Review Detail

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.