I was so interested in this book about Playboy bunnies in Wisconsin in the early 1980s. I was imagining a Valley of the Doll vibe and was disappointed. This book is largely about one main character - Sherri. On the one hand she is a down and out adult orphan who plays the organ to express her emotions. On the other hand she is a new Playboy bunny working at the resort in Wisconsin - Experimenting in all the things you would expect in the 1980s. There is a turning point for her and she escapes to California. The book suddenly jumps forward 40 years and she is back in small town Wisconsin to clean up her past.

I really wanted to like Sherri and found that she just was not a likable character when she was young. She became more compassionate at the end of the book but the reader knows very little of what happened to get her there. It felt like the author spent too much time setting up her character development and then just didn't do it.

This book was disappointing for me and I found myself wanting it to end a little earlier than it did.

What a fantastic new read from auto-buy author, Christina
I loved the plot, but there was some downtime in the middle of the book. I think there could have been a little more action there. I loved how the main character, Sherri, grew throughout the book!
Shoulder Season is a fascinating read, and we connect with Sherri as she bumbles through, making mistakes and having regrets, but surviving.

Shoulder Season is a coming of age story about being a playboy bunny in the 80s in the Midwest.
The main character Sherri is very naive girl who joins the bunnies because she is suddenly orphaned at 19. The book is full of characters who come into Sherris life.
Christina Clancy really did her research on this one and the book is well written, but there are a few spots in the book that were just too bland.

Shoulder Season is a slow burn, character driven book that pushed all of my preconceived notions about the playboy bunnies to the side. Propelled by the death of a loved one, Sherri Taylor breaks through her introverted shell at full speed. She assumes others have lived a much more exciting/glamorous lifestyle than she has and she is ready to catch up. She dives right into the world she thinks she has been missing out on her whole life.
This book was a little too slow and seemed to leave out a few important pieces from her time when she was done being a bunny until the story later picks up when she is in her 60's. The book describes in detail (for the majority of the book), her life as a bunny and then briefly touches on the time she had between 22 and 60yo. I felt like it was rushed to tie up loose ends and conclude the book. I did like her detailed descriptions of her town and there were funny parts like purchasing her car. Overall this book left me feeling a bit depressed for Sherri that someone would live her whole life trying to be someone she is not. I never felt like she truly found herself. Overall this book was a miss for me, however I could see where many others will really enjoy this one. I just did not enjoy Sherri's character and since this was a character driven book it was hard for me to be invested.

I want to give the author kudos for doing her research when writing this book. Her exploration and descriptions of the inner workings of the Playboy resort had me feeling like I was reading a non-fiction account of an ex-Bunny. I had no idea that there were actual Playboy resorts around the country; I assumed there was only the mansion in Los Angeles.
I was drawn to the premise and captivated by the first half of the book, but there were some parts of the book that weren’t enjoyable. I was initially rooting for Sherri as we had several character traits in common, but then out of nowhere she became selfish and mean and back to sweet & innocent, and a once likable character became unlikable. Towards the middle Sherri receives some news, and I was excited to see how this storyline would progress. But the next chapter jumps forward 40 years and we’re just told snippets of her life from that point till now. It was jarring and felt like a cop out. So much attention to detail was paid in the beginning of the book, and it didn’t seem like a huge effort was paid for the conclusion. There is also a black character who raises attention to discrimination in the workplace but that storyline is never explored further, and I felt like that was a lost opportunity.

Shoulder Season is a coming-of-age novel about the life of a Playboy Bunny, sisterhood, and small-town life in East Troy, Wisconsin. Christina Clancy hooks the reader immediately with the trials and triumphs of the main character, Sherri, as she manipulates her life now that her parents have died.

Orphaned at 19, a naïve Sherri applies to be a Playboy Bunny on a whim and makes the cut to start a new job at the Lake Geneva Playboy Club Hotel. She struggles and works hard to become the perfect Bunny, adjusting to her new world and circle of friends. Working at the resort, she sees Jerry, her landlord, who introduces her to Arthur, who buys a summer home in East Troy.

She falls for Arthur’s attention, wealth, and worldly ways. Sherri embraces the excitement, partying, drugs, and new boyfriends now that she’s a Bunny. After a party at Arthur’s goes awry, her life starts to spiral downward, causing her to make significant changes.

Shoulder Season is a fascinating read, and we connect with Sherri as she bumbles through, making mistakes and having regrets, but surviving. I highly recommend this novel, and I thank NetGalley for allowing me to review it. #ShoulderSeason #NetGalley #women's fiction

So much to love about this book! Sherri is a young girl growing up in East Troy Wisconsin in the early 80s., having recently lost both her parents at a young age. Sherri, lonely missing her family, applies for and gets a job at the local Playboy resort, as her co-workers fill the void left by her parents. . We see Sherri come of age, make mistakes, and grow throughout her time as a Playboy Bunny., She learns about men, and love, and life.

Ultimately we see Sherri in 2019, approaching 60, as she returns to East Troy from California. She learns that her perceptions of her youth were not accurate, how they had impacted her, and how she can now move on.

I really enjoyed the descriptions of life as a Playboy Bunny in the early 80's, Sherri's coming of age, and how the book ended.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute book! I loved the plot, but there was some downtime in the middle of the book. I think there could have been a little more action there. I loved how the main character, Sherri, grew throughout the book. This book didn’t just focus on one part of her life, but a good chunk of it. I liked how the chapters jumped back and forth throughout time, it gave the book more oomph. Clancy is creative with her writing and truly tells a story. When I first read that this book was about the Playboy Bunnies, I figured that the book would be similar to something that I have already read. It was the exact opposite! Clancy truly took her own spin on the fantasy of being a Playboy Bunny and I loved it! It was a quick and fun read. If you’re looking for a good book, definitely check this one out this summer!

Welcome to the secret lives of women working at a Playboy resort, struggling to straddle so many lines: their families, career desires, sexuality, society's treatment and subjugation of women, forcing them to adhere to impossible standards, holding up virginity as a virtue, but sexualizing them nonetheless. This immensely interesting backdrop, coupled with our naive-but-ambitious protagonist Sherri, should've been unputdownable. However, I found myself struggling to get through the slow, atmospheric story. The thin plot left much to be desired, and I just wasn't invested enough in the relationships. Based on the other reviews, it seems like I'm very much in the majority here, but I just wasn't captivated.

I really wanted to like this book -- actually, I really wanted to like the main character, Sherri Taylor. She's recently lost her mother, her father passed earlier -- she's stuck in a small town with no prospects for a job and seemingly no interest in college. On a whim, she goes with her friend, Roberta, to interview at the Playboy Resort in Lake Geneva, WI. Ironically, she's the one that becomes a Bunny and makes a "new family" with the girls she works with. She completely re-invents herself, which could be fun - but she does so many dumb things. Half the time I want to like her, but then she does something so childish and mean it makes you really dislike her, too.

It's an interesting story about how your life is altered by choices you make. Sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. She spent 40 years feeling guilty for something that happened at one party - but then goes back home to find out the truth. I wanted to feel sorry for her, for seeming to waste so much of her time, but couldn't muster up enough emotion by the end of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for a temporary digital ARC in return for my review.

This fun and quick to read novel is all about small town Wisconsin girl, Sherri Taylor, who becomes Bunny Sherri at the Lake Geneva Playboy resort. Billed as a family resort the Bunnies are trained to be professional and faultless and Sherri lives up to that ...sometimes.

It was a fun novel to read and to follow the Bunnies through their training and life at the resort but of course there will always be those who stray and make mistakes. No story would be complete without a little bit of intrigue and mystery and there was just enough of that in this book to keep me reading.

Author Christina Clancy does a great job of writing a fun story complete with wrapping up an ending that even if not realistic is nice to imagine for the characters. Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free copy for my honest review.

Really great coming of age vibe to this novel, it was an interesting read - especially to get a peek behind the red curtain of the Bunny life. How quickly Sherri's life changes, for the better (and in moments, the worse) was a rollercoaster emotionally. Thank you for this arc, would be interested in more from this author.

A wonderful coming of age story set in the Midwest. Small town girl gets a job at the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva and changes her life...for the better? I loved this book! The Bunny lifestyle juxtaposing the lake life of Wisconsin. Hope and heartbreak, dreams versus reality. Sometimes things work out the way they are supposed to. You can go home again!

Sherri was a small town girl that spent her last year of high school caring for her dying mother. After her mother’s death, Sherri was persuaded to interview to be a Playboy Bunny at the resort in Lake Geneva. To her surprise, she got the job. Sherri learned a lot about life in her time working as a part of the Playboy Family. She develops. friendships with other employees and also meets the love of her life when she encounters someone from her hometown at the resort with a friend. This book reveals insights into the way the Playboy Clubs were run as well as many insights into human behavior and trust. This is a very good book that I highly recommend.

Thank you so much to #NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a really easy book to get into. I was able to dive into it although I admit, I had to keep checking to see if it was a biography because the detail was unbelievable. You can really tell that Christina Clancy had done her research on a Playboy result because she nailed it. Not that I was ever there, lol. It had such a nostaglic vibe for me.

Its a tender coming of age story and I really enjoyed it.

The Playboy Empire is known for debauchery - everything forbidden enjoyed in excessive. However, if you're like me, you might be surprised to learn that Playboy actually owned several clubs around the country that did not cater to depravity and sin. The Bunnies at these clubs were off-limits and were strictly forbidden from fraternizing with the clientele. These clubs were denoted as family-focused entertainment centers, where a father, mother, and children could spend a lazy summer day swimming in the pool and later be served a bite to eat by a Playboy Bunny. Christina Clancy's new novel Shoulder Season takes us behind the scenes at one such club at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, as we follow one Bunny's awakening at the resort.

Nineteen year old Sherri Taylor accompanies her best friend on an interview at the nearby Playboy Resort at Lake Geneva, not knowing that this is the day her life will change forever. She is picked to be a Bunny and her friend is not. Soon Sherri is swept up in the glamorous world that is Playboy, but being a Bunny isn't everything that she thought it would be. She loves the girls she works with and the fact that she gets to live on-site in the Bunny Dorm. She enjoys the substantial tips she makes waiting tables and working events, and the prestige that being a Bunny evokes. The weigh-ins, scrutiny from management, and strict rules that Bunnies must adhere to though, she could live without, but she wouldn't trade her job at the Playboy Club for anything. But can Sherri maintain the Bunny standard while living the life she desires? Is it possible to have your cake and eat it too?

Shoulder Season is Sherri's story as she navigates the Playboy world, perfecting her role as a Bunny and trying to avoid succumbing to the sin that anything Playboy can't help but exude. This titillating behind-the-scenes look at the Playboy empire is fascinating and grounded in reality and research, with author Clancy actually using interviews with a former Playboy Club Bunny to fuel and inform her story.

The best parts of this eye-opening novel are indeed those that detail Sherri's work as a Bunny, although I did find myself wishing Clancy would take the novel further, diving deeper into the Playboy Empire and exposing more of what goes on behind closed doors. Instead, this book reads more like a coming-of-age novel, where a naïve Midwestern girl comes into her own against the backdrop of Playboy Enterprises. If you love novels of self-discovery and growth, and if you have ever been curious about the lives of Playboy Bunnies, then give this novel a try.

Hesitant readers should note that even though this novel is set in a Playboy Club, the content is fairly tame and does not cross over into significantly unholy territory due to the clubs maintaining a strikingly different atmosphere and vibe to their Playboy Mansion and Magazine counterparts.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I definitely learned some things I never knew about the Playboy empire, so that was interesting, but Sherri is such a horrible person that I couldn't love the book. I don't mind a flawed protagonist but she was just beyond redemption.

Shoulder Season takes place in Lake Geneva Wisconsin at a Playboy Bunny resort
It tells the story of Sherri had her parents die awfully close together and this was when she knew she had to make a change in her life to deal with this happening to her. The Playboy Bunny resort had the glitz and glamour to draw her into getting into this new world. Her new Bunny life gave her the “family” she was missing.
The life she was leading had a lot of things she would not have experienced while living in small town in Wisconsin.
A tragedy happens, and this made Sherri look at her life in a way she had not expected. She moves on in her life.
I read the book and kept expecting more from Sherri and never really got it.
Thank you NetGalley, Christina Clancy and St. Martin’s Press for ARC of Shoulder Season. This is my personal review. Publication date is July 6,2021.

Shoulder Season was a fascinating read for me. The setting of the book is Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in 1981. As soon as I read that I called my college roommate who lives in Lake Geneva and asked her if she had been there. Of course she had been to the resort, but only in its afterlife as a Playboy Resort. I had to look up all the details online to see the actual building. This was a very fun connection and I am fascinated with anything 80's.

Having read Gloria Steinem's account of being a playboy bunny and having been a fan of Girls Next Door, I fell in love with 19 year old Sherri Taylor who stumbled into an interview to be a bunny when her friend decided to go for it. Of course, Sherri is hired and the friend is not, but Sherri quickly makes new friends among the other girls and quickly loses her small town ways to start to enjoy the after parties that were the real life for the Playboy employees. As time goes on and Sherri becomes more sophistacated with her friendships, a tragedy happens that affects Sherri for the rest of her life.

This book is a fun romp through the 80's - such a unique time - but also says a lot about growing up, leaving home, finding your family, and finding love.

After reading the author's debut novel, The Second Home--which I absolutely LOVED--I was very excited to check out Shoulder Season, especially since it takes place in Wisconsin, where I've spent a lot of my life. Unfortunately, I had such a hard time getting into the book. It took me several attempts to get into it, and once I did, my interest kept waning as I read. Not only did I not care what happened next, I actually didn't even want to know what happened. The high-stakes tension and interesting characters that made me read Second Home in less than two days was not present here. The author is clearly a very good writer, who did her research, and a lot of the local anecdotes were fun to read about, but Sherri was just not someone I wanted to get to know, and the plot (which was mostly about her job) was not very compelling.