What a train wreck. I could not finish this after getting 3/4 into it. Sherri is supposed to be very smart but her life decisions just keep getting worse and worse as the story moves on. After the only likable character drowns and stupid Sherri runs off to stupid Mitch in California I quit reading. Just don’t care what happens. I’m sure there are lessons here about those who are smart but not street smart and how your upbringing affects your life but it’s not enough to save it. I did enjoy the Wisconsin references since it’s where I live.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for providing the arc of Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy in exchange for my honest review.

Shoulder Season mostly takes place in the ’80s, in southern Wisconsin. Although we meet the MC, Sherri when she’s in her sixties living in California. After receiving some bad news about someone from her past, Sherri starts reminiscing about her past and she takes us along for the ride.

When we meet young Sherri her mother is sick, her father passed away a few years back. She’s a small-town girl with no plans for the future. When her mother passes away, she feels lost and trapped. Her BFF, Roberta, invites her to Lake Geneva, the home of a Playboy Resort, where Roberta has an interview to be a Bunny. Feeling insecure about herself, Sherri isn’t keen on going, but Roberta convinces her and with nothing else to do, Sherri goes.

Bunny Sherri is your typical lost twenty years old, who doesn’t know what to do with her life. Her first taste of freedom involves sex and drugs, which leads to bad decisions and hurting the people around her. We follow Sherri as she meets new people and misjudges a lot of them. Her naivete is obvious and kind of heartbreaking. There were many times I wanted to tell her to run. But we all make mistakes. When tragedy strikes, Sherri hops in her brand new, ugly brown car and heads straight for California and to a man, she thought she knew.

I had a difficult time with this one because Sherri’s flaws and wrong turns frustrated me. Although Clancy handles young Sherri well, I had a really hard time reading this one. I almost quit twice because I was SO annoyed with her. BUT overall it’s a quick read and gives a peek into the Playboy world. I wouldn’t call this one my favorites, but if you’re looking for something with a look at how we grew over time and how our mistakes shape us, you might enjoy this one.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy when I chose to read it but I was quickly blown away by it. Placed in East Troy, WI in the early 1980's, Sherri is a young woman who has lost both of her parents. Her father had passed away when she was younger and then she spent her late teen years taking care of a dying mother. So, when her best friend suggests that she come with her to apply at the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva for a bunny job she goes along on a lark. Surprised to be hired, Sherri decides she needs to belong somewhere and doesn't want to live in the apartment she shared with her mother, so the Playboy Club it is. We follow Sherry through her ups and downs, making friends with some of the girls, being pushed around by others and by the Bunny Mother. There are some nice men and there are of course the creeps.

The pressure on the girls to always look and act a certain way are strong and when Sherry has trouble zipping up her uniform she resorts to speed to help with her weight. The partying is certainly part of the life the girls lead but there is much more to their lives and their struggles to be true to themselves. Clancy does a great job of showing us the complexities of her characters.

I grew up in Southern Wisconsin and absolutely loved Clancy's descriptions of the area and mentioning the places that Sherri went while in the area. I have even stayed in the resort that had been the Playboy Club along with taking a boat trip on Lake Geneva. I hope I remember to tell all my school friends to read the book when it comes out next summer!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance read copy of this book.

I loved Shoulder Season for multiple reasons. When I found out it was about a Playboy Bunny, I simply couldn’t resist and wanted to read this book. Even though it doesn’t take place at the Playboy Bunny Mansion in Los Angeles, I felt that it was still a very realistic depiction of what life as a bunny. This book is a coming-of-age story and this is probably the first book that I have read that I felt was a real authentic coming-of-age story. Sherrie had little to no guidance after her parents died and she was from a small town which made her very vulnerable and naive to the happenings of the real world. This books showed how much she grew up in a short amount of time as a Playboy Bunny and then later showed how much her time as one affected her throughout the many years to come. I loved reading this book and thought it had a lot more substance than I originally thought it would.

Book: The Shoulder Season
Author: Christina Clancy
Rating: 3 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for sending me an ARC.

I really enjoyed Christina’s first book, The Second Home, a lot. I went into this one thinking that it would have the same impact on me. However, I ended up being kind of disappointed by it. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, but it just didn’t hit me as hard as The Second Home.

Let’s start with Sherri. I had a very difficult time connecting with her character. She seemed really judgmental, which made her very difficult to actually like. We start out by seeing that she has the weight of the world on her shoulders and life has been tough. It is this difficult life that has forced her to take up the role of a Playboy Bunny. We see her down on her luck and forced to do something that she probably would not have done had life handed her a better hand. In the beginning, I did feel bad for her and thought that I was going to really enjoy her character. However, she started to change and this change was not for the good. We kind of see her turn into a monster. We see her develop this “I’m better than you” attitude toward those around her, which I cannot stand in real life let alone in a book. We also see pass judgement on other characters who, like her, having been given the short end of the stick in life. If characters are going through hard times like yourself, you don’t pass judgement on them.

The writing was okay, but there was a lot of telling, not showing. We have to be told many times around Sherri’s character traits, instead of being shown them. This is a big issue for me. We need to see those traits in the character’s actions to back up what is being said. You can tell us these traits, but just have something in the book to back up what you are saying. I know that Christina is more than capable of doing this. I saw it in The Second Home.

The use of the Playboy Bunny story line was actually pretty interesting. Seeing the characters and how they got to this point really makes you stop and think about what brings people to that point. We get see a lot of people who have fallen on hard times and are just trying to make it in what is a harsh and unforgiving world. Hearing some of the back stories we tear at your heart and make you a little by less judgmental-unlike a certain main character. It is actually this tug that made me give this book a three star rating. I just wish that the whole thing had been done this way.

I still have a lot of faith in this author. I just think that I was expecting The Second Home again and didn’t get it. Had the whole thing pulled at me the way that certain characters did and had I actually enjoyed Sherri’s character, I would have enjoyed this one a lot more.
This book comes out on July 6, 2021.

To begin with, this is a coming-of-age...a naïve young woman who has lost both parents in quick succession. Living in a rural town in Wisconsin what will do with her life now that she is alone. At a suggestion, she decides to interview at the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva. Of course, without a doubt, she becomes a Playboy Bunny. What Playboy is looking for (hard to believe) are girls that are wholesome, that are pert and pretty, well just about everything our protagonist has!! And she gets educated, and certainly doesn't remain naïve for long. Set in the 1980's with our protagonist coming from a farm town of Wisconsin, perhaps I'm being too cynical to believe that we weren't sophisticated back then....yet in thinking about it, we're not talking "big city" here. The appeal here is the need to belong, the need to feel as if you are "one of the girls" not just looking from the outside, to feel the joy of "sisterhood." The author does an excellent job of creating that feeling, that need.; And trust me, you don't have to be from the backwoods to relate to those emotions. Add a romantic triangle, along with sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, you have a story that will bring back nostalgia to some, as well as an entertaining and intriguing novel.

My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Home is a place best arrived at on your own terms." I came into this story not thinking I would enjoy it a lot, because the beginning of the story seemed a bit slow - Sherri seemed shallow, a little naive, but still sweet. I was a little frustrated with her at the beginning for all of her decisions, and I felt bad for her at times too. However, after the event that scarred her and led her to leave home, I got really into the story and I began to really like Sherri. She has endured so much, loved and lost, and I liked how the author brought her home. This story is different from any other I've read before, and while it can be slow, the overall effect at the end is a story well told. I enjoyed this book, and I hope you will too.

Interesting story about a down-on-her-luck young woman who lands a job at the coveted Lake Geneva Playboy Club. This offers an interesting peek into the life of a bunny, and I found it especially interesting as I live 10 minutes away from the abandoned Playboy Resort in Vernon. The story follows Sherri through a wide variety of experiences, from living in the bunny hutch and getting caught up in the life of being a bunny. The story flows smoothly and will draw you in with its vivid characters and the ups and downs of Sherri's life. The character of Sherri herself is not a particularly likeable character, but her story will entertain you nonetheless. A good solid read by a terrific author. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sherri is an older woman reminiscing on her youth. She had a plain up bringing and all of a sudden is staying at the bunny hutch. She is introduced to a life of glamour, intrigue, drama and love. She finds herself in a life changing love triangle. I am all about books that allow me to escape life right now and Shoulder Season helped with that. Love this book, it is one for the ages.

Thanks to the good folks at NetGalley for a chance to enjoy this book.

Great writing, sucks you right in. Loved Sherri, the bunnies, the sense of place.

I've always been interested in the culture surrounding Playboy. How it came into fruition and whatnot. This book examines some of that culture.

Shoulder Season follows a small-town girl named Sherri who becomes a Bunny. Sherri finds herself playing front and center in a love triangle that will bring about life-altering ramifications.

Highly Recommended!

This was a wonderful and intriguing story. In one respect it was a coming of age story about a girl who became a Playboy bunny. I enjoyed the journey and reading of Sherri’s adventures.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my y.

I enjoyed Christina Clancy’s “Second Home,” so looked forward to a chance to read her second novel, “Shoulder Season.”

I began reading the novel without even reviewing the synopsis, and had I known the story’s focus was on a Playboy bunny, I might have hesitated. Yet, once I was introduced to Sherri and understood her loneliness, I could not put this book down. From a small down in Wisconsin, Sherri loses her family and as a result, seeks to find her place in the world, which turns out to be as a “Playboy bunny” at nearby resort located in Lake Geneva.

I found the process of learning to become a bunny as well as the camaraderie Sherri develops with the other bunnies intriguing. Like all us, Sherri struggles to find out who she is; while the setting is new, the threads behind it are not.

Sherri’s character pulls you in and does not let you go until the novel’s final page. She does not always make the right choices and parts of the novel do drag on, especially as you dive into the Playboy culture (which explains my rating), but overall, this is a gripping coming of age story. Do not expect to always like Sherri or even agree with her actions, but you’ll still want to see how her plight will be resolved. I will continue reading Christina Clancy’s books because of innovative stories like this.

Three and a half stars

Thank you to Net Galley, Christina Clancy and St. Martin's for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy is a look at one girl's life as a Playboy Bunny and what happened after she left the hutch.

Sherri is at loose ends when her friend Roberta mentions she has an interview to be a bunny at the Playboy resort, so Sherri tags along and is hired. She navigates life as a bunny with all its ups and downs, the men, the drinks and the drugs until she no longer is wanted there. From there life is not what she expected and the novel follows her decisions, good and bad to her late life.

I had a hard time feeling empathy for Sherri, I felt she created a lot of her own issues. The author was very descriptive in her narrative and you could see the scenery clearly, putting you right in place with the characters. However, many times I didn't want to be with them. I struggled through much of this.

I was actually very surprised how much I enjoyed this book! I have read the previous book written by this author and think she is a great storyteller. The subject of this book is not something that I ever wondered about, or actually had an interest in discovering information about it. I was hesitant to read this book because of that. I am so glad that I did!

The story does focus quite a bit on being a Bunny in a Playboy club in the 1980’s, but it is so much more than that. It is the story of a young woman, after her mother’s death. Sherri had taken care of her mother for many years in failing health, her father had previously died years prior, and for the first time in her life, the world is open to her to make her own decisions. She wants to create a new personality for herself and leave the old one behind in the small town where she grew up. This is an amazing story that drew me in from the very beginning and kept my interest throughout. It was definitely a page-turner for me.

A book cover is important to me and I love this one! It definitely goes with the story perfectly!

While I disagreed with so many decisions that Sherri made, that is what made the story so intriguing to me. I think the author did an amazing job creating the characters. The book is written so well; I felt at times, that I was reading a true story. Everything was believable to me! I look forward to more books in the future by Christina Clancy.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read the advance reader copy, with no obligation to write a review. My review is written freely as a hobby, and is totally my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.

This books is ultimately about the decisions that we make based on our perspectives and how they can alter the path our lives take.

I initially really enjoyed the premise, but towards the middle got a bit annoyed with Sherri and her immature behavior. However, I also get that it was probably the path that her character needed to take. This was probably 3.5 stars, rounded up due to Roberta's character.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to officially welcome Christina Clancy to my auto-buy authors club. This very exclusive club has only a handful of members and I know she will fit right in. It’s hard to know where to start when writing down your thoughts on a historical fiction novel that centres around a Playboy Bunny resort. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I read the synopsis but after the first couple of chapters it was clear that this wasn’t going to be the type of trashy scandalous story you might associate with Playboy. Some of the characters in the book even read the magazine for the articles!

Shoulder Season centres around Sherri, a young woman from a small town in Wisconsin. Sherri is a lot of things but likable is not one of them. Anyone who is themselves from a small town can probably relate to the way Sherri conducts herself when she finally steps out on her own after taking care of her mom. You can probably chalk everything she does up to her being naive and impressionable. But deep down in her core Sherri is your typical basic bitch mean girl. She is completely self involved and at no point in the book was she ever truly there for her friends. Friends who were always stepping up to lend her a hand. If I had to pick one character that took the lions share of crap from Sherri, I would have to say it was her childhood friend Roberta. We don’t get to read a lot about Roberta which is a shame because compared to Sherri she is by far the more interesting. Near the end of the book it felt like attempts were made to have Sherri act grown up and mature but for me she was an anti-shero until the very end. Please don’t let my dislike for Sherri prevent you from reading this book because it’s brimming with other characters that make up for all of Sherri’s flaws.

Christina Clancy’s books are very character driven but she still manages to create warm, inviting, vintage atmospheres that pull me into the story. Her writing is begging to be made into a limited series (a movie wouldn’t do it justice). When I finished the book I wondered what took Christina so long to get her books published. I wish her career had started earlier so I had more of her books to enjoy. Any fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Steven Rowley will no doubt love Shoulder Season and The Second Home.

To quote Bon Jovi's song, "Who says you can't go home?" Sherri Taylor just wants to get out of East Troy and she'll do anything to get out and leave her home and memories to find a better life. From becoming a Playboy Bunny to moving to California she keeps getting "called" back home. This book is a feel good book with rich characters. I'm a new fan of Christina Clancy. Thanks for a GREAT book!

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

After the death of her parents, Sherri decides to take charge of her life and interview for a job at a nearby Playboy Resort as a Bunny. When she is given the job, Sherri takes on the role and begins to live the life of a Bunny even though it does against who Sherri was previously. I throuroughly enjoyed this historical fiction novel .

Should Season is a difficult read because our main character is so unlikable. At the 60% mark she is still so selfish and self-involved that I simply stopped caring about her or wanting to finish the read at all.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC an honest. review.