Synopsis:
Get cosy at The Faraway Inn, the YA fantasy from bestselling author of The Spellshop, Sarah Beth Durst.
When Calisa arrives at her great-aunt’s bed and breakfast for the summer, she’s shocked to find it run down rather than cosy. 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 groundkeeper’s (handsome) son. But the longer she stays, the surer she is that there’s something strange about the B&B – and its residents. Something almost . . . otherworldly.
The inn is hiding a magical secret – but secrets are like doors. Once Calisa opens this one, she won’t be able to go back . . .
Review:
The most lovesick of Durst’s heroines.
Calisa, a teen trying to escape her cheating ex, spends her summer in Vermont helping her reluctant great-aunt run a rundown inn. There are a few peculiarities as well as a kind guy who actually listens to her.
This was sweet and cozy like all of the author’s recent books, but it missed that magical element for me despite it being a, you know, magical B&B.
Calisa can never stop thinking about Jack, despite this entire endeavour supposed to be an opportunity for self-development and to STOP thinking about guys.
I appreciated that the romance was built on mutual respect and helping with each other’s weak spots, but it was soulmates and pining from day one in Calisa’s head.
I wish we got to spend more time with the guests and learning their quirks/growth. Similarly, getting better understanding of the other worlds was not the point of the story, but if you set up a portal fantasy, I am always going to be curious about more.
I would say this on the younger side of Young Adult, despite Calisa being 17 years old.
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