gorgeous, enchanting, and weirdly helpful as a book. would really reocmmend it. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the eARC copy of this book!

As an independent bookstore lover, I appreciate the way the bookstore in this book is portrayed and used as a character to tell the story. I like that even if it's fiction (magical realism?) it still makes sense in a way that is comforting to read.

The main character, Darby, makes the story a lot more real by having real queer problems and questions. At first, I didn't like him because he seemed like a pessimistic type of character but then I was able to understand his point of view and made an effort to keep reading (plot twist, it wasn't really an effort because I wanted to know more of his story.)

The plot of the story seemed a bit bland at first but then it kept me reading until the end. I appreciate it being so true to queer experiences. Being queer myself, I was able to be more open minded while reading even if my experience was not exactly like Darby's.

Overall, I like the book. It's a soft reminder that all decisions we make lead us to a different path and there's technically no right or wrong decision to make. It made me think about my own decisions and gave me some hope as to what I'll do next in my life.

I thought this was a stunning story, not only is the time travel element done perfectly, but it's such a delight to see a story share the experiences of queer people thriving in small rural towns. I think so much queer contemporary writing is set in big cities and queer folks are kicked out of their small minded small towns, but we get to see something completely different in this story- not to mention the exploration of what we might tell our younger searching selves to help us feel less broken in the current moment.

Additionally - I want to note how beautifully the story with Darby's mom was told. Not to mention that I adored Mr. Grumpy, the basset hound.

I am so grateful to have been granted access to an ARC of The In-Between Bookstore, and I'd highly recommend that folks add it to their 2025 TBR or add it to their book club lists for sure!

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!

i’ve really enjoyed the time-travel concept in books lately, and the in-between bookstore uses time travel to allow our mc to see himself as a young adult.

while i didn’t really enjoy the writing, the narrator did an excellent job!

If you had the opportunity to go back and talk to your teenage self, days before an event that changed your life, would you do it? Could you handle reliving it?
A very special book that follows Darby, a trans man who at almost 30 finds himself going back to his hometown to help his aging mother... or is he actually going back to help himself?
When he walks into the small town's bookstore where he used to work, he is shocked to see a kid working behind the counter who looks just like he did at 16. Will this kid help Darby find the answers he's seeking? Why is he back and Oak Falls, what happened with him and his high school best friend, and what the heck is he supposed to do with his life?
A beautiful story of self-discovery, love, and the choices we make.
<blockquote> "There's this theory of the universe. It says that every time we make a decision, reality splits, like a tree branching." </blockquote>
⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 💋💋 | 🌶️

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this book! Reviews are posted on Goodreads and Storygraph, I will post a review on my Instagram in the next week, and will review on Amazon on release day.

The In-Between Bookstore promises a blend of magical realism and heartfelt self-discovery but falls short in its execution. The premise of Darby returning to his small hometown and encountering a literal reflection of his past self in a mysterious, time-frozen bookstore is intriguing. However, the novel leans heavily into literary fiction territory, with the fantastical elements taking a backseat—a misstep given its misleading categorization as fantasy.

Darby, a trans man grappling with a quarter-life crisis after losing his job just before turning 30, serves as the novel’s focal point. His journey of self-discovery explores meaningful themes like identity, self-acceptance, and the impact of past choices. Unfortunately, Darby’s self-centeredness and his tendency to dismiss or mistreat those who care about him make him a frustrating protagonist. While flawed characters can be compelling, Darby’s inability to think beyond his own struggles undermines the emotional depth of the story.

Though the book offers valuable representation and a poignant message about facing the past to create a better future, it’s hard to root for Darby when his growth comes at the expense of those around him. Fans of reflective literary fiction may find resonance here, but readers expecting a stronger fantasy or magical realism thread might leave disappointed.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

This was a fairly feel good story about feeling like you don’t fit in anywhere at all. I usually enjoy small town stories and stories about book stores and this was no different. I don’t love the misunderstanding trope but this particular instance wasn’t as bad as others have been. I was kind of annoyed with the main character for not understanding at 30 years old that queer people are absolutely everywhere, not just in big cities. I expect better from a queer trans author in that regard. Overall this was a solid read and I enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, this was one of those, "I wanted to love it, but I didn't" books. I'm a huge fan of Edward Underhill's YA releases, so my existing love of his writing combined with the unique premise made this feel like a book that was made for me. I feel like it fell flat in several areas. Most prominently, the time travel element doesn't add much to the plot line aside from uncovering a "mystery" that wasn't all that mysterious or interesting. I also wanted more from the interactions between the older MC and the younger version of himself. Instead, their conversations were centered around a friend that the MC had a falling out with as a teenager, and due to this, any connection the two of them shared felt forced and awkward.

I will continue to read Edward Underhill's future releases - sad this one just wasn't for me.

Thanks so much to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book!

While Underhill's YAs are well-written, this was a next-level exploration of identity, place, family, and queerness that I read all in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down.

Underhill captures the age-old question for queer people in small towns, who stays and who leaves? His MC, Darby, chose to leave to go to boarding school and then to NYU and to stay in New York City, while his best friend Michael chose to stay in small-town Illinois and has built a life full of other queer people in town. This, tied with the magical realism of the time-traveling bookstore, made this absolute perfection.

This book grabs your attention, makes you think, and makes you fall in love with the characters, even when they're messy and frustrating.

Being able to talk to your past self sounds incredibly stressful to ME (and it clearly was for Darby), but Underhill did it perfectly, especially with the ending, which I won't spoil but made me cry bittersweetly!

Check this one out when it releases on January 25th, 2025!

This book sounded so interesting, but for some reason could not get into it. Something about the main characters didn't speak to me. With that said I think certain people will adore this book.

3.75 stars

As an incoming superfan of Underhill's YA novels, I was very excited to read this adult debut. While I enjoyed the premise and various motifs, it did not knock my socks off with the same power as previous works.

Darby, the m.c., is a NY resident and has recently found himself unemployed. This latter circumstance, along with his mother's impending move, serve as the impetus for him to return to his midwestern hometown and face some potential discomfort.

While Darby finds a great deal of nostalgia and familiarity in his hometown, one of the most surprising connections he discovers is at the location of his teenage employment: the titular bookstore. This place creates a kind of sliding doors opportunity wherein Darby can actually interact with his teenage self and other relics - and relationships - of the period.

I was much more interested in Darby's identity-based interactions with his younger self than on his relationships with others, and I found myself a little too noticeably more or less engaged depending on the focus at the time. Additionally, while I really loved the concept of the bookstore as a sliding doors style portal, I really wanted a different final outcome.

As noted, I was an incoming fan of this author, and I remain that way after finishing this most recent effort. I am looking forward to more Underhill undertakings!

I really did struggle with the correct rating for this one, because the first half of this book was SO promising. It's the second half that just fell flat and left me feeling... empty. Which is a serious shame, because Edward Underhill's first two books were some of my favorite releases in recent years! As his first adult releases, I had high hopes for The In-Between Bookstore as well! It seemed to have all of the pieces I'd want to create the perfect story, but something was just sadly lacking.

After finding himself unemployed and about to be priced out of his tiny New York City apartment, Darby decides the best course of action is to return home to Oak Falls, Illinois to lick his wounds and figure out his next steps. His mother preparing to move out of the family home is the perfect excuse. But Oak Falls isn't the same as he left it; new shops line the Main Street and there's a small but thriving queer community, including a former friend named Michael who Darby lost touch with after a falling out years ago. Lost and looking for purpose, Darby stumbles into In Between Books, his one-time refuge from the rest of the town and the place where he worked during most of his high school life. Except... In Between Books looks exactly the same as it did back in 2009. And the kid behind the counter looks an awful lot like 2009 Darby. This might just be his chance to fix a mistake from his past, if he can figure out what those mistakes are.

I really did like a lot of this. As a queer person growing up in a tiny rural town, the story of Darby's life in Oak Hill hit me hard - as did his eventual realization that not every rural town stagnates; that they grow and change and can become the pockets of community we make them. The overall plot, of the "wormhole" to 2009 in the bookstore, was also a lot of fun! I would have loved so much more of an explanation for why it was happening, or even some sort of conclusive statement that there was any point to his ability to travel back in time or not.
His friends in New York City were all so fun, which made it frustrating to watch him make the repeated mistake of pulling away from them. And then the whole mystery over his falling out with Michael had a disappointing conclusion. Yes, I absolute believe two teenagers would have a friendship-ending argument over these things, but Darby's continuous lack of communication was just so frustrating. And while I know this book wasn't a romance, the ending was... honestly? A bit of a downer. I think any sort of follow-through on the potential of other timelines would have boosted this up a star or more for me (even a short aside chapter would have been lovely!). Instead, I just leave the book feeling more melancholy than anything else.
And maybe this is more nitpicky than anything, but I don't know why this needed the "adult" labeling except that the characters were in their late-20s/early-30s. It read more like an upper-YA novel, which is absolutely okay, but not what I was expecting going in!

First off, I just have to say, don’t go into this one expecting a fantasy novel! The In-Between Bookstore is much more of a literary fiction or speculative fiction novel. I thought it was an interesting and touching glimpse into the experience of being trans in a small town, but I did have some issues with the novel overall. I am just so mad at the miscommunication between two best friends and wanted to yell at them and lock them in a room together to work out their issues. This book is definitely slower paced, and I think the time travel element was included less than I expected given the book description. The novel ending felt right to me; there was closure but it was also a very realistic ending.
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!

This was a surprisingly cozy read. I think I assumed there’d be a bit more magical realism to the plot but I think it worked well enough in the way it was done. I enjoyed Darby as a character and the premise of the plot. His mom was well written. There is a typo at the end of chapter 23 for reference. It did feel a bit anticlimactic at the end of the novel but I did enjoy the decisions that were made.

The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill

A beautiful novel about self discovery, love and the choices that come with both.

When Darby becomes unemployed, he decides to go back home, the one place he couldn’t wait to get away from. A place he just didn’t feel like he belonged in.

When Darby runs into his old best friend Michael, all these feelings come back to him. He can’t remember why him and Michael stopped being friends. Spending time with Michael and Michael’s friends brings back so many feelings and memories. Darby has to figure out what he wants.

Whenever Darby stepped into the bookstore, he was brought back to 2009 and the young boy working the counter look like younger Darby. He wanted to guide younger Darby and let him know he belonged in this world!

I loved this book so much! I truly wanted the best for Darby! I would have loved a different ending for Darby and Michael but Darby ultimately did what was best and I love that! Darby found his place and his people, a place where he could truly feel himself. Such a positive message and a beautiful written book.

I really liked Darby’s mom! She seemed so sweet and supportive which I loved. She never gave him a hard time.

I feel so lucky to have received an E-ARC of Edward’s book! I’m really looking forward to reading more books by Edward. I just couldn’t put this book down! Thank you so much NetGalley, Edward Underhill and Avon and Harper Voyager for the E-ARC! Make sure to check out Edward’s book in January!

Publication Date: January 14th 2025
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#bookaddict #TheInBetweenBookstore #NetGalley

I was very excited about The In-Between Bookstore because of the description. A trans man travels back to his teenage pre-transition self by walking into his hometown book store. I love time travel books and I love bookstores.

However, it fell flat in some ways for me despite being very well written. The time travel never felt essential to the story. The main story could have easily been written without the time travel element because I am really not sure what it added, especially since nothing changed in the future. If you're going to write a time travel book then there needs to be some reason for it. My other issue with this book is the relationship between Darby and his former best friend. It sounded like he missed their friendship, but then suddenly they're kissing and having sex and.. what? I didn't get the sense Darby was ever attracted to Michael in high school, so where is this coming from? Is it a lost love story or a lost friendship story? It felt confusing.

What did I love? Darby's mother! She is a joy. It made me said that Darby wasn't a good son to her (he repeatedly said he never called her) while she was clearly very accepting of who he was. She is a hoot. I also liked Darby's NYC friends, they are well developed despite not having a lot of page time. They seem like a very supportive, loving group of friends that I wish I had in my 20s!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyage for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Darby, a trans man living in NYC on the cusp of his 30th birthday loses his job and his rent goes up, so he packs up and heads back to his mom's house in the midwest to help her move. He stops in the old book store he worked in as a teen, and when he enters, he finds he has stepped back in time to the summer before his senior year of high school, when he hasn't yet figured out he's trans and right before he ruins the relationship with his best friend Michael. Able to go between the present where he and Michael, who turns out is gay, reconnect but still have unresolved issues from high school, and the book store, Darby tries to guide he younger self to not mess up the friendship with Michael and to be more self assured and that there is a place for him in the world. The novel spends more time on the budding relationship than the time travel aspect. Overall, a positive message about belonging and the sometimes confusing path to figuring out who you are and where you fit in the world.

The InBetween Bookstore by Edward Underhill, when we meet Darby, he is at a crossroads in his life. his weeks away from turning 30 living in New York City in the same tiny apartment he moved into right after college and just got fired from a startup. So when he calls his mom who he’s never visited since graduating, but who visited him in New York, but he was so embarrassed to do the touristy things. His mom a Tourist, wanted to do. So essentially she stopped visiting,. When he calls to tell her his problems, he learned she is downsizing and selling his childhood home and moving to a condominium. Helping her move is the excuse he uses to retreat back home and try and get some space to figure out what he wants to do. When he tells his closest New York friends he’s going home. They don’t take it well but throw him a goodbye party anyway. So OK he arrives in Oak Falls, Illinois and before going to his mom’s he stops to see if The In-Between Bookstore is still there and not only is it still there he sees someone at the checkout who is dressed and looks strikingly like Darby himself. when he goes to get back in his car, he runs in to his childhood friend Michael Weaver, who abruptly stop being his friend on the 17th birthday. There were many things I liked and didn’t like about the book 1st of all, when it begins Darby just made me depressed. It seems there was nothing about his life. He liked not that he had three great friends who wanted to help him not that he had a loving mother. He really started grading on my nerves when he realize that, yes, gay and transgender? people do live in small towns,he acted almost as if he was left out of the no on purpose. I was looking so forward to this book because who wouldn’t like to speak to their younger self, but sadly the ending ruined it for me they had many likable and even lovable characters, but the ending was a little bit like a pointless exercise, because I didn’t get the point. It was a little bit like you get to the last page. In the last sentence it says don’t read this book. I can’t say anything because I don’t want to give anything away. People are going to love this book. I just did not.#NetGalley, #EdwardUnderhill, #TheInBetweenBookstore,

The In-Between Bookstore is about Darby, a trans man, who discovers that his hometown bookstore is sending him back in time to meet his closeted self.
The story is very slow and low-stakes, and I loved the concept of “what would you say to your former trans self?” However, it was a little too slow, and I ended up losing interest in the story.
I wished there had been more time travel in the story, and I wish there had been more interaction with young Darby. It would’ve made the messaging stronger. I felt like the messaging was trying too hard, and it came off as cheesy and predictable more than anything.
The ending was good, but the rest of the book didn’t match up with it, so it came off as weak. It ended up being a giant miscommunication that I wish had been solved earlier.

CW: transphobia; panic attacks; bullying; dysphoria; sexual content

This was such an interesting read. I truly had no idea what was going to happen, I was just rooting for Darby to live his best life. What would you say to yourself if you were face-to-face? This is the dilemma that Darby faces when he returns to his hometown and somehow ends up looking at himself as a teen, working in the bookstore. Do you impart great wisdom? Do you try and right a wrong? Or do you let fate get the last say? I was so in love with this story until the very end, which threw me for a loop. It was still a wonderful story and I loved it. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Harper Collins for the free advance copy. This review is my honest opinion.