💗 “Dedicated to the memory of my mom, who taught me that food is love. It was the first, and best, magic I ever knew.” ***

Sarah Addison Allen’s dedication to her mother at the beginning made me love the book before I even started the first chapter.

I found myself nearing the end of the book (on Kindle) before I even realized it.

Then I went back and read through many paragraphs again to make sure I didn’t miss anything! Allen’s writing is so beautiful and heartfelt; each thought and observation full of meaning.

💗”Vines symbolize perseverance,” Charlotte said. “Flowers mean joy. And the moon, here, is the power of change.” She pointed to her knee. (Henna designs) “Birds are supposed to be messengers between heaven and earth.” She indicated a peacock on the other knee. Birds had always been her favorite to draw.”

Each character in “Other Birds” shares a childhood that lacked a mother’s love.
Each character is haunted by a dysfunctional family past filled with varying degrees and manners of abuse/neglect.
Each character wants to feel safe and settled somewhere, and they want to feel loved.

💗”Everything around her was suddenly stitched together by unseen threads, as thin as gossamer. She’d come here wanting to feel a connection, but she’d always thought that connection would be to her mother. Instead, it was to these people. And it felt more substantial, more real, than she could ever have dreamed.”

Each character is living with ghosts of some type, good and bad.

💗”One day he’ll be ready to let me go. Until then, I’m here, weightless but not unhappy, waiting to be released like a wish or a balloon, floating up to that place where hope goes. That’s the difference between me and that Lizbeth. …She needs help understanding the right reasons to stay. And the right reasons to go.”

I especially enjoyed the friendship that grew between Zoey, who is experiencing a new world of adulthood, & Charlotte, who is the older survivor.
My favorite Charlotte thought:

💗”She was young enough to think that drama was something you had to run toward. She had no idea that drama doesn’t need to be chased. It knows exactly where you live.”

We’ve waited 7 years for Sarah’s new book. She fought cancer and lost her mother and sister during that time. This book is a tribute to the power of family —by blood or friendship—and I loved it.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, publicity@stmartins.com, trademarketing@stmartins.com and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy to review.

💗”We all want to think we are worth the trouble.”

This is a beautifully told story of friendship and the human condition. The author has a masterful way of drawing you into her writing and the charcters. I enjoy her charcter development, the picturesque Low County setting and the interwoven friendship . As with all her writing this has a touch of grief and magical realism that only adds depth to the story. A must read

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity.

I really like this novel! The story includes family drama, friendships and family of choice, a bit of a mystery, and ghosts. Recommend to readers who want something a bit different, interesting, and ultimately a "feel good" story.

This book made my heart soar like a dellawisp. An incredible tale about found family, Other Birds offered readers small-town charm and intriguing mystery. It had similar vibes to Gilmore Girls. I loved this book and the unique characters. The author did a great job keeping each character authentic and thorough.

Sarah Addison Allen is one of my favorite writers, and her newest book, Other Birds, does not disappoint! This novel has a deep sense of place and is absolutely whimsical. I read this one slowly to savor every page. Many thanks to the author and publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy.

Wow! An incredible book. Sarah Addison Allen doing what she does best. You can tell she really felt this book.

I have read most of Sarah Addison Allen's books, so I was excited to see a new book by her. This book did not disappoint. I love her use of ghost. Who doesn't love a good ghost story especially when the ghost are there for guidance verses scaring. Zoey was such a sweet character. She wanted nothing more than to belong, which really is the theme for all the characters in this lovely book. I wanted to be there in the Dellawisp Condos with all these unique souls. Each character has their own story but they are connected in searching for love and acceptance.

I highly recommend this book to fans of Sarah Addison Allen's previous works.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Welcome back, Ms Allen! What a brilliant story to make a return to the lit world. Readers will relate to themes of pain, loss, and rebirth in a way that only one can in this season of our lives. It is clear that Zoey, Charlotte, Mac, Frasier, Oliver, and Lucy are filled with hopeful longing to be seen and loved as flawed characters. That their connections to one another are the thread that ties together their strong desire for belonging. Other Birds continues Allen’s gift of weaving magical elements into her storytelling and will bring great comfort to her fans. Loved the story.

Zoey, upon graduating high school, moves across the country to move into the place her mom left her when she died years ago. Zoey's step-mom and father have never provided the love and support Zoey needed. She sets out to make a new start and her positive personality infects all that live near her. This is a heartwarming read.

I just reviewed Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen. #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published September 13, 2022.

This is my first book by this author. I found myself easily falling into the story of this cute little town on Mallow Island. Zoey moves into the Dellawisp and slowly gets to know her neighbors while trying to track down a book by a famous local author. Birds play a big role in the book as do some ghost appearances. I liked the characters.

I’m not a fan of “magical realism” or traditional ghost stories, but this worked for me. (It wasn’t the scary kind of ghosts!) Ultimately it’s a story about family, secrets and new friends.

The seven year long wait has ended!! Thank you to St. Martin Press and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel. All opinions are my own.

Author Sarah Addison Allen has done it again. She is masterful at the magical realism prose. The story takes place on Mallow Island, close to Charleston. The characters are woven and mixed with emotional baggage, longing, survival and deep seated family secrets. Most of all it is about letting go. The characters find themselves as the creative, lonely people they are now and using that point in their life to move forward with some hope, happiness and contentment--all with the help of a few ghosts, a pigeon and the Dellawisps. A complex, cozy novel with all the feels.

Such a wonderful story. rRandom cast of characters that brings a bit of mystery, ghosts, and some magical moments. So enjoyed this heartwarming story.

Author Sarah Addison Allen is one of my favorites. She has a way of creating a sense of place and developing characters that transcend their time and circumstances so well that they escape the book and live on in my memory for years. In OTHER BIRDS, she once again does her magic and this time she seeds her tale with some mysteries and surprises, some of which aren’t fully explained until the end of the book. And they are very good details. A new adult, soon to be a college student, moves to South Carolina and her long-deceased mother’s condo, to learn something about her mother, and perhaps herself, prior to the start of classes. She is the spark for the small group of neighbors to come out of their condos and begin their own transformations into fully functioning adults. Magical things seem to happen all around them. Maybe. This story is delightful and awesome in so many ways. It is hard to interrupt, a real page-turner, once started. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Was so happy to read an early copy of the authors new release. It’s been a long time and have so missed her stories. All the good feels and magic that makes her books so beautifully written are all still there. A sweet story with a few twists and friends becoming family. I enjoyed it very much!!

I love books with magical realism and this author does a great job of writing that. This story was more about the ghosts of our past, both real and spiritual. The story of Mallow Island and the new inhabitants, along with the ghosts of past inhabitants, was sweet and entertaining. There are many characters all searching for their own place and the 'found family' they create feels wonderful. I would have loved more as I felt that some threads were not fully explained or developed and the story seemed to switch focus towards the end. Enjoyed the book overall even though I was left with a feeling of needing more.

'She struggled to recall anything but, as with most things concerning her mother, her memory was more wish than real.'

'But Lizbeth wasn't listening. In death, as in life, she was singularly the worst listener he'd ever met.'

I think my own mother even wanted me to be grateful to Lucy, as if she nobly walked the path in front of me like a warrior and took all life's nasty arrows to her chest, just so I would know where to duck.'

'This grown up thing isn't for sissies.'

'Lucy then went in and out of rehab so frequently you'd think there was a sale.'

'Camille keeps saying we never know the deep-down reasons people do the things they do, so we need to be gentle with each other.'

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

If one likes this genre, all of Sarah's books are amazing. I would read her books again. Character development is amazing.

It is hard to find words to describe how incredible this story was. I love all of Sarah Addison Allen's books. Her words have the ability to make you feel and soothe your soul. This book was no exception. Zoey comes to Mallow Island in South Carolina. Her mother passed away years ago and Zoey has come to live in her mother's condo that has been held in trust for her until she turned 18. Zoey has never felt close to her father and her step-mother. Her closest relationship is with her bird, Pigeon. This is a new beginning for her and a way to connect with her mother. The condo however has no mementos of her mother so Zoey decides to befriend her new neighbors at the Dellawisp. Each of them has their own history filled with tragedy and heartbreak. What follows is a story that will tug at your heart strings as you form an attachment to each of the characters, even the ghosts.

Other Birds has elements of romance, mystery, and the paranormal. It is a story about surviving, a found family, and changing your life for the better. It is a story that you will NOT be able to put down. I recommend this book to absolutely everyone!!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy. I feel extremely lucky and blessed to have been chosen to read this amazing novel!

Another enchanting novel by Sarah Addison Allen . Zoey is leaving home yo start college after living with her father and his second family . She is going to Mallow island , South Carolina to live in her dead Mother's condo .You will adore Zoey and all the different occupants . Filled with mystery and and beautiful descriptions you will never want to leave

Four misfits, grieving for what they have lost, and who each endured difficult childhoods, find friendship and learn to let go of the past, in a condo building, inhabited by turquoise birds, on Mallow Island in South Carolina.

This is just such a beautiful and profound story. There are so many thought provoking messages in it. It’s charming and poignant. It’s a story about love, but not romantic love. The characters are quirky and flawed, yet likeable. Zoey, Charlotte, Mac and Oliver all have secrets and their own stories, but they learn they don’t have to be ashamed if them.

This book isn’t even released yet and it will be in my top books of 2022. It will stay will me for a long time. It’s magic!

“There are birds, and then there are other birds. Maybe they don’t sing. Maybe they don’t fly. Maybe they don’t fit in. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be an other bird than just the same old thing.”

Thank you NetGalley St. Martins Press for introducing me to this story and the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah Addison Allen writes in such a sugar-coated, soul-comforting, food-craving induced style that always tends to inflict memories of my favorite moments in life—lavender vanilla iced lattes on warm spring days, midnight runs to Wal-Mart with my siblings for snacks upon snacks, the butterfly flutters of crushes & young love. Her books have always brought me such joy and with Other Birds being her comeback novel after a seven year hiatus, I am honestly overwhelmed by the urge to go frolicking through a field of flowers surrounded by dellawisps. With topics of grieving, new beginnings, the power of unbiological family, kindness, and of course, food—I could literally FEEL the love Sarah poured into this novel. Read this book for her mother, for her sister, for her~~and most definitely/importantly, for yourself.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sarah Addison Allen for this arc!