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A review by dinipandareads
House of Frank by Kay Synclaire
2.0
i got an arc i'm SO EXCITED
Special thanks to Bindery for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 2.5 stars
TL;DR: House of Frank is a title I've been looking forward to reading since I stumbled across it on NetGalley many months ago. Judging from the synopsis and the cover, I was 93% sure that it would be a 5-star read and so it is with the greatest disappointment that I say that this book was not for me. The main problem is that I felt no connection to the characters and for a book where the "found family" element is a big part of the story, I thought they were all rather uncaring and unforgiving towards each other. This is a house where, instead of dealing with grief healthily and healing from past trauma, its residents sweep it all under the rug so they can live in denial and pain with unhealthy coping mechanisms. I know some readers have loved this book and I'm sad not to be one of them but I am glad that I gave it a try!
I love cosy fantasy. I can be happy with a slice-of-life type of story so long as the characters are compelling and the story exudes a comforting quality that feels like a warm hug. I don't want to be irritated reading a cosy fantasy and if there's a found family element, I want to fall head over feet for these characters and I want to deeply believe in their connection. I want to root for them and scoop them all up into my pocket so I can carry the good feeling they give me everywhere I go. I thought House of Frank would be a cosy fantasy I'd fall in love with but unfortunately, it was far from it. The world-building was minimal but descriptive enough that I could easily picture the surroundings of Ash Gardens. I loved the magic in the arboretum and the house was interesting. I think this fantasy world had a more historical setting but it was never 100% clear to me. The magic system was also a bit vague but I was intrigued by what I saw. This world is populated by all sorts of magical and fantastic creatures such as wolf-men, half-gargoyles, witches of all kinds, elves, fairies, cherubs, dragons, and ghosts—and the ones we meet all have unique personalities. There is a loose plot as Saika comes to Ash Gardens to put her sister to rest after years of avoidance just as the weather worsens and the house begins to fall apart alongside Frank's, the owner's, rapidly deteriorating health. There was a mild mystery element that moved along at a plodding pace and it was fine for the most part.
I was most excited about meeting the characters and this is really where my main issue was. I stand by the fact that characters don't need to necessarily be likeable to be good, but I did not find that to be the case here. Aside from frustration and disbelief, I struggled to feel any other type of emotion toward these characters and that disconnect greatly contributed to the lowered rating for me. From the beginning, I found myself frustrated by Saika's character. She is entitled, selfish, ill-mannered and extremely judgemental and at first I thought that maybe it's because she's still stuck in her grief, but even as she "heals" as the story progresses, I found there was little change in her attitude. I thought this would at least be balanced out by kind, loving, and compassionate side characters who form the "found family" aspect but I was wrong. Don't get me wrong, the side characters weren't awful all the time—some of their banter was corny but funny—though neither did I find them particularly compelling as they weren't very kind to each other. Their barbs were bitter and hurtful and they often deliberately said things to hurt each other. While I did feel for some of them after learning their stories, it wasn't enough to create a warm fuzziness in my chest whenever I thought of their 'happy family'. I didn't feel as if they would drop everything to help each other and that was proven to me when everyone got stroppy with Frank when he forgot about a client or conversation or he forgot to do 'his job'. This brings me to the character who I felt was done so dirty and it's a shame considering the book's title has his name in it. Despite being called "House of Frank", Frank's character felt very much like an afterthought. He very quickly took a backseat as Saika settled into the house and everything started to fall apart. For all the "worrying" that everyone in the house did over Frank's deteriorating condition, no one *actually* took the time to speak to him or figure out what was wrong. Saika in particular was such an enabler but she also made dumbfounding decisions on his behalf thinking it was her right to help him sort out his grief when it's clear she hardly knew him. There was also the romantic element which, unsurprisingly, I was not sold on. I'm sorry but cheekily snide remarks, reluctant kindness, flirting after a fashion, and lopsided smirks do not chemistry make! The love interest confused me and was not a character I gravitated to at all.
I'm getting worked up now just thinking about the things Saika did and how disappointed I was by the characters, so I'm just going to wrap it up here and say that despite being the right target audience for this book, it just didn't work for me. As I mentioned earlier, some readers have loved it and I'm glad that it's finding the right audience to appreciate the story and again, I'm bummed that does not include me!
Special thanks to Bindery for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 2.5 stars
TL;DR: House of Frank is a title I've been looking forward to reading since I stumbled across it on NetGalley many months ago. Judging from the synopsis and the cover, I was 93% sure that it would be a 5-star read and so it is with the greatest disappointment that I say that this book was not for me. The main problem is that I felt no connection to the characters and for a book where the "found family" element is a big part of the story, I thought they were all rather uncaring and unforgiving towards each other. This is a house where, instead of dealing with grief healthily and healing from past trauma, its residents sweep it all under the rug so they can live in denial and pain with unhealthy coping mechanisms. I know some readers have loved this book and I'm sad not to be one of them but I am glad that I gave it a try!
I love cosy fantasy. I can be happy with a slice-of-life type of story so long as the characters are compelling and the story exudes a comforting quality that feels like a warm hug. I don't want to be irritated reading a cosy fantasy and if there's a found family element, I want to fall head over feet for these characters and I want to deeply believe in their connection. I want to root for them and scoop them all up into my pocket so I can carry the good feeling they give me everywhere I go. I thought House of Frank would be a cosy fantasy I'd fall in love with but unfortunately, it was far from it. The world-building was minimal but descriptive enough that I could easily picture the surroundings of Ash Gardens. I loved the magic in the arboretum and the house was interesting. I think this fantasy world had a more historical setting but it was never 100% clear to me. The magic system was also a bit vague but I was intrigued by what I saw. This world is populated by all sorts of magical and fantastic creatures such as wolf-men, half-gargoyles, witches of all kinds, elves, fairies, cherubs, dragons, and ghosts—and the ones we meet all have unique personalities. There is a loose plot as Saika comes to Ash Gardens to put her sister to rest after years of avoidance just as the weather worsens and the house begins to fall apart alongside Frank's, the owner's, rapidly deteriorating health. There was a mild mystery element that moved along at a plodding pace and it was fine for the most part.
I was most excited about meeting the characters and this is really where my main issue was. I stand by the fact that characters don't need to necessarily be likeable to be good, but I did not find that to be the case here. Aside from frustration and disbelief, I struggled to feel any other type of emotion toward these characters and that disconnect greatly contributed to the lowered rating for me. From the beginning, I found myself frustrated by Saika's character. She is entitled, selfish, ill-mannered and extremely judgemental and at first I thought that maybe it's because she's still stuck in her grief, but even as she "heals" as the story progresses, I found there was little change in her attitude. I thought this would at least be balanced out by kind, loving, and compassionate side characters who form the "found family" aspect but I was wrong. Don't get me wrong, the side characters weren't awful all the time—some of their banter was corny but funny—though neither did I find them particularly compelling as they weren't very kind to each other. Their barbs were bitter and hurtful and they often deliberately said things to hurt each other. While I did feel for some of them after learning their stories, it wasn't enough to create a warm fuzziness in my chest whenever I thought of their 'happy family'. I didn't feel as if they would drop everything to help each other and that was proven to me when everyone got stroppy with Frank when he forgot about a client or conversation or he forgot to do 'his job'. This brings me to the character who I felt was done so dirty and it's a shame considering the book's title has his name in it. Despite being called "House of Frank", Frank's character felt very much like an afterthought. He very quickly took a backseat as Saika settled into the house and everything started to fall apart. For all the "worrying" that everyone in the house did over Frank's deteriorating condition, no one *actually* took the time to speak to him or figure out what was wrong. Saika in particular was such an enabler but she also made dumbfounding decisions on his behalf thinking it was her right to help him sort out his grief when it's clear she hardly knew him. There was also the romantic element which, unsurprisingly, I was not sold on. I'm sorry but cheekily snide remarks, reluctant kindness, flirting after a fashion, and lopsided smirks do not chemistry make! The love interest confused me and was not a character I gravitated to at all.
I'm getting worked up now just thinking about the things Saika did and how disappointed I was by the characters, so I'm just going to wrap it up here and say that despite being the right target audience for this book, it just didn't work for me. As I mentioned earlier, some readers have loved it and I'm glad that it's finding the right audience to appreciate the story and again, I'm bummed that does not include me!