Sadly this was simply a boring book for me. I requested it on NetGalley because Julie finds her second chance at life on an island in Maine, which is my home... but I didn’t enjoy the “thriller aspect” of this book at all. There was a lot of good pulp with the loss and grief, but that was about it. There was a lot of boring build up and by the time anything interesting started happening, I wasn’t invested anymore.

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It was a well written book. I hope to read more books by this author.

Sadly, this book just didn't work for me. A lot of nothing was going on throughout 80% of the book and then the last few pages sucked me back in again.
The plot intrigued me that's why I requested it but it just wasn't a match for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for may advanced ebook copy.

Julie's life is a mess. Her marriage is over after the death of her daughter and she needs a change. She gets a teaching job on an isolated island and begins anew. Except there are sinister vibes and disturbances that are troublesome: a struggling child and an old lady who rules the island as her fiefdom. My favorite character was Depot, the dog.

*Thank you to the publisher, the author, Netgalley and BookForwardFriends for providing me with an EARC of The Second Mother in exchange for an honest review. * This was an interesting thriller. I think that the setting was just as much a character as any of the human characters. I like Depot. This isn't a thriller I'd normally read, but still a decent read.

hanks to @booksforwardpr, @bookmarked, Jenny Milchman, and @netgalley for my digital copy of The Second Mother.

Synopsis: Opportunity: Teacher needed in one-room schoolhouse on remote island in Maine. Certification in grades K-8 a must.

Julie Weathers isn't sure if she's running away or starting over, but moving to a remote island off the coast of Maine feels right for someone with reasons to flee her old life. The sun-washed, sea-stormed speck of land seems welcoming, the lobster plentiful, and the community close and tightly knit. She finds friends in her nearest neighbor and Callum, a man who appears to be using the island for the same thing as she: escape.

But as Julie takes on the challenge of teaching the island's children, she comes to suspect that she may have traded one place shrouded in trouble for another, and she begins to wonder if the greatest danger on Mercy Island is its lost location far out to sea, or the people who live there.

I enjoyed this suspenseful book. Julie shows a great deal of growth throughout the book, which is lovely to see. She also truly cares about her students, which as a former teacher, I love to see when the book features a teacher as a protagonist. Milchman has a talent for developing characters full of intrigue with motivations that aren’t quickly shown, such as Ellie or the entire Hempstead family. Several people were not who they seemed! I listed the trigger warnings at the end of my review, and would advise heeding them if they apply to you.

Pick this up for a poolside read on July 7th!

TW: death of an infant, divorce

So-so for me. Not great, not terrible. Just somewhere in between.

I wanted more go the mystery aspect. Instead I got more of the grief portion.

I wasn't sure what to expect about this book - was it a mystery about Julie and her daugher? or a mystery about the island. turns out a bit of both! i loved the story and the characters, was not predictable in any way. i highly recommend.

Julie needs a new start so she applies for a teaching job on a remote island. She lost her baby and then goes through a divorce. The island sounds beautiful and Julie finds herself in the middle of island politics and in the middle of the lives of the children she is teaching. This was a good novel of a woman trying to put her life back together after losing everything important to her. It was a tad slow at times which had me skimming parts of the book. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Books Forward PR, and Sourcebooks for this digital ARC. I went into this book knowing it was about a remote island where a woman moves after tragedy strikes. She needs to get away from her past and thinks an island with no technology or transportation is the perfect place.

Thoughts: I know they say don’t judge a book by it’s cover, but you know I did. The cover is stunning and I love the electric pink of the words. It really drew me in and I thought the plot of the book sounded amazing. I was hoping it would be like Turn of the Key, but sadly there weren’t many similarities. This book started off intriguing, but after she got to the island it went downhill. I felt that there was so much down time when nothing was happening. There were so many unnecessary details and I felt most of this book was filler with nothing much happening at all.

Also, SO MANY MENTIONS OF HER DOG. Yes, there can be too many dog references. I don’t need to know every single time the dog drank water or had a burger. Yes, I know you have to open a can to get out the dog food but you don’t have to describe it. So unnecessary. Sorry, that’s just a quick rant.

Anyway, in the end it was anticlimactic and didn’t have much of a story-line. There was so much potential with the creepiness of the island and the all-knowing all-powerful family, but it didn’t pan out at all. For a domestic thriller, it wasn’t very domestic or very thrilling. In the end I had to give it two stars, because more than anything I rushed through to see if there was some bombshell. Sadly, there was not.

I was so surprised by how much I loved this one! This was a cleverly-plotted, intriguing novel. Our protagonist, Julie, broke my heart. She is barely surviving after the loss of her baby, and sees a teaching opportunity on a remote Maine island as a way to potentially push past her grief and get a semblance of her life back. But when she settles in on Mercy Island, she becomes deeply disturbed by what she begins to piece together. Her journey towards the truth had me unable to stop turning the pages. I loved the plot and the characters. The atmospheric setting was perfect for the novel.

The only criticism I would say is that I felt it could have been a tad shorter. If the writing were made to be a little tighter i think it would have been five stars to me.

Fans of Ruth Ware will be " thrilled" with Jenny Milchman's latest, The Second Mother. Atmospheric, with all of the deliciously creepy fog, wind, and raging surf, it is a bonafided page-turner.
After a life riddled with heartache and trauma, a fresh start as a teacher on a quaint island seemed like the perfect opportunity for Julie to finally move forward.
Unfortunately, there is a fine line between solitude and isolation. Mercy Island proves to be a misnomer. Dark and forbidden, the island is inhabitated by a plethora of questionable characters. Thinly veiled threats escalate to open aggression. Is it the supernatural at play or someone far more sinister in human form? Factor in alcohol dependency, an agressive tween, shifting alliances, and an adorable dog and you have the key ingredients for a five star read. Without reservation, I recommend adding The Second Mother to your summer reading list!

This book drew me in and held me delightfully-captive from beginning to end. The palpable tension held me in thrall. The plot kept me guessing. The characters were very realistic and identifiable. And, every setting was described in such a way as to make me feel like I was an actual bystander in that scene. Once I started reading this story, I knew this was a book I wasn’t going to be able to put down!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

I loved the sound of the plot of this one, but the beginning chapters just didn't resonate with me enough to continue. The grief of the main character felt real, but the abrupt leaving and request for divorce from her spouse, who had very little introduction as a character, didn't seem realistic, I bought the book for our collection, and I"m sure it will find its readers. It was just not the right book for me at this time.

The Second Mother was a good suspenseful drama, with a lot of feel-good moments that had me cheering for Julie Weathers the central character. This book is not a thriller but had me hooked & I found it difficult to put down. The plot was great with some very realistic characters & dramatic & suspenseful events yet not over-the-top or unbelievable. I loved reading about the idyllic Mercy island & the ruthless Hempsteads at its helm commanding over it with a lot of authority & passion. Ever since Julie arrives on Mercy, she's had the feeling of being watched over. There are creepy things happening in the house she's put up at. Apart from all the bad things thrown at her I hated the incident with Depot, Julie's dog. Yet that was one of the best scenes in the book.
The theme of a secluded & isolated island life was very intriguing as well.
Going by the other reviews, I wasn't as keen to pick this book, but I'm glad I did because it had a great storyline. Overall this book was a very pleasant yet suspenseful read. The finish was very exciting, twisted & dramatic!
Thank You, NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark & Jenny Milchman for an arc!

The story of Julie Weathers is one of a slow burn to an “ah-ha” reveal. Julie has left behind her grief over losing her infant daughter and her betrayal by her husband who then asks for a divorce. In her attempt to start over again, Julie answers an ad for a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse on a remote island in Maine. At the island, Julie befriends Ellie who tells her a lot of island secrets as she drinks wine excessively. Julie attempts to befriend the dowager “queen” of the island, grandmother Hempstead, but seems to make an enemy of her from the beginning. Therein lies part of the mystery. Why is this leader on the island so unfriendly, in fact actually menacing at times? Julie also tries to help teen-ager Peter, a young man who is precociously intelligent but who keeps showing up unexpectedly wherever Julie is, scaring her and creeping out me. Then there is Callum, a man who handily does repairs at Julie’s new house and who also seems to be using the island for escape. His backstory is a big part of the draw to reading and finishing the book. The plot is so-so, but the characterization is excellent, with characters who are deep and realistically portrayed. I enjoyed reading the book, especially the fact that it made me think back on it after I read it and realize how deep it really was.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my honest review.*

Wow! Jenny Milchman delivers another creepy and twisty novel! To me, Jenny Milchman is the Queen of Sinister! I feel like she could describe a bouquet of roses and give me a chill with the evilness of the blooms.

Julie is struggling after the loss of her daughter the year before and looking for a way out when she finds an advertisement for a teaching position on a remote island in Maine. When her husband asks for a divorce, she charges forward on her application and gets the job. But will Mercy deliver the redemption that Julie is looking for? What a remote location! Almost like the land that time forgot - no cars on the island and barely any WiFi. It is the small town living that Julie is used to but to an extreme. The teaching job is for K-8 and all in one school house. And Julie takes her massive dog, Depot, to the island with her.

The book starts out showing how emotionally broken Julie is one year after losing her daughter and then she is devastated by her husband wanting a divorce. It's is great to see a flawed main character and to see her build herself back by sobering up and beginning to have new interactions with people. It's very creepy to think of moving onto an island and being the outsider and having it thrown in your face that you don't belong repeatedly. To me, the creepiest thing was knowing that people had easy access into your private space and you couldn't control that to even demand the locks be changed.

I felt like the pacing in the book was great and on point. The characters were well developed and the assumptions that were made about some of the characters fit in with Julie having the teaching background. The location was very different for me in a novel and I feel like Milchman used the weather to her advantage in the story telling. As someone who is moderately queasy at heights, the cliffs spooked me a little, as well - would someone fall over the cliff? Would someone get tossed over the cliffs?

I will definitely recommend this novel to someone!


(In accordance with the Approval Preferences on the netgally publisher page, I will wait to post the review to Goodreads, Twitter, and my blog, but I will update the review when this is done.)

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for my complimentary eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book was very well written, the characters had depth and were extremely relatable, and the twists I surely didn't see coming which for me made a really enjoyable read.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for this arc

I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. A story about a mother who went through many heartaches to include losing a child and that pushes her to make bad choices. But she wants to leave all of it behind and start a new thus, and she accepted a teaching job in Mercy Island for a clean slate. Little does she know, and her new life will become as dreadful as her old one.

The whole story has a gripping and mind-blowing effect, and all the characters are well developed. There is some part that seems to be a bit slow, but the twists made up for it. A small island with many secrets means tons of mysteries to bring to light. I like it.

4-5 stars. This was a well written, fast paced story, which was absolutely unputdownable at times! There were some spots I found myself not as engaged, hence the 4-5 stars vs a complete 5 star rating, but overall I did find that this genuinely creepy book provided me with my much loved thrills, chills, and shocks! I think it had an unique locality, original and realistic premise, and enough creepy feelings to really keep you on the edge of your seat! I recommend to those who enjoy good, atmospheric thrillers in the more YA area.
Will make sure to buzz it up on all the different platforms, and use my low Amazon reviewer number on release date!