The Faraway Inn

The Faraway Inn
Age Range
12+
Release Date
March 31, 2026
ISBN
979-8217024315
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A teen girl decides to spend her summer helping her eccentric great aunt manage her quaint Vermont inn—only to discover that the fixer-upper is hiding a magical secret.

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.

Editor review

1 review
More Suitable for Young Teens
(Updated: June 04, 2026)
Overall rating
 
2.3
Plot
 
2.0
Characters
 
3.0
Writing Style
 
2.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
An inn full of magic and secrets?! Sign me up.

Or so I wish. This was my first book by Sarah Beth Durst and I'll admit I didn't know much about the author going in but the premise caught my interest

I know this was supposed to be a cozy fantasy but I felt like it missed a lot of points for me. First, the book was entirely too long for the plot. It took about 50% of the book for the main character to even realize the inn was magical. There was a lot of repeating themes of "My boyfriend cheated on me so this is the only option I had" to "My Great Aunt is a little particular but how can I convince her to let me stay?". It only spanned two days but it felt like forever.

The characters really weren't memorable at all. To be honest, I can't even remember the main characters name. It just felt so disconnected by the whole book because it didnt feel like anything was happening.

I, personally, think if the book was shorter and the first half happened sooner, it would have been more interesting. It took too long for our main character to figure out the purpose of the hotel and if that happened earlier in the story, then more fantasy and the magic on the hotel could have been the focus.

Overall, The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst wasn't for me. I think it'll connect with the younger teen crowd but as an older reader, it was too tedious and took too long to hit the main point. I did like the friends to lovers aspect of the book but everything else just fell flat.
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