Shoulder Season is a beautifully-written coming of age story. It is a very intriguing piece of historical fiction sprinkled with romance. It is an interesting peek into the life of a Playboy bunny in early 1980's when Playboy was at the height of its power and fame The fact that these resorts were promoted as 'family friendly' left me flabbergasted. I had no idea. .And also Christina Clancy shows that there is more to being a bunny than meets the eye. The author opens a window to the culture of the Playboy Bunnies; the routines, rules and hierarchy. I can only imagine how much research went into this.

The book is essentially about Sherri a young, 19, immature, naive, lonely and innocent Midwestern girl. She is trying to figure herself out. She dreams of a bigger, more interesting life. She wants to make friends, have fun, have financial security, you know to live her life to the fullest. But she is also a bit selfish and superficial and she makes so many terrible mistakes. I had to remind myself that she is only 19. I was rooting for Sherri in the beginning of the book then she made me furious with her choices even though I understood her motives. The tragic love story had me in suspense until the last chapter. I liked how that one piece of information in the prologue comes in full circle. I felt for Sherri and her suffering from the consequences of her mistakes and then finally I felt relieved by the closure she got at the end.

Clancy's storytelling was extremely well done. The pacing was great. The book was a delightful page turner with a healthy amount of surprises and twists . Clancy developed her characters quite beautifully, they were all too realistic. I have to say Sherri is not the most lovable character but she is definitely a complex character. I liked the supporting characters - Sherri's best friend Roberta, her bunny friends, Arthur, Jerry- more than I liked our main girl Sherri.

This book follows a young woman Sherri Taylor as a bunny in the Bunny hutch. She goes from being a piano player in church to being a playboy bunny. While it does happen for me this story just didn't ring true to Sherri's upbringing or basically her lifestyle. I just had a hard time with it. I struggled to finish it and hate when that happens.

I felt no emotions reading this. I found myself barely paying attention to some of the detail and that just does not happen to me. After about 60-65% I gave up. I was not even interested in finding out how it ended.
I think the author has written a book here that some people will truly like and enjoy. I think it's very well done, from what I read. And It seems many do love it. I think it's just not my kind of book.

While I did like Sherri, I just didn't relate to her on any level. Or any of the other characters. I didn't dislike it exactly. Like I said, it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to #netgally, #christinaclancy, #stmartinspress for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book. Just not my kind of story.

I give it 3/5 stars and recommend you read it for yourself and decide.

I really loved Christina Clancy's first book "The Second Home" and "Shoulder Season" is just as enjoyable. Most of the book takes place at the Lake Geneva, WI Playboy Club in the club's heyday. Sherri, a small town girl who has suffered several tragedies, is hired as a bunny for the club. While boosting her self esteem and earning her plenty of money, the job and the lifestyle takes a toll on Sherri. The book is filled with fascinating and interesting characters. Ms Clancy's is very talented at writing strong characters. As a young woman, Sherri is a fragile woman, who can often make the wrong choices, but proves to be resilient and likable. I loved following her story along with the surprises along the way. It was also a lot of fun to read about the Playboy history.

A small-town Wisconsin girl becomes a Bunny and immerses herself in the alluring Playboy culture. As we know, things are not always what they seem. I grew to love Sherri and found myself rooting for her through all of the ups and downs. The character development and storytelling had me forgetting these weren’t real people. Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

"Home is a place best arrived at on your own terms."

Coming-of-age story,  reminiscent of Daisy Jones and the Six, with a twist that I did not see coming.  Heart-wrenching and beautiful with a smattering of poem excerpts that fit perfectly.  

Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very interesting and well written story. I look forward to reading more by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I found this book to be very intriguing and interesting. Could be because I don’t know much about the playboy mansion. All in all a good read

I liked this better than i thought i would. The writing is great. It was a nice little quaint story.

Shoulder Season follows Sherri on her journey to the Playboy Resort in Wisconsin. While I was super intrigued by the storyline, I couldn't get into this book. I think it was a mix between the writing and the characters. Thank you, NetGalley

I received an advanced reading copy through NetGalley.

I'm a fan of historical fiction and was definitely intrigued by the premise of this book, promising an "inside look" at the life of a playboy bunny. The book seemed really well researched, and I was really drawn in by the descriptions of the resort and the structure of the whole shebang.

I had two main issues with the book. The first, very large issue I had was that Sherri was simply intolerable. It was so hard to stay engaged in the story when the protagonist is impossible to root for. I fully understand that she was young, inexperienced, and naive. But even taking that into consideration, she makes some bonkers decisions and then acts the victim repeatedly. I wish there had been a little more "show, don't tell" handling of Sherri, as we were constantly told by other people that she was smart but there was no real application of that throughout, until we were with older Sherri.

My second issue was that the timeline felt very wonky to me. It was often hard to tell how much time had passed between scenes, and we were sometimes launched months forward without any real explanation. <spoiler>It was absolutely wild to me when revealed at the end that she and Arthur had only spent ONE week together.</spoiler> The ending in particular felt a little disconnected for me, and wrapped things up a little too nicely for my preference.

At the end of the day, it was a perfectly fine book. It was easy to read and pretty quick.

Shoulder Season is such a unique premise for a book. The plot drew me in but Sherri’s story kept me engaged the entire time. There were times where she was so naïve and I just wanted to scream at her while protecting her. She didn’t have any adult figure in her life to guide her on her way, so she had to learn a lot on her own. The book starts and ends in the present day, while the middle is her life in the 80s. I thought I would only want to learn about the past, but last part of the book where she was a grown woman and experiencing life was also a favorite. I loved the sentiment she brought up that she spent 8 months of her life as a bunny but those 8 months have followed her through the past 40 years of her life and have shaped people’s opinion of her forever. A true fact for really anything in life.

Shoulder Season is a story about a young girl named Sherri and her journey of self discovery. From her small home town to the Play Boy bunny hutch and beyond.

This story fascinated me from the beginning especially since I have never known much about the playboy mansion and never put much thought into the women who worked there. I found myself rooting for Sherri at every turn in this story. I would have liked this book to be condensed a bit. Towards the middle I found myself a tiny bit bored with the story, but In my opinion it was wonderfully written and I truly enjoyed the character development from her friends back home to the arrogant men at the hutch. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good historical fiction novel.

Thank you @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Shoulder Season caught my eye while I was searching for new books to request on NetGalley. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, I was approved and able to read this wonderful story.

We meet current day Sherri at the beginning of the book and then quickly go back in time to her days as Bunny Sherri. This historical fiction gives us a view into the world of the bunnies and everyone around them at a mid-west Playboy “family” resort.

Though she’s only a Bunny for a short period of time, there are some life-altering events that happen during her time there that Sherri holds with her for the remainder of her life. For most of the story, I was rooting for Sherri but there were a couple of times when I felt disappointed in her decisions, hoping she would have been less selfish. Feeling that way reminded me she was a well-wounded character who had real-life flaws and that, like Sherri, no one is perfect! There was a major plot twist I was not expecting at all and it made a book I was already really enjoying, that much more interesting!!

Favorite Quote:
“You shouldn’t be offended if I recognize your potential. All I’m saying is that you might want to consider using this time in your life to become something rather than be something."

Shoulder Season, by Christina Clancy, was an effortless read and the story flowed seamlessly from the beginning until the end. The characters were memorable and easy to keep up with. It was refreshing to follow a storyline that I haven't read anything about before, being a Playboy bunny. Peppered with a realistic insight into what was required of a "bunny" added an interesting component to the book. Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC ebook version of this book in exchange for my honest review. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone that may want a light read with a bit of interesting information sprinkled in.

I loved reading this book! Coming of age books are some of my favorites to read and this one didn’t disappoint. Sherri, the main character, wasn’t always the most likable and there were times I couldn’t believe how selfish she could be. But it’s a raw look at a person as a whole, the good, the bad and the ugly. Reading about the Playboy clubs was very interesting. Definitely a book to pick up!

A fun, and sometimes heartbreaking read, Shoulder Season follows the life, loves, and ** of a small town girl who believes she's hit the lottery when she lands a job as a Playboy Bunny at Playboy Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.. As you follow Sherri Taylor, you'll be swept along as she learns about independence, friendship, love, and a tragedy that will haunt her for forty years. As you cheer Sherri on, you'll get lost in this story of her life from the lakes of Wisconsin to the Pacific Ocean.

The Shoulder Season is a fascinating look back into the early 1980s and the Playboy clubs. It's hard to believe now, but once "Bunnies,"and the lifestyle that went with it, was something that young women, especially those looking for a way out of their small towns, wanted not just for the money but the glamour. I devoured this smart and searing coming of age story in one day as the aforementioned small town girls discovered the ups (and inevitable downs) of the Playboy lifestyle. For anyone who lived through the 1980's, as well as anyone who wants to read about at the 1980s--this is an absolute must read. Very highly recommended.

SHOULDER SEASON ☆☆☆.5 - Thank you to @netgalley & @stmartinspress for the e-ARC! Out 7/6/21! 🌊 ⁣
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This one begins in 1981 and follows 19 year old Sherri Taylor, who gets a job at the Lake Geneva Playboy Resort. She quickly gets caught up in their world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, as well as their insane expectations. There’s betrayal, tragedy, a love triangle, and more. ⁣
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Whew, you guys. No character has tested me the way Sherri tested me while⁣ I was reading this book. She was so selfish and manipulative and I just wanted to yell some sense into her. BUT, besides that, I really enjoyed the story. It was more about Sherri’s personal struggles in love and life, but set against such an interesting backdrop. It’s a very unique historical period and location, which I always love. The glamour and the atmosphere of the resort was fascinating to learn about. I recommend it! Perfect summer read.

I went into this book thinking it was a light summer read but found it was so much more! Really interesting insight into the Playbook clubs of the past which I found intriguing. I felt like the book was a bit slow at the beginning but then it really picked up and I enjoyed the second half of it so much more.

I know Lake Geneva well from growing up in the area and summering in town. Christina Clancy perfectly captured the town, club and essence of all. A throwback to an era that will never be forgotten or repeated.