Breakaway Books

Authored by Amy Poeppel; Published June 2025; Romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️

Was there ever an era in which house swapping was a common thing? It feels very out of vogue in the era of AirBnBs, but Far and Away certainly makes the concept seem appealing.

In Far and Away, Lucy and Greta are both faced with the same intractable challenge: They need to leave their homes and their countries, and they have nowhere to stay. What’s more, both women need to get going pronto. One possibly ill-advised Instagram post later, and the two have agreed on a house swap–Lucy to go to Berlin and Greta to Dallas. Neither of them are prepared for the consequences of their actions which bind them and their families together in unexpected, if heartening, ways. 

If you have seen and adore The Holiday, I can virtually guarantee that you will like this book. Switching houses and countries miraculously gives Lucy and Greta a new perspective on their lives—not just their romantic relationships, but their whole families and even their careers. I’ll admit, the set-up for this book is a bit of a downer: Lucy’s son Jack is accused of a horrific offense, and he is obviously innocent. Jack is such an easily lovable character that it’s hard not to feel protective of him almost immediately—quite the feat, considering he is a teenage boy—so I at least found the beginning of the novel both a little troubling and a lot frustrating. But of course, it gets better from there.

There are two things about this novel that I absolutely adore. The first is the touch of quirkiness that touches these two families. Greta is married to a podiatric surgeon who, despite being very culturally German and formal, embraces the Texan vibes with gusto. Lucy is married to a scientist who is stuck in a very strange biosphere experiment in New Mexico, unable to communicate with the outside world but somehow still capable of becoming an internet sensation. The quirks add just the touch of humor that the novel needs. The second feature that I love is how big the circle of family grows for these two women by the end of the novel. There’s something deeply optimistic about humanity in the idea that if we try, we really can find love in our hearts for many, many people.

Far and Away managed to sweep me off my feet, across an ocean, and into the concept of house swapping. I’m confident it can do the same for you.