Queen B’s Decree: I think it must be said that this is not considered a romance. I’d categorize it as a coming of age story (with a hint of a paranormal twist) despite Darby being 30 years old.
Darby has lost his job, his rent is going up, and he’s feeling misplaced in his adopted home, NYC, so he goes back to his Midwestern home town to re-evaluate life. It’s there where he discovers the bookstore he worked at as a teenager (AFAB teenager, that is) is stuck in the past, the summer before his friendship with his BFF Michael imploded. It’s like Darby has purposeful amnesia, as he cannot remember why their friendship fell apart the way it did.
And weirdly, instead of just talking to grown-up real life Michael, Darby perseverates on talking to his teenage self to attempt to figure it out. You know, they always say that some lessons have to be learned twice, and Darby is an extreme case of this.
Darby seeing his past self struggle with gender identity mimics his current struggles on where to fit in. That no matter how many people are there supporting you (shout out to his mom!) that your perception of life may be vastly different from an outsider’s looking in.
The end of this story was equally sad and sorrowful and hopeful. I wouldn’t say there is a HEA here, as Darby is just continuing on his journey to self-acceptance, but it feels like it’s a step in the right direction. And really, isn’t that all we can ask for in life? To continue to learn and grow?
So, The In-between Bookstore is an insightful and emotional story regarding the what-ifs we all have in life.
Book: The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill
Series: standalone
Genre: Fiction
Plot Devices/Tropes: time travel, transgender character