Down to Earth: An 831 Stories Romance

by Julia Turshen

Genres: Romance

224 pages, Paperback

Expected publication June 23, 2026

Reviews

[kailin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 ★
i love how every novella from 831 stories manages to cover a wide ranges of topics while creating a diverse and dynamic cast of characters you genuinely care about.

down to earth was so good — touching on topics like fatphobia, sexuality, local farming, the value in community, a slower pace of life, grief, learning to move through it and most importantly, going after the life you want without hesitation. i loved how frankie and paige were instantly drawn to one another, but the chemistry and relationship still had a natural build. i really enjoyed the dual povs and all the quick recipes frankie pulled out. you can really tell the author is passionate about food and thanks to her, i will be making myself a tomato sandwich asap.

thank you to julia turshen, 831 stories and netgalley for this e-arc 🖤

[NRC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooooh I liked this a lot! Once again, I wish this were a full-length novel so that we could get more background on the characters and the community, also more drama with Jared. I loved the way Julia wrote about the different female forms. Is it too late to move to upstate New York and be a hot lesbian farmer?

[Aysia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Down to Earth by Julia Turshen was another absolute win published by 831 Stories. At this point, I am willing to read whatever they are putting out and it hasn't worked against me up to this point. I want to include a disclaimer here: I am not a queer woman and I do not identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. I am simply an appreciative reader of queer fiction, and this review comes from an outsider perspective.

In this story, we follow Paige Segal, a mother trying to determine if she has the strength to leave her husband and raise her son, Bobby, on her own. She takes 8-year-old Bobby on a summer-long vacation to a small town in New York, where she quickly crosses paths with Frankie Poster. Frankie is a third-generation vegetable farmer whose family farm is a community staple but is currently struggling to stay afloat. As the two women work through their respective challenges, they find themselves growing unexpectedly close.

The way that fatness is portrayed in this novel was so beautiful that it actually brought me to tears. As a bigger-bodied woman, reading about someone being loved because of their body, not in spite of it, was incredibly healing. Turshen celebrates women taking up space, and seeing Frankie through Paige’s eyes was a powerful reminder that our bodies can inspire appreciation exactly as they are.

Even in a shorter format, the author manages to tackle the self-consciousness that comes with living in a skinny-centric society while maintaining a sweet, romantic tone. This was a deeply important read for me, and I really appreciated what Turshen was able to accomplish in so few pages. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a romance that celebrates authenticity and the beauty of existing exactly as you are.

Thank you to NetGalley and 831 Stories for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Ashleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book. When I reached the end, I realized that I actually did know this book was going to be coming out before seeing it on NetGalley. I was researching the author for work and saw, I think on her Instagram profile, that she was going to release a book with 831 Stories—which truly felt like the serendipitous point where two worlds collide.

I love that the stories told by this publishing house are so diverse. None of them have read the same to me. None of them have similar takeaways. All of them are so unique to the author, their life and their imagined worlds. It’s incredible. One of my favorite things about reading has always been the ability to interact with all these personalities & observe lifestyles that you would never come across in your own life.

I am obsessed with Frankie the farmer. She’s so real. This book touches on grief and the ways it manifests that are self sabotaging. I am always down to read a good story about grief. I also adore a small town romance. And will never not appreciate an extremely diverse cast of characters. There’s a dual POV which I prefer in a romance novel. There really is no reason for me to not adore this book.

While reading this story, time flew from me. I think it took a day or less to finish. It describes experiences in a manner that is so real. Having just finished the book, I too feel compelled to be extremely earnest with my feelings. That’s how you know a love story is powerful.

[mane cg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It was fun seeing a reference to Natalie from Rooting Interest. The relationship between Paige and Frankie was complicated. Paige is technically still married, and even though she and her husband are separated, it’s described as a trial separation. That made the situation a little messy for me, because her husband doesn’t actually know she’s not planning to come back. Was she cheating? Part of me kept thinking she probably needed to close that door completely before opening another one. I also appreciated that the book included discussions around fat phobia and fat shaming, and how it touched on sexuality being fluid rather than fixed. Those were important themes to include.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and the struggles the characters worked through. I was glad they were able to figure things out and stay together. The only thing I wish the book had included was a moment where they addressed how they would explain everything to the eight year old son, especially the transition from his parents separating to his mom being in a relationship with a woman. It felt like an important conversation that wasn’t really shown.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The small town atmosphere of this book was so spot on and it instantly brought me back to helping out at my local farmers market as a kid! Julia did a great job capturing the essence of small town communities without giving into stereotypes, which honestly drove the majority of this rating for me. While I did really enjoy Paige and Frankie’s story, I felt like there was some chemistry missing and wished we had more interactions with just the two of them. A great, short read that I would recommend reading on a summer getaway!

PS: the kid being named Bobby (for no reason) in this day and age really bothered me LOL.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my honest feedback!

[Amy Dickinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the queer stories that this publisher is telling and I love how unique each story and plot is, while also clearly precious and personal to each author. As a forever fan of local farms and farmers, I found this story so endearing and refreshing.

Thanks to 831 Stories and Edelweiss for the ARC!

[mh · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5! I liked this one but I think it had a bit of a 'murky middle.' Appreciated the dual-POV.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.

[Aida ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but I think maybe chatGPT co wrote it.