When I read that this book was about a playboy bunny resort in the 80s, I wanted to devour this book, but in the end, the book left me desiring more.

Shoulder Season is a coming-of-age story of a teenage girl named Sherri dealing with the loss of her parents and what it means to be alone in the world. She goes with her best friend to interview for a Playboy Bunny position at the local resort one day. Sherri gets the job, but her best friend doesn't, and Sherr quickly leaves her life in her quiet hometown for the party lifestyle of the Playboy Bunny. We follow Sherri as she works at the resort, becomes addicted to drugs, and her post-Playboy bunny life.

I loved the writing style, and I devoured the story. However, I found myself hating the character of Sherri, and I wasn't interested in her drama and romance storylines. I just wanted to know more about the women at the Playboy Bunny resort.

Overall, this was an excellent read for summer, and I hope people can enjoy this book on the beach!

Thank you NetGalley for an audio ARC of Shoulder Season in exchange for an honest review.

Sherri has been living in the very small town of East Troy and is struggling to cope with the recent death of her mother who she has been caring for for years. On a whim she tags along with her beautiful tough best friend, Roberta, who is auditioning to be a Bunny at the exclusive Playboy Resort in Lake Geneva. In a twist of fate it is Sherri who lands the sought after job and transformers her life. At the resort she has learned how to be the perfect image of the iconic bunny but it is the friends, parties, drugs and men who truly give her an education in living life.

This is a unique and fun peak into the notorious world of the Playboy Resort in the 1980s. It is a of a coming of age story for a young woman who is trying to find her place in the world. Sherri begins as a sympathetic character but overall I found her to be incredibly selfish trading her long time friendships or the chance at love for wild drug fueled parties with little regard for people she supposedly cares about. The last part of the book tries to redeem and justify her behaviors but I still didnt like her. Even so, I did really enjoy the book as a whole. Karissa Vacker was the narrator for the audio version, she was very well spoken with good inflections and easy to listen to.

I was lucky enough to have access to Shoulder Season in both ebook form and audiobook. Trying both, I can 110% recommend you read this physically. The narrator of the audiobook gives the main character a whiny tone that makes her insufferable. The book itself has an interesting plot, however the writing is messy. I look forward to seeing what the author writes in the future, as they definitely have potential to craft something interesting.

Last summer, I devoured Christina Clancy’s debut, The Second Home, so of course I was anxious to read her latest, Shoulder Season. Well, Clancy is now officially on my list of auto-buy authors because she knocked it out of the park with her sophomore novel! At first, I wasn’t quite sold on the description of this book. I was skeptical about a plot centered around the life of a Playboy Bunny, but my gosh, it worked! Sherri Taylor is not your typical bunny. She’s wholesome, extremely innocent, and plays the organ at her local church. When a Playboy Resort opens it’s doors in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, a friend gives Sherri a gentle push to apply for employment. What follows is a juicy coming-of-age story mixed with sex, drugs, rock & roll, and a backstage pass to one of the most risqué resorts of all time. Did Sherri make me want to scream, pull my hair out, and slap her silly when she made one bad decision after another? Oh, heck yes. She infuriated me with each new chapter! I kept having to remind myself of her age, lack of experience, and chaste upbringing. I was shaking my head at her from start to finish. Ha! But did I love watching her mature, evolve, and transform? Absolutely! This novel is a prime example of why I’m digging coming-of-age stories so much lately, and how it’s fine if I don’t necessarily like the character, but can absolutely understand where they’re coming from, even if I don’t relate. Be sure to grab a copy of Shoulder Season when it releases on July 6th! You must read Sherri’s story. 4/5 solid stars for this upcoming release!

This book was so much more than I expected. I thought it would focus much more on Sherri's work as a bunny. Needless to say I did not anticipate becoming so attached to the characters and resonating with so much of what I read. The book really dives into Sherri's personal life outside of her work. Shoulder Season is a wonderful coming-of-age story, but it is also so much more.

I loved shoulder season so much, I wasn't sure what to expect with it but the whole story was exactly amusing and tragic . Following the life of a girl who becomes a waitress (bunny) and then travels often and has many different experiences with love. This one is a must read!

A coming of age story, mostly set in 1981.

After both of Sherri's parents die, she is lost. She grew up shy and awkward. On a whim, she goes to a job interview with her best friend- at the local Playboy Resort. She gets a job as a bunny. We get to see her change as she gains world experience. Until tragedy strikes and she spends the next 40 years of her life blaming herself.

I vacillated between 2 and 3 stars. Obviously, I went with 2. One of my complaints is that the story is repetitive at times, and also gives way too much detail about insignificant things. Sherri is pretty awful- she doesn't seem to learn from her mistakes, which frustrates me to no end. She becomes very shallow.

I listened to the audiobook. The narrator did a good job. Nothing special that blew me away, but I also didn't have any complaints.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Shoulder Season is a great story by Christina Clancy. I have already recommended this book to several of my friends to add to the TBR list when it does come out. LOVED LOVED LOVED this book.

This book goes back in time to the early 80’s and the heyday of a Playboy resort in the small Wisconsin town of Lake Geneva. Sherri learns about love, loss, belonging and survival. The story is fast-paced and engaging.

Sherri Taylor is a small town girl. Growing up in the idealistic sleepy, lake side, rural town of East Troy in Wisconsin, and she has never felt like she fits in. When tragedy strikes and Sherri looses both her parents just after highschool, she joins her friend Rebecca for a job interview at the Playboy Bunny resort.

Taking place in 1981,this story follows Sherri through her coming of age in her glamourous new job with other young women, all so different in all ways but one; they are beautiful, youthful Bunnies.

I found it so interesting to hear about the training & culture of the resort. I found it laughable that the resort was marketed and used as a "family place" and, with mentions of the kids game room, and how to serve men when they are dining with their wives.

I liked how the story touched on how idealized, and how vilified the women working as resort Bunnies were. The enviable sex symbol and the slutty "good for only one thing" tropes are put in the spot light, which I always find so interesting to read about.

I absolutely enjoyed this audio book & took extra walks to enjoy it as often as I could. It had all the summertime vibes of lake and boating adventures, poolside resort life. This story was ultimately about finding ones way when you are young and lost, but full of lust for adventure mixed with a longing to fit in-and leaning to grow up and forgive yourself for the behaviour of your young self.

I've already recommended this book to people. It's my favorite read of the summer so far.

Young Sherri has been through so much, and following the death of her mother, agrees to go along with a friend auditioning to be a Bunny at the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva, WI in the early 80s. This is not to be nude or in the magazine, but rather a waitress in the restaurants at the Club. The book goes through her training, making friends at the club along with her local relationships, and follows Sherri through a series of mistakes and heartache. Ultimately we find Sherri 40 years later coming to terms with her life and what happened years ago. The ending wraps up things nicely.

The story was interesting and entertaining at times, but I was so frustrated with many of Sherri’s choices. She’s very human and I know everyone makes mistakes, but I was still irritated and sad at times. I just wanted to make her wake up and stop some of her behavior. After some really heartbreaking stuff, I almost wanted to stop listening, but I’m glad I didn’t because as a reader you do feel a bit better about things at the end.

The main reason I wanted to read this book is because the majority is set at the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. I live near there and have visited the resort many times (no longer a Playboy Club). The mention of East Troy, Lake Geneva, Kenosha, Alpine Valley and lots of local establishments was so fun for me as a reader and local.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and MacMillan Audio for the advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

For one reason or another, I have been *fascinated* by the idea of the Playboy Bunnies since I was a little girl. No, not the centerfolds in the magazine, but the Bunnies who served as waitresses, hosts, & entertainers at the Playboy Resorts across the country. (I think it's because I saw a movie in the 1980s about one and thought, "That looks fun!" I was, like, 7...I was dumb.)

So, of course, when I came across "Shoulder Season" by Christina Clancy I knew I had to read it so I could find out (safely from afar) what could happen when a good girl (like me) put on those blessed & cursed rabbit ears.

Overall, it was exactly as I would have expected...but not in a predictable, boring way. It was written well and full of emotion. You could really feel for Sherri, our main Bunny - even when she made incredibly stupid mistakes. Sherri is every girl...she's your best friend, your sister, she's the girl who sat next to you in sophomore math, she's you, she's me, So while you hope you wouldn't make the same mistakes with men and drugs and sex that she did, you also just want to put your arm around her and say, "It's okay. I get it."

I think this book could have been a 4.5-5 star book for me if it weren't for the end. [SPOILER ALERT!]
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What Clancy did with Sherri's love interest, Arthur, was beyond upsetting. I wouldn't want him to die at the end, but, as a reader, it's a storyline I could understand and be okay with. However, finding out that he was married with kids?? That just felt like a slap in the face to everything Sherri and the audience put into the relationship. And I agree with another reviewer who said that it completely came out of left field. There were no hints throughout the book that could even sort of give the audience the idea that he was stepping out on his family...it goes against everything he seemed to represent in the book and in Sherri's life. It was completely outside of the character he was, and to make him a completely different person at the end felt hateful.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I loved all the characters and the realistic representation of what life as a Bunny (on and off "stage") was like. I just feel like the Arthur storyline ruined a lot of the good feelings we were all holding onto at the end. Kill him? Sure... But make him a "bad" person who cheats on his wife and children? No, thank you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this novel.

I was drawn to Shoulder Season when I read it involved The Playboy Club and life as a Bunny. The main character, Sherri, has lived a tough life with a great deal of loss. When she starts with the Playboy Club as a bunny, she sees it as her chance to have a fresh start. She feels as if she's finally getting a chance to "live." Because of this, I was initially sympathetic to her choices. However, as her decisions continued to be more and more questionnable and selfish, she became a character I was continually frustrated with. I disliked a great deal about her until the end of the story when it seemed that she finally "got it."

I did like the look at the history of that time. Also the view into what it was like to be a Playboy Bunny was fascinating as well. Many of the side characters were interesting. A good many of the side characters were also not people I could ever like. Sherri went through a great deal . I just wish she had "connected the dots" and made better choices earlier in her life. Things could have been very different. Of course, I think the author's point is to show how your choices impact not just your own life, but that of others as well

Overall, this was a well-written story that took the reader full circle.

Please note that I listened to the audio version of this book. I found the narrration to be very fitting for the storyline and would recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

4 1/4 stars

I enjoyed Christina Clancy's first novel The Second Home, but I liked Shoulder Season even more! Much of it takes place at Wisconsin's Playboy Resort in the 1980s. If you were a fan of The Girls Next Door, you'll likely be intrigued by this book. Don't get me wrong; it's totally different than the show, but gives a little insider's peek at what it's like to work as a bunny.

When we first meet 19-year-old Sherri Taylor, she doesn't seem like a likely candidate to be a Playboy bunny. But her friend convinces her to interview for a job, insisting it will change her life. And somewhat surprisingly, Sherri gets the job and, of course, her life does change. But is it for the better? We get to follow Sherri as she learns the ropes of being a newbie bunny, meets new friends and roommates, and enters the world of dating. It's hard not to like Sherri from the start, but it's also hard not to see how this job has the potential to bring lots of trouble with it.

I really, really enjoyed reading this book, but I have to say that I didn't really love the ending. Part of it totally came out of left field for me and while that's not necessarily a good thing (it certainly wasn't predictable), it didn't all feel totally realistic to me. Basically, I feel like there should have been signs of one of the things that happened, but looking back, I didn't see any at all (maybe I just wasn't observant enough though). While I really liked the narrator of the audiobook in general, for some reason, I did not like how she did the male voices. They all sounded so cheesy to me.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. I wouldn't necessarily call it a beach read, but it is a book that would be fun to take along on a summer vacation!

I loved the nostalgia this book gave me. It was also a breeze to listen to but I think I would prefer it in a book.

This book wasn’t what I was expecting. I liked it at the beginning but I thought it kind of dragged, and could have been shorter.

This book was SO GOOD!!!! I LOVED it!!! I was surprised to learn many things about the work of a Playboy Bunny and found myself looking up info on the job. I felt SO ATTACHED to Sherri and her relationships. Especially with Arthur. Let me say, so as not to give away too much, WHAT THE HECK?!

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this book!! It is a great read with fantastic writing and a fantastic storyline!

I accidentally requested the audiobook instead of the eBook so I cannot comment on the audiobook. But this was a fantastic summer beach read with substance. Definitely recommend.

I'm not normally one who enjoys romance novels, but this one hit the mark for me. Funny with serious tones. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to it.

At just 19, Sherri Taylor's life has imploded. Her parents have both tragical died, she has no savings and no plan, and she is saddled with a building in the heart of her tiny nowhere town that she can't get rid of. But when she unexpectedly lands a job as a Playboy Bunny, Sherri's fortunes take a turn. As Sherri learns to navigate the rules of being a Bunny, she must also learn to navigate the parties, drinking, sex, and drugs that come with the lifestyle.
I was both interested and extremely frustrated with this novel. I love the concept--I've never read any fiction/historical fiction centered around Playboy. The details about Playboy that author Christina Clancy has laid out and built her story around are fascinating! Everything from the uniform process, to approved mannerisms was interesting to read about. However, I was frustrated with Sherri! This is a coming of age novel, so of course there are some poor decisions, some realizations, some tough decisions. But Sherri kept repeating the same silly things over and over, making the story progress slowly, and by the time the book was needing to end, it felt rushed. I was however pulled back in by the very end, I found older Sherri's story intriguing.
Thank you to Macmillan via NetGalley for the advanced audiobook in return for an honest review.