Member Reviews
This powerful debut brings readers to Milwaukee, WI and Cape Cod for a haunting, heart-wrenching story. Told from different points of view, readers will be engaged from beginning to end.
After coming back and rereading the synopsis, I no longer believe I would enjoy this book to it’s full potential. Some of my most trusted book friends have written reviews that show me that I am probably not going to enjoy this one so I am going to spend my time elsewhere. I look forward to reading her future books.
I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!
I love a good family drama story and as someone who vacations in the same place every year per family tradition, The Second Home stuck a nostalgic location chord with me. Fortunately for me, I don't have the family strife or secrets that these three struggled with. This was a fast read with well developed characters. I highly recommend it.
The Second Home by Christina Clancy was an enjoyable read. The characters were written in a way that I felt like I knew them. I now want to visit the "Outer Cape". I also plan on reading other books by this author.
If you like stories about lots of family drama then this is the book for you. Siblings reconnecting after long period of time with old secrets resurfacing. I did find parts of the novel slow but like how everything came together in the end.
Cope Cod is a place that I want to visit so bad, so having this set there was awesome. It started off quite slow and I didn’t think I was going to continue with it. But I’m glad I did.
It was told by three different perspectives of the Gordon children, which I enjoy. Everyone loves reading about family drama.
Something horrible happened one summer and the siblings all went there separate ways.
The ending felt like it was missing something, I wanted a little bit more.
I gave it 3.5 stars so I rounded up to 4
DNF @ chapter 5. I tried it on audio as well. I just don’t think this one is for me. I felt like I should have connected to the characters that quick but I definitely wasn’t.
I love a "first novel" that doesn't feel like a first novel, and this one definitely sits comfortably in that category. Family drama, especially teenage drama, is at the heart of The Second Home, and some of it is dark. But I really enjoyed this book - the characters are interesting, if at times maddening, and their stories are funny and heartbreaking and frustrating and feel all too real. And the author's love of two very different places (Cape Cod and Milwaukee) shines through her descriptions of each, each becomes almost another character.
Not long after finishing The Second Home, I saw that it had been optioned to be made into a mini-series, and I hope that happens. It has the potential to be a great one.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy for an unbiased review.
I really enjoyed this book and Christina Clancy! This book was generously provided to me through NetGalley. Highly Recommended!
Even though it's only April, I've been on a tear reading "beach reads" in the hopes I'm able to actually go to the beach sometime soon -- and this book was the perfect addition to that beach read marathon! It was a great family drama set on Cape Cod, with just enough dark elements to keep me interested and turning the pages.
Told from the perspective of three characters and alternating timelines, The Second Home follows three siblings in their youth and as adults as they grapple with their parents death and their homecoming that brings up long buried hurts and secrets. Ann is the force behind the family, the mature one, the leader. She's holding a secret that she'd do just about anything to run from. Michael is the adopted brother, the outsider, the one holding a secret to protect another, but he's ready to reveal whatever he has to in order to keep the one place he called home. Poppy is the hippie, she's spent life moving around to various beautiful locations, but returning home reveals to her what she's really been running from.
I don't know what it is about this book that didn't work for me, I have a number of little issues with it, but ultimately when I finished I just had this meh, okay, I'm done feeling about it. I don't need my books to be unique, but I need them to be fleshed out and I want a realistic storyline to flow in a realistic way. I had to suspend my thoughts on youthful truth and lies to get through this read, because quite frankly I can't see lies like the one in this story continuing on for so long. And I say that as someone who has an incredibly personal connection to this book.
While The Second Home is written quite-well and is my usual cup of tea, it wasn't it for me. I do think suburban drama fans will enjoy this book, though. The location is great, the characters are fantastic, and the story is mostly realistic and relatable.
I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Good book, well written.
Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.
This family saga follows three siblings: Ann, Poppy, and Michael. Ann and Poppy are a year apart, and Michael is their adopted brother who came into their lives as teenagers. However, Ann and Michael have a bit of an unconventional relationship that they are trying as hormonal teenagers to navigate, and one ill-fated summer will change their lives forever. Now, 15 years later, the siblings parents' have passed and the treasured Second Home on Cape Cod has fallen into their laps - and a decision needs to be made as to what to do with it. This brings the siblings (who have fallen apart in the last 15 years) back together to try and come to term with the past.
I enjoyed this difficult read - while I didn't necessarily love any of the characters, the author made them all very human and flawed that my heart reached out to each one of them at some point during the book. I do recommend the book as it was written wonderfully!
Thanks to Christina Clance, St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.
The Second Home is a well written family drama. This is a good, relaxing read. The characters are vibrant and normal people, and life just happens to them. I really enjoyed this and could not put it down. There were twists and turns that had me riveted! A clever and realistic depiction of the cape.
I thought this would be a light fluffy beach read and wow was I wrong. Lies, secrets, and drama. Oh the family drama! The story is dark but left me wanting to know what happened next.
Trigger warnings: rape and substance abuse
This is a story about family, friends, secrets, heartbreak, and eventually, healing. It’s told from Poppy’s, Ann’s, and Michael’s POV. The MC’s are relatable and flawed. We see Poppy, Ann and Michael struggle through the late teenage years that shape the rest of their lives in profound ways.
There are some heartbreaking moments. Anthony is a horrible person that 99.9% readers will loathe for what he does. Through his actions, though, Ann gets close to several characters (don’t want to spoil it lol). The ending is sweet and each MC gets a HEA!
Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy!
Reading during the pandemic has added an extra layer of elements onto my regular reading rhythm. When I began this book, in July of 2020, my mind was full of anxiety and it may have influenced how I felt about the beginning of the book. The book description and cover gave the impression that this is on the lighter side and that the family saga would be a balm during the tumultuous time. However, the beginning of the book felt dark and suspenseful. I was so concerned that there would be violence that I could not handle at that time. So I let the book sit for a little bit on my electronic devices until I was in a better head space. I was pleased to realize that the characters were engaging and I grew very fond of them. When the book ended I was sad to see them go. All of this is to say that if the beginning is difficult, keep reading because it gets better.
This beach-read debut by Christina Clancy is a riveting read and family saga that will draw you in quickly. The Cape Cod land and seascapes add to the beautiful visuals. Family secrets unravel in a place and home that becomes a character in itself. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more from this author.
It wasn't bad-- but it also wasn't great. I didn't like any of the characters and I don't really feel like anything that intense or memorable happened. I hardly remember the plot, to be honest. It wasn't explicitly bad but not remarkable, either.