Audiobook Review – Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen, Narrated by Siiri Scott (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Magical Realism
Length: 8 hours and 51 minutes
Publisher:‎ Brilliance Audio
Release Date: August 30, 2022
ASIN: B0B3F66KY2
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audiobook from Audible
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Down a narrow alley in the small coastal town of Mallow Island, South Carolina, lies a stunning cobblestone building comprised of five apartments. It’s called The Dellawisp and it’s named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment at The Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors including a girl on the run, a grieving chef whose comfort food does not comfort him, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and three ghosts. Each with their own story. Each with their own longings. Each whose ending isn’t yet written.

When one of her new neighbors dies under odd circumstances the night Zoey arrives, she’s thrust into the mystery of The Dellawisp, which involves missing pages from a legendary writer whose work might be hidden there. She soon discovers that many unfinished stories permeate the place, and the people around her are in as much need of healing from wrongs of the past as she is. To find their way they have to learn how to trust each other, confront their deepest fears, and let go of what haunts them.”

Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Wild Magic series. I got this on ebook for Christmas.

Thoughts: I ended up enjoying this but not as much as Allen’s other books. It takes a bit for the story to come together in this one. We spend the first part of the book hopping back and forth between random characters that seem only to be tied together by some sort of relation to Mallow Island. As some mysteries are unraveled, these characters do come together in a tighter way which I enjoyed. Previous to reading this I had read Allen’s Waverly Family series (which I loved), “The Peach Keeper” (which I liked), “The Girl Who Chased the Moon (which I liked), and “The Sugar Queen” (which was okay).

Initially we follow Zoey who has moved into her mother’s condo on Mallow Island and plans to go to college in the fall. Zoey’s mom recently passed away and Zoey is struggling to get some peace with her mother by visitng the place where her mother used to live. We bounce between a number of other characters as well: Charlotte a henna artist who is always on the run, Daniel a new college grad chasing his dreams, Mack a chef, and the caretaker of the Dellawisp. We find that each of these characters is being haunted by ghosts and seeking to find some direction and peace in life.

I struggled to really engage with any of the characters here because of how much the story bounces around between them. All of these characters have troubled pasts. Zoey comes across as too eager and noisy right off the bat. Charlotte is too distant and dismissive. I did grow to enjoy them a bit more as the story went on. However, these weren’t characters that really pulled me in to the story.

I did enjoy the magical realism throughout. There is some subtle magic here in the form of very subtle ghosts that influence and bother people. Allen does an amazing job with creating very realistic magical realism that feels plausible and magical all at once.

I also loved the setting of Mallow Island and the strange Dellawisp house. It was fun to learn about this island (whose history is linked with marshmallow candy). I also liked some of the twists and turns the story took and the secrets that were revealed. This does give some of the cozy feelings that Allen’s books are known for. This story also has a theme of characters making a family for themselves and finding peace in their lives. This was enjoyable but a bit more scattered and less impactful than Allen’s other books.

I listened to this on audiobook and the narration was well done. I would recommend listening to this on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I liked this and am glad I read it. However, it was not as good as a lot of Allen’s other books. This book felt more scattered and less impactful to me. The story just took a lot more time to come together and really engage me as a reader. I did enjoy the setting and the magical realism here, but the characters were tougher for me to engage with. I will continue to check out Allen’s future books; I just love how she does magical realism. If you enjoyed this book I would definitely recommend checking out The Waverly Family books if you haven’t read those.