Between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways. This book was very kindly gifted to me by NetGalley and St. Martins Press all thought's and opinions are my own.

This book follows the lives of people who reside on Mallow Island specifically in the Dellawhisp condos named for the birds who have made the area their home.

Our Main Cast:

Zoey: New to the island and came here because her mom had left her a condo before she died.

Charlotte: A henna artist who was finally feeling settled when she loses her booth.

Mac: The cornmeal chef of Popcorn. He cooks with it, he ends up covered in it every morning. It's a whole thing. A kind, caring and talented cook who's had a hard time giving up the one person who had showed him unconditional love.

Our story kicks of with Zoey coming to town and one of the residents dying in a way that I've been known to imagine, being crushed to death by books falling on top of her. Slowly the residents start getting to know each other and we get little peaks of some of the residents that were with a few ghost POVS as well.

This book was a delightfully charming as I expected from Sarah Addison Allen. Sweet touches of magic, little twists and turns and above all deep connections. This book has a strong focus on found family that I really enjoyed. None of our main character had good relationships with their birth family and they find those connections in others.

All in all I definitely recommend reading this, just a heads up there are allusions to child neglect nothing explicit but it is mentioned.

I found Sarah Addison Allen nearly 15 years ago while browsing the library shelves, and I've read her books many times over. Other Birds is another to add to my re-read pile. This book is magical realism at its finest. It stands tall with Allende and Hoffman.

I have to preface my review by saying that Sarah Addison Allen is one of my favorite authors and I have been waiting YEARS for this book so I went in with very high expectations. And I loved it! Allen is the queen of creating characters that you empathize with, love, and root for. I especially loved the way the book touched on grief and how we can hold onto events and relationships in our lives long after they are gone. All of the character’s stories were unique and came together seamlessly. I could have read about them forever. This is the perfect book if you’re looking for a something heartwarming and magical!

I've been eagerly awaiting this book and I wasn't disappointed. It's not my favorite from this author but it's close.

The setting of a small island known for its history in marshmallow production was almost otherworldly, the descriptions are vivid and I could picture it all so well. Typical for a SAA novel, we've got a cast of quirky characters and a little bit of magic!

I loved all of the characters and the ways they interacted with each other. They seemed drawn to each other by some external force. They each had a complicated backstory too.

It was an enjoyable read from start to finish. I couldn't put it down because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. I highly recommend this for SAA readers and fans of magical realism.

Other Birds, By Sarah Addison Allen

This book comes together in a very meaningful way. By the end, I was teary-eyed, in a good way.

The action takes place on a fictional island, (Mallow, outside of Charleston), and at the Dellawisp, a beautiful and haunted old place that’s got a few condos and a lot of ghosts. Indeed, the main characters are all haunted. They include college freshman Zoey, skittish Charlotte, sweet and lonely Mac, and Frasier, the apparent caretaker of the building who has a supernatural relationship with the rare Dellawisp birds who live in the garden.

This being a Sarah Addison Allen book, the supernatural unapologetically exists in this story. I’d have been very disappointed if it hadn’t been. But the book itself seems haunted, and like ghosts, the outlines and details come together slowly. That’s okay, because Addison Allen pulls it all together slowly, then much faster and very completely.

There are literal and figurative ghosts here, and Addison Allen doesn't shrink from showing that everyone suffers and that everyone keeps secrets. Yet it is not a book about suffering. It’s more a book about how we continue to grow up and surprise ourselves and others all of our days—and beyond. And the last few pages are exceptionally moving.

Sarah Addison Allen is back, and in top form. Hooray!

NetGalley very kindly gave me this book in exchange for a review.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Sarah Addison Allen for letting me read Other Birds early. This book publishes on August 30.

This book felt so dreamy and was a very nice escape. I love all of these characters and I’m kind of sad that the book is over. I don’t want to give anything away but just trust me, this setting and these characters will become very close to your heart. This is my first book by Sarah Addison Allen and I’m very excited to read more.

Mallow Island is rich and sweet just like the marshmallows it’s known for. Tucked away on the island is the small but quaint apartment building, the Dellawisp. Zoey is nineteen and has decided that before she starts her first year at college, she will stay at her mother’s Mallow Island apartment that she inherited. Zoey is a lonely, disenfranchised girl who longs to belong somewhere. When she arrives at the Dellawisp, she finds the residents are quirky and odd but nonetheless, endearing.

When the owner of one apartment dies, the other residents become more closely involved in each other’s lives. Each of them has lived an isolated existence and Zoey is the catalyst that brings the residents closer together. She draws them out of their shells and helps create a family-like unit that helps sustain each of them.

Allen weaves her magical realism in seamlessly. The ghosts that haunt the Dellawisp are connected to the residents and they contribute to the dreamlike atmosphere. The dellawisp birds who are the source of the building’s name, are a delightful creation. They are colorful and charming little birds that live in the courtyard and are often found sitting on the head or shoulders of the manager.

The delightful characters are memorable and fit in perfectly at the curiously eccentric building. Everything about the Dellawisp is unusual, from the individual owners of the units to the book that made Mallow Island a tourist hub. Zoey breathes new life into the lives of the residents and in doing so, finds something she has been looking for. Touching and sweet, this is another great story from a magical storyteller.

Magical…transporting…absorbing… Sarah Addison Allen’s long awaited novel, Other Birds, delivers an enchanting read.

The human and avian characters, including a few ghosts, and the Mallow Island setting melded together to wrap me in a gossamer nest of charm, warmth, and delight while reading this amazing novel. Each figure has a difficult journey through life but eventually finds peace and healing on the captivating island.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this wonderful ARC.

Devotees of SAA, this new book is ABSOLUTELY worth the wait! It's a gorgeous "found family" story about ghosts and birds and second chances and new beginnings. Wonderful and magical and I highly recommend!!

Thank you, Netgalley, for my arc.

Loved this book. Have always been a fan of S.A.A. and this long-awaited for story did not disappoint. What is family? Who becomes family and why? If we deceive for the right reasons, does it make it ok? This is a lovely story of people lost, people found and the truths that family is all about who we care for and who cares for us - DNA not necessary.

Other Birds
by Sarah Addison Allen
Pub Date: August 30, 2022
St. Martin's Press
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
New York Times Bestselling novelist Sarah Addison Allen brings the full flavor of her southern upbringing to bear on her fiction -- a captivating blend of magical realism, heartwarming romance, and small-town sensibility. Allen continues to serve heaping helpings of the fantastic and the familiar in fiction she describes as "Southern-fried magic realism." Clearly, it's a recipe readers are happy to eat up as fast as she can dish it out.
This was my first novel by the author, but it won't be my last. I loved this cast of characters who resided in this building… they are all lonely souls, some with secrets from the past...
the way they come together and become like family.
It's a beautiful story with a few meddling ghosts.
4 stars

Birds of a feather flock together. The Dellawisp residents have migrated there for different reasons but are seeking shelter from society. When Zoey arrives with magical Pigeon in tow, she's sure to ruffle some feathers.

Sarah Addison Allen pens a novel depicting that our departed loved ones are always with us, watching over their family members. Sometimes their earth counterparts can hold too tightly keeping them grounded. As readers fly through the pages to learn more about the residents, they'll fall in love with Addison Allen's quirky but charismatic characters.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of 'Other Birds' in exchange for an honest review. I'm a fan of the author's work and when I heard others chirping about the powerful novel, I eagerly awaited my copy. The book kept me guessing throughout the story and even the final chapters caught me off guard. A few seeds were planted but the others were surprising twists.

I was so excited to receive this arc as I have been patiently waiting for Sarah Addison Allen to release a new book. But, unfortunately, this book didn’t resonate with me the way her others have. The storyline was interesting, but I felt everything, including the plot, characters, and setting could have been elevated, and I missed the light-hearted southern charm of her previous works. Although not what I was expecting, I still enjoyed the read and the messages it conveyed, so I give this one 3 stars.

If, like me, you've been waiting for Sarah Addison Allen's next book with barely contained glee, your wait is almost over. Her newest comes out on August 30 after seven years of checking Goodreads for an announcement, following her on social media and sending so much love as she experienced illnesses in her family.

The story centers on Zoey, a teenager who is spending her summer on Mallow Island in the condo her mother left her when she died. Zoey and her invisible bird Pigeon (ohhh, how I've missed this fanciful master of just enough magical realism) are staying at the Dellawisp, a tucked-away cobblestone gem named after the delicate turquoise birds that call it home. Here, Zoey and the flawed, memorable people of the Dellawisp work toward healing their past and creating a brighter future.

Though I had never read about Mallow Island, being there through the pages of "Other Birds" felt like visiting an old friend. That's no doubt due to the beautiful descriptions of the quaint, quiet island. But really, I think that old friend is Sarah Addison Allen's writing. This was a quiet, soulful way to welcome back an autobuy author who is still at the top of her form.

Zoe has moved to Mallow Island to live in her mother's apartment. She is hoping to get to know her mother by going through her things. Other Birds tells Zoe's story and those of her new neighbors, Charlotte, Mac, Lucy and Lizbeth and the little birds called Dellawisps who follow and sometimes attack visitors.

Other Birds is magical, yes, but also bittersweet and tender. A gentle story of love and loss.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Wonderful to have Sarah Addison Allen back again. Looking forward to more.

I love Sarah Addison Allen’s books for their cozy magic and warmth, and this one was just as comforting as I’d been hoping for.

I loved spending time on Mallow Island with Zoey, an incoming college freshman who has inherited a condo from her late mother.

Her new flat neighbors are a chef, henna artist, and two spinster sisters … and possibly a few more. And it soon seems that they’ve all been brought together to help each other along in their personal journeys.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this e-ARC. This is my honest review.

I've been a fan of Sarah Addison Allen for YEARS now and have been waiting not so patiently for her to come out with another book. I definitely screamed when I saw Other Birds on here, and again when I received the approval to read it.

Other Birds will not disappoint. It's set in the south and follows Zoey as she moves into The Dellawisp, in her mother's old condo, to see if she can find out more about the woman who died when she was very young. When her mysterious neighbor dies, she offers to help clean out her condo and ends up in the mystery that is the place.

Other Birds is magical, with a brilliant cast of characters who beautifully blend together, and the plot is really about finding your place, overcoming grief, and healing. It's exactly what I was hoping for out of her next book and I truly loved it.

Thank you, St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the eARC!

OTHER BIRDS by Sarah Addison Allen is a beautifully-written and magical story that kept me enchanted from beginning to end. I have read and loved all of the author’s previous books and was thrilled to see a new one coming out. This is a story of love, family and friendship set on Mallow Island, just off the South Carolina coast. Set to start college in Charleston, eighteen-year-old Zoey moves from Tulsa to Mallow Island to a condo she has inherited from her deceased mother. It is situated in the quirky little condo community called The Dellawisp. Her new neighbors turn out to be just as quirky as the community itself. They include a girl on the run, two estranged middle-aged sisters, a lonely chef, a legendary writer and maybe a few ghosts. As the characters come to know more about each other, they discover they all have secrets and they are all dealing with loss and grief in their own ways. Soon it seems that the building itself has brought them together for a reason. I loved all the characters and how they unknowingly supported one another and helped each other move on from the hurts of the past. OTHER BIRDS is a delightful and captivating book and I highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

4.5 stars

SEVEN. YEARS.

Seven years, I have waited for a new Sarah Addison Allen book. And let me tell you, it's been a loooong seven years.

Especially since patience has never been the strongest of my virtues.

But "Other Birds" made my wait worthwhile. I devoured it. I read it in three days, regretful that I was turning the pages so quickly for fear of it ending, yet finding myself unable to put it down. I've fiercely missed Allen's writing.

The novel is a moving story of friendship and found family, featuring quirky, endearing characters who, before you know it, have entered your heart. Front and center is Allen's trademark touch of magical realism, too, and it makes for an extraordinary reading experience.

"Other Birds," however, is notably darker in theme and more melancholy in tone than Allen's previous work. The story touches lightly on a variety of tragic topics, and the novel doesn't quite have the same warm, cozy feel as her earlier stories. This may be a sign that Allen has matured as a writer, though, and I welcome her growth.

My only minor criticism is that there are a lot of characters crammed into 300 pages. A few of them are spread too thin, and I would've loved for their narrative arcs to have been plumped up and more fully written.

Still, "Other Birds" is truly a wonderful read. I'm thrilled to have read it and sad that it's over.

Ms. Allen, please, I beg you -- don't make me wait another seven years for your next book. Your magical stories are a balm to my soul.


My sincerest appreciation to Sarah Addison Allen, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the electronic ARC. All opinions included herein are my own.

I have waited a long time for Allen’s latest book. I love the magic quality of her stories and this one did not disappoint. The patchwork cast of characters are well drawn and memorable. Well done.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.