This is a well-written, entertaining, historical fiction novel. It has sympathetic and engaging female protagonists, mystery, family and relationship drama, and vividly described settings and Native American and Shaker cultural and historical lore. The lives of several woman who are connected by the cliffs of Maine and a historical house are depicted in this novel.
This story is compelling because it retraces the inhabitants of the house and their lives. The book also emphasizes the story of Native Americans and how they have been marginalized through the years. Jane is very savvy about this and I love her all the more because she cares.
I Highly recommend.

This was not my fave, it was slow and dare I say boring at times and just didn’t do much to engage me. Things almost felt disjointed and awkward and it was information overload.

Charles Sullivan's The Cliffs is a hauntingly lyrical exploration of grief, memory, and the passage of time. Set against the rugged and atmospheric backdrop of coastal cliffs, the novel intricately weaves together the protagonist’s journey to uncover family secrets while confronting their own emotional scars.

Sullivan’s prose is vivid and evocative, making the cliffs themselves feel like a living, breathing entity. The descriptions are so immersive that you can almost hear the waves crashing and feel the salty wind on your face. The landscape becomes a powerful metaphor for the emotional highs and lows experienced by the characters, particularly as the protagonist grapples with feelings of loss and resilience.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its characters. They are complex and deeply human, each carrying their own burdens and motivations. Sullivan doesn’t shy away from difficult topics, including the ways we process trauma and how family dynamics can shape us in ways we may not fully understand until much later in life.

While the pacing may feel slow at times, particularly in the first half, the deliberate unraveling of the mystery at the heart of the story keeps readers engaged. The narrative’s introspective tone might not appeal to everyone, but for those who enjoy character-driven novels with a touch of melancholy, The Cliffs delivers a deeply moving experience.

In the end, The Cliffs is a poignant reminder of the importance of facing the past to find healing and closure. Sullivan’s work is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring impact of the landscapes, both physical and emotional, that shape us.

The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan is a story about family and history, set along the seaside cliffs of Maine. It's about a house that's been abandoned and the history of the families that lived in it. While I enjoyed this story in parts, I thought it was a little too long and contained more historical information than was necessary. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor and Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved this book. A little mystery, a little family drama, a little romance, this book had it all. This was an emotional and moving novel that keep the pages turning.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this title. This was not my cup of tea but would be a better fit for someone else.

Absolutely beautiful - an impossibly hard to put down novel. The characters had so much depth, even the ones you hated (I’m looking at you Genevieve!) and I loved the way Sullivan spoke so beautifully about the history of that slice of Maine.

Jane left her job at Harvard and her home in Boston after she threw a flaming stick of dynamite at her life. She returns to her mother’s house to figure out what to do with herself. Luckily, there she still has her best friend Allison to support and an intriguing gig finding out more about an old house, funded handsomely by the new owner. What follows is a history of the house and a lesson on the indigenous population of Maine in addition to Shakers and spiritualism. You may ask how all of this can be addressed adequately in a less than 400 page novel, but man it was wonderful!

I really wanted to like this book but it felt like it jumped back and forth from the house that sits in the cliffs that the main character loved, to her struggles with relationships and alcohol and Native American culture. I understood why things were brought up it just wasn’t connected as seamlessly as it could’ve been. It felt choppy and disjointed at times.

I’ve never before read any of J. Courtney Sullivan’s work. I found her prose and dialogue well-executed, her settings well-described, and her research extensive. While it's clear the story is fictional, Ms. Sullivan's knowledge and command of the subjects she tackled seemed first-rate. Jane Flanagan discovers an old Victorian house that is on a bluff. It has been abandoned for a long time. There are still remnants of the past such as clothes and dishes. She becomes fascinated with this house and uses it to hide from her difficult mother. Twenty years later Jane is an archivist for Harvard. She is on suspension from her job and separated from her husband after an alcohol fueled episode made her persona non grata. When Jane returns home she is employed by Genevieve, the new owner of the house. Genevieve has totally transformed the place so it's almost unrecognizable. Genevieve is convinced the house is haunted and she wants Jane to research the house and the women who lived there over time. Jane uncovers a long history that goes back several hundred years. Jane is bored and decides to do some research on her hometown. Originally the town had been home to an indigenous people. Jane is an historian. She is fascinated with the history of the tribe. Jane is also fascinated by the possibility that there are ghosts that live in some of the older homes. She and her friend go to a medium convention. They hear about past life regression and are intrigued by the stories. This is an interesting book with fun and fascinating stories. Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity.

Jane Flanagan discovers an old Victorian house that is on a bluff. It has been abandoned for a long time. There are still remnants of the past such as clothes and dishes. She becomes fascinated with this house and uses it to hide from her difficult mother.
Twenty years later Jane is an archivist for Harvard. She is on suspension from her job and separated from her husband after an alcohol fueled episode made her persona non grata. When Jane returns home she is employed by Genevieve, the new owner of the house. Genevieve has totally transformed the place so it's almost unrecognizable. Genevieve is convinced the house is haunted and she wants Jane to research the house and the women who lived there over time. Jane uncovers a long history that goes back several hundred years.
The novel meanders at times. To me it was well worth the effort to become enmeshed in the background that included spirits, mediums, past lives and Native American history. In recent years I've become fascinated with learning more about Indigenous people, even though it makes me extremely sad.
The author captured Jane's legacy of alcoholism and how the past so often affects the present and future. The women who came before from the house are fascinating in their own ways. Reese's Book Club has picked out a thought provoking read with THE CLIFFS. I recommend this book to all who enjoy a compelling tale.

A thought-provoking story exploring women, family and native culture. I liked the concept of this story and the multiple POVs, the historical and contemporary. After all, one’s journey is the combination of their country, culture, family, relationships, and choices; it’s history and it’s messy. This would be a really good book for a book club to spark some very interesting discussions.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Cliffs
Author J. Courtney Sullivan
Available now!

Thank you, @booksparks, @jcourtsullivan, @aaknopf, for my #gifted copy of the summer #booksparksambassador #src2024 fun! And thank you, @netgalley and @aaknopf for the #gifted e-arc. Yes, I realize that I am quite behind, but I assure you, this book is worth the wait! I loved Sullivan's Friends and Strangers and Saints for All Occasions, so I was thrilled for the opportunity to read The Cliffs.

Set on the seaside cliffs of atmospheric Maine, The Cliffs is a memorable novel filled with themes of family, especially mothers, secrets, marriage, how the past shapes us, alcoholism, and our legacies. I was so engrossed in this thought- provoking story that weaves together human relationships and stories of women over centuries. I truly did not want this one to end. Insightful, well- researched, and fascinating.

I thought I was getting a book about a mysterious house and the people involved with it. What I got instead was a lesson on the reparations owed to American Indians. And while I definitely don't disagree with that, that was not the book I thought I was going into. This one also drives home the chaos and affects of alcoholism. Again, I didn't realize that was going to a be a central theme, but essentially the entire book revolves around it. I was mostly bored through it all. But it did have sort of a surprise ending that I liked. Definitely not my favorite Reese pick.

The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan has something for everyone - mystery, messy family relationships, and very well researched historical information! The depth of the story will entice many readers to keep turning pages late into the night. I found the historical information to be fascinating. It touched upon history that I'm familiar with but have not had the chance to delve deeper into. Very well done!

Thank you to NetGalley, J. Courtney Sullivan, and Alfred A. Knopf Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I look forward to purchasing copies for my family and friends. It will also be an excellent book club selection!

This novel weaves a generational tale of women connected by a haunting Victorian house on the coast of Maine. Themes of alcoholism, colonialism, and Native American history are central to the story, as Jane returns to the house that was her childhood refuge. The novel beautifully intertwines the lives of the women tied to the house, particularly Eliza, a former maid, though at times it reads like a history lecture. While it may not appeal to everyone, fans of historical fiction and spiritualism will find it captivating.

I worry I may not have completely “gotten” this book. The change in POV got to me. I usually find myself favoring a certain character when there is multiple POV and I certainly did here. I skimmed any chapter not narrated by Jane, which I think contributed to me not getting the full effect of the story. My favorite section was the detailed account of how Jane became an alcoholic. It was fascinating to get a peek into how it all began and was told so realistically.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

I'm always up for some haunted house gothic horror, and this is an excellent exemplar of the genre. The publisher's blurb on this one is very accurate, for once. I did especially enjoy the weaving in of the terrors of colonialism amidst the other classic tropes. I finished this and immediately recommended it to my horror loving colleague.

The Cliffs was the first book I have read by J. Courtney Sullivan. While it was a pretty good suspense story and there were some interesting facts thrown in with regard to history, it missed the mark for me. The book seemed to be trying too hard to do too much. I was intrigued by the idea of the abandoned house, the "ghosts" that were there, the restoration of such a house, and what that restoration means to the history of the house. There was some of that, and what was there was good. I am sure there will be a significant readership for this, but perhaps I am not the intended reader. I found myself growing tired--often--of being preached at. I appreciate the facts of history and that so many of those inequities haven't been rectified with respect to women's rights, indigenous rights, etc., but I felt like it was being shoved down my throat and it was off-putting. Had the book been a work of nonfiction, I would not have had this reaction. But the moralizing was to the degree that it took me out of the story too often. Having done a bit of research into the author after reading the book, I understand that she has had her own struggles with alcohol. It's her story to tell, but as a reader, I got tired of hearing about the main character's alcoholism. In addition, I understand that there are people who desperately want to be parents, but her baby-need issues were alienating for me as the reader. Again, I was probably not her intended reader. I appreciate the opportunity to read the arc and to provide a review.

Unfortunately and disappointingly, this one did not work for me. I usually love J Courtney Sullivan but could not get into this one and didn't connect with the characters.