Sarah Beth Durst’s The Warbler is a captivating blend of mystery and fantasy that immerses readers in a world both enchanting and eerily familiar. The story’s mystical elements are beautifully crafted, weaving a plot that is as unpredictable as it is engaging. What truly stands out, however, are the characters—deeply relatable and endearing, even as they navigate lives far from ordinary. The protagonist, despite her unconventional circumstances, feels authentic and easy to connect with, making her journey all the more compelling. Durst’s storytelling is both imaginative and heartfelt, leaving readers spellbound from start to finish. A must-read for fans of magical realism and character-driven tales!

In this contemporary Gothic novel, Durst spins a tale of magic and poetry. The main character, Elisa goes on a journey to rediscover her family history in a captivating story.

This was such a beautiful story. Elisa has to keep moving and cannot stay in a place more than ten months. She and her mom lived this way her whole life. Her mother told her if she stayed longer or revisited a place, she would turn into a tree. When Elisa comes upon a small town in Massachusetts, she slowly realizes there may be people who have curses as well. This book was all about letting go and allowing people to make their own "mistakes". To be caged, or to be set free? Both could be curses, and Elisa comes to understand this. Throughout this story I was not sure if this was just something her mother told her so she would travel with her, or if it really was a curse. I think this story will stay with me for quite awhile!

5/5 glowing stars

"My mother is a willow. She stands by a stream that burbles like a toddler’s kisses, and her leaves dip into the water whenever the wind blows, to be nibbled by fish who don’t know any better."

That knowledge is at the root of Elisa involuntary nomadic lifestyle for as long as she can remember. Since she was a child, the women in her family have been on the run for a generational curse that prevents them from ever settling down. Whenever they stay longer than 10 months at a time, or attempt to make a place their home, their bodies will transform to trees, and they will be rooted there for eternity.
After her mother’s death, Elisa reaches a breaking-point. Tired of constant goodbyes, she sets out to get to the origin of their curse, in hopes of breaking it. Her journey brings her to a small Massachusetts town, seemingly cursed with the opposite faith; its inhabitants being unable to leave. As Elisa learns about the town’s history, she understands more about the women in her family, who seem doomed to never get what they want.

The premise of The Warbler reminded me a lot of two other recent popular novels - A Short Walk Through a Wide World and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – and I was interested to see how Sarah Beth Durst would make this her own. Straight out of the gate, I loved this book by far the most out of the aforementioned ones. If you're in the market for a great magical realism story along those lines, but with a more mature (less YA-) feel: don’t pass this one up!

What I loved:
Sarah Beth Durst weaves a beautiful generational tale about familial bonds, expectations, regrets and what it means to be free. Through the perspectives of 3 generations of women (Elisa, her mother and her grandmother), we uncover the origins of their curse and the way it intertwines with the towns history. It can be difficult to craft equally compelling protagonists and their storylines, but the SBD does it with ease. I didn’t expect to be this emotionally invested in such a short amount of time, and yet…
On a surface level, there’s already a lot to love. The mysteries do a great job of pulling you in, and keeping you hooked. Then SBD does slightly magical small-town settings incredibly well – just look at The Spellshop. She also introduces her romantic- and friendship-subplots in such a gentle way that I really appreciate. Romance is not the main focus of this story, and Durst knows this. The romance never tries to steal the spotlight away from the rest of the story - which was one of my problems with Addie LaRue and A Short Walk - but supports and adds to what its truly about.
At its heart, this story is about family and these three women’s yearning for freedom, for themselves and their daughters. Tragically though, they all have a different image of freedom, and the hammers they use to smash their own cages are the same that forge the bars of their daughters’.

Inheritance in all its forms plays a big role in this story. A trigger warning might be in order for (genetic) cancer, which is at least part of the metaphor. This made it a hard hitter for me personally, but I really loved the way the story explored all its different aspects. Especially the way these three women all dealt with the dilemma between full commitment and self-preservation in loneliness, all in different- but relatable ways… Let me just say: there were tears in my eyes, which is so rare that it almost guarantees a favourite-of-the-year-spot when it does happen.

What I didn’t love:
If I had to mention a single downside, it would be its timeline. The story takes place over the course of a couple of days, which feels like far too short of a timeframe for the development that is being made. I’d have kept the story exactly as is, but made it so a little more time would pass between chapters, making the developing relationships and insights a bit less insta-lovy and a bit more realistic.
Overall, can’t recommend this one enough. If you want an outrageous blurb to take out of context, here you go: In my opinion, this was like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue but better.

Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I LOVED The Warbler! This was such a phenomenal read. Whether you like stories about people breaking curses, visiting weird towns, or being on the edge of your seat all the way through, this is going to be a phenomenal read for you.

The cast of characters was so robust and interesting and I felt like I could watch every moment like a Big Fish style Tim Burton film in my mind. I am so glad to have been able to listen to an audio ARC, not only because the narration was phenomenal, but because it allowed me to binge the book without having to set it down!

I adored The Spellshop, so I was really excited to see another magical book from Sarah Beth Durst, and it did not disappoint. It even has one of the same narrators for the audiobook!

I really enjoyed this intergenerational story about Elisa, her mother Laurie, and her mother's mother Rose. Though I wouldn't exactly call this cozy, it also wasn't super high stakes, either. It had a sort of soothing quality to the writing that is similar to The Spellshop. Absolutely recommend to readers who enjoy a bit of a magical element to their stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This is different from other things I've read from Sarah Beth Durst, but I ended up really enjoying it. The Warbler is an inter-generational magical realism story about the constraints placed on women, what we pass on to the next generation, what home means, and how freedom might not look the same for everyone.

Elisa is cursed. If she stays anwhere longer than 10 months, she will turn into a tree. That's what happened to her mother after a lifetime of living on the run. But she never stops hoping that she might find a way to break the curse. When she comes to a strange small-town in Massachusetts, she finally begins to uncover the truth...

This follows three interweaving perspectives-Elisa's, her mothers, and her grandmothers. At some point you kind of figure out what's going on, but I found it to be a compelling narrative. It does have magic in it, but in many ways it's more contemporary fiction exploring intergenerational trauma and the ways we find and create home. I don't think it's going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I thought it was good. The audio narration is excellent with different vibes for each perspective. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

This contemporary story steeped in magical realism follows three related women through time and place, focusing on Elisa in present day. Cursed, they must keep moving or risk turning into a tree: can Elisa finally learn the answers she’s been seeking and break the family curse? Oh, and there’s a cat and a bookstore and a coffee shop and a sweet love story - all the markers of a cozy read!

I liked this, and once again found the author’s writing style very easy to read: the story seemed to flow off the page and, while it’s slow paced, I never found myself bored. It did take awhile to get going and then wrapped up very quickly (too quickly and conveniently perhaps), but there was just enough intrigue to the mystery of the curse to keep me reading. What also kept me going was when swapping points of view, at times I was so invested in moving forward with a storyline that when the perspective shifted I quickly kept reading just to get back to the original character, but by then of course I was interested in learning more about the next character. The touches of magical realism are not heavy handed, and while the plot is somewhat predictable and the reader will need to suspend some disbelief regarding the magic, I found the ending wrapped everything up in a satisfying way.

Overall, this is a light story about family and love in many forms and I think readers of the author’s previous work will certainly want to pick this one up!

Thank you to Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing / Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What if you had to keep moving or you would turn into a tree?

This book is a must read if you like: reality based stories with magic sprinkled in, social commentary, feminist themes, coming of middle age stories,

Sarah Beth Durst's cozy writing style makes this strong spotlight on the complexities of women's position in modern society a comfortable fun read

The story follows three generations of women trying to find their ways in the world amidst the expectations of themselves and others. Grandma who felt trapped in her world, mom who felt trapped in hers, and the main character who is determined to break the family curse.

Content Warnings: Death, Grief, Cancer

I LOVED everything about this book. The author's writing style speaks to me. Her willingness to take on this complex social issue that women struggle with every day is inspiring. And her ability to create such a cozy feel with such a deep subject matter is inspiring.

Listening to the audiobook, I appreciated the three different narrators for the 3 characters. They were all wonderful and it helped me understand the book easily.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Warbler
Author: Sarah Beth Durst

Okay, after reading “The Spell Shop”, Sarah moved into one of my favorite fantasy authors, and auto buy authors. I was so honored to be given a copy of this ALC from Brilliance Pubishing! This just released on 3/1! Absolutely loved this book, and the narration was perfection. We have our main character Elisa, who is currently on the run from staying in any place too long in order to outrun the family curse that would turn her into a tree. She finds herself in a small town in Massachusetts where to her dismay, residents are unable to leave. She also begins to unravel her own history attached to the town, and discovers her ending up there was not really by mistake. I loved the cozy fantasy aspects of this read. The bookshop, and the cat.. 🥲. I also really enjoy when we have a bit of thriller and mystery in fantasy reads since it’s basically my two favorite genres having a baby. Anyways, loved this read so much and I highly recommend picking this up. If you have not tried any of Sarah’s books yet, take this as your sign that you must!

I love Sarah Beth Durst all her books are reallycute. I haven’t found a book that she has wrote that I didn’t like they all have the cozy feeling

Sarah Beth Durst has a way of transporting her readers to whimsical and weird worlds while simultaneously weaving themes that are ever so grounded and relevant. The Warbler is no different.

With evocative atmosphere and characters oozing with charm and depth, it's hard not to fall for this story. The Warbler is an introspective look at the people who raise us and how the echos of their teachings ripple throughout our day to day lives. It's engaging and thought provoking while still feeling cozy and magical.

I was lucky enough to both listen and physically read this gem, the narrator brought this story to life making an already evocative book absolutely sparkle!

A certain win for previous fans of the author!

This was an intergenerational story of cursed women trying to find a way to break away and live the life they want instead of having to move constantly every ten months or risk being turned into trees. I thought it was okay, not as strong as some of the other books I've read by this author but I would definitely recommend it for fans of Practical Magic or Spells, strings and forgotten things. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book.


I liked the book for the most part and the beginning is a little confusing but about half way through it starts making sense. The story revolves around a family curse but I found the story a bit predictable.

"You have to make a choice and forgo many other paths" type of theme

The characters are interesting and the little town is cute.

Ultimately I was very satisfied with the ending and would give it a 4 ⭐ if it wasn't for the predictably