I wanted to stop reading this book so many times. The story is about Darby, a trans man who has spent years wondering why his friendship with his former best friend ended. After moving back to his hometown, he gets the chance to confront his younger self.

What bothered me most was the lack of attention to how talking to his past self could completely alter his current reality. It felt like a major oversight.

Darby is the only character with any real depth. Michael and Olivia felt flat, and I wish the author had explored their histories more.

I was also frustrated with how the book handled transitioning. It barely touches on it, and when surgery is mentioned, it avoids saying whether Darby had bottom surgery. Even the sex scene skips everything after their clothes come off, and he just wakes up the next morning. It felt like a missed opportunity to go deeper.

The audiobook narrator was a good fit, though. I liked his voice fit the story well.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

A soul searching story about who we are and who we become and how we get there. The magic of time travel brings a young trans man back to his younger self and gives him a look into his choices. I really enjoyed the sweet exploration of self, the found family dynamics, and the hard but important resolution.


Thank you to NetGalley for my audio copy. These opinions are my own.

This book is all vibes and feeling and very little plot. And the vibes and feeling are excellent, don’t get me wrong. But if you’re going to have a book with very little plot, you need to balance that out with complex and interesting characters. And while the main character, Darby, is very well developed, the rest of the characters felt sort of vague to me. The concept was interesting, the execution was just lacking.

I will admit that I requested to read this audiobook based on the blurb from Jodi Picoult. While she stated she had read this book in one sitting, I had not. But, I did thoroughly enjoy this book. I've already recommended it to several people, one of which is my teenage son. I loved the premise & have thought about the character development often since finishing. We all feel unwanted/unloved and as though we are aliens within our own bodies, but this story dives deeper into those insecurities. All anyone wants is to be accepted for who we are & being brave enough to be our true authentic self is difficult at best.
What would I tell my younger self? That I am enough. Our childhood doesn't determine who we grow into as an adult. Those who accept us for who we truly are, flaws & all, are our people. Everyone else doesn't have our best interests in mind.
I'm glad for this book & I hope my son loves it as much as I had.
Now, to go buy my own physical copy to share with others.

DNF at about 35% I thought the story would be something that could pull me in more then it ended up doing

When I realized that this audiobook had magical realism + queer romance + trans representation, I hit that NetGalley request button SO FAST. Spoiler alert…I loved this listening experience.

Darby’s story accurately captured that point around age 30 when life starts throwing curve balls and you need to step back to reset. But the fun thing about his experience is that he encountered teenage Darby along his path to self-discovery. The audiobook narrator, Shaan Dasani, did a wonderful job capturing this journey, weaving vulnerability, truth, humor, and love into each character.

I won’t go into detail about the sliding-doors element, but let’s just say I was satisfied. Do I wish there had been more heartfelt bookstore moments? Yes…but I’m a sucker for magical anything, so I’ll always want more!

Darby’s transgender identity was a central part of the narrative, and it’s obvious that Edward Underhill put his heart, soul, and self on the page. This is an important book, now more than ever, and I felt so much joy seeing family members and friends represented.

Another highlight was how realistic the ending was, especially concerning the romance. As a fan of bittersweet outcomes, I thought Darby’s overall arc was 100% believable, with a beautiful emphasis on chosen family. By the final page, there were tears in my eyes and that’s always a good sign!

After being laid off from his job, Darby decided to get a fresh start and move back home to Oak Falls, Illinois. When he walks into In Between Bookstore where Darby worked as a teen, he is shocked to see everything is the same from High School. The new releases and newspapers are all dated from 2009, and the cashier is a teen who looks exactly like Darby did at 16. Darby is given the opportunity to talk to his younger self and possibly change his present situation for the better.

I loved listening about Darby's journey back home to Oak Falls and the time travel aspect of In Between Bookstore. I enjoyed the different timelines with Darby trying to reconnect with his high school best friend, Michael and discovering what is next in his life in the present while talking with his teenage self in the past at the bookstore. The conversations between Darby and his teenage self were some of my favorite parts of this book. Although the ending was not what I expected, I was happy with the conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for the opportunity to review The In-Between Bookstore. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book promised so much with its intriguing premise of time travel, second-chance romance, and LGBTQIA+ representation, but honestly, it fell short for me and I wanted to DNF multiple times.

However I did appreciate the inclusion of a trans main character (female to male) and a strong presence of supportive LGBTQIA+ friends was refreshing and well-handled. Representation in books like this is important, and this was a clear strength of the story.

UNFORTUNATELY, the rest of the book was a mess. The main character was insufferable, lacking self-awareness and basic communication skills. They expected their friends to check in on them but failed to reciprocate or reach out. One of the MANY glaring double standard that made them hard to root for.

The time-travel element was a super cool concept, but it was poorly executed. The protagonist was so focused on fixing the past that they neglected their present relationships. Even being mid conversation fixing a relationship and choosing to go back in time to fix it as well. Like…what? Why? You were already doing that??

The writing style gave me whiplash, memories being unannounced in current time line scenes, the time travel, it was just messy and poorly done.

I also got so annoyed with how many plot holes there were present and the super annoying ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for a digital review copy of "The In-Between Bookstore" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Darby is unemployed and in New York, not the best combination! He is feeling burnt out from all of the struggle and people and sounds around him, and even with his excellent queer crew of friends at his back, he needs a change. Soooooooo, he goes back home to small town Oak Falls, his mother, and his favorite bookstore. Oh, did I mention his ex-best-friend?

When Darby steps into In-Between Books, he is transported back in time to when he worked there before he transitioned and before the best friend break up. He is welcomed back into Michael’s friendship circle who all turn out to be a queer family in small town mid west glory, and he has the chance to mend relationships not only with Michael, but also his young self!

This book was fun and beautiful and narrated with incredible charm and emotion! 💚

Many thanks to HarperAudio and NetGalley for an Advanced Listener copy of this story (even if I'm a few days late). I think this is a story that had some things I really enjoyed, and a fair bit I wanted more from, but I'm rounding up from about 3-3.5 to a 4/5 in particular for the audiobook, as Shaan Dasani did a fantastic job, and I'm really happy the publishers were able to secure a trans actor to portray Darby's story. I want to say that Shaan did a fantastic job at pacing and making us hear and feel Darby's emotions and story. The only few things I didn't love were the first few scenes and his voice for Olivia's gf (whose name I'm blanking on), as it was kind of nails on a chalkboard. But the production was great, the distinction in chapters was clear, and it is an audiobook that I was able to immerse myself into.
What is this book even about? In short, his story is about turning 30 and having your current life (in NYC with his cast of queer friends) somewhat upended by a job loss, and returning to the small town you never wanted to go back to and creating a bridge between who you were and who you are now. Throw in some magical time wormhole or something and trying to both heal your younger self without ruining the present and space/time continuum, and you've got the In-Between Bookstore.
My favorite thing about the book/story itself is how it's sort of a love letter to both those who stay in their small town and those who felt trapped and left. And as a queer person who just turned 30 and has the chance to move close to home and a small town, there were moments I could really relate.
However, my hesitation and why I'd give the story itself closer to a 3/3.5 is that I feel like Darby wasn't trying to grow from what happened to him when he was still in high school and trying to figure out why he was "weird and messed up", even while he was trying to understand what happened with his friend Michael. He was able to recognize his part in their fallout, but I still feel like he was hiding so much from all of his friends at the end, so did he learn from it? Anywhoo, the story alone gets about a 3/3.5 but I enjoyed the audiobook so I'm lifting it to a solid 4/5 stars!

Thank you to HarperAudio and NetGalley for the ALC of The In-Between Bookstore!

This one took me by surprise! Yet, at the same time was a teensy, teensy bit disappointing. Any time I see the word "book" in a title, I just expect things. I expect lots of cozy book and bookstore content. Other than the bookstore serving as a conduit for the main character, Darby, slipping back and forth between the present and her younger self timeline, there wasn't much going on in the bookstore. Sadly.

Darby was very much on a mission to find her place in the world. He's a trans young person, newly released from his job, and finding everything about New York a little overwhelming. So Darby takes himself back to his midwest Illinois small town with no real plan in mind. What we get is a journey of self-realization, reflection on the impact of past choices and the importance of family and family roots.

I LOVED how this book ends. It ends in a way that most authors are afraid to take. It was refreshing and endearing and made my time with Darby all the more meaningful. I love when a character comes full circle and makes real self-discoveries. I'm going to use the word "refreshing" again, but it is so refreshing when an author makes the best choice for the character and not the easy choice that the reader might be expecting. The ending was completely perfect and I will be looking for more books from Edward Underhill just for that fact alone!!! I can't stress it enough! Way to go!

Initially, I did not like the narrating by Shaan Dasani. The narrator has a very nongender sounding voice. HOWEVER, whether intentional or not, the voice began to make more sense to me and actually fit very well (in my mind) with the storyline. The way that Dasani voiced Darby's mother's voice was very perfect.

First and foremost I would like to thank Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for sending me an audiobook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to read The In-Between Bookstore because I love the concept of being able to go back to a time where a younger version of oneself is struggling and helping to reassure them that things will be okay. I am happy to say that Edward Underhill took a great concept and turned it into something wonderful. I really enjoyed my reading experience with this one.
I was quickly drawn into the story. Darby is instantly likable and a bit complicated. His mind is always going a mile a minute simultaneously looking back and analyzing why things are the way they are in his life and being vigilant of the ways things could fall apart. I think the personality traits that Darby possesses gave the author a lot of room to explore the kinds of experiences that could lead to someone developing these traits.
I love that we followed a lost in life Darby exploring what it is they want in life moving forward in a magical realism setting with the time traveling bookshop back to where young Darby is working, also during a crossroads moment in his life. It allows the reader to consider how Darby feels about himself both in the present day and back in high school.
The formatting of pov paired with time jumps was well crafted. I never thought to myself that the magical realism elements weren’t believable or impactful. I was always looking forward to young and older Darcy’s interactions because the self empathy for Darcy’s younger self was impactful and so sweet to witness.

The audio narration for this book was incredible. I really appreciate the fact that a trans narrator was used for this. There’s a decent sized cast in this book and there was enough differentiation between characterizations.

This title has a unique storyline with relatable characters and steady pacing. Readers will find themselves within the story and root for the main character as they navigate their feelings about past and present.

The In Between Bookstore is the story of Darby, a young transgender man who goes home to help his mother move. While there he visits the bookstore he worked in while in high school only to go back into time and meeting his younger self. He runs into his estranged best friend while in town meeting Michael's friends and realizing that his town is not as close minded as he once thought.

It was a fun concept into looking back into one's past and reflecting how situations could have been handled differently, I really enjoyed the lighthearted approach to informing the reader on what it is like to live life as transgender. That gender does not define a person, but is only a part of who they are. It was very informative into the mind of how one transgender man dealt with life and the changes by exploring the reactions of those who knew them before, who knew their deadname. It was a sweet love story. A love story of long time friends, the love we have for ourselves, and the place we grew up. A rekindled love of place, family, and friends. I found this heartening as someone who moved around so much and does not have a sense of place.

I listened to the book and really enjoyed the narrator. The voice matched the character and I appreciated that.

I was given an e-ARC and am giving my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley for this opportunity!

I went into this unsure of what to expect. I honestly didn’t even know that the main character was trans until I started reading, which was a very pleasant surprise. As a transman myself, I’m always interested to read other trans people’s experiences, fiction or not, and this book in particular was incredibly immersive and different than others I’ve read. Throughout the book, the main character, Darby, is traveling into the past through a local bookstore in his home town (where he is visiting after he was laid off). He travels specifically to when he was a teenager, about to go to boarding school (and excited about it), but he was still unsure about his gender identity. There are two main objectives Darby is navigating: finding out why he and his best friend fought and then stopped talking and helping his past self to learn about what being trans is, and that it even is a thing at all. We never are in younger-Darby’s POV, although it is always in first-person. Instead, we see younger Darby through older-Darby’s eyes. Darby when he is about to turn 30 and having lived through what younger-Darby is looking forward to. Has grown into himself, realized things about himself. It was so interesting reading how older-Darby was so shocked by his younger self’s behavior and seeing things differently in hindsight. It reminded me of my childhood and how it translates to who I am today vs who I was when I was younger. It really makes me think of how far I’ve come, and was such a lovely reminder of my strength. Traveling with Darby to and from the past and how he used his time in the past to help him in the present. It was very cathartic and so well written and done.
The narrator did a fantastic job of portraying Darby’s inner monologue. They really brought the story to life in an incredible way.

If you could go back to a key moment in your youth, what would you try to change?

Darby is in the midst of his 29-going-on-30 life crisis. He just got laid off and can’t afford his crappy New York City apartment anymore. Like any young adult in his situation, he decides to go back to live with his mom. The caveat is that Darby grew up a girl, and everyone from his small town Knows. Darby fled Oak Falls as a teen because he felt he’d never fit in, yet upon his return he finds the reality of the town different from the reality in his teenage self’s head. And most shocking of all, Darby finds his teenage self working in the bookshop he worked in before leaving…

I feel this book is touted as a fantasy with the magical bookstore theme too much. The story is character-focused and we as readers get to see the way Darby’s own perspective towards his youth change as he interacts with his mother, former peers, and the rest of the town. There’s an infinite number of stories like this one, but not nearly so many that include a trans main character.

Sometimes the best way forward is to take a chance to step backwards and reevaluate yourself. While I did feel that parts of the story were repeated too many times (ie Darby and his mom mentioning that Darby rarely calls or comes to visit) I think that sometimes we do need some things hammered in before making the decision to change or not. As a queer person I am also obsessed with getting far away from my past and the people who think they knew me. So it was an interesting twist to see Darby’s return to a small gossipy town where everyone knew him as a kid, and know that he transitioned after moving away.

Overall this was a relatively cozy read, though it did seem to struggle with pacing so sometimes it was a relatively fast read. It could do with either less or more of the “magical” bookstore plot, there was simultaneously too little use of the plot device and too much extrapolation on it. But it made me emotional so I liked it.

Slow start, disappointing ending. Unfortunately I didn't really feel a connection to Darby and found the whole premise that he had a huge falling out with his best friend and has no idea what it was about pretty unbelievable. This book definitely reads more YA which is strange as the MC is 30. I didn't find the time travel element added anything to the story except for at the very end when Darby and Michael talk about there being infinite parallel universes and what they might be doing in those worlds. I really liked the narrator and the hopeful note that the story ends on but I felt like Darby didn't really grow across the story. Instead of being satisfied that he is going on to find something bigger and better, I felt like he was going right back to where he started.

I love magical realism, and this book delivered. The story was heartwarming, tender, and full of emotion.

After losing his job and the rent on his apartment going up, Darby goes home to help his mother move from his childhood home. It's then that he faces his past while trying to figure out what he wants for his future. He's given a unique opportunity to visit himself before he knew who he was while entering the Bookstore he worked at as a teen.

Read if you like:

🩷 Trans representation
🩷 Second Chance
🩷 Finding yourself
🩷 Magical Realism
🩷 Found Family

I really enjoyed this story. It's such a gem of a book. Thank you, NetGalley and Edward Underhill, for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

THE IN-BETWEEN BOOKSTORE is a wonderfully touching and tender story about self-discovery and identity. Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the advanced copy!

It was a cute book. I was really rooting for the main character. I draw a lot of parallels to the main character, also being from Illinois and moving away. I liked the combination of romance and time travel. Overall a really cute book. Thank you!