Purpose has little to do with what, and everything to do with why: The Else Where Express. ARC review

Title: The Elsewhere Express

Author: Samantha Soto Yambao

Number of Pages: 432

Publishing Date: 20 January 2026

Genre: Magical Realism, Cozy Fantasy

SYNOPSIS:

You can’t buy a ticket for the Elsewhere Express. Appearing only to those whose lives are adrift, it’s a magical train seeming to carry very rare and special cargo: a sense of purpose, peace, and belonging.

Raya is one of those lost souls. She had dreamed of being a songwriter, but when her brother died, she gave up on her dream and started living his instead.

One day on the subway, as her thoughts wander, she’s swept off to the Elsewhere Express. There she meets Q, an intriguing artist who, like her, has lost his place in the world.

Together they find a train full of wonders, from a boarding car that’s also a meadow to a dining car where passengers can picnic on lily pads to a bar where jellyfish and whales swim through pink clouds.

Over the course of their long, strange night on the train, they also discover that it harbors secrets—and danger: A mysterious stranger has stowed away and brought with him a dark, malignant magic that threatens to destroy the train.

But in investigating the stowaway's identity, Raya also finds herself drawing closer to the ultimate question: What is her life's true purpose—and is it a destination the Elsewhere Express can take her to?

REVIEW:

⚠️Content warning: grief, death of a sibling, emotional trauma.

Samantha Soto did it again... this book feels like being wrapped in a blanket while quietly having an existential crisis. In a good way.
Raya was such an emotionally compelling protagonist because her grief feels real. She isn’t just mourning her brother; she’s mourning the version of herself she abandoned after losing him. Watching her slowly unpack that pain throughout the journey hit HARD. There’s this quiet ache running through the entire book that never really leaves, even during the softer magical moments.
Speaking of magic… this train is genuinely one of the most imaginative settings I’ve read in a while. Picnics on lily pads? Jellyfish and whale floating through a pink-cloud sky?? that's actually inside a lotus?? which is not a flower but a rice wine bar?? Samantha really said “what if wonder itself became architecture” and honestly, respect.
Q was also SUCH a good love interest. Soft, artistic, quietly broken men in fantasy stories continue to be my downfall apparently. The romance is gentle and understated, but it fits the story perfectly. It never overshadows Raya’s personal journey, which I appreciated a lot.
What really makes this book shine though is its message. It’s ultimately about how easy it is to lose yourself while trying to survive grief, expectations, or other people’s dreams for you. And while the story gets whimsical and surreal, the emotional core stays deeply human.
The pacing is very steady but there is so much to take in, in every single sentence that it took me months to finally complete this book... but it was worth it!!

It's whimsical, dreamy, and painfully tender all at once, a story about grief, purpose, and finding your way back to yourself when life knocks you completely off track. The premise alone had me immediately seated: a magical train that only appears to people who’ve lost their direction in life? Yeah, inject that directly into my veins.

click here to see some quotes and edits from this book.