This book deals with an intimate exploration of time , a fable about love, an epic daydream for a broken hearted world. This family has a dinner guest and all the sudden a terrace appears. Great and wonderful things happen on the terrace until one day they discover it is not true. The book leaves you feeling good and sad all at the same time.

I had a hard time getting motivated to continue this book. I liked the stories but maybe being short and somewhat unresolved made me feel less engaged. The book is good, but probably not my preferred style!

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

odd book, which i usually like, but this left me feeling more stupid than compelled. i loved the story structure but i felt like i would need an academic level of focus to plunge through this one. DNF at 30%, though i certainly wouldn't recommend against it.

Happy contented, grateful, thankful Wednesday!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve for those of you that celebrate!

This time of year always makes me a mushy mess. I look for books with that captivate me. Books that make me feel. That make me inspired and my heart full. That bring goodness to my days and introduce me to characters I won’t soon forget. That make me thankful for my friendships and family, and all the little things that make my life have so much meaning.

Both of these books left an impact. They made me smile and also made me cry. This time of year always makes me reflect on so much and I am filled with so much contentedness. I can’t express enough how much being a part of this amazing community means to me. I may never have been introduced to these stories or had the courage to recommend these books to others if it weren’t for all of you amazing humans.

I think if you celebrate, you should spend Thanksgiving reading one of these amazing stories. They will make you feel and that's always why I recommend the books I do.

As with all my favorite reads, here are a few of my favorites quotes. I hope they make you feel something magical in your heart, like they did for me.

Both 4.5 stars
“They were cramped, Edward said, but in a way that felt familiar and warm, no? Yes, Annie agreed. Secretly, she felt that their lack of space probably signaled her lack of promise, a final judgment on her poor priorities and half-hewn choices. But it was a judgment that, in her deepest heart, had grown commonplace and comfortable, only jabbing its elbow of discontent at moments that found her particularly low. They were lucky in so many ways. They were healthy and happy and fine.”

“The mind corrects for inconsistencies so that living can continue.”

“If you sit on the edges of your own universe, you still might have been the center of someone else’s.”

“The future and the past were on either side of a bridge, and no matter which way Rosie walked, the sun was in her eyes.”

Terrace Story by Hilary Leichter is a book divided into 4 chapters. Each chapter is a self-contained story by itself. Together, however, the 4 chapters come together to tell one big story. The 1st chapter tells the story of Edward & Annie, a young couple who have dreams of how they'd like to live, but not enough money to achieve them. They move into a tiny city apartment with their baby daughter, Rose. Annie has been on maternity leave from her sales job. Her friend & co-worker, Stephanie, has taken on Annie’s clients while she is off work.

One day, Annie invites Stephanie to come over for dinner. When Stephanie arrives she asks Edward & Annie if they'd prefer to eat out on the terrace. The apartment doesn't have a terrace, but before they can explain this, Stephanie opens the closet door only to find a beautiful terrace. Edward & Annie are bewildered. They wonder if they somehow overlooked the terrace when they moved in. They join Stephanie on the terrace & have a lovely evening. After Stephanie leaves, they try the closet door themselves but this time when they open it, there is only the closet. Over the course of days, they try various ways of opening the closet in order to get to the terrace, but no matter what they try they only have a closet. No terrace. They invite Stephanie over another evening &, again, Stephanie suggests they go out on the terrace. She opens the closet door, & the beautiful terrace has reappeared. Why does the terrace only appear when Stephanie opens the door?

The 2nd chapter tells the story of George & Lydia. The 3rd chapter is about Stephanie. The 4th is set on an interstellar suburb as humanity migrates into outer space. In this story, Rose meets with a woman who is her grandaughter.

Themes explored in the book are loneliness, longing, loss, death, & extinction. The book is well written & the story is engaging. Each chapter of the book offers different ways of exploring the themes, & together they are a powerful meditation on them.

I found this book to be slightly confusing, but in a fun and thought provoking way. It seemed to follow the magical realism genre, which I thought was very fun, as that is not typically a genre I read very often. The story purposefully left some holes for the reader to fill -- some of which I enjoyed, some of which I found to be slightly too confusing for me.

I found the first story much more interesting than the second story, but I liked that it all wrapped up by the end. I can't say I came away with a solid understanding of this book, but I think that is part of the fun.

3.5 stars rounded up!

I'll start off by saying that I don't typically read magical realism. When I read the description of the book I hadn't realized it was magical realism, but shortly into reading it I realized what it was. It took me a bit to get into it, and I'll admit I was a little confused at first, but ultimately I ended up liking it. I still don't fully understand how everything worked (which might be the point, I'm not sure), but I liked how full circle things ended up being. I would definitely recommend this book, but to people who already like magical realism. I'd be curious to know their thoughts on the book. Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for this ARC.

Annie, Edward, and their young daughter, Rose, live in a cramped apartment. One night, without warning, they find a beautiful terrace hidden in their closet. It wasn’t there before, and it seems to only appear when their friend Stephanie visits. A city dweller’s dream come true! But every extra bit of space has a hidden cost, and the terrace sets off a seismic chain of events, forever changing the shape of their tiny home, and the shape of the world.

Terrace Story follows the characters who suffer these repercussions and reverberations: the little family of three, their future now deeply uncertain, and those who orbit their fragile universe. The distance and love between these characters expands limitlessly, across generations. How far can the mind travel when it’s looking for something that is gone? Where do we put our loneliness, longing, and desire? What do we do with the emotions that seem to stretch beyond the body, beyond the boundaries of life and death?

This book is essentially a collection of interconnected short stories, all surrounding the idea of a multi-verse where time and space can be bent to incorporate different realties. Hillary explores love, loss, grief and power in each story that connects in an intergenerational commentary.

I’ll be honest, this book may have gone over my head a bit. I really enjoyed the first story, but then the second one lost me and I fell off from reading for a bit, unsure if I would finish. I eventually dove back in and was glad I did because I very much enjoyed the third story and learning the other side of Stephanie’s story. The fourth story was short, although it lost me a bit again. I may have seen more of the connections and benefited further if I hadn’t read the entire book over such a long period of time.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this book (albeit some parts more than others) and I would say it was definitely worth a read, despite me maybe not being the target audience. I would also consider reading this again when I’m in a different headspace.

I enjoyed many elements of this book but overall it didn't grab my attention as closely as I had hoped. I had a hard time following the different threads and looking for ways they would intersect. The futurism was interesting but I wish it was pushed a bit harder. Overall it was pleasant and enjoyable, but not very memorable or engaging.

A nesting doll story that's incorporates sci-fi & surreal, while exploring physical & metaphysical space. The 4 stories are intertwined that made me go back and reread to see what was missed the first time. It may not be for everyone, but does lend to a great book club discussion. And it was short, but didn't skimp on details- will definitely recommend!

Pub Day Review!
Terrace Story
By Hilary Leichter
This is a VERY interesting story!! I must say I went in blind, picking it up simply because I love the cover!!

This is the story of a couple, Annie and Edward, and their new baby Rose, moving their family to a cramped city apartment. One day when Annie's friend Stephanie comes to visit, a beautiful terrace suddenly appears in their closet, changing the course of each of their lives! Overtime, things for the characters spin wildly out of control.

Through four connecting stories, we get the main story from different angles. We see what the little family goes through- excitement, joy, love, disappointment, devastating loss, hope and survival. We also see the story of Stephanie intertwining with them. Many years later we see where life has led sweet baby Rose.

I really liked this story! Very different for me, but in a good way! The first half I loved!! The descriptions of the terrace were so vivid and magical! I would have loved visiting with friends on this terrace! Very interesting and original story!!

Out today: August 29, 2023

Thanks so much to @hilsaphina, @eccobooks, and @netgalley for the gifted ARC of Terrace Story!

I could not bring myself to finish this book. While the concept was interesting, I just could not get into the writing style. I found that the story was trying to delve into deeper subjects without the details or plot to supplement it. I couldn't get into any of the characters and I found their emotions and motives to be unrelatable. Overall, this might not be the book for me.

Leichter weaves an incredible interconnected series of stories, that I cannot stop thinking about. I especially cannot stop thinking about Stephanie and Annie's stories, with their complicated backstories. I love complicated characters, and Leichter writes them deliciously well.

Terrace Story was unlike anything I've ever read before. Such a unique premise! But at the same time, this book had me often feeling confused and disoriented. Maybe that was the author's intent...? The intertwining storylines are very well done and I liked many of the characters.

hilary leichter creates something magical in her latest novella.

told in four parts that interlock and connect, terrace story follows for the most part a family of three. annie, edward and their baby rose live in a small apartment in the city, that is until they open their closet and find a beautiful terrace space that transforms not only their apartment but their lives forever. the family’s happiness quickly turns into a nightmare when edward and little rose seem to get stuck in the surreal world of their terrace with no way to get back home, annie is left behind.

what happens next is a story told across three other generations, this is a story about love and how far it travels.

Thank you to Ecco and Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A young couple discovers a magical terrace through a door in their apartment. The terrace appears only at certain times. That's all you need to know going into this story. LOL

Terrace Story is a novel that reveals itself over the course of four narrative timelines. The lyrical prose was captivating and I was impressed with how the author connected each of the four chapters.

Magical realism. Distinct cast of characters. AND some twists and turns. Good stuff.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins Ecco for gifting me a digital ARC of this magical book by Hilary Leichter - 4 stars!

Annie, Edward and their young daughter, Rose, live in a tiny apartment. However, when their new friend Stephanie visits, a closet magically transforms into a beautiful terrace. Without thinking of the consequences, they continue to have Stephanie over and spend time on the terrace. But there is a cost for everything.

There are four somewhat-interrelated stories here, all involving love and loss in such a magical way. A good reminder that actions have consequences for us and those we love. In this book, both space and time change; the writing is beautiful, invoking both sad and happy feelings.

"Terrace Story," a weird and wonderful short novel by Hilary Leichter, explores intriguing ideas about the future, environmental collapse and even the multiverse. Using matter-of-fact language to describe things that are anything but ordinary, Leichter introduces us to people who are searching for peace and also a little space of their own as the Earth inches (or hurtles?) toward catastrophe. The characters could be people much like ourselves 50 or a hundred years from now. They could already be us, living a life of relative privilege and trying to get through the day, sometimes not seeing the beauty in the ordinary -- a tree, a college party, a first kiss -- until it is irretrievably past. This is a work of science fiction without explosions and robots that instead invites us to see the magic of the lives we are living right this minute.

Terrace Story by Hilary Leichter, was an interesting read. It follows follows Annie, Edward and their young daughter Rose.
They live in a cramped apartment and it is often stifling. But when a friend name Stephanie visits, a terrace appears out of a closet. On the terrace they gain space and perspective. At first it is what anyone would want in a cramped apartment until they notice the repercussions. The people that visit, the changes for the family and the problems that arise can’t be ignored. But how can they stop them? There was a lot going on in this book and it was a lot to keep up with. I liked the writing but struggled with the story. It hit a lot of topics but didn’t have much substance. Over all this was a 4 star review for me. I am sure this book was a five for some but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. That is ok because i love to try new stories by new authors and this was no different. I want to thank Netgalley and the author for my copy for an honest review. It was my pleasure to read and review.