Book Review | THE FARAWAY INN by Sarah Beth Durst

THE FARAWAY INN

BY SARAH BETH DURST | PUBLICATION: MARCH 31, 2026
DELACORTE PRESS | GENRE: YA FANTASY
RATING: ★★★★

"Cozy, modern fairy tale • vivid imagery • gentle emotional truth."

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When sixteen-year-old Calisa arrives at her great-aunt’s B&B in rural Vermont for the summer, she’s shocked to find a rundown inn rather than the cozy bed-and-breakfast she was expecting. Grumpy and eccentric, Auntie Zee is determined to keep anyone from messing with her beloved inn . . . even though she clearly needs the help.

To convince her great-aunt to keep her around, Calisa sets to work fixing up the inn, enlisting extra help from the groundskeeper’s (handsome) son. But the longer she stays, the surer she is that there’s something strange about the B&B—and its guests. Something almost . . . otherworldly.

The inn is keeping a magical secret—but to protect the place she’s come to love, Calisa must unravel the truth before it’s too late.

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THE FARAWAY INN is one of those quiet, cozy books that doesn’t shout its magic — it hums it. Durst writes with a simplicity that’s deceptively vivid, creating scenes that feel warm, homey, and softly enchanted. This is the kind of modern fairy tale that awakens a sense of wonder without ever slipping into childishness. It’s magic for grown people who still believe in becoming.

What stayed with me most was how deeply human the story is. Beneath the whimsy and the enchantment lies a tender exploration of vulnerability — the courage it takes to ask for help, the way friendship can hold us steady, and the gentle acceptance of people who are quirky, odd, or beautifully different. Durst understands that magic isn’t just a power —it’s a responsibility. And she treats talents and gifts the same way — as things that shape us, challenge us, and sometimes burden us.

The book also touches on love with surprising softness: falling in, falling out, and finding your way back to something truer. It’s not dramatic or sweeping —it’s quiet, honest, and rooted in emotional growth.

One of the things I loved most about The Faraway Inn is how clearly it shows that becoming isn’t reserved for the young. Every character in this story is shifting, softening, learning, or opening up in their own way. Even Aunty Zee — stubborn old bat — eventually accepts change. She’s prickly, set in her ways, and hilariously resistant, but she still grows. Durst treats her with such tenderness, reminding us that transformation can happen at any age, and sometimes the people who fight it hardest end up changing the most.

Honestly, everyone in the book is becoming… except the Mirror.
She’s stubborn as hell and refuses to evolve, and that contrast makes everyone else’s growth shine even brighter.

This theme — that becoming is lifelong — is one of the quiet strengths of the novel. It’s gentle, hopeful, and deeply human.

Durst knows wonder.
And in The Faraway Inn, she uses it not to dazzle, but to comfort — reminding us that becoming isn’t loud. It’s gentle. Communal. And often requires letting others in.

A cozy, atmospheric read for anyone who loves modern fairy tales with heart.

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About the Author:
Sarah Beth Durst grew up in Northboro, MA, a town in central Massachusetts which (she claims) was temporarily transformed into a fairy-tale kingdom for several days in 1986. These events later inspired her novel, INTO THE WILD, as well as her paralyzing fear of glass footwear.Sarah has been writing fantasy stories since she was ten years old. She holds an English degree from Princeton University and currently resides in Stony Brook, NY, with her husband and daughter.

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THE WITCHES OF CAMBRIDGE by Alice Hoffman

About the Book:

THE WITCHES OF CAMBRIDGE

The Witches of Cambridge, Vol. 1
BY ALICE HOFFMAN | PUBLICATION: SEPTEMBER 8, 2026
SCRIBNER | GENRE: FANTASY /HISTORICAL FICTION

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The brand-new series from the bestselling author of Practical Magic, following two brilliant young women in 1950s Cambridge, Massachusetts, as they become immersed in a mysterious secret group of witches at Radcliffe known as the Lilith Society.

Once upon a time, women were drowned in the river and the only witnesses were the crows in the trees. The Puritans blamed Eve for the sins of the world. That was when we began to meet in the name of Lilith, Adam’s first wife—banished for refusing to do as she was told.

We Fly Together…

By the 1950s, Cambridge, Massachusetts feels far removed from the legendary witch trials that marked its early days as a colony. Ava, a bright young woman from a small town in Maine, arrives for her first year at Radcliffe College. There, she meets Lauren, her opposite in every way—the wild and brazen daughter of a wealthy and well-established Cambridge family. But the two have more in common than they think. Both are recruited by the Lilith Society, a secret organization of witches at Radcliffe dating back to colonial times. As they learn more about their legacy, Ava and Lauren form a close bond that is put to the test as they learn to navigate their new power, friendship, and love.

While Radcliffe seems like a safe haven, the shadow of McCarthyism looms large, an ever-present threat to the flourishing creative and intellectual life in Cambridge. And as girls from the Lilith Society begin to go missing, Ava and Lauren realize the witch trials of the past may not be as deeply buried as they once believed.

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There’s a particular kind of magic returning to the world this year — the kind Alice Hoffman taught us to love. A magic that is both beautiful and terrible, a blessing and a curse, threaded through family, community, legacy, and love. With Practical Magic 2 on the horizon, readers are craving stories that carry that same emotional gravity: witchcraft with consequences, empowered women, and enchantment woven into life.

THE WITCHES OF CAMBRIDGE arrives at exactly the right moment.

Set against the charm of Cambridge’s cobblestone streets and scholarly quiet, this novel follows witches whose gifts are as burdensome as they are wondrous. It’s a story about the ties that bind — the secrets we inherit, the truths we fear, and the love that refuses to let go even when it hurts. The magic here isn’t sparkly or whimsical; it’s lived‑in, charged, and deeply human.

If you’re looking for a book that captures the same emotional resonance as Hoffman’s legacy — that blend of tenderness, danger, and generational connection — The Witches of Cambridge is the perfect autumn read. Cozy, atmospheric, and quietly powerful, it’s a story that reminds us that magic is never just magic. It’s responsibility. It’s history. It’s love.

And this fall, it’s exactly what readers are reaching for.

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About the Author:

Alice Hoffman is the author of thirty works of fiction, including Practical Magic, Practical Magic 2, The Dovekeepers, and Magic Lessons. Visit her website: AliceHoffman.com.Photograph © Alyssa Peek

*Simon & Schuster CA provided the eARC
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Book Review | LIFE: A LOVE STORY by Elizabeth Berg

LIFE: A LOVE STORY

BY ELIZABETH BERG | PUBLICATION: MARCH 17, 2026
RANDOM HOUSE | GENRE: WOMEN'S FICTION
RATING: ★★★★★

"I read this slowly, painfully, gratefully.
It understood me."

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As ninety-two-year-old Florence "Flo" Greene nears the end of her life, she writes a letter to Ruthie, the woman who grew up next door to her, describing the items Flo is leaving Ruthie in her will. But as it goes on, telling surprising stories about those “little” things Flo will leave behind (What could possibly be the worth of a rubber band kept in a matchbox tied up in red ribbon?), an unforgettable portrait of the life she has lived emerges.

The letter starts off as an autobiography in things, but it turns out to do much more than that: ultimately, it will transform Flo and those around her. In the time she has left, Flo decides to take herself up on tiny dares. She encourages Ruthie to reconsider her impending divorce by sharing a startling, long-buried secret about her own perfect-seeming marriage. Flo has never had a pedicure before now, and as long as she's going to a beauty parlor, she arranges to have a blue streak put in her hair, too. And as these adventures lead her to make new friends, Flo helps them, too, find the fulfillment that living a full life has led her to understand.

Full of Elizabeth Berg's characteristic mix of warmth, humor, and poignancy, Life: A Love Story is a reminder that whatever your circumstances, as long as you're alive, you can keep on investing in life. The joy will inevitably follow.

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It took me a long time to finish Elizabeth Berg’s Life: A Love Story, and I’m grateful for every slow, deliberate day I spent with it. This isn’t a book you rush. It’s a book that asks you to breathe differently, to acknowledge yourself, and to sit with the parts of your life that still ache.

Flo’s story touched me in a way few novels ever have. She lived a long, imperfect, deeply human love with Terrence — the kind of love that shapes you so completely that losing it feels like losing the architecture of your own life. And yet, after Terrence’s death, Flo chooses to keep living. Not by “moving on,” not by erasing him, but by carrying him forward in the way she continues to love others, help others, and enrich the world around her.

Her final letter moved me — not written out of nostalgia, but out of devotion. Flo doesn’t write because she merely remembers Terrence; she writes so that others won’t forget. Their love wasn’t perfect, but it was lived — and lived love deserves witnesses.

Finishing this book in the quiet of the back garden my late husband tended, made the experience even more tender. I still hurt from losing him. I probably always will, and I don’t think I want that pain to disappear. But Berg reminded me that there are people who understand this kind of grief — the kind born from a love that shaped decades. And she reminded me that when I’m ready, I can choose to live fully again, not in spite of the hurt, but alongside it.

Flo chose Terrence every day, even after he was gone.
Not instead of living — but while living.
She chose the courage to keep choosing connection even when loss has already carved her open.
And at the end, when she had the whole span of her life to look back on, the story she wanted remembered was still his.

LIFE: A LOVE STORY is gentle, sad, hopeful, and profoundly human. It doesn’t offer easy answers. It simply shows that love — real love — continues in memory, in legacy, and in the lives shaped by it.

I finished this book feeling seen. And I finished it believing that choosing life, even after great loss, is its own quiet act of love.

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About the Author:

Elizabeth Berg is the New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including The Story of Arthur Truluv, Open House (an Oprah’s Book Club selection), Talk Before Sleep, and The Year of Pleasures, as well as the short story collection The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted. Durable Goods and Joy School were selected as ALA Best Books of the Year. She adapted The Pull of the Moon into a play that enjoyed sold-out performances in Chicago and Indianapolis. Berg’s work has been published in thirty-one countries, and three of her novels have been turned into television movies. She is the founder of Writing Matters, a quality reading series dedicated to serving author, audience, and community. She teaches one-day writing workshops and is a popular speaker at venues around the country. Some of her most popular Facebook postings have been collected in Make Someone Happy, Still Happy, and Happy to be Here. She lives outside Chicago.
Photo by Teresa Crawford

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Book Review | MORE THAN ENOUGH by Anna Quindlen

MORE THAN ENOUGH

BY ANNA QUINDLEN | PUBLICATION: FEBRUARY 24, 2026
RANDOM HOUSE | GENRE: WOMEN FICTION
RATING: ★★★★✬

"Ordinary life, ordinary women, made real."

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A woman finds herself asking surprising questions about her family and friends in this wise, wonderful novel of life, loss, and moving on—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of After Annie.

High school English teacher Polly Goodman can talk about everything and anything with the women in her book club, which is why they’ve become her closest friends and, along with the support of her veterinarian husband, the bedrock of her life. Her private school students, her fraught relationship with mother, her struggles with IVF—Polly’s book club friends have heard it all.

But when they give Polly an ancestry test kit as a joke, the results match her with a stranger. Despite it seeming clear that this match is a mistake, Polly cannot help combing through her own family history for answers. Then, when it seems that the book club circle of four will become three, Polly learns how friendships can change your life in the most profound ways.

Written with Quindlen’s trademark warmth, humor, and insight into the power of love and hope, More Than Enough explores how we find ourselves again and again through the relationships that define us.

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Polly is part of a book club — a lively group of women who buy the book but never actually read it. That’s their rule. They gather to talk about everything except the assigned title. Not very bookish, but deeply relatable. It’s the kind of detail Quindlen writes so well: ordinary life, ordinary women, made real.

The DNA storyline didn’t interest me as much. What held me was Polly herself — her journey, her longing to be a mother, and the quiet ache beneath her hope. And Mark… the patience he shows her reminded me starkly of my own late husband. That tenderness, that steady presence, that willingness to keep believing even when life gives you difficult news — Quindlen captured something I’ve lived.

I like Quindlen’s writing. She makes her characters as real as people you could meet, or remember.

Reading MORE THAN ENOUGH was slow for me, not because the story lacked momentum, but because it touched parts of my life I’m still learning to carry. Quindlen writes with a tenderness that makes ordinary women feel extraordinary, and Polly’s journey reminded me that hope, even when fragile, is still worth holding. This book didn’t just tell a story — it made me remember my own.

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About the Author:

Anna Quindlen is a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists. She is the author of many novels: Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, Blessings, Rise and Shine, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, and Miller’s Valley. Her memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, published in 2012, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her book A Short Guide to a Happy Life has sold more than a million copies. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear. Photo by Maria Krovatin

*My thanks to Will Lyman of Penguin Random House
for providing the eARC in exchange for this unbiased review.
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Book Review | LIAR'S DICE by Juliet Faithfull

LIAR'S DICE

BY JULIET FAITHFULL | PUBLICATION: APRIL 28, 2026
RANDOM HOUSE | GENRE: LITERARY FICTION
RATING: ★★★✬

"...the novel is undeniably heartbreaking."

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A heart-rending and hopeful debut about a teenage girl in 1970s Brazil who is unexpectedly torn away from her disabled twin sister—and who must learn what it means to fight for those we love when all the odds are stacked against us.

Everyone knows, but no one talks.

Identical twins Dolores and Mita grow up in lockstep in rural Brazil, speaking their own secret language, dancing together, inseparable even when they sleep. But at age seven, they discover that Mita has a degenerative condition—and Dolores does not. On the cusp of adolescence, Mita's illness becomes debilitating, and without telling Dolores, their parents send Mita across the Atlantic Ocean to a hospital in their father’s native London.

The rest of the family moves to Rio and begins to live a bourgeouis lifestyle, but Dolores is miserable there. She misses her small-town and most especially her twin, who her parents seem to have forgot ever existed. And she has no way to contact Mita—particularly since, at twelve years old, Dolores still cannot read or write. She is desperate to speak to her again—and desperately alone and unhappy at her posh new school. But everything begins to change when she meets a brave, headstrong girl from the favelas who shows Dolores a new side of Rio, and how to survive it.

Tensions are on the rise with the dictatorial government cracking down on protesters and dissenters. Both at home and in the country at large, there are cover-ups at play—and Dolores pushes to find the truth about right and wrong, her lost sister and her place in life. In a setting where repression and silencing were part of everyday life, Liar’s Dice is about the secrets we hold, both personal and political, and the consequences of keeping them. Atmospheric and intimate, Juliet Faithfull's coming of age novel captures the intensity of forming your own identity, and the courage and love required to forge a different life.

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LIAR'S DICE is a poignant coming of age novel that explores the shifting dynamics of a family in turmoil and the struggle to hold on to one’s sense of self amid profound change. It is not a light or fast read, but it is undeniably resonant.

The first half took some time to draw me in, yet by the midpoint the narrative had fully captured my attention. Juliet Faithfull weaves Portuguese into the text with care, offering cultural depth without distancing readers unfamiliar with the language. What struck me most was the author’s ability to convey Dolores’s tangled emotions—her guilt, love, confusion, and longing—with such clarity. The author’s note suggests that elements of the story may be autobiographical, which adds an additional layer of emotional weight.

While beautifully written, the novel is undeniably heartbreaking. It challenges the assumption that children experience emotions more lightly than adults; in fact, it shows how deeply and seriously they feel the world around them.

Overall, Liar’s Dice is an affecting and worthwhile read. Though it begins slowly and occasionally lacks fluidity, its emotional depth and thoughtful exploration of identity, family, and silence make it a memorable novel.

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About the Author:

JULIET FAITHFULL is a Spanish-British-American writer who grew up in Brazil. Liar’s Dice, her first novel, was a winner of the 2024 Irish Writers Centre’s Novel Fair and a semifinalist for the James Jones First Novel Fellowship. She was awarded a Pauline Scheer Fellowship by GrubStreet’s Novel Incubator program and her short stories have been published in the Bellevue Literary Review and Urbanus Magazine. A graduate of Harvard University and Smith College School for Social Work, Juliet works as a trilingual psychotherapist and currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her two sons. Photo: © Sharona Jacobs

*Penguin Random House provided the eARC
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Book Review | LUCKY SEED by Justinian Huang

LUCKY SEED

BY JUSTINIAN HUANG | PUBLICATION: NOVEMBER 11, 2025
MIRA | GENRE: GENERAL FICTION
RATING: ★★★✬

"Messy, Magnificent, and Unapologetic"

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The billionaire Sun Clan of Greater Los Angeles is your typical American family, with power-struggling aunties, emasculated uncles, scheming cousins, scandalous secrets and a fortune teller on retainer. But at the end of each combative day, the Suns are chained together with golden handcuffs, whether they like it or not.

Yet strange storms are a-brewing. Their matriarch, Roses Sun, is grappling with an existential she must produce a male heir that bears the clan's surname. She fears that if her generation is the one in which their esteemed lineage ends, they will be punished as "hungry ghosts" in the afterlife—an ancient but very real Asian superstition.

Faced with this terrifying fate, Roses summons her favorite nephew, Wayward. Believing him to possess the "lucky seed," Roses presents Wayward with a mandatory to father a baby boy who will inherit everything. When the other members of the Sun Clan catch wind of Roses's plot, all hells break loose. Wayward's family will now clash like never before in an epic war over the future of the Suns…if there is a future at all.

Yet through the chaos, Wayward sees opportunity. What if he can leverage all the conflict into a solution for his problematic family? What if he can reunite the Sun Clan by healing them? And what if the tumultuous Suns can finally learn how to love each other for the first time?

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LUCKY SEED by Justinian Huang is a richly layered exploration of a powerful yet deeply fractured family. While the novel delivers all the hallmarks of a high stakes, wealthy family drama—constant conflict, outrageous antics, and an ensemble of vividly drawn characters—it also offers a thoughtful examination of the bonds and burdens that shape the Sun Clan.

What stands out most is the novel’s unapologetic boldness. It is unabashedly messy, dramatic, queer, and culturally specific, yet it balances its humor and chaos with meaningful reflections on intergenerational trauma and the complexities of familial loyalty. As one line aptly states: “Just when you think you’ve figured us out, we will surprise you. The thing about a family with no moral compass is that there’s no predicting where we’re headed.” This sentiment captures the unpredictable energy that drives the story.

The narrative’s cinematic quality makes it easy to imagine an adaptation for television or film. Its fast paced plot, memorable characters, and striking final twist lend themselves naturally to the screen.

Though it is a longer read, LUCKY SEED remains consistently engaging—a wild, entertaining, and ultimately rewarding journey.

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About the Author:

JUSTINIAN HUANG’s debut novel, The Emperor and the Endless Palace, was an Indie Next Pick and a 2025 Stonewall Honor Book. It was hailed by Booklist as “a sweeping triumph,” and as “page-turning and deeply thoughtful,” in a starred review by Publishers Weekly. He lives in Los Angeles, where he also works as a film executive, most recently on KPop Demon Hunters. Justinian’s second novel, Lucky Seed, is a USA Today bestseller.

*Harper Collins provided the eARC
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Book Review | ROBOT ISLAND by Cary Fagan

ROBOT ISLAND

BY CARY FAGAN | PUBLICATION: OCTOBER 14, 2025
TUNDRA BOOKS | GENRE: MIDDLE-GRADE
RATING: ★★★★

“Robot Island is more than a whimsical adventure—it’s a celebration of books, friendship, and the families we create for ourselves.”

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Forced into stealing valuable books from a rich widow, Willis takes refuge on an abandoned island populated by robots in this new middle-grade novel by acclaimed writer Cary Fagan. For fans of The Wild Robot.

It isn’t bad enough that Willis has to live with his cold uncle Tod in a dusty old house of used books. He can’t even spend time with his friends Harrison and Galaxi because of the nasty after-school jobs his uncle makes him take on. But then his uncle asks him to visit an old widow lady in the mansion on the hill.

To his surprise, Willis likes Mrs. Shorthouse and even the books they read together (Little Women, Great Expectations). Meanwhile, taking a rowboat ride, Willis discovers an abandoned town from the 1950s populated by square-headed robots. What is the connection between Mrs. Shorthouse and Robot Island? What will happen after the police find out that Willis has been stealing rare books from the mansion? And when Willis turns on the electricity and the robots of Robot Island come to life, will they turn out to be friends or enemies?

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"Books, Robots, and the Families We Choose"

Cary Fagan’s Robot Island is a middle-grade adventure that blends whimsy with heart, asking what it means to belong, and reminding us that families can be found in the most unexpected places.

Willis lives under the stern watch of his uncle Tod, surrounded by dusty shelves of used books and weighed down by endless chores. When Tod sends him to visit Mrs. Shorthouse, a wealthy widow in her hilltop mansion, Willis unexpectedly discovers both companionship and the joy of reading classics like Little Women and Great Expectations. But his uncle’s schemes force Willis into stealing rare books, setting off a chain of events that lead him to a mysterious abandoned town from the 1950s—Robot Island. When Willis awakens its square-headed inhabitants, he must face questions of loyalty, friendship, and belonging.

As fantastic as an island of robots sounds, Cary Fagan’s novel is more compelling than its premise suggests. Robot Island is, at its heart, a book for book lovers—especially young readers who recognize the thrill of discovering that stories can change them. It captures that first spark of falling in love with reading, and the way books can become companions in difficult times.

The “found family” trope is woven beautifully into the narrative. Mrs. Shorthouse, the robots, and Willis’s circle of friends remind us that family can be chosen and built through kindness. The friendship arc is particularly moving, even when Willis tries to push Harrison, Galaxi, and Daphne away, they refuse to abandon him. Their loyalty and courage shine, offering a model of empathy and resilience.

Fagan’s storytelling radiates warmth. Though the novel nods to modern technology, it ultimately celebrates human connection, kindness, and the timeless comfort of books. It’s a heartwarming middle-grade adventure that will inspire readers to treasure both their friendships and their stories.

Robot Island is more than a whimsical adventure—it’s a celebration of books, friendship, and the families we create for ourselves. Cary Fagan has crafted a tale that will resonate with young readers and remind adults of the moment they first fell in love with stories.

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About the Author:

CARY FAGAN's kids' books include Robot Island; Hans Christian Andersen Lives Next Door; Water, Water (winner of the Vine National Canadian Jewish Book Award); The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster; the Kaspar Snit novels; and the Wolfie and Fly chapter book series. He is also the author of many picture books, including Mr. Zinger's Hat (Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award winner), Little Blue Chair, and Bear Wants to Sing. Cary has received the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People for his body of work. He lives in Toronto, Canada.
Photo by Josh Levine

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