I was a big fan of Clancy’s debut novel THE SECOND HOME and her sophomore novel did not disappoint.

After losing her parents, Sherri Taylor makes a very out of character decision to become a bunny at The Playboy Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Young and impressionable, Sherri is pulled into a world that is far outside her comfort zone and is forced to make decisions and choices that have lasting ripple effects.

SHOULDER SEASON is ultimately a coming of age story about a young woman trying to learn how to love herself without needing the approval and acceptance of anyone else.

It is clear the author did a lot of research into the lives of the bunnies and I appreciated all of the details. It was also interesting to get the juxtaposition of the small town, mid-West mentality and the glitz and glam of the Playboy empire in the 80s.

SHOULDER SEASON features a large cast of supporting characters so there is always someone to love and someone to hate. With crisp writing and great pacing, Clancy pulls you so fully into a scene that it’s easy to imagine you are there with the characters.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advance reading copy.

I really enjoyed this book way more than I expected. I chose it because I was in the mood for something different than my usual read, and something not depressing in this time of coronavirus. Well, i got what I hoped for.

The writing was excellent and I felt transported into the story. I loved learning how the original Playboy Bunnies were trained, and what their job was. I was fascinated. I loved the story and how it evolved. I loved seeing how this shy, small town girl was able to grow.

However, weirdly enough, although I loved her story, I didnt love her. I thought the main character was a selfish and uncaring. I think it was part of the story to show how she was sucked into this new world, but I never could relate to her, or like her.

I want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the advance copy, which did not impact my review, I loved escaping into this new world.

#shoulderseason #christinaclancy #netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreview When we start this book we meet Sheri. She’s an older woman whose been called home to small town in Wisconsin. We then explore a year with Sheri that defined her life. After her mother passes she isn’t sure about life. Her best friend has an interview to be a Bunny and has Sheri come with her to also get a job. We take a wild ride through life to see what defines this character and makes her who she is. Everything isn’t always as it seems. #bookstagram #bookaddict #booklover #bookstagrammer #booksbooksbooks📚

I am literally just going to get into it. And ripping a new one is going to be incredibly topical for this review.

Let me first start by saying, coming of age stories are cool in my book. Historical fiction is amazing in my book. Learning about Playboy Bunny culture is so fucking cool in my book. Yet, I found this story to quickly fall and tumble at the hands of a shitty, terrible, no good, rotten ass “protagonist”. Yes, I went there. I can’t even really call Sherri a “protagonist” without disdain because the prefix pro- indicates movement, advancement, and forward momentum. And Sherri simply showed none of those qualities. In fact, she completely did a 180 with little to no redemption until she was a grown ass, old woman. Okay, cool….

Let’s discuss the monster that is Sherri. She is initially presented as this young woman who has had a heavy load placed on her shoulders. First chapters or so, she wasn’t so bad. You could feel for her and the situation she was in. But she quickly shows what I can only assume are her true colors. That was pretty much one of the last times I liked Sherri. From there, it kind of snowballs out of control. As does my patience and understanding with her.

So why do I hate this woman so passionately?

1. She isn’t smart. I don’t know why Clancy would continuously tell us Sherri was intelligent when she did literally little to nothing to prove Sherri’s intelligence. I can think of one single instance when Sherri indicated any sort of cerebral life in that dome of hers. Just saying, J.K. Rowling didn’t have to continuously tell us how smart Hermione was. It was evident in the characters actions. Clancy needs to spend a little time working that out. Or stop fucking saying it. It is okay to be an idiot. I’d also like to express that we aren’t talking stupid like I didn’t like her. I am legitimately claiming that her intelligence level was not even average. Reading her thoughts and understanding on things in this book is like mind boggling.
2. Sherri is immature, which doesn’t make a poor character. But she literally can’t even say the word condom out loud because that is embarrassing. Honey, if you can’t say condom out loud, you aren’t mature enough to be having sex. Furthermore, she bangs a guy and suddenly thinks they are something. And goes on and on about it even claiming he is her boyfriend. I don’t care how young or naïve you are. It was delusional at best. A “smart individual” would not have carried on like she did. I still read YA and enjoy it. So this isn’t a preference thing. This was a whole other level of infuriating immature ignorance.
3. Sherri is also a judgmental little bitch. This whole story she is passing judgement on Carmen for stripping to support a brother who was physically hurt. Sherri you accepted a prostitute position basically for no monetary value. Just the hopes of a cool gift. Are you fucking joking me right now? You’ve fucked for less than Carmen shows her titties for. It was hard to swallow the absurd “I’m better than you” attitude from Sherri. And she keeps this mantra through out the book like she doesn’t wear a skimpy/basically stripper outfit for a living too.
4. Sherri is a shitty person to those she loves. <spoiler> I don’t care what anyone told Sherri years later that bitch killed Aaron. You don’t invite people to a party at a house that isn’t yours especially when you haven’t seen this man for months. Who the fuck do you think you are? She pushed him so her dumbass friends would be impressed. Also, fuck Christina Clancy for making Aaron seem like the bad guy in the end. Sherri was shitty little bitch, she deserved no reprieve. That actually also infuriated me because it was totally unnecessary in my opinion. </spoiler>
5. There really is no redemption or glow up. Sherri does her shitty routine and all of sudden its decades later and I have to take Clancy’s word that she isn’t a shitty bitch anymore. And I already don’t trust Clancy because she keeps telling me how smart Sherri is and yet she isn’t at all. So cool follow-up, but I ain’t buying it.

Overall, I thought this was a god awful story. Usually, I am not so aggressive with books and reviewing the bad. But this was a punishment to finish reading. I will not be suggesting anyone check this out. There are many coming of age stories out there that do the theme much more justice. I would love to try another story surrounding the Bunny culture and lifestyle though. That was probably the best part of this story.

Also, I think Clancy wrote about the wrong character. Sherri was weak and stupid. Roberta wasn’t. I think this review would have been entirely different if we saw Roberta take over the Playboy Bunny culture and lifestyle.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the read. St. Martin’s Press don’t be angry with me and please keep approving my NetGalley requests.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Shoulder Season.

I was intrigued by the premise so I was excited when my request was approved.

Sherri Taylor is from a small town and has spent most of her life caring for her sick mother. When she passes, Sherri desperately wants to leave her provincial hometown and do something with her life. Live it.

When she is offered a fantastic opportunity to become a Playboy Bunny, she jumps at the chance. But her dreams of being independent and free comes at a cost when her superficial ways derail her path in life and force her to regain control, but not without suffering a devastating personal loss.

In the beginning, I sympathized and related to Sherri's hopes and dreams for a bigger, more interesting life. There's nothing wrong with wanting more out of life, but as the narrative progressed, it began to read like those 80s movies my sister and I enjoyed watching when we were young.

You know the plot; a naive country girl comes to the big city with dreams of stardom and becoming a model but ends up in the porn business and/or becoming a sex worker. She ends up as a drug addict, and if she's lucky, not dead by 30.

I quickly lost sympathy for Sherri as her self respect and dignity eroded and her partying and selfish ways wrecked her life, and ruined personal and professional relationships before she hit rock bottom.

I understand Shoulder Season is a coming of age story, except I didn't like Sherri and I felt the narrative went on too long. It became tedious, the parties, Sherri's repetitive utterances that she wanted to be loved and desired, her dalliances with Mitch and Arthur, followed by more parties.

What I did find fascinating was the culture of the Playboy Bunnies; their routines, rules and hierarchy. That was so interesting! The fact that the resorts were touted as 'family friendly' was so bizarre I couldn't wrap my head around it.

Shoulder Season offered insight behind the Playboy Bunnies when Playboy was at the height of its power and fame, but as a coming-of-age story, I wasn't as interested as I hoped I would be.

I hoped for a nice escape with this book, a way to transport away from current events into something 'glamorous' and alluring. This book swerved and surpassed my expectations. It has that 'can't out it down' vibe, but I found myself wanting to take a breath with it, absorb some more of it. This may be timed as a beach read, but I found it to have the perfect amount of sun-kissed freedom and thoughts about identity and connection in this start of fall. I can definitely see myself reading this again for some new views and some more delight in Clancy's stellar wordcrafting.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is not normally the type of genre in books that I read but honestly I was very impressed with the writing and the plot. The main character really pulls you into the story and you feel as if you know her! I would definitely read another book by Christina Clancy, she did a fantastic job!

Book Review for Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

Young woman accompanies her friend Berta to audition for a Playboy Bunny in 80's Lake Geneva. Being a Chicagoan I know this area well. Innocent Sherri gets the job and learns the Bunny way of life. All of a sudden she wants to experience all that life throws her way. This is an okay read. For a smart girl brought up by her poet-quoting father, she isn't all that bright.
Thanks NetGalley for ARC.

This was an interesting story about a period of time I wasnt aware of. I loved reading about the world of the Playboy Bunny ( and not the ones you always heard about like the centerfold and girlfirends of Hugh Hephner) and enjoyed seeing a character try to navigste through this exciting yet difficult world.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy.

Playboy bunnies! Did you ever want to be one? Sherri sure couldn't imagine it, but after auditioning with her friend, she found herself donning the ever famous ears and tail. But is it the glamourous life that it appears to be?

This is a steady paced coming of age story about a Wisconsin girl turned Playboy bunny and all of the joys, disappointments, regrets, and mistakes that are had and made. It's a story told for story's sake. There is no villain, no hero, no great climax. BUT, I have grown to deeply appreciate those kinds of stories so much because they smack truest to life, imo. We are all such flawed people doing our darndest and messing up spectacularly on the way.

The prose and plot are just beautiful, I can see myself quickly picking up another book by Clancy again.

I was worried that this fictional book would traumatize me the way Gloria Steinem’s essay “I was a Playboy Bunny,” did in her anthology Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions when Steinem went undercover and wrote about the experience. When Sherri gets a job as a bunny in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, at the Playboy Resort, it starts of like an exciting way to earn money and have fun with women her age. Yes, some men did treat Sherry poorly, but so did other women and herself. Reading about the terrible ways she acted wasn’t fun for me and it didn’t sound like she was always having the fun she thought she was having, like getting addicted to speed to be skinny but then having to come down from that drug. She also didn’t always treat her female friends the way they should be treated.

The time she spent as a bunny will forever shape her life, and mostly not in good ways. Set initially in the early 80s, it’s definitely intriguing historical fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES JULY 6, 2021.

The story follows Sherri who is coming of age and trying to figure out who she is and what she wants. She has lost both of her parents and is living small town life in Wisconsin when her friend Roberta convinces her to join her in applying to work at the Playboy resort. She soon begins to figure out what she does and doesn’t like about her life and herself. She’s making decisions and growing into an independent woman of the world. She wants to embrace life, trying new things and most of all have fun. At times, I wanted to cover my eyes instead of reading about the impact of one of her decisions. The events and betrayals that occur will shape who she is and follow her forever. A beach read that is interesting and evenly paced.

This book was interesting, it's a coming of age story with the playboy mansion as the back drop. I really didn't know anything about the mansion mystique so I found it informative.
The characters were well developed and I found myself really enjoying this story.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book.

I had a hard time getting into Shoulder Season. I'm not crazy about historical fiction in general, but the description really sounded interesting, especially the Playboy Bunny angle. Once I got into the story and began to understand Sherri and her life, I got sucked into the story.

Shoulder Season is defined as the travel season between peak and off peak times, usually resulting in lower costs and occupancy. This novel is the Shoulder Season of Sherri Taylor’s life, when she’s no longer the young, naive, inexperienced girl abandoned by the death of her parents shortly after each other, but not yet the wise, knowledgeable woman she becomes after heartbreaks and tough choices. Sherri’s best friend convinces her to audition to be a Playboy Bunny at the Playboy Resort in Lake Geneva, and she wins the job instead of her best friend. This starts her summer of working and partying hard, ending in tragedy and with Sherri fleeing to California to make a new life.

Easy to read and get lost in the pages, Sherri’s story is a realistic glimpse into life in the Eighties, including fast cars, drugs, and rock & roll. I enjoyed the view into the life of a playboy bunny, their training, requirements, lifestyle and rules. Sherri’s growth as a strong, independent women was one of my favorite aspects of the books. I cheered for her to succeed through all her failures, until she finally became the person she was meant to be. Great beach read for the summer!

I chose this book because I enjoyed Christina Clancy's book, A Second Home. Shoulder Season is a stand alone book. This is a book that you should not judge by its cover. I am not a fan of the cover or the title of this book. To me, they don't represent the book but read it anyway. It is good! Should Season was described in the book as the time between tourist season and the winding down into the after Labor Day season.

I have stayed at the resort that this took place years after it was the Playboy Club and I spent many summer vacations in the area that this book took place in southern Wisconsin which added to my visions of the places in this book. Also, later in life I have traveled the short distance to Lake Geneva for bachelorette parties, weekends away, and bridal showers. I have been in the bars that were mentioned and have done the tourist things.

Sherri was dealt a hard life when she was a child. She faced the death of her father and illness that lead to the demise of her mother. It was hard to grow up in a small town of West Troy especially when you live on the square and everyone knows your business. Sherri found a new family of choice and freedom when she got a job at the Playboy resort in Lake Geneva, WI. It was interesting to read about the interviewing process, where the girls lived, the rules the girls had to live by, and their interaction with the guests. Life as a Playboy bunny is not all glamor as it would appear. She meet some men that added to life experiences but she would have rather avoided. She experienced trouble with friends and probably met the love of her life. Sherri was not a bunny for a long period of time but those months shaped the rest of her life.

Pay attention to the prologue in Palm Springs, 2019.. It comes around in the ending, like many books. I did find the ending of her younger life and the transition into her later life a bit abrupt. Ms. Clancy did tie up Sherri's life and did not leave me with questions which I appreciate in an ending.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for an advanced copy of #ShoulderSeason. I hope the best for #ChristinaClancy with Shoulder Season and I hope she keep writing books I love.

I don't always love historical fiction but this one was very well done and seemed realistic. I enjoyed the story of a woman coming to terms with the death of her parents and becoming her own person even if it involved wearing a costume! A good, old fashioned type novel

This is a coming of age novel about a young innocent girl. She has lived a simple, upstanding life. When she revisits her favorite childhood camp she is introduced to an intoxicating new way of looking at it. She welcomes the dangerous side of life she never knew existed..