Yeah there were problems with this book but I liked it.

The first part of the book is set in 1999. The Gordon family drives from Milwaukee to Cape Cod every year to stay in an old home that has been in the family for generations. That summer the family is joined by Michael, a homeless boy that the family has taken in and subsequently adopts. The next summer, Poppy, the younger gets into surfing and hanging with a rough crowd. Michael is very grateful to be part of a "normal" family and becomes close to Ed, the father. Ann, the eldest daughter, takes a job as a babysitter for a well to do family and develops a crush on the father, Anthony, with disastrous results.

I had an uneasy feeling through the first part of the book. Ann's nickname was Ann with a Plan but she alternated with being bitchy and naive. I couldn't believe how stupid she acted and her choices caused Michael to disappear and Poppy left to travel the world surfing.

The second half of the book takes place in 2015 after Ed and Connie have passed away and Ann tries to sell the Cape Cod house without consulting Poppy and Michael is still missing. I didn't understand how Ann and Michael could mean so much to each other but still believed the things Anthony told them. I loved all the characters but I felt Ann was just a bitch. She created her situation but seemed to blame everyone else and take it out on them. The end was a bit improbable but all in all I enjoyed the story. I think Poppy was my favorite and I was rooting for her to have peace and a good life.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have never been to the Cape area but it is a destination I hope to get to one day. With Covid-19 running rampant I can only enjoy it by film and book right now!

This book is about what happens to a family when the communication and trust has gone. They start off as this seemly perfect four who summer at their family cottage in Wellfleet, MA. The parents are cool, tuned in and very present with both their girls Poppy and Ann. The girls worship each other and are happy to spend their summers adventuring and hanging with their parents. It is all very twee. Then a new sibling is introduced and the balance is thrown and one summer leads to terrible decisions that ripple beyond the summer months and change the family forever,

Christina Clancy is very good at writing flawed characters. They are twisted and angry, self-centered and full of self-doubt. But they are also loving and fun, passionate and headstrong. Writing such nuanced characters is hard when they may be acting against you, the authors, better judgements. The story is clever too, guiding us through each siblings emotions, ensuring we sympathize with them to then have it over turned as we hear the next siblings story, The end is predictable but that is OK, it was the journey that counted,

A great book to read whe the sun is shining and the waves are crashing.

I love stories about families because you want them to be your childhood vision of a family - happy and giving and forgiving - and as you read, you discover the characters are more like most families - dysfunctional and fearful and ill and childish. In other words, the characters are so real you hear them speak and laugh. You hurt for them. With them.

The setting is Cape Cod. In all it's beauty, and also it's rough edges, you hear the waves crashing on the beach and feel the chill when it's long past summer and all the tourists are gone. And speaking of tourists, you are somewhat ashamed that you, too, have been a tourist and
unknowingly looked down upon.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to Ms. Clancy's next endeavor.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for allowing me to read an ARC.

I was hoping for more from this novel, based off of the location. The author had the opportunity to really ramp up this story using setting details but unfortunately, it missed the mark. This is a family drama with a lot of drama! I found the characters frustrating and the plot moved too slowly for my tastes. All of the family drama just made me feel really sad and frustrated! There was just so much going on for each character that it felt a bit convoluted. I enjoyed a few of the characters and I enjoyed reading this family figure things out but overall, too much drama for my tastes. My thanks to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

3.75 Cape Cod Stars

The setting alone was cause for me to pick this book up! I’ve always been fascinated by Cape Cod and have enjoyed the limited amount of time that I’ve spent there. This debut novel focuses on one Midwest family that spends summers in an old house on the Cape. Events in one particular summer cause the family to splinter and years go by before anything is worked out.

Ann and her sister Poppy were close growing up, but Poppy learns to surf that fateful summer and later travels the world looking for the next big wave and her identity. Ann puts her plans to go to college on hold and their adopted brother Michael has disappeared.

Fifteen years later with the death of their parents, Ann, Poppy, and Michael must resolve the future of the Cape Cod “second” home and try to reconcile their fractured relationships. Will the secrets stay buried or has time healed some of the wounds?

I enjoyed this one and I think this author holds a lot of promise. There were a few times where I yelled at the characters to talk to each other! There were a few times when I had to suspend belief around legal matters, but it’s fiction, right! This would make for a great summer read.

Couldn’t get past the 1/2 way mark. I usually like family/sibling stories but this one was painful to read from the beginning. Also needs a TW re: sexually assault.

Free ARC via Goodreads; opinions are mine.

"The world was one way, with the family I thought I knew, and then we were strangers with these major secrets."

Christina Clancy writes with such vivid wording and detail, that you almost feel like a character in the book. This debut novel will break your heart and then tenderly put it back together as you switch between three narrators- sisters, Ann and Polly, and their adopted brother, Michael.

Initially, I struggled with this book as I tried to get into it, but around 35% or so when I found out Ann's secret and how it came to be, I was hooked. This family drama mostly takes place on Cape Cod in the family's summer house, or "second home" as the Gordon family calls it. It starts in 1999 and unfolds all the way to 2015 and finishes in 2017.

There is a small scene that involves rape, which can make some people uncomfortable, so if this is a trigger for you I suggest either skimming through or not reading this part.

I will say I didn't connect or care for one of the narrators, which would usually make me stop reading a book, but I was too engrossed in the secret of this book and wanted to find out how everything was going to play out in the end.

If you love complex family dramas that involve secrets and siblings, then this book, with its rich wording and multiple points of view between siblings, is for you.

I received this book for free from St.Martin's via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has gotten many rave reviews on NetGalley so I requested it. Sadly, I could not get interested in this story. Just not for me. DNF at 40%. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for my honest review.

For lovers of Elin Hilderbrand and If Only I Could Tell You, this debut novel is a great beach read with enough depth to get you through vacation with your family ;)

Highly recommend! Thank you NetGalley for the free copy

The writing in this book was fantastic – the character development and story were both extremely well done. I also really enjoyed the strong sense of place throughout the novel – while it isn’t an area I’m personally familiar with, it was so easy to picture yourself right on Cape Cod with the family. The book deals with some very difficult topics, but overall I really enjoyed the read!

I enjoyed this book but felt I was in the middle of a TV soap opera! Pretty predictable and so much angst over the past. After the death of their parents, three siblings need to deal with the estate, which includes their summer home on Cape Cod. Usually a close-knit family, an experience their last summer together breaks them apart and each goes their separate way, losing touch altogether with one of them. The character development is so excellent the nastiness of the bad guy makes you despise him, and you can feel every second of the fear he engenders in a teenage Ann. By the same token, Ann’s crush on an older man will bring back the one every teen age girl had.

The Second Home evoked extremely strong emotions as I read. It sat for a long time on my bookshelf before I picked it up. My first thoughts as I read was to wonder why I had waited so long to read it, but that soon turned to dread. I could feel the happiness of the story disappearing. When I got to Anthony's deceit and threats, I actually put the book down, unable to read it for over a week. I am not sure why I finished it. The Second Home overall is a dark, disturbing book - not one that I want to recommend.

Christina Clancy has woven a truly wonderful story of a family torn apart by secrets and lies kept during a summer at their families’ ancestral home on Cape Cod. Including wonderful depictions of youth and innocence, the story shows the waste of years when truth is avoided at all costs. But what a wonderful, caring and loving life the parents give the children....now scattered all over the world... running from themselves and each other and not wanting to face their past and find out the truth. After their parents tragic death, follow how they all feel about The Second Home. A truly heart warming story with wonderful character development. I would recommend it highly.

I’ve gone back and forth about how to rate this novel. At times I found it disturbing, other times boring, but I always got sucked back in at the right time to continue reading. The ending saved it for me and I went with 4 stars. I enjoyed the family dynamics and the underlying issues that created the drama.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this. I will be posting a full review to Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram.

This is a beautifully written story about three siblings who must come to their childhood vacation home on Cape Cod after their parents' deaths to decide what to do with it. Ann and Poppy and adopted brother Michael have not seen each other in years. We find out why as we take a look into the early adulthood years of the three siblings. This story is too good to miss. It evokes feelings of sadness, goodness, and what it means to love someone unconditionally even if it means it will hurt you. As the three must get along to decide what will happen to the house, feelings of the past emerge and they must face the past in order to proceed with the future. Ann is "Ann with a Plan" and has a son named Noah. Poppy is a world traveler with no real roots anywhere. And Michael has been in and out of a relationship and has a daughter of his own. This book will twinkle its magic into your heart.

Thank you to Netgalley, Christina Clancy, and St. Martin's Press for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pleasant predictable women's fiction, i read it but struggled through as it seemed like i knew what would happen and was somewhat boring reading, nothing moved me emotionally or made me think

As much as the premise of this book intrigued me, I finally had to decide to DNF it.

The writing is great! The author absolutely knows how to pull at your heart strings and she allows you to easily get to know each of the characters, very quickly. And in part, this is my issue. I was invested in these characters and their outcomes and how their past got them to their present conditions. But there were just too many "yucky" topics to stomach. Too many difficult circumstances for these teens to go through.

Maybe someone with an iron gut, or anyone who doesn't mind diving in to the less palatable sides of people, could really enjoy this book. I am, however, able to admit that I am not that person.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book!

The connection to the family summer home is felt throughout this story. A secret one summer breaks up the closeness in the family. It isn't until after sad news received by each of the siblings that brings them back together. This debut novel is heartfelt with forgiveness, hope, and love within the family. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Christina Clancy has a winner with her debut novel! Told in two separate timelines - the first, a summer on Cape Cod that changes a family permanently. The second, 15 years later after the unexpected death of the parents, which is told in the prologue (NOT a spoiler). I thought the writing was fantastic - I couldn't believe it was Clancy's debut! This stunning story will be released on June 2!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.