A beautiful book about queer love, self love and self discovery with magical realism (LOVE LOVE LOVE)!

Thank you so much for this beauficul arc 🖤

I loooove magical realism especially when it lands in the realm of time travel. And make it queer? I was really excited for this one. I did enjoy it for the most part, but it read a little more YA than I was anticipating/looking for when I picked this one up.

I'm not typically a fan of magical realism, however I am a big fan of Edward Underhill - so I knew I had to give this book a shot! This book is a thoughtful and tender story that explores identity, sexuality, and second chances. The MC, Darby, steps back into his teenage self, confronting the messy truths of growing up trans in a small town. There is humor, rekindled romance, and queer/trans joy!

Also, the narration was amazing - it elevated the characters and the plot with warmth and depth.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, HarperAudio Adult, & Avon for an advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: I'm not sure what to say here. On one hand I am glad this book was written, as a trans man it's very helpful to see more and more books be written with this identity included. However, it felt like a significant missed opportunity to show and share more of the experience. The book felt repetitive and lacked detail in areas that mattered (IMO) and had too much repeating detail in areas I cared less for. That being said, I'm glad the book is on shelves and maybe will fall into the right person's hands.

time travel? queer? romance? yes please.
I loved the idea behind the bookstore. the ending was bittersweet for me but still enjoyable. I do think this reads more like YA than adult lit though.

Heartfelt and hopeful. The In-Between Bookstore is a love letter to queer joy, found family, and the healing power of stories.

I really thought I would love this novel, but I found it hard to get into. I'm having a hard time pinning down exactly why it was a struggle, but I just wasn't that interested in starting it again after taking a break. The audiobook may not have been the best option for me, despite it being well narrated.

The audio portion of this was good but I did feel a bit like the narrator could be more fun with their reading.

I really wanted to like this book because it sounded so good, but unfortunately I just couldn't get into it, and it wasn't for me. I did like the narrator, but the story just..didn't work for me. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to listen to this book. I liked the narrator but felt like the book itself wasn't great. The MC was poorly written and not really given much growth.

Have you ever wished you could go back in time and change the course of your life? For Darby, this chance presents itself right when he's at his lowest and in desperate need for a fresh start. When he finds the perfect excuse to revisit his hometown, he realizes a lot more has changed than he could've ever imagined. What used to be a stifling place that made him long for escape is now a community that seems to have left him behind. But Darby isn't over the events that led him to flee, and the past doesn't seem to be able to let go either.

The In-Between Bookstore challenges us to consider an incredibly important concept: is it more beneficial to attempt to rewrite your past or would it be more productive to be present in the present? Which option will leave you with the greater opportunity for growth and change?

Edward Underhill has created a heartfelt, warm, complicated, and rich cast of characters that deserve the happiest endings possible. Most importantly, this novel feels incredibly refreshing because it perfectly encapsulates what it feels like to not have everything figured out yet as an adult.

The In-Between Bookstore may be your next 5 star read!

I really wanted to get into this one, but it just didn’t work for me. The premise sounded promising – a man returning to his hometown and encountering pieces of his past in strange and almost surreal ways – the story never quite pulled me in. Listing to the audiobook, but the narrator didn’t click with me at all. I cant explain exactly what is was, maybe tone or pacing, but it made it harder to connect with the story. The writing had a melancholy feel that I usually don’t mind, but this time it felt like things were dragging without too much payoff. I found myself zoning out more than id like to admit and eventually I ended up putting it down before finishing. Just not the right fit for me.

In The In-Between Bookstore, Wes Browne offers a heartfelt and magical exploration of self-discovery, identity, and the power of second chances. This poignant novel follows Darby, a trans man who returns to his small Illinois hometown after losing his job and seeking a fresh start. Though the town has changed in the years since his departure, one place remains remarkably the same: In Between Books, the bookstore where Darby worked as a teenager.

The story takes an enchanting turn when Darby walks into the bookstore, only to find that everything is eerily stuck in 2009—down to the dated newspapers. Behind the register, Darby is shocked to see a teenager who looks strikingly like his sixteen-year-old self. The bookstore, it seems, has the ability to transport Darby through time, offering him a rare opportunity to meet his younger self and revisit the choices that shaped his life.

This surreal encounter offers Darby the chance to re-examine his past, present, and identity, with the hope of finding a new beginning. As he navigates his connection with his teenage self, Darby grapples with his memories, regrets, and the decisions that have led him to where he is today. He must now figure out how to harness this extraordinary opportunity before it slips away, allowing him to reshape his future.

Browne's writing is both charming and thoughtful, blending elements of magical realism with deep, emotional reflection. The story explores universal themes of love, regret, and the choices we make, while also providing a powerful and nuanced look at the trans experience. Darby’s journey is a beautiful meditation on how our past shapes us, and how we can choose to redefine ourselves at any point in our lives.

With its blend of magical realism and real-world struggles, The In-Between Bookstore is a touching and introspective novel that will resonate with readers who have ever wondered what their life might have been like if they had taken different risks or made different choices. It's a book about finding courage, healing, and the possibility of starting over—no matter the age or stage of life. Fans of heartwarming, thought-provoking fiction will find this an enriching and satisfying read.

I was not a huge fan of this book. While the concept was interesting I don’t feel like the time travel aspect played much of a role. It almost felt like it didn’t need to be in the book at all. Mostly just being in his hometown reminded him of why he left.

I also found the relationship with his friend so irritating. Why set all that up just to not have them end up together? It felt like a waste.

Overall I had a hard time getting through this one and felt very unsatisfied at the end of it.

Sadly, this book was not for me. The story was very different from what I expected. The friend group featured in the beginning of the book seemed more like stereotypes or caricatures of various different minority groups rather than actual people, and the main character did not hold my interest. I loved the description of the book, but the actual execution wasn't what I had hoped for.

I loved the representation in this one but struggled to really fall deeply into it. A cure LGBTQ+ love story and the audio production was great!

This was a good book. I liked that the character was going back in forth between time because of a bookshop. It was very surreal. My favorite characters were the mom and dog. They brought so much humor to the story. I loved that the mom was accepting of her trans son. In the end, I would recommend this book to anyone who has a trans child, is trans themselves, or knows someone who is trans. I think that this a a fantastic trans story.

DNF @ 15%

I loved the idea of this, but couldn't get past the main character who I found quite annoying. This also read a lot like YA - which I often read, but the characters were 30 so it felt really disjointed to me. Knowing that a huge part of the book is about the main character conversing with his teenage self, I realized it definitely wasn't going to be for me.

Thank you HarperAudio and Edward Underhill for letting me listen to this ARC on NetGalley.

Genre: Fiction
Vibes: 📚🕰️🌈💫💖
Rating: 3.75 ⭐
Tropes: time travel / lgbtq+ / self-discovery / second chances

While I did not mind the LGBT trope (and there wasn’t any open door romantic scenes), I can see some people not wanting to read it for that reason. I would have to be selective with who I recommend this book to. I listened on 1.5X speed and the narrator’s voice was still super easy to follow.

As for the story, it was very relatable to me (as someone who identifies as cisgender). I know it won’t be for everyone. Darby moving away from home after high school because he doesn’t feel like he fits in at home really hit me hard, even if not for the same reason. I never really felt the urge to move back home or visit during college, similar to him. I loved the conclusion that he came to in the end that he belonged in NYC — even if it meant not having a romantic relationship with Michael. At least their friendship became stronger. The idea of the bookstore being a portal to the past felt like it should have played a bigger role than it did, which is why I docked some points off my rating.

The In-between Bookstore is a bit of a somber story about Darby, trans man figuring out his life and coming to terms with who he was in high school and reevaluating friendships.

The story itself was promising, but there really wasn't an awful lot of character growth and some really stupid decisions were made. Darby 'helps' their younger self with absolutely no pay off and leaves their love interest at the end of the book, a love interest, mind you that there was really no build up to the romance aspect. This wasn't labeled as a romance book, so that subplot really wasn't needed.

Take this review with a grain of salt, it's still a nice story about self reflection, but that's about it.