House of Frank

A warm and hopeful story of a lonely witch consumed by grief who discovers a whimsical cast of characters in a magical arboretum and the healing power of found family.

Powerless witch Saika is ready to enact her sister's final request: to plant her remains at the famed Ash Gardens. When Saika arrives at the always-stormy sanctuary, she is welcomed by its owner, an enormous, knit-cardiganed mythical beast named Frank, who offers her a role as one of the estate's caretakers.

Overcome with grief, Saika accepts, desperate to put off her final farewell to her sister. But the work requires a witch with intrinsic power, and Saika's been disconnected from her magic since her sister's death two years prior. Saika gets by at the sanctuary using a fragment of a fallen star to cast enchantments while hiding the embarrassing truth about herself.

As Saika works harder in avoidance of her pain, she learns more about Frank, the decaying house at Ash Gardens, and the lives of the motley staff, including bickering twin cherubs, a mute ghost, a cantankerous elf, and an irritating half witch, among others. Over time, she rediscovers what it means to love and be wholly loved and how to allow her joy and grief to coexist.

Warm and inventive, House of Frank is a stirring portrait of the ache of loss and the healing embrace of love.

“House of Frank weaves compelling characters, evocative prose, and a touch of magic with a narrative that balances wonder at the joy of choosing to live a full life, even with the heartbreaking knowledge of what it means to have faced death. Synclaire has filled these pages with love amidst grief, showing that the pain of losing someone is not singular and is grappled with in many different ways. . . . A stunning tale of learning to let go, Synclaire’s House of Frank creates a space for sitting with grief that reminds readers that death is not the end and no one is truly alone and, one way or another, those we lose remain with us in different ways.” —Shelf Awareness  

“Synclaire’s emotional debut novel is a cozy queer fantasy . . . fans of The House on the Cerulean Sea looking for something to breeze through on a rainy day will find this does the trick." —Publishers Weekly 

“Wow. Just wow. A heartbreaking, magnificent debut that offers space to sit with grief—and reads like a warm hug.” —Rebecca Thorne, bestselling author of Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea 

“With a colorful cast similar to Becky Chambers’s The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, a cozy feel, and a deeply emotional theme, this is a book that anyone who has lost someone needs to read.” —FanFiAddict 

“In House of Frank, Kay Synclaire balances the expansive experience of grief with the transformative impact of found family in a way that stirred me to my core. I will be thinking about this book for years to come. This heartwarming story is a gift to anyone searching for healing and home.” —Meg Hood (@megstearoom), book influencer 

“House of Frank bravely calls upon the fine line between love and grief, illustrating the complex emotions death dispenses. Kay Synclaire’s writing is full of hope and sorrow, creatively exhibiting the connection formed through communal grief. Brought me to tears.” —Deirdre Morgan (@DeirdreRoseMorgan), BookTok influencer 

Kay Synclaire is the youngest of five children and the proud aunt of twelve. Kay attended Philadelphia University (now Thomas Jefferson University) before working in caretaking roles as a nurse assistant and preschool teacher. Kay currently lives in Philadelphia with her sister, who is the coauthor of her 2022 collection of short stories, The Strange Accounts of Germantown and Other Peculiar Phenomena. House of Frank is Kay's debut novel.

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