminist, thriller lover or even true crime enthusiast, I found this to be a remarkable book and I cannot recommend it highly enough!

The Change
By Kirsten Miller

A NY coastal community setting, three midlife women with unusual powers and the ghosts of young girls who can't move on yet. Harriett is through with convention and has turned her attention to her garden and the power of plants. Jo is through with men and male privilege and the war she has waged with her body for her entire life and needs to find a way to channel her rage. Nessa has inherited the gift of seeing dead people, but it is only now that she has retired from nursing that her ability has emerged. These three women become unlikely friends and find themselves in a battle to seize back their power from the entitled men that inhabit Culling Point during the summer season. Murder/ mystery, magic realism, female empowerment, midlife warriors, revenge and betrayal, it's all there. This story is like a mash up of Desperate Housewives & The Witches of Eastwick and I've also heard it compared to Big Little Lies. It would make an excellent TV drama series.
Narrated by the always excellent January LaVoy.
Thank you to #NetGalley and #HQ for the ARC and #HarperCollinsAudio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review...I loved it.

I received my ARC copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was amazing! Three women come together after each have their own struggles with being a women in a man-business world. Trying to rise up but always being set aside.

When a few girls go missing they unite and use their very special abilities to help solve the biggest mystery of all time.

This book was a wild ride. Each of the main characters had their own special story and you felt proud how they rose up and made this story their own. Beautifully written and holds you till the end. The ending was more than satisfying with a twist to knock you socks off. Highly recommend!

Thank you Net galley and publishers for offering me a prepublication copy of this audiobook. I loved it. This book is a coming of age novel with a difference. Jo, Nessa and Harriet are struggling, society is virtually ignoring them- just when they need others to support them the most. As they all hit ‘the change’, the hot flushes and hormone changes actually awaken powers, powers they never knew they’d have.. Nessa is called to by murdered girls. Jo is learning to channel her rage into super-strength. And Harriet has ways of punishing those who need to be punished. Together, the women need to stop a murderer.
This book really have a feminist theme running through it - sisters are doing it for themselves!
The narrator really helped the story flow, and gave the women the strength of character they needed through her voices.

This book is all power to the women! With women at the forefront and centre, they take the helm of this book. It was great to read them kicking ass and owning their lives. With some strong women characters, it definitely had an empowering feel.

I also love the element of magic and witch vibes the book had too, really added that extra layer of enjoyment. Anything to do with witches and magic is a bonus for me!

Some of the women in this were portrayed as.. a bit unhinged though I felt like? I’m not sure how much good these characters will be doing for the feminist movement with front runners like these. Had to admit, I wasn’t too fond of the main characters but I loved the premise and plot of the story. It would definitely have been more stars if I actually liked the characters.

It has an addicting story though. From the unusual group of women, to their magic and their efforts to track down the killer of the unfortunate girls that were found dead at the centre of the story. There’s plenty to get you reading and I can so understand why this one is such a popular read!