Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free audio arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to try to read this book as something different than my regular read. Unfortunately, it just did not hit the mark for me, but then again, I am not the intended audience, which I feel this book would be great for.

It was a good coming of age kind of story in which you see the main character struggling with his true identity during his high-school/early college years while also rekindling an old relationship from his school years and turning it into something more.

There is magical realism with time travel to the bookstore the main character worked at when he was a teenager while returning to his mom's house to help her move back in his hometown. I feel like the story was still kind of YA feeling even though I could see it as new adult. The author has mainly written YA books, so that is understandable.

I felt like the story dragged a little and became redundant after a while and by the end of the story I just didn't seem to care about the relationship that develops and why it kind of deteriorated in the first place. Give the book a try as it may work well for you, but unfortunately, it fell flat for me.

Thank you Net Galley and Harper Collin’s for the ARC of this audiobook.

I dnf’d this book at about 25%. I just couldn’t get into the story and don’t really care for any of the characters. The book is very inclusive and has more reflective tones to it, so if you’re looking for something like that, this book might be for you. Honestly, the most interesting thing for me was wanting to know more about his mom’s neighbour with the penguins.

I wish I loved this book but it fell pretty flat for me. I loved the queer representation but at times it was a bit much, Really, all these people you didn't like in high school are now queer? Come on.
This definitely read more YA than adult and in fact felt like it was written by a YA.

I really loved this audiobook! It has great LBTQIA + representation and had similar vibes to "The Midnight Library" (sort of). There was a little bit of a mystery as well trying to piece together what led to the fallout between the main character and his best friend Michael. Additionally, the main character gets to meet his younger self and I loved those interactions the most!

𐙚 Found Family
𐙚 LGBTQ+ Representation
𐙚 Self-Discovery & Healing

Edward Underhill’s The In-Between Bookstore is an emotional, reflective novel that blends time travel and LGBTQ+ representation. Darby, a trans man returning to his small hometown stumbles upon a magical bookstore that transports him back in time, offering him a chance to confront his younger self and revisit life-shaping moments. The time travel element adds a layer of poignancy as Darby faces his past while grappling with adult responsibilities and relationships. Darby’s journey is relatable for anyone navigating identity and nostalgia. Overall, The In-Between Bookstore is a tender, thought-provoking novel that shines in its exploration of themes like self-acceptance, healing one’s inner child, and questioning where one truly belongs.

Rating: ✰✰✰✰/5

Thank you for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. ・❥・

I loved everything about this book. To be honest I did not read the synopsis before requesting the arc, I just saw the title and the LGBTQIA+ and said that's for me! I like going into my books blind so I don't have any expectations.

This book follows a transgender adult trying to come to terms with where he is in life at the age of 30. As a mom of a transgender teen, and as a queer person myself, I loved the representation in this book. So many books that say they're queer-coded just have auxiliary characters that are queer. In this book almost everyone was queer and it was great to see.

I looked at some of the lower rated reviews and the theme seemed to be people not liking the ending. I actually loved the ending because it felt very real life. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows and that's okay.

I got the arc for this audio and I think the narration was really good. I couldn't finish it fast enough. I will absolutely be buying this one for my personal collection.

I was first drawn to this book for a multitude of reasons one major one is trans representation there are so little books with good transgender representation , another is well I love books and book stores and the cover just completely pulled me in.

The in-between bookstore follows Darby a ftm transgender man who is about to turn 30, he lost his job in New York City leaving him feeling like he doesn’t belong so he packs up and heads back to his hometown.

This is a slow burn book that takes a long time to get to the point, it gives a really good look into the life and thoughts of a trans person, their fears and wants .

I loved this book all the way up to just before the end, I was ready to give this book 4 stars but the ending ruined the entire book for me.

I hate, absolutely hate with a fiery passion harsh reality endings. I understand why the author chose to go in the direction they did and I am sure a lot of people will enjoy the ending of this book but it just yanked me out of the magic of this book and slammed me into the wall back into reality.

Shaan Dasani did an amazing job narrating, good speed and his voice fit the character well.

Thank you netgalley, harperaudio adult and HarperAudio for the arc

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult | HarperAudio for this ARC audiobook for review. This book did not turn out how I was expecting when I picked up it up, but it was very good. What would tell your teenage self if you had the chance? Darby is about to turn 30 and finds himself unemployed and back in his home town. He couldn’t wait to get out of this small town in Illinois when he was a teenager, but the town looks different now. Darby has a chance to reconnect with people from high school and through the old bookstore he worked in, Darby is able to reach across time and connect with his teenage self. Through a summer back at home, Darby is able to take a good look at himself now and when he was younger and maybe figure out who he and who he wants to be.

This book was so emotional., I really loved it. It was a short book but it really packed a punch. I liked how it was not too much of a sci-fi, because I feel like the book was more about Darby's trans experience than anything else and the bookshop just gave him the right opportunity to reflect on it. I was a little shocked with how the book ended but I think that it works really well. It showed the growth in all of his relationships, both in Illinois and New York, and that reconnecting with someone can come in many different forms. I also there were multiple relationship being reformed in this trip home. This book was great and I enjoyed reading it.

A moving coming of age story with a magical time travel twist that has a young trans man getting a chance to help his younger self when he mysteriously goes back in time for a chance to prevent a years long fall out with his former best friend and crush. Great on audio narrated by Shaan Dasani and perfect for fans of authors like Timothy Janovsky and Laura Kay. I really liked the found family and unique premise of this book. This is definitely a new favorite for me by Edward Underhill. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!