The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst

The quick cut: A 16 year old girl goes to her Great Aunt's B&B in Vermont only to discover there is more to life than meets the eye. 

A real review: 

 When your heart is broken, you can use a new scene in order to recover again. For 16 year old Calisa, this involves going to her Great Aunt's B&B and fighting to stay the summer. 

 Calisa's moms have sent her up to her great aunt's B&B  for the summer, but her great aunt doesn't want her there. After breaking up with her cheating boyfriend, she ends up in Vermont. However, instead of arriving at a beautiful B&B, she finds herself at a broken down place instead. Her great aunt also says she'll only let Calisa stay three days instead of the whole summer. Calisa manages to extend her stay by helping fix the place up, care for the visitors, and getting to know Jack, the live-in employee who helps keep everything going. Is the B&B exactly what it appears to be? Or is something else going on? 

 This story definitely meets the magical realism subgenre. While the B&B is definitely magical, the magical aspects of the story are woven in to be seamless with reality. It doesn't all become known to Calisa all at one point. It's revealed to her over time, in a way that feels natural. I want to discover a B&B with magical portals and dragons! 

 Calisa is a high schooler struggling with a breakup and instead she finds a direction for her life. She discovers a passion that turns into something deeper and with a future. While you definitely see the potential for a budding romance, that isn't a core part of the story in any significant way. It's a nice touch, but for those who prefer non-romantic stories it won't be an issue. 

 My only issue with the book is that the core conflict that really sets discoveries and plot movement happens very late in the book. We're talking the final third of the book late, so it feels rushed in the end. The odd pacing is distracting, but it didn't completely take me out of the tale. 

 A fun cozy fantasy story. 

My rating: 4.25 out of 5