Far and Away by Amy Poeppel is a charming and lively novel centered on a house swap between two women, Lucy and Greta, leading to intertwined lives across continents. The story explores themes of family—both biological and chosen—as well as personal growth, motherhood, and the challenges of adapting to new environments. Lucy juggles motherhood, a demanding job, and complicated relationships while living in Texas, while Greta struggles with leaving her home and managing her relationship with her teenage daughter after moving to America. The novel also features a colorful supporting cast, including Lucy’s well-meaning parents and Greta’s husband, Otto, who embraces Texan culture with enthusiasm.

Poeppel’s characters are vividly drawn, full of quirks, personality, and relatable struggles. The narrative is infused with humor and heartfelt moments, balancing light drama with emotional depth. Though not deeply heavy, it is creative, fun, and highly enjoyable, making it a quick, compelling read that many could not put down. Overall, the book offers a warm, entertaining experience with well-crafted characters and a meaningful exploration of family bonds and personal transformation. It has been highly recommended for fans of character-driven contemporary fiction with humor and heart.

Loved this book so much! Home swap with a twist, Lucy and Greta find themselves needing housing in Dallas and Berlin - quick! So many side stories, interesting characters and moving parts to this story and I couldn’t get enough. All of Amy Poeppel’s books are great but this might be my new favorite!

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Another wonderfully charming Amy Poeppel novel. Lucy and Greta swap their Dallas and Berlin homes. Lucy’s family is escaping a scandal and Greta’s scientist husband has landed a one-year job in Dallas. What could go wrong? Filled with charming, lovable characters – the is funny wry story of how it does go wrong and how it is all fixed in the most unexpected perfect way.

Loved, loved, loved this book and highly recommend it. 5 stars.

Thank you to Atria/ Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for an early read in exchange for a fair review.

I really loved this book - it was like a warm hug! Amy’s writing keeps you entertained and endears you to the characters. The backdrops of Dallas, Berlin and New York were also fun.

I loved the house swap principle....gave me The Holiday vibes!
So sweet and enjoyable from start to finish.

This book was pure chaotic fun! Far and Away takes the classic house swap trope and turns it completely on its head with two women, two continents, and so many laugh out loud moments. Lucy and Greta are total opposites, yet equally lovable. Watching their lives unravel was both hilarious and heartwarming. Amy Poeppel nails the humor and the chaos of miscommunication, jet lag, culture shock, and trying to hold it all together when life goes sideways. This book was a delightfully messy and satisfying story!

Far and Away is house swap story set in Dallas, Texas and Berlin, Germany. Lucy, living as a single mom while her husband completes a project for NASA, is dealing with a huge upset in Dallas,Texas when her son Jack makes a mistake that turns his future plans upside down. In the meantime, Greta, a type A, art buyer in Berlin, is trying to mentally catch up with her husband Otto’s change in plans. What was supposed to be a paid sabbatical in New York City is now a partnership with a doctor in Dallas, Texas. The two women switch houses and form an unlikely friendship as they navigate the craziness of life away from home.
The book started out slow for me and the main catalyst for Lucy leaving Dallas required a suspension of belief that was distracting. Despite these flaws, Far and Away was an enjoyable read with lovable characters and well written settings. I found myself laughing out loud more than once. If you are looking for a vacation read with a little bit of travel, comedy, and romance this one is for you. I recommend reading it on Kindle so that you can translate the German phrases. I give this a 3.5 rounded up. Thank you NetGalley and Artria books for an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Is there a such thing as "Hope trope"? Because there should be. Things go wrong, but you're really rooting for EVERYBODY and holding out hope to the very end that they all get their happily ever afters.
Greta’s husband (they’re in Berlin) says “Yes!” to a job opportunity in Texas and Lucy needs to get OUT of Texas, like…yesterday. They agree to swap houses for a time. Drama and hilarity ensues.

This was such a great story! There’s not a main or supporting character that I didn’t love in some way. Nobody is perfect, but everyone is lovable.

I felt engrossed in every character’s storyline and the few overlaps were so satisfying!

Otto’s first trip to a Costco and his subsequent wardrobe choices cracked me up!

A fun, engaging story of two women who, although they are complete strangers, find themselves in a desperate, last-minute house-swapping arrangement for the summer. Lucy lives in Dallas, and her husband is currently on a sixth month mission for NASA. Although on Earth, he must simulate being in space, so he's not reachable. Lucy's son, an MIT-bound, soon to graduate high school senior, gets into some very embarrassing trouble online and at school and is being ostracized by their whole community. Greta lives in Berlin, and when her husband's sabbatical plans are upended unfairly at the last minute, he quickly finds another opportunity, in Dallas, but they must act quickly. The two women end up swapping homes, sight unseen, and in a hurry. What could go wrong??? Plenty, as it turns out. But lots of good things happen as well. This is intelligent, lighthearted, and filled with enough twists and turns to keep reader interest moving along. Great characters and charming secondary characters who you truly grow to care about. I look forward to recommending this title.

Amy Poeppel has a distinct gift for writing the quirky novel that seems light until you realize you're 100% invested in every single character on a deep emotional level.

Dallas and Berlin are the central locales of this story about two women who execute a very last minute house swap, due to unpredictable and unavoidable circumstances. There is a husband on "Mars," a hot downstairs neighbor, and some teens who are just trying to navigate their peers, social lives, and the Internet. It is truly a delight and an escapist read that will make you feel like you used your brain and heart when you are finished.

I shrieked with excitement when I received an early digital copy of Amy Poeppel’s latest novel, Far and Away, from Atria Books. Poeppel’s books are consistently quirky and excellent, and this one is no different. I adored everything about it and actually laughed out loud while reading. It’s charming, irreverent, hilarious and heartwarming: With a large cast of fun characters (who are very easy to keep straight), Poeppel highlights the importance of families and friendships. There’s a lot going on, but she pulls the story off effortlessly.

Lucy’s life has imploded. She needs to get away, so she puts out a feeler on Instagram for a possible house swap. Halfway around the world, in Berlin, Greta sees the post, and it just so happens that she and her husband, Otto, need a place to stay in Texas. What ensues is a hilarious situation: the women and their families are fish out of water in their new surroundings. The story is told from multiple perspectives: not just Lucy and Greta’s but also Greta’s daughter, Emmi, and Lucy’s son, Jack.

Another perk for me: I got to actually use some of the German I learned during my four years of high school Deutsch (thank you Mrs. Sartor, you were the absolute best). Even if you do not speak a word of German, the way Poeppel uses the language barrier and rusty linguistics for laughs is so clever.

I can’t say enough good things about Far and Away, so I’ll simply encourage everyone I meet to read it. I also loved The Sweet Spot, and I’ve been singing its praises for years. They should both be at the top of your TBR, particularly if you like books that are both funny and touching. Snatch this one quick when it publishes on June 10!

Far and Away is an absolute delight! This fun, heartwarming house swap adventure is packed with a big, lovable cast of characters and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. The story strikes the perfect balance between humor and heart, making it such an enjoyable read from start to finish.

I loved how the different characters' lives intertwined in unexpected and entertaining ways, and the setting changes added an extra layer of charm to the story. It’s the kind of book that feels like a cozy escape—fun, uplifting, and full of feel-good moments.

If you're looking for a book that will make you smile, Far and Away is a perfect pick! Highly recommend for anyone who loves a rom-com that's light on the rom with a great ensemble cast and plenty of heart.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, in return for an unbiased review.

The story revolves around a German woman, her podiatrist husband, and their college-aged daughter; and a woman in Dallas, her twin girls, her college-aged son, her parents, and her absent husband. The two families swap Berlin and Dallas homes as major changes disrupt their lives.

This was my first Amy Poeppel book, and as a US expat living in Europe myself, I found it to be a delightful surprise. The book contains a LOT of characters and locales, but the characters are robust and the storytelling is engaging- I read this book in two sittings. I highly recommend.

I LOVED this book! The story centers around two main characters, Lucy and Greta, with settings in Dallas and Berlin. Each plot line tells the story of how these women handle life’s challenging circumstances in very different ways, ultimately proving that women are a force to be reckoned with. I loved this story as well as Poeppel’s easy and comfortable writing style. This book was filled with humor, but it was also serious enough to not be cheesy at all. I rarely give a 5-star review, but this was a feel-good, interesting story that I will for sure recommend to others. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Initially the blurb and cover drew me in. Interesting family dynamics? The humor? The dual locations and vast differences between Berlin and Dallas is what ultimately drew me in. I thoroughly enjoyed this snd it was a quick read for me!

A witty novel about two families doing a house swap. They each have their reasons for the swap. Berlin and Dallas are two worlds apart. Can the families enjoy their time away from home?

I enjoyed this lighthearted, funny story of two family's, one in Dallas, one in Berlin, who swap houses for the summer that I finished it in a day because I couldn't wait to see how all the drama would unfold. If you're looking for a quick read with some substance, pick up this book.

Wow! I loved this book!! Amy Poeppel is an amazing storyteller, and I think this is her best book yet. It is sweet, funny, and clever. I was hooked from the first page, and I could not put it down. I highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This has everything I've come to count on from Amy Poeppel: interesting family dynamics, multigenerational relationships and representation, and a strong sense of humor. The settings of Dallas and especially Berlin were great fun this time!

Two families separated by an ocean and thousands of miles intertwine in what turns out to be a hilarious and poignant story.

Jack messed up, Jack’s mom, Lucy doesn’t know what to do about it. And with know help from her husband and Jack’s father, Mason, being that he’s “on Mars” and all, she makes a snap decision to swap houses. With a stranger. In Berlin.

Greta’s husband got a job in Dallas. He needs a change. She’s willing to go along with the flow. So they agree to leave their home in Berlin for Dallas.

So much happens in this book that it’s hard to summarize. But it’s all perfect. Otto’s acclimation to American life with his rough grasp on the English language is laughable-out-loud hilarious. Jack is a lovable character you can’t help but root for. I love the travel aspect as it gives a feeling of adventure and excitement. There’s romance. There’s heartbreak. There’s self-discovery.

I read The Sweet Spot, loved it, and knew I’d be first in line for Poeppel’s next release. And it does not disappoint. It’s just as good if not better. Mark your calendars for its release 6/10/25.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy.