I enjoyed this one and I loved the narrator.

Darby grows up with her best friend Michael and works at a book store. Many years later, after doing some gender reassignment, Darby decides to come back home and helps his mom move. He runs into Michael.

Many thanks to Net Galley and HarperAudio Adult for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book explored intriguing themes! However, I had a hard time connecting with the story and that is obviously on me and not the book. I recognize that it has great potential to appeal to other readers and I encourage others to try it out! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

Darby goes home to the midwest to help his mom move into a condo and via mysterious time travel, meets his teenage self in the bookstore where he worked when he was a questioning high school girl. Thought provoking. The narrator's voice wasn't particularly pleasant but seemed perfect for Darby capturing perhaps the feeling of being trans as well sounding not like the girl he was or the masculine voice he may have wanted. Very well done.

I really loved this book. It gave me such an inside look at the struggles that trans individuals go through that I cannot identify with as well as struggles that I can identify with. I feel a lot of the same anxieties about fitting in as Darby does and it's refreshing to hear my inner monologue in this character's perspective. The ending of the book left me wanting more but it wasn't a bad ending. I just wish there had been more resolution to some of the interpersonal relationships.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This book was a nice surprise. I don't remember actually looking at the synopsis before reading the book, but I remember thinking the book must have been about a time travelling bookstore. Turns out my idea of a time travelling bookstore was almost right. I loved the perspective of looking back on life to see what you missed in old but existing relationships even if that relationship is just with yourself. This was a good read.

I loved this book. I can't even describe how this book made me feel! It was heartbreaking and heartwarming and I will be recommending it to everyone I know. It really brought back a lot of feeling s and memories from high school. Being alone, impatient to get out of my small town. It was so easy to relate to the characters and the situation in this book.

I loved this books message about the importance of queer communities! Darby was an extremely likable lead and Michael was a great love interest. Their past was just the right level of intriguing and their present was just tame enough that leaving them apart didn’t hurt. I actually loved how it ended with them not together but it left it open for the future. What was important for them right then was that they each had a home and a community to support them. It was the perfect ending for such an introspective book.

I wanted to love The In-Between Bookstore, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get into it. The premise—time travel and a mysterious bookstore—seemed like it would be right up my alley, but the execution left me frustrated rather than enchanted.

Darby and the narrator felt equally annoying, making it hard to stay engaged with the story. Darby’s personality and interactions didn’t resonate with me, and instead of feeling invested in his journey, I found myself impatiently waiting for the book to wrap up. That said, I did appreciate the character growth throughout the story. While I may not have liked Darby much initially, I could see how he evolved, which was one of the book’s stronger points.

Another aspect that threw me off was the inclusion of romance. While I don’t mind a well-placed romantic subplot, the way it was woven into this story felt out of place. The mix of time travel and romance didn’t blend well for me, and I think I would have rather it been labeled romance instead.

Despite my hope that things would improve as the book progressed, by the time I reached the end, I was just ready to be done. While I can see how others might enjoy The In-Between Bookstore, especially if they connect more with the characters or appreciate the mix of genres, it simply wasn’t the right fit for me.

Listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration. The time travel and bookstores captured my interest. I found the author's writing style and humor appealing from the outset. The interactions between the main character and their mother were particularly amusing. I also enjoy it when a book can evoke various emotions. The time travel element of the narrative sustained the book’s momentum, rendering it a compelling, It was an interesting concept and I think some students would really enjoy this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the audioARC to preview.

5 time-travelling stars of magnificence!

I LOVED THIS AUDIOBOOK (also, it is very well read, with great nuance and emotion).

This story is a great place to land, especially if you have ever been someone to question why you don’t fit in “like other people seem to”. Did you grow up (or even later become) the weirdo, the oddball out, even though you might not been exactly sure as to why or how, just yet? Have you ever questioned how you identify or if there are others out there who are also like you? Have you deeply questioned how you are fundamentally different from those that are catered to in mainstream society?

Spoiler alert: there are definitely others somewhere out there that TRULY understand you - whether they are the same kind of weird as you are or not - you just need to find them.

And while that journey requires vulnerability, becoming 100% honest with yourself, and trusting your gut as to who you deem safe enough to tell, it can be as freeing as it is scary.

In this story, the main character is a ~30 y.o. Trans Man who travels home from NYC to the small Illinois town where he grew up. Recently umemployed, he goes back to help his Mom downsize and move from his childhood home into a new condo. But this journey also brings him face-to-face with his teenage pre-transition self, as well as his former best friend with whom things ended really badly in high school. All the feels ensue.

This book was really heartwarming, painful, touching and glorious. I laughed and I cried. And though my own journey is different (pan-romantic ACE, cis, neurodivergent, disabled), there were so many moments that I could either see myself in these characters, or deeply empathize.

And while I am sure that many of those that haven’t had to go on this particular journey can also very much enjoy this book’s story, I hope it always finds its way to those who need it the most.

To those on the fence, because sci.fi/fantasy or time-travel aren’t really your thing, the mechanics of that honestly don’t make up too much of the story. I do regularly read those genres, but would file this one under regular fiction, myself.

Huge Gratitude to Netgalley and the publisher, HarperAudio , for an audio-ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion. I also thank the print+audio publishers for standing behind this author’s story - representation and inclusion within all kinds of media is incredibly valuable and important.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for making this ARC available. I liked the idea of this book, and I have not read many LBGTQ books in the last year, so I was really eager to listen to this title. I failed to see what the author was trying to do, and the time travel did not help me at all. Darby is going home to help his mom move and try to come to terms with how he left. The end just didn't tie up the ends for me. I did like the community Darby found in New York and his hometown. I loved seeing the dynamic between Darby and his mom. I was just hoping for something more.

If you could go back and tell your younger self anything, what would it be? A great sci-fi, time travel story told from a FTM transgender perspective. Darby finds himself back in his hometown, but when he enters the bookstore he worked in as a teen, he sees his younger self behind the counter. What is happening, why is he here? His journey leads to a moment when he helps his teen self find solace by sharing a book written by a transgender person. It's a powerful message about the importance of windows and mirrors in story-telling.

I keep waffling between a 3.5 rounded up and a 3.5 rounded down. I'm landing on rounded down for now, because I feel like the main character didn't learn anything. The plot of this book didn't really move us anywhere.

This story is about a transgender man, who had a falling out with his high school best friend, and he can't remember what went wrong between them. When he returns to his hometown, and enters the bookstore where he used to work, he see's his old self working the register. He decides to befriend his younger self, in an effort to piece together what happened and maybe change the course of events.

When it comes to books that include time-travel and the possible changing of events, usually the MC is either successful in righting their wrong or they learn a valuable lesson and make changes to the present. I feel like this book had a little bit of both, which ultimately resulted in a little bit of neither. I'll explain, but spoilers ahead.

[The big mistake the MC made as a teenager was thinking that he didn't have any allies in his hometown and thinking he had to move to a big city to start over and feel accepted. Then, we see that he isn't actually happy in the big city, so he comes home, only to find out his community has more to offer him than he realized. That's fine, but everything past that is where this book lost me. Instead of learning from his past mistakes, he continues to push aside his friends. Instead of focusing on the present, he's too consumed with correcting the past. We also learn the MC was too consumed with his own problems to see that his friend also had problems of their own. Yet again, he has multiple opportunities to fix this with his present day friend, but he's too consumed with fixing the past to see that. At the end of the day, helping his younger self does nothing for him other than ease his own mind. It doesn't change what happened. And then, you think the moral of the story is that his small, midwestern town actually has the community he wanted all along... only sike, he moves back to New York... So, what did the character learn and what changed? Essentially nothing. He got his friend back, but he didn't need to travel to the past to do that, he just needed to talk to him. Which was essentially the point all along, that I don't think the MC ever realizes. (hide spoiler)]

Other than that, I loved this. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

For fans of:
- New Adult

This is a soft, quiet story of a transman looking to reconnect with his past in order to understand his future. Darby is turning 30 and feels like he has nothing to show for it. The startup were he worked has gone under. He's getting priced out of his apartment, and he can't remember the last time he spoke to his mom. In a panicked moment, he decides to pack up all his belongings and buy a one way ticket home (metaphorically because he actually drives) to his small hometown in rural Illinois. There he discovered many things are just as broken and dysfunctional as they were when he left, but he wonders if there is more to this small town than meets the eye.

This book includes:
- old friends reuniting
- LGBT characters and the best queer friend group you've ever seen
- hometown nostalgia
- a chance to fix the past
- melancholy

I enjoyed this book, it was quiet and peaceful and led me to some reflection on my own life and home town. Darby is stressful, but honest, and I appreciated the very human storyline in this book. It does not have the typical HEA and - as much as I would prefer that HAE - I liked it. I loved Darby's mom and her role in the story, and of course, Mr. Grumpy was the ultimate Diva. There are many lessons to be learned in these pages, and I could see this book being mind altering for many LGBT 20-somethings struggling with their identities.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Edward Underhill, and HarperAudio Adult for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted across my socials under the username @tinynightingales, check out my GoodReads profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863
my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/
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I spent today listening to The In-Between Bookstore, and I absolutely loved it. Such a wonderfully bittersweet book. This book definitely tugged on my emotions in so many ways.

I thoroughly enjoyed the representation and POV included in this book. Just wanted to give Darby a big hug (and Michael too!). It felt like a coming of age/YA novel although they are in their early 30s? The use of the time travel trope was interesting but never came together as to how or why and the end was melancholy but overall still an interesting read. As someone who went to HS in a small town and couldn’t wait to leave, that part resonated with me, especially the description of the football game.

The narrator did a good job but I think I would have preferred this one in print.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for early access to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

"The In-Between Bookstore" by Edward Underhill is a book with a fascinating premise—what if you could meet your younger self and potentially reshape your life? It centers on Darby, a trans man who, upon returning to his hometown, discovers his old high school job at a bookstore eerily unchanged, even down to the date being 2009. This magical setup allows Darby a chance to interact with his teenage self.

While I loved the unique take on revisiting one's past and the exploration of identity and personal growth, the story sometimes felt dragged out due to the constant miscommunication between Darby and another key character, Michael. It wasn't exactly the romance I was hoping for, and waiting for Darby to grow through his challenges required a bit of patience. That said, it's more a journey of self-discovery than a love story, and for those looking for a thoughtful read on such themes, this could still be a hit. Three and a half stars (rounded up) for the creative concept and introspective journey, even if the execution wasn't entirely my cup of tea.

This book tugged at my heart strings. Darby is recently unemployed and thinking of moving back to his hometown. When he left, he was a female, and there are some things he wished had been different. When he walks into the bookstore he used to work at when he was in high school, he realizes the worker there is him when he was 17 and trying to figure out who he really was. This story hits hard if you have ever gone away and come back home. People and things change, as do you. Thinking back on when you left may feel like a difficult decision. Darby feels this is a chance to have a do over and contemplates ways to change the way things were/are.

When I originally got the ARC of this book I wasn’t sure what I was getting in to. While there was a bit of fantasy with some time traveling, this was very different than the type of stuff I usually pick up. And after finishing I realize that I really liked getting out of my comfort zone.

Our main character, Darby, is an almost 30 year old trans man who is feeling more than a little lost and directionless. So of course he goes back to his hometown where everyone last knew him as a kind of awkward teenage girl. He runs into old friends and learns a lot about being vulnerable and opening up to those around him, and through the coolest bookstore ever has the opportunity to try and figure out what caused the falling out with his high school best friend.

I loved Darby. He was relatable and raw in his emotions. But his mom was my favorite. Her absolute acceptance of Darby was something I wish every trans kid could experience. She was fantastic.

I also had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, and the narration made me feel like I was sitting with Darby having coffee. I did have to speed it up, so I think I would have struggled a bit at regular speed.

All in all this was a beautifully written story about acceptance, found family, and learning to navigate through a messy, complicated world.