Thank you, NetGalley, for this sneak peak. I read Amy Poeppel’s book The Sweet Spot and absolutely loved that book. I had high expectations for this one, and this book delivered. Ok, the start was a bit slow but once this book hit its stride, I was hooked. Similar to The Sweet Spot, this book has quirky characters, humor, and the theme of “friends who become family”. The Epilogue was a definite happily ever after after!

Lucy needs to leave Texas and Greta needs a house in Texas so they swap. Lucy taking her three kids to Germany for the summer, To stay in Greta's one bedroom apartment, and Greta and her husband head to Texas where everything is bigger. There is a lot of adjustments for everyone involved and needless to say a lot of growth. I really enjoyed this book, was entertaining and easy to read thought there could have been some editing down on some characters and storylines. Perfect beach/summer read, I want to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Do you ever wish you could just drop everything and run away to a different country for a while? That’s exactly was Greta, a German Art curator and Lucy, Texas mom and designer do. After a scandal gets Lucy’s son expelled and the family shunned, she decides to swap homes with the sister of an old acquaintance. As Lucy and her 3 kids jet off to Berlin, Greta and her husband Otto start their big American adventure in the heartland of Texas. While their lives seem very different on the surface, both Lucy and Greta are facing pivotal turning points of their lives. This story follows their travels to new homes, the challenges they face adjusting to different cultures and the ups and downs of motherhood.

Thank you NetGalley for this early access copy. This book was just what I needed right now. Honestly, I have wanted to just run off to another country so many times that I’m a bit envious of the characters. The story had a nice mix of heart, humor and plot twists to keep the reader engaged. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives but I don’t know that having Jack and Emi’s views was necessary. It surprised me not that there was a lot of German phrases/words throughout but that the author didn’t offer translations. I’m not spending time looking up the meanings so I think I lost some context at times. I also felt the epilogue was totally unnecessary. Others may say I’m wrong because it wraps everything up in a happy little bow but it felt forced. I don’t need stories to end so neatly to be enjoyable and I think the epilogue ultimately took away some of the realness I felt throughout the rest of the book. Overall a fun read perfect for a plane ride or the beach.

“Far and Away” is about Lucy, a wife, mother, and designer who needs to leave her home in Dallas when her son Jack gets expelled from school under confusing circumstances and a cloud of shame, and Greta, a wife, mother, and art consultant who is forced to leave her home in Berlin when her husband Otto takes an unexpected visiting research position in Dallas.

The two women decide to swap homes, so off Lucy and her three children go to Berlin while Greta and Otto move into Lucy’s super modern voice controlled home in Dallas. The events of the story end up taking place all over the world, from Albuquerque/Mars (you’ll understand when you read it!) to Copenhagen, Dallas to Berlin, with a pit stop in NYC thrown in for good measure. It’s a story of found family of course, a signature theme in author Amy Poeppel’s work, as well as a little bit of an art mystery.

As a massive Amy Poeppel fan, this was one of my most anticipated reads of the summer and it absolutely did not disappoint. It’s full of zany adventures, charming and human characters, and lots of heart to keep it all grounded. I highly recommend this book to all fans of humorous contemporary fiction!

Who among us does not like the movie, The Holiday? Poeppel distills some of its best attributes into this winning novel. There is much to like about the set up - Lucy in Dallas and Greta in Berlin swap houses on a whim to deal with some complicated family issues. Once the swap is in place, Poeppel crafts a mad cap adventure involving a large cast of likeable primary and secondary characters, including teenagers Jack and Emmi, grandparents, Rex and Irene, in addition to the likeable primary protagonists, Lucy and Greta. Almost everyone in the novel will move through some type of transition or overcome a challenge and come out the other side better for it. This was a fast, fun read, perfect for summer days and long plane rides. Highly recommend. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this joyful read.

A last minute house swap between families in Texas and Germany brings lots of "lost in translation" moments, as well as the chaos of living a transplanted life. I enjoyed the humor in this book, along with the culture shock descriptions. The author perfectly describes Dallas and the way that Europeans might react to the heat, air conditioning, and driving culture. This book kept me turning the electronic pages, and it would make a wonderful summertime read. I thought there were a few too many characters and plotlines, which occasionally led to some confusion. Overall, I recommend this one for a fun beach read.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Atria Publishing for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC.I have read a number of Amy Poeppel's books and eagerly look forward to her next one. Her main characters tend to be like able and quirky , in the best sense of the word. In this book, we have 2 main characters, and to call them quirky is putting it mildly. The whole story is really off the rails at times, but it all comes together at the end. I am not sure where to start, but here goes. Greta and Otto live in Berlin. Otto is supposed to be taking a year sabbatical in New York. Their daughter Emmi, has taken a summer internship in New York and will be spending the summer with them. Greta's mother ( Lillian) is American but moved to Germany when she met and married Greta's father. Greta's father is now deceased, and Lillian wants to travel, with a young man named Tobias. At the last minute, Otto has a falling out at work and loses his sabbatical. He finds a placement in Dallas Texas, that starts immediately. He tells Greta to find someone who wants to swap houses with them for the next year.Bettina, Greta's sister, tells her to put a post on Instagram , and someone will be interested.
In Dallas , Lucy is holding down the fort with 3 children, a full time job and a husband on Mars. Ok, not really, but he is in New Mexico for 6 months doing a simulation for Nasa and is not getting any of her messages. Their son, Jack, is supposed to be graduating High School and going to
MIT in the fall. Except, Jack has made a formula with names of the girls in his school, and monetary values , that he says is innocent, but no one believes him. All at once, everything falls apart. Jack is expelled, the neighborhood has turned against the family, their car is vandalized and Lucy does not know what to do. She had met Bettina ( Greta's sister) 19 years ago on a trip, and follows her on Instagram. She sees the post in the middle of the night, arranges to swap houses and takes her children to Berlin. Ok that is the basic plot. But it is so much more than that. The first few chapters , were for me, hard to get into.I had a lot of questions- why was Jack expelled with put a hearing, why not report the vandalization to the police, why not get a lawyer? However, the characters are so well written and interesting, and the fish out of water element on both sides of the ocean, were so good , that I was hooked. I laughed, I cried! Thanks again for the book!

The Holt Family lives in a large, ultra-modern home in Dallas. Lucy is the mother of teenage Jack and daughters Alice and Zoe. Her husband, Mason, is in New Mexico for six months, living in a NASA biosphere. Just before high school graduation, Jack is expelled for participating in an ill-advised activity, and his acceptance to MIT is rescinded. Once beloved members of a close-knit community, the Holts have become pariahs. They need to get out of town.

Greta and Otto Van Bosse reside in Berlin in a beautiful apartment filled with art and antiques. Greta, an art consultant, had a big career win by securing a previously undiscovered Vermeer for her client. Otto, a foot surgeon, is facing professional challenges and accepts a temporary position in Dallas. Their daughter Emmi wants to become a lawyer.

The two families decide to do a house swap. It seems like a perfect solution, but they rush into the arrangement so quickly that neither family is prepared for what lies ahead. Far and Away is a charming book by the always entertaining Amy Poeppel. Filled with drama and chaos, the story also has humor and warmth, as two very different families adjust to their new circumstances. It's an enjoyable fish-out-of-water story featuring two women searching for something they haven't quite found yet in life.

Sometimes I have long reviews and sometimes I don’t have a lot to say .. for this one, it’s the latter. It was cute, easy read. Nothing I’ll remember but I do enjoy the parts of Germany and German since it reminded me of my own time living there.

If you need a read for the beach or just a quick one (despite it being a tad too long for this genre IMHO), then you’ll enjoy it.

This book has great reviews but it did nothing for me. Maybe i am too old for this but it fell short for me.

I loved this so much.
As with all of her books, she never fails to make me actually laugh out loud. Her characters are endearing and as an American expat living in Germany, it felt extra fun!

Picking up an Amy Poeppel book is like picking up a burst of joy and all of the good things. I’ve read all of her books and she has become an autobuy author for me.

Far and Away was another fun, sweet, laugh-out-loud journey. This one took us across the globe when the Holt’s and Van Bosse family’s unforeseen circumstances force them into a house swap to beat all house swaps.

I loved learning more about Germany.

The characters as always, were so fun and unique, beautifully developed and they all served a purpose and helped moved the story along. The plot was engaging and Poeppel’s writing envelopes you without suffocating you or overcomplicating the story. What I admire most about her writing is the ability to have these plots and subplots and having them all come together beautifully. It is evident that she has great skill and takes great care to not make a mess of it and honor the story and characters.

Amy Poeppel has another winner on her hands and I recommend this for fans of Emily Henry, Courtney Walsh, and Clare Pooley. There a bits of german phrases throughout and I did have to use google translate but it did make it that much more fun for me to read.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Emily Bestler Books/Atria for my ARC in exchanged for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It took me a little while to get into it. But once I did, I had to finish it. I loved all the characters. Such a fun ride.

This is my second book by Poeppel, and I’m officially a fan!! This was just so cute and so fun! It was just a really solidly good read! There were so many storylines and characters but in no way was I ever confused about who was who or who was where (because really this took place across multiple continents and planets - lol). Every storyline was funnier, messier, and more interesting than the next.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest rating and review.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All of Amy Poeppel's books have been wünderbar to me - Far and Away one of my new favorites. The premise reminds me a little of the movie The Holiday, but it is also completely different.

I loved all the characters. Poeppel really does justice with character development and has you rooting for everyone in this book, except for Bob, obviously.

How Poeppel writes thoughtful, funny moments into the plot is masterful. Lucy and Greta's families are forever changed and improved from their unconventional house swap. I've never been to Dallas, but I have been to Berlin. Jack's vulnerability was touching as he was accused of something terrible that was misunderstood, and that event, along with Otto's opportunity to teach in Dallas, spurs the most wonderful adventure. I can't even find one misstep in this book besides a very minor one. People magazine names their Sexiest Man Alive in November, not mid summer.

5 stars, available June 10th.

Enjoyed this one! A house swap- Texas and Berlin- add in neighbors- unexpected house guests and lifestyle changes! So much more! A fun read with lots of surprises!
Thanks to Netgalley for the eread and to Amy for the arc for my BTP Book Club to share!

A charming tale of two families from different parts of the world who find themselves in unexpected situations and whose lives cross in the most delightful of ways. House swapping with a stranger on a whim—what could possibly go wrong? Turns out…a LOT. I loved the quirky cast of characters, the depth of the emotions and drama each family member was enduring, and the constant blending of American and German cultures. Amy Poeppel seamlessly blends humor and heart with spectacular results. It’s smartly written and kept me engaged the entire time. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this advanced copy.

4.25 ⭐️

I had no idea what to expect when I picked this up, but I ended up enjoying it so much. It’s a little slow at first, and I struggled to keep track of all the side characters by name (I had to search on Kindle a few times to remind myself who everyone was). But all in all, I thought this was chaotically charming, funny, and well written.

The ending was so sweet, the way everything (and everyone) came together in the last chapter. Is it realistic? Maybe not. But I love the idea that an impromptu home swap and a whole mess of misunderstandings (particularly between Greta and Lucy, who go from completely misreading to genuinely supporting each other) could lead to lifelong friendships and quite literally one big happy family. I'm excited to read more by Amy Poeppel!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

📖 Book Review 📖 Apparently it does not matter your life circumstance or what continent you live on, it only takes the blink of an eye for your life to change in an instant. Lucy and Greta are world’s apart - from Dallas to Berlin - when even a horoscope could not predict their sudden turn of events. Could a house swap be the saving grace to all of their problems? Amy Poeppel delivers a hilariously delightful novel all about embracing life’s unexpected surprises. The universe has a funny sense of humor (though it doesn’t always present that way when you’re in the thick of it)…and we always seem to end up right where we are supposed to be. Far and Away is a heartfelt summer read that will sweep you off your feet and knock your socks off!

A laugh-out-loud, absolutely lovable gem of a book. I finished this book with a smile on my face and I’ll be laughing for days remembering these endearing characters and all the insane adventures they got up to. It was cringy in the best way, extremely clever, exciting, hilarious, heartwarming and full of love. I adored it entirely.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.