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.

Far and Away has a fun and unique concept - a last minute house swap arrangement between two families prompted by unwelcome changes to their carefully made summer plans.

Greta and Otto live in Berlin and are eagerly anticipating spending the summer in New York with their daughter during his upcoming sabbatical....until it's abruptly canceled. Reeling, Otto agrees to take a job in Texas starting ASAP...and then tells Greta. Where exactly are they supposed to live in Dallas?

In Dallas, Lucy's husband is incommunicado on a top-secret work mission and her son Jack has become the town pariah after an ill-advised joke becomes public. Instead of celebrating his high school graduation, her family is fending off vandals and threats and Jack is devastated. How can Lucy help him start to recover and look toward the future? Maybe a summer in Berlin will do the trick....she hopes so because she just agreed to swap houses with Greta and Otto.

What follows is a hilarious yet heart-felt, emotional journey through mishaps, job crises, soul-searching, long-held secrets, and more. The middle of the story dragged a little for me -- I felt myself losing focus with so much going on and the mix between the very serious situation Jack is in and the more light-hearted aspects of the story left me feeling a little off-- but by the last third I was totally invested again. Overall this was a very enjoyable mix of humor, family drama, suspense (how will Lucy's husband react? And is he becoming involved with a coworker?!), and self-reflection.

Such a lovely book! It's always so refreshing to just read a nice, book with well developed characters and a good, upbeat storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced reader copy of Far and Away by Amy Poeppel. All opinions are my own. This lightly dramatic, flawed-character driven novel, featuring a “house swap gone wonderfully awry” was a welcome respite from a string of emotionally draining novels. The book is readable and moves along nicely.
Lucy and Greta are 2 wives/mothers who spontaneously swap homes for very different reasons. Hot mess Lucy takes her 3 children to Greta’s carefully curated apartment in Berlin. Meanwhile uptight Greta and her socially awkward husband Otto, move into Lucy’s smart home in Dallas, complete with a menagerie of pets and her next door neighbor parents. Told in alternating chapters, I gradually became more invested in the story and their individual dilemmas as their lives began to intertwine with each other. A few of the plot lines were a bit far fetched, and the happy ending came together a little too abruptly for me. But overall I enjoyed this cheerful and engaging story that explores dramatic situations. 3/5⭐️

Far and Away is an endearing yet quirky house-swap a la The Holiday, but replace Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet with two mothers escaping their own family crises, then plop them in opposite ends of the spectrum; one in Dallas, Texas and the other in Berlin, Germany. There are cultural nuances and lost-in-translation scenes that had me chuckling with knowing.

This novel is mainly told from two points of view; that of renowned art curator Greta, and interior designer Lucy, who could not be any more different. Then about halfway through, we also get a glimpse into the perspectives of their respective college-aged children, Emmi and Jack. 

Unexpected mishaps, adventure, lots of self-discovery and growth all come into play in this epic journey. 

It’s ultimately a lesson that life can change very quickly but also evolve over time; a lesson to never assume — things are not always as they appear, and a lesson that it's okay to change and grow with the various seasons of life. The ending and epilogue tie the story up beautifully, filling my heart and soul with joy. 

𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓲𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮:
-Light family drama
-Self-discovery
-Found family 
-Literary travel
-Chick-lit

4.25 ⭐️ Overall

PUB DATE: June 10, 2015
Thank you so much @atriabooks and @netgalley for my complimentary advanced copy. All opinions are 100% my own.

Big life changes happen to two strangers on opposites sides of the world. Greta’s husband accents a year long positions and Southwest Medical Center in Dallas. He can’t commute since he and Greta live in Berlin, Germany. Lucy needs to get her family out of Dallas for the summer, so these two strangers swap houses. “Far and Away” is such a fun read about miscommunication, cultural differences, community and family.

It is so much fun reading a book that part of it takes place in a place you know. Must read!

Thank you NetGalley & Atria/Emily Bestler Books #FarAndAway #NetGalley

Thanks to Atria Books and Simon Audio for the gifted copies! 4.5 stars

This is classic Amy Poeppel — if you’ve enjoyed her previous books, you’ll probably like this one too. It leans more into family dynamics than some of her earlier work, but still delivers the ensemble cast, LOL moments, and sharp insights we’ve come to expect from her.

The story starts a little slowly as the characters are introduced and the scenes are set, but once I found my footing, I was fully invested. By the end, I didn’t want it to be over! Every character felt SO real and well developed, which is no small feat in an ensemble novel. As expected, there are a few different storylines unfolding throughout the book, and I loved and felt invested in them all without getting confused on who was who. It was so satisfying to see how everything came together in the end!

Highly recommend for fans of family dramas with humor, ensemble stories, and Amy Poeppel novels in general!

Audio: I absolutely loved the audiobook! It’s performed by an ensemble cast led by Patti Murin and Lisa Flanagan, and each voice fits the character perfectly. Ensemble novels can sometimes be tricky in audio format, but with such distinctive and strong performances, I never lost track of who was who.

I absolutely loved Far and Away and it has reminded me that I definitely need to work my way through Amy Poeppel's backlist since this is only the second book I've read of her's.

Living in Germany, Greta is getting ready for a year in New York for her husband's sabbatical. But, when his university changes things at the last minute, their plans change and they are heading to Dallas with no where to stay. In Dallas, Lucy is planning for her son Jack's high school graduation party, until a math formula he created ends up in the wrong hands, and he is in a lot of trouble with his school. With her husband participating in a NASA experiment where she can't even reach him, Lucy decides a trip away from Dallas is what her family needs and her and Greta swap houses.

The way Poeppel wrote all of the characters in the book, their personalities really leapt off the page and I felt like I knew them all. As they were navigating life in their temporary residence it was done with so much heart and humor. The Greta and Lucy that entered Texas and Germany, were not the same characters as the story evolved and I really loved the journey that they both went through. The side characters were an excellent addition, especially with Greta's husband embracing all that Texas had to offer and he was hysterical in his newfound love of Costco.

Far and Away
By Amy Poeppel
Release Date: 6.10.25

Thank you @atriabooks for an e-ARC of Far and Away!

We are following two main characters named Greta and Lucy that are complete strangers from different parts of the world. Both characters are seeking an escape and end up taking. Part in a house swap with one another. They quickly find that their ways of life are the complete opposite, yet they share so much.

For fans of the movie The Holiday, this lighthearted novel explores themes of self-discovery and reinvention, community and belonging, overcoming obstacles, while being charming and humorous. A great read to escape.

There are some scenes that are a bit "out there" 😉 but still a great read. I would even be interested in seeing this become a movie adaptation (modern day The Holiday).

Amy Poeppel fans will find everything you are looking for here: hilarious observations, a big cast of messy characters, and a satisfying resolution. Recommended for summer reading!

After a scandal in their hometown of Dallas, Tx involving her son, a senior in high school, Lucy decides she needs a change and enters a house swap. Meanwhile, in Berlin, Otto is offered a job opportunity in Dallas. What follows is a very quirky story about the house swap and the many ways the families change during their time away from their homes. While this was difficult to read at first, I’m so glad I kept going. I ended up really enjoying the characters’ interactions and most of the many subplots.