This was definitely one of my favorite reads recently. It was such an emotional roller coaster, and I couldn’t figure out if I wanted to get off the ride or not!

I really enjoyed The Second Home! Clancy crafts a captivating family saga , weaving drama, secrets, and trauma into a juicy read. And there are some very interesting facility dynamics here…

Clancy shines with her character development and atmospheric storytelling. She gives us enough to feel the characters and their emotions and immerse ourselves in Cape Cod without dragging the story down with exposition.

Recommend The Second Home to readers who love family dramas with great storytelling.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the complimentary copy to read and review.

Three siblings enjoyed a few summers on the Cape at a family home until one summer when a few events splintered the family and they were all forever changed. The parents of this family have passed and the three siblings must now reconcile to make big decisions about the original family home and The Second Home.

I may say this often on this blog, but it is the truth, I love it when authors put multiple points of view in one book and I love it even more when it is clearly edited, so the reader knows who is taking the lead in each chapter to tell their side of things! Ann, Poppy and Michael each get moments to tell the story and I loved seeing the events unfold through each of their eyes. Without spoiling too much, this book definitely has some hard scenes to read, but I think the author did such a great job taking these characters through some stuff and out the other side!

This was another book that has been on my shelves for a long time and I was excited to dive deep into the TBR and read this one and hope to read her other backlist - Shoulder Season very soon!

While this wasn’t the type of book I normally pursue, and it was a little more heavily emotional than I initially expected, overall a sweet story.

It took me a little bit to get into this one, and I think that's because of the time it took to get to the big situation that took place. Once we found that out, things started to flow more for me. The author wrote Mr. Shaw amazingly well, because I absolutely hated him. I love a multiple narrative story and this didn't disappoint.

This was an unexpected delight, as I have never heard of Christina Clancy. This was a great beach read with tons of drama, heartbreak and love. Highly recommend.

A home we’ll past it’s prime. Three sibling, one adopted, converge to repair and prepare the home to get the best possible return. Two sisters in agreement to the sale , one brother so attached to the house and it’s memories , he drags his feet on the sale. It’s a story that sees it’s telling from three distinct voices. Each tormented by an incident neither can forget. When Micheal the adopted brother reveals what he says happened, old misunderstandings resurface. Happy reading

This one fell flat for me. I didn’t ever get invested with the characters, there were a lot of holes in the story and the drama and a lot of stuff that didn’t make sense. I’m gonna give it a 2.5 (rounded up) super disappointed because I love a good family drama.

I hard time getting into this one. The family aspect was done well - this family is just a mess, which I usually appreciate and enjoy the resolution. The plot just dragged.

This debut had so many of the elements that resonate for me in a novel: a rich sense of place (especially a place I already hold dear with memories like Cape Cod), family secrets, dysfunction, and estrangement, nostalgia for childhood, multiple perspectives, and a fraught reunion years later. And though there were a few inconsistencies in details and plot twists, the book mostly delivered against those elements for a quick, enjoyable read.

I couldn’t put this book down! I felt as if I were transported to a quintessential New England Cape Cod summer while driving into gripping family drama and secrets. The family character development was intriguing and left me engrossed in the mystery behind what went horribly wrong 15 years ago between Ann Gordon and her family in Wellfleet. As we journey to unravel the past through Ann’s perspective, pieces slowly come together, revealing why the family is now estranged and how they can salvage their relationships with one another and their beloved family cottage.

Sometimes you just crave to read about someone else's family drama to justify the chaos in your own life. This is ideal for a summer read, but it is not your typical beach read.

Aargh! I missed 4 books here that I requested in 2020 - not an easy year. This one still sounds amazing and I apologize for not getting to it. But I'm back 2022! Thank you!

I always am drawn to a story taking place on the Cape and was happy i chose this one. Interesting family dynamics and conflict. Well done!

What an interesting story, one that got me thinking. The story kept building, lies hidden beneath it all, how long could this deception go on? If the truth would finally be revealed, who would be left? As teens, they were friends. Michael seemed to fit nicely into their family and so, the family decided to adopt Michael. At first, this seemed like a perfect fit. The two sisters enjoyed having Michael as a brother now and father proudly showed him some of the items around the summer house which someday, he would now own. This adoption changed Michael too, for now he wasn’t the quiet boy he once was.

Leaving life in Wisconsin, the family would take off each summer and spend some time in Cape Cod in their summer home. Poppy and Ann look forward to this time every year and they can’t wait to show their brother Michael everything they do. I thought it was interesting how Michael initially views this vacation spot and how this changes as he got older. One summer, one of the sisters finds herself in a difficult situation. As I read these pages, I couldn’t read them fast enough, as I wanted it over with yet I wanted someone to intervene. The outcome was heart-breaking and frustrating to me but they thought it was the best way to get this matter settled. They thought that this situation was behind but it wasn’t.

As the years pass and the story progresses, their parents have now died. The children are now adults and Poppy and Ann have decided to sell the cottage in the Cape. I was steaming mad at this point. One of the girls couldn’t keep her mouth closed and the other one couldn’t open her mouth and talk. Holy macaroni folks! I can’t tell you all that went on but I wanted to speed read as things started to heat up but I didn’t want to miss anything. There are lots of memories in this house, good and bad but you just can’t walk away and lock the door and leave them behind. This was a great book for me but I don’t think the cover was very exciting on it.

Note: Tell your loved ones where your Will, Power of Attorney, Living Will, etc. these important documents - are when you have them done. Don’t wait till you’re old or dying to tell your loved ones where they’re at. I want to thank St. Martin Press, Net Galley and Christina Clancy for sending me an arc of this book. This review was my own personal opinion. 4.5 stars

This was a great realistic fiction. The coming of age and family dynamics were spot on for the time period. It was thought provoking and would lead to great book club discussions.

Whew, this was an unbelievable hot mess. Why did everyone let Tony steamroll them? Like it was not realistic at all. Ann was also horrible. Like, everything with the will and estate was not handled well or legally. Just didn’t like these characters or the plot, so this one didn’t work for me.

There are trigger warnings you should be aware of before reading this book: rape and suicide.

I picked this one up because of the description and I love getting a story from multiple viewpoints. I feel it adds so much to the story. I think this one was just too slow for me to really fall completely in love with. While I can't go into much detail without spoilers, this is slow burn family drama told from multiple viewpoints.

3.5 stars for me. I think I was expecting to be grabbed immediately and it took a bit.

This was such an amazing read! I was hooked from the start. This is a story of Ann, Poppy and Michael who are living in Wisconsin and traveling to Cape Cod every summer as a family. This is a story that had so many dynamics and I enjoyed every single page! I felt like I was right in this story and this author is definitely one I would totally read again! Full of sadness, hope and love!

Great read! Looking forward to reading more from this author! I highly recommend this book and author to all!