The House of Now and Then

Happy book birthday to The House of Now and Then by Edward Underhill! This is my first time reading this author, and what an impactful book to start with. Harlowe is a 31-year-old trans man who has just ended a long relationship with his boyfriend. To regroup, he rents a (shockingly cheap) cottage in Cape Cod for the summer, but he isn’t prepared for the uninvited house guests that seem to come with the place. His ex-boyfriend, semi-estranged dad, and former PhD advisor are all there, apparently stuck in time and insisting on talking to Harlowe about something. Is he hallucinating? Meanwhile, Harlowe is also maybe falling for a local barista, Nathan, who is working through his own inner demons.

What I Liked:

• Magical realism done right. I normally don’t enjoy magical realism all that much, but I loved this! Is this all a strange hallucination? Some kind of time loop? Harlowe navigates this in a logical way: Googling what on earth is going on. Eventually he comes to the conclusion that these versions of the people he sees are stuck in a moment from their past. But what to actually do about that proves to be trickier.
• Finding direction. Harlowe is indecisive to the point of being annoying. How can he be so ambivalent about everything? Why is it so hard to commit to his choices, if he even manages to make any? Harlowe’s major arc here is in figuring out who he is and what he wants, and learning to communicate that. The only way to move forward is to come to peace with his past. This means finally speaking up and deciding what comes next. He can’t keep falling through life.
• Queer community. Basically all of the characters here are LGBTQIA+: Harlowe is a gay trans man, his friends are all queer, and this community in Cape Cod is made up of mostly queer people. I love how this is normalized here; it’s not a source of conflict for Harlowe. There’s a place for all types of queer narratives, but it’s nice to read a story like this where it’s simply accepted. Over his summer at the cottage, Harlowe makes a wonderful new group of friends in addition to those left behind in Boston.

Audiobook:

Logan Rozos narrates The House of Now and Then, told from Harlowe’s perspective. The voice acting comes across as somewhat flat and numb at first, which is actually perfect, given Harlowe’s state of mind at the beginning of the book. As his emotional state improves, the narration captures that subtle evolution.

Final Thoughts

The House of Now and Then is a short and sweet story about overcoming traumas, finding a path forward, and forming new connections. The themes and portrayal really resonated with me, and I enjoyed seeing Harlowe finally come into himself. I look forward to reading more from Edward Underhill, starting with his previous adult novel, The In-Between Bookstore.

Special thanks to Avon, HarperAudio Adult, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy The House of Now and Then here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

The House of Now and Then by Edward Underhill
Audiobook Narrator	Logan Rozos
Audience	Adult
Genre	Magical Realism
Setting	Massachusetts
Number of Pages	288
Format I Read	Audiobook & Ebook (NetGalley ARCs)
Original Publication Date	May 19, 2026
Publisher	Avon

Official Summary

“The kind of book that feels like home. A brand-new all-time favorite.” — Becky Albertalli, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Amelia, If Only

From the author of The In-Between Bookstore, the sweet, unforgettable story of a trans man in his thirties who books a Cape Cod cottage for one lonely summer—only to have its magic bring him visitors from the past and romance where he least expects it, perfect for fans of TJ Klune and Ashley Poston.

Harlowe could use a break. With his academic future over, just like his relationship with his long-term boyfriend Jackson, a suspiciously cheap summer rental on the Cape feels like just the escape he needs.

But when he arrives at the picturesque seaside cottage, he’s alarmed to find his discouraging former professor in the living room. His father making coffee in the kitchen. And a handsome young repairman fixing things in the bedroom. Worst of all, Jackson is in the bathroom. None of them will leave. No one else can see them. And they won’t leave him alone.

The house isn’t magic only for Harlowe, and as the summer grows hot and thick with tourists, old wounds and fresh secrets—both in and outside its walls—begin to transform him. It’s clear the house is trying to tell him something, and he’s sure it has to do with the mysterious repairman who suddenly seems to be everywhere he looks… But can Harlowe let go of the past long enough to listen?

Evoking all the windswept dunes and Fourth of July fireworks of a perfect Cape Cod day, The House of Now and Then asks who you would find, if all your unfinished business was just behind one door.