I’m a big Poeppel fan and this was a good one! The premise of a house swap in different countries is an appealing one, especially when such bizarre circumstances befall one family, and another eccentric couple sets out on an interesting job adventure. The character development was done really well, and it had some really comedic parts throughout. The smart house was a fun addition, as was the neighbor Adam, who added much needed softness and fun to the Berlin side. This book made me NOT eager to visit Berlin, but eager to visit Texas! The only downfall is that the first half kind of dragged and needed more action, which lost this book a star 🙁. Overall, this is a fun, family adventure that does not stray from what I expect from this author. Give it a read! Thank you to Emily Bestler Books and. NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you Atria Books for this arc.

I’d like to let potential readers know that there is humor here and, yes, some trans-Atlantic hijinkery but also some very serious issues are raised and dealt with so don’t go into it thinking gut-busting comedy.

Despite the issues requiring Lucy and her family and Greta and Otto to suddenly need to and then decide to exchange their domiciles, I could believe in the reasons. As neither side had expected to be where they ended up and few questions were asked, there are attitude adjustments and fish-out-of-water moments before they settle into their new cities. Soon though, Lucy and Greta are exchanging texts as their lives are brought together even as they’re an ocean apart.

The reasons for the swap are at times painful. Greta’s husband Otto has long term issues with disrespect from his Berlin colleagues and finds himself flowering (and this is lovely to watch) in Dallas among people who actually admire him and his medical work while Greta discovers that Dallas is nice but not home. Lucy thought she remembered a lot more German than she does but getting her son Jack out of the range of the wrath of people who won’t let him explain exactly what he did was paramount. That husband Mason is stuck in NASA isolation doesn’t help. Jack thought that what he did was harmless but now he realizes how it could be taken the wrong way and how hurtful it actually was.

There are other relationships that are changing or need to be figured. The issues between and among these characters are laid out, clues are provided, and nothing springs out from nowhere. At times I wasn’t sure how some things would end up while for others I had a pretty good idea. There are homecomings as well as bittersweet moments. Truths emerge, self discovery is done, stands are taken and we see first hand that Jack is actually a well behaved young man who would never disrespect women and is, in fact, a wonderful babysitter for his much younger sisters.

The epilogue is a whopper. If most everything is tied up (maybe a little too) neatly, I didn’t mind. Characters I’ve come to care for find their happiness and acceptance. I feel that all of that has been thought about and earned without issues being filed down or glossed over. The perfectly tied bows that end the book are very neat but the emotional experience of the book which I was, frankly, not expecting leads me to a grade of B+.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, warmhearted and kept me reading. I enjoyed this book and will look for more books by this author.

When a school scandal hits Lucy's son right before his high school graduation and leaves him expelled and turns their family into the town's pariahs, she decides to get the heck outta Dodge... or rather Dallas. With her husband, Mason, deep in an experiment and job for NASA and unreachable, she finds a post from an old friend of a friend of a friend on Instagram advertising a house swap and impulsively makes the deal to relocate her and her kids to Germany for the summer.

Meanwhile, in Berlin, Greta finds herself thrown in the lurch when her plans to move to NY for a year with her husband, Otto, fall through, and he hastily accepts a job offer to uproot them to Texas instead. Having just begun to really feel like she's thriving within her career as an art curator, she's not thrilled at the prospect of Dallas vs NYC. She's also hesitant about having a stranger live in her home, but she'll be damned if she's moving to a Holiday Inn off the highway so she drunkenly accepts Lucy's house swap.

The two women could not be more different on the outside, but they're more similar than they know. The chaos that ensues from their lives and whirlwind decision to swap houses will forge a bond and friendship that each of them deeply needs. It will prove to be a summer of change and growing for their family and friends around them as well.

💬 "Something was coming, she thought again— trouble or change— and all she could do was embrace it."

✈️ Thoughts:
Wunderbar!! I was ecstatic to receive Amy's latest. Her writing and stories are always so fresh and her characters so messy, real and endearing. The prevailing themes of motherhood, marriage, and finding one's joy in life are expertly explored among the characters in Far and Away. The settings are vivid, particularly Dallas and Germany, and I loved the juxtaposition between the cultures. Clever, witty, and full of heart to it's core, this was all the things I've come to expect when I pick up a book by Amy.

✨ Thank you to Atria, Net Galley and Amy Poeppel for this eARC! Officially out NOW!!

Two women on opposite sides of the world make a snap decision to swap their homes-and lives-for a much-needed reset. One’s escaping chaos at home, the other’s being pulled somewhere she never planned to go.

What follows is a wildly original, big-hearted story full of unexpected connections, transatlantic twists, surprising discoveries, and the kind of everyday chaos that comes with new places, new people, and figuring things out as you go.

4.5/5 stars!

The premise gave me The Holiday vibes, but with its own smart, hilarious twist. It’s one of those books that feels like a vacation in itself…funny, warm, and packed with characters you’ll actually want to spend time with. It’s a celebration of women’s lives in all their strength and complexity, with beautiful moments of family, identity, and reinvention woven throughout.

Amy Poeppel has such an effortless way of pulling you in. I hadn’t read much of her work before this, but that’s changing fast. If you’re craving a story that balances heart and humor with a dash of adventure, this one’s a true treasure!!

I enjoyed reading Far and Away by Amy Poeppel. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

This was a really fun house swap, women's fiction story that had lots of humor, messy family drama, secrets, romance, travel, pets, and so much more! It was good on audio and would make a perfect light-hearted read for the summer. Recommended for fans of authors like Sarah Morgan. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @simon.audio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

This book was an absolute delight from start to finish. I loved that it was families that swapped houses because of something they thought was insurmountable. Lucy and Greta will do anything for their families and in the end become a family.

Amy Poeppel's newest summertime read, Far and Away, is a fun look into house-swapping in order to get away from it all. The wonderful thing is that the characters intersect and storylines merge leading to an ending that is wrapped up tightly, beautifully and dripping with hope. This is a feel-good story that begins on shaky ground. The main characters living in Dallas and Berlin have had rugs pulled out from under them, prompting a much-needed sabbatical in the form of house swapping. What ensues is delicious, fun and satisfying...all resulting in Ms. Poeppel's wonderful book mimicking the same terrific qualities. Be sure to toss this one in your beach bag. You won't be disappointed.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

Unfortunately, I decided that this wasn’t the right fit for me and decided not to continue with this book.

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to read this title!

Say hello to what I KNOW is going to be one of your favorite books of the year!

Thank you to @simon.audio I got to read this one primarily with my ears and it was such a treat. I think this will definitely be one of my favorite audio books of the year. It is primarily narrated by Patti Murin and Lisa Flanagan with smaller parts by Jennifer Jill Araya, Kevin R. Free, and Pete Simonelli. A multi-cast narration always really brings the story to life for me but what I loved about this one even more were the narrator's Dallas twang and German accents!

Amy Poeppel is becoming a favorite author of mine! I read the Sweet Spot a few years ago and immediately fell in love with her writing style. With this story you get to meet Lucy and Greta. Lucy is dealing with a high school scandal and Greta’s husband Otto is in need of a work change. Both of them decide very impulsively to swap houses and what ensues really is so fun! This story was a mix of the movies the Holiday and Love Actually with characters that have so much personality and quirkiness! I really missed them when I wasn’t reading and couldn’t wait to get back to them as soon as possible!

The story is a lighter read but there are so many storylines intermingling at once, so many laugh out loud and heartfelt moments, and characters that really feel like your best friends, that you are going to be so invested until the very end. I don’t often re-read stories but I already want to relisten to this and be back together with the characters!

I really don’t want to give too much away but know that you get to visit sweltering Dallas and bustling Berlin, Germany. There’s a spouse that is spending six months in Mexico but everyone is saying he's on Mars. There’s a math problem that really went awry and a teenager that drives way wayyy below the speed limit. Like so slow it takes him over 6 hours to go not that far.

I really could go on and on about this one! Please go read it and then reach out to me! I would love to talk about it more!

4 🌟

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this stories of two families house swapping between Dallas and Berlin. It felt like a very fresh, unique concept as a whole book. I had a bit of a hard time getting and staying into it; it felt a bit slow. But the last 100 pages really pick up and were the best part of the book for me. The epilogue was the sweetest surprise and a great ending.

Greta and Lucy are swapping homes, and even though the women have never met, they are entrusting their homes (and a bit of their lives) to each other. Lucy needs to leave Dallas because her son Jack, about to graduate from high school, does something that is misinterpreted by his classmates and leaves his without his diploma and for which he is being bullied out of town. Greta’s husband Otto accepted a job in Dallas forcing her to find housing as quickly as possible and making her leave her beloved apartment in Berlin. The two women are both dealing with major life issues and even though their lives are so very different, they end up needing each other for more than their homes.

This is my first Poepell book, I wanted to read one as soon as I saw her interview @lyndacohenloigman and thought she was just so entertaining and funny (and figured that would show in her writing). I am so happy I grabbed her new one because I absolutely adored this story, I loved all of the characters and how their lives end up intertwining with each other. The writing mixed both humor and tenderness and these are my favorite kinds of books. The audio was great, I meant to read more of this one than listen but life worked out so that I ended up listening to about two thirds. The narrators were exactly right for the story and they did a fantastic job. I cannot wait to read her backlist.

4.25 stars

Thank you to Atria books and NetGalley for the ARC to review

Normally I'd start a review with a small recap but not this time, there were just too many characters and events to do it justice and there's no need to re-hash the description since it tells you everything you need to know going in. I really liked the premise of the house swap, with the two families co-mingling aspects of their lives, and the question of just who they'll be on the other side of the experience. The reasons for the house swap were compelling and set the stage for an engaging plot. The exposition and initial plot set-up has a lot of details and moving pieces, as does the rest of the book. I found that the book was slow-ish to start but it picks up as you go, and I ended up liking the last half of the book much more than the first half. My initial ability to care about these characters waxed and waned, as did their likeability, but thankfully things evened out. Overall there was more tension than I was expecting. Lots of POVs, which was helpful since there were so many characters and events to keep track of, but that also scattered my focus a bit. There's certainly plenty to keep the reader engaged, from both women's relationships to their children's issues, as well as the challenges they all encounter during the house swap. The cultural differences each family experienced were interesting and added some realism. I did end up liking this book more than I thought I would. Do yourself a favor and keep reading to the end, I'm certainly glad I did as the book improved dramatically as it went on. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. This review was based on a complimentary eARC of the book, all opinions are my own.

I have a lot of feelings about this book - which I loved!

There are two intersecting storylines in this book - one taking place in Dallas and one taking place in Berlin.

FAR & AWAY
Lucy's husband is away for work for 6 months and her son has become the town's outcast.
Greta had been looking forward to some time in New York, but her husband's work decided that would no longer be happening.
Both Lucy and Greta are desperate to get away and end up swapping houses for the summer. Lucy and her 3 kids are headed to Berlin and Greta and her husband are headed to Dallas.
"Through jet lag, culture shock, suspiciously nice neighbors, and scandals that refuse to be left behind, Lucy and Greta will have to decide if they can ever go home again".

This is a great book. The characters are great and the concept is great. The storyline with Lucy's son frustrated me - in a good way. I felt the frustration that Lucy felt.
I thought the ending was perfect for these characters.
I loved the contrast between life in Dallas and life in Berlin and showing these people in a new place was done so well.

I will be posting a review on social media Tues June 10 & will add the link below then.

There are few authors who can make you fall in love with utterly messy, quirky, bizarre characters like Amy Poeppel. She has a remarkable talent for using humor and chaos to tell a compelling story.

FAR AND AWAY is a farce of epic proportions featuring two women who appear to be polar opposites, but have more in common than not. Lucy is doing the single parent thing while her husband is sequestered on a Mars mission simulation in New Mexico. So she’s on her own when her world implodes after her brilliant son is involved in a scandal that’s more innocent than nefarious. But her Dallas community doesn’t care and her family is the target of their outrage. Greta is looking forward to leaving Berlin for a summer in New York until her husband, Otto, switches gears and accepts a last minute position in Texas instead.

With their backs against the wall and limited options, the women agree to switch homes for the summer. Except, oops, neither one of them realizes exactly what they have agreed to. What follows is a comedy of errors and misconceptions that lead both women to find strength and resilience where they least expect it.

Where Poeppel truly shines is in her ability to assemble a cast of characters so unique and so downright adorable that you want to be part of their world. I’m a huge found family fan and she elevates it to an art form.

This book will make your heart lighter and your mood better. There’s so much to love here. If you’ve read and loved The Sweet Spot (an all time favorite for me with THE BEST CHARACTER EVER), you’ll be thrilled to see that Poeppel remains at the top of her game. If you’re new to her writing, welcome to the wonderful wacky world of Amy Poeppel. It’s a place you’ll never want to leave.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐

Who here is adding to their beach bag TBR? 🙋‍♀️Lucky for you, a fun, pooI-perfect book releases tomorrow! I was excited to dive into Far and Away because I was craving something breezy, and it definitely delivered on that score! ⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝: ⁣
Far and Away was light and fluffy, which was exactly what I needed .I enjoyed the little moments of culture shock as well as the "lost in translation" situations that were sprinkled throughout the plot. It made for a delightful, quirky, and humorous read.⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝗪𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐞:⁣
As fun as this story was, I did struggle to fully connect with it. There were numerous characters with various side plots going on, and I found it tricky to keep everything straight and fully engage with the story and its characters. I confess, too, that I thought the situation involving Jack and his trouble at school to be a bit of a stretch.⁣
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Ultimately, Far and Away was the light read I needed in the moment I needed it. I may not have fallen head over heels, but I did enjoy it as it made for a great palate cleanser after a heavier read.⁣
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𝐌𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐⭐⭐💫

I have enjoyed Amy Poeppel's novels ever since I checked out Limelight in 2018 (reviewed here). That was a top pick for me at the time. I'm pleased to share that another one of her novels has earned a spot on my top picks list this year: Far and Away. It's like The Holiday, but about parenthood and only slightly more chaotic. 😂 I loved every bit of it, including the quirky characters, armchair adventure, humor, and pets, just to name a few things. Of course, the synopsis had me at "Viking named Bjørn" because of Ghosts.

I felt so bad for Lucy with everything that happened from Jack making an error in judgment. I can't even imagine having to see my child's dreams get taken away because of a misunderstanding that got out of control. Then to add insult to injury, everyone was ostracizing Lucy and her family. And her husband was doing this Mars simulation so he wouldn't even take her calls and he had no idea what was happening.
Greta seemed to have it slightly easier, but she walked into a messy situation...and house, not knowing what to expect. Her husband was living the dream in Texas and she was just trying to get by. I could understand how awkward she felt at times, and how homesick she truly was. I liked seeing her communication with Lucy and how they started to understand each other's situations after a while.

I loved all the narrative from the variety of characters and seeing them in so many locations throughout the story. I was picturing one of those toy planes going back and forth on a map. I have never been to Berlin, but Amy made it easy to picture everything there. There was so much livelihood throughout the story and I never knew what to expect from one chapter to the next. I wanted to live inside the book even longer!

It would have been nice to have translations for everything that was just written in German. Some context was available here and there, but if I were watching this as a movie and the subtitles were missing, I'd be totally confused.

I'm excited for everyone to read this soon, so I can enjoy it again vicariously through them. (I'm re-enjoying it just by writing this review.) It's such a refreshing and creative novel and I'm glad I got the opportunity to check it out!

(Trigger warning at the bottom of this post.)

Movie casting suggestions:
Lucy: Rachael Leigh Cook
Greta: Diane Kruger
Jack: Finn Wolfhard
Emmi: Lilly Krug
Irene: Caroline Lagerfelt
Adam: Dan Jeannotte
Otto: Til Schweiger (which is funny when you read the book...)
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TW: Bullying

A new book by Poeppel is always something to celebrate. In Far and Away, she once again manages to hit the perfect blend of warm-hearted, thoughtful, and fun, with another great cast of characters and a chaotic but engaging plot. There's a lot going on in this novel, but I never felt confused as the locations and perspectives changed. Due to various reasons, Lucy in Dallas impulsively decides to do a house swap with Greta in Berlin. Each woman is navigating difficulties in their marriages, as well as complications with children. The story is so fun, and I was rooting for all the characters to get their lives figured out. The epilogue may have been a bit too pat for some, but I absolutely loved it. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for a digital review copy.

So cute. So endearing. I love a good family book and this was exactly that!

When Lucy’s son inadvertently sends their life into a tailspin, there’s nothing to do but impulsively house swap with a couple from Germany. Honestly, the Dallas-Germany house swap would have been enough for this sweet, charming story. However, there was so much more.

This book tackles so many topics that it almost seems overwhelming. However, they all work together to show the complexity of life and what people will do for those they love. It wasn’t perfect, there were missteps, mistakes and errors in judgment but that made this book even more delightful.

Advanced reader copy provided by Atria and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.