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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Told from the perspective of three characters and alternating timelines, The Second Home follows three siblings in their youth and as adults as they grapple with their parents death and their homecoming that brings up long buried hurts and secrets. Ann is the force behind the family, the mature one, the leader. She's holding a secret that she'd do just about anything to run from. Michael is the adopted brother, the outsider, the one holding a secret to protect another, but he's ready to reveal whatever he has to in order to keep the one place he called home. Poppy is the hippie, she's spent life moving around to various beautiful locations, but returning home reveals to her what she's really been running from.
I don't know what it is about this book that didn't work for me, I have a number of little issues with it, but ultimately when I finished I just had this meh, okay, I'm done feeling about it. I don't need my books to be unique, but I need them to be fleshed out and I want a realistic storyline to flow in a realistic way. I had to suspend my thoughts on youthful truth and lies to get through this read, because quite frankly I can't see lies like the one in this story continuing on for so long. And I say that as someone who has an incredibly personal connection to this book.
While The Second Home is written quite-well and is my usual cup of tea, it wasn't it for me. I do think suburban drama fans will enjoy this book, though. The location is great, the characters are fantastic, and the story is mostly realistic and relatable.
ARC provided.
I don't know what it is about this book that didn't work for me, I have a number of little issues with it, but ultimately when I finished I just had this meh, okay, I'm done feeling about it. I don't need my books to be unique, but I need them to be fleshed out and I want a realistic storyline to flow in a realistic way. I had to suspend my thoughts on youthful truth and lies to get through this read, because quite frankly I can't see lies like the one in this story continuing on for so long. And I say that as someone who has an incredibly personal connection to this book.
While The Second Home is written quite-well and is my usual cup of tea, it wasn't it for me. I do think suburban drama fans will enjoy this book, though. The location is great, the characters are fantastic, and the story is mostly realistic and relatable.
ARC provided.
This novel, The Second Home, was an amazing read. I don’t think I have ever felt so many different emotions for one novel: love, hate, sorrow, and joy. And all done with such intrigue that I was speed reading one minute and then slowing, then speeding up again and again. My heart raced, I cried, I rejoiced, it was just a phenomenal book to read. The characters were well developed, the story line never dragged or got boring, everything flowed.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this ARC. This book was given to me for free for my honest review.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this ARC. This book was given to me for free for my honest review.
I thought I would like the book since it was a family drama and if I read this at a different time in my life, I might've finished reading it. But, the book greatly described sexual assault/rape/coercion and I just simply do not want to read any of that right now.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow my feelings about this book are complicated.
The book was a slog to start, but picked up around 25-30% in. The parts of the story and memories set in Milwaukee truly felt like a love letter to the upper east side and lakefront. Unfortunately 60% of the book is set in Cape Cod and doesn't nearly have that level of description and attention to the area. The estranged family dynamic was the main plot, but somehow Poppy felt like a character added just to serve parts of the plot and not really necessary to the story even though most of the second half of the book follows her.
Yet.... I really enjoyed this once it got going!
The book was a slog to start, but picked up around 25-30% in. The parts of the story and memories set in Milwaukee truly felt like a love letter to the upper east side and lakefront. Unfortunately 60% of the book is set in Cape Cod and doesn't nearly have that level of description and attention to the area. The estranged family dynamic was the main plot, but somehow Poppy felt like a character added just to serve parts of the plot and not really necessary to the story even though most of the second half of the book follows her.
Yet.... I really enjoyed this once it got going!
I was provided a free ARC of this book by @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
This one got under my skin! @clancychristi has written a beautiful story about relationships, identity, miscommunication, and what makes a family. I loved getting to know this family and really enjoyed the relationships they shared. And then, when their hurt and misunderstandings changed those relationships I hurt with them! Although I also wanted to yell at then to stop and listen to each other a few times! This story will stick with you! Definitely recommend going out and getting it when it's released on Tuesday (2 June)! #2020Reads
#CurlyBookReviews #ARCReading #NetGalley #TheSecondHome
This one got under my skin! @clancychristi has written a beautiful story about relationships, identity, miscommunication, and what makes a family. I loved getting to know this family and really enjoyed the relationships they shared. And then, when their hurt and misunderstandings changed those relationships I hurt with them! Although I also wanted to yell at then to stop and listen to each other a few times! This story will stick with you! Definitely recommend going out and getting it when it's released on Tuesday (2 June)! #2020Reads
#CurlyBookReviews #ARCReading #NetGalley #TheSecondHome
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was really disappointed in this book. I thought that the pacing was too fast in some places and too slow in others. The characters felt distant and unreachable. The most likable character was Michael, but you didn’t feel like you truly knew any of them. The side characters felt underdeveloped and unnecessary. There was also a graphic r*pe scene that was unsettling and difficult to read. All and all it was one of my least favorite books I’ve read this year. This is very sad as both Milwaukee and Cape Cod hold special places in my heart.
Christina Clancy has a winner with her debut novel! Told in two separate timelines - the first, a summer on Cape Cod that changes a family permanently. The second, 15 years later after the unexpected death of the parents, which is told in the prologue (NOT a spoiler). I thought the writing was fantastic - I couldn't believe it was Clancy's debut! This stunning story will be released on June 2!
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I did not know what to expect going into this book but I become 100% hooked on the Gordon family.
I feel like a while ago this book could have easily bored me but it didnt at all. I devoured it in a couple of days and was actually quite sad to finish it.
This book follows the life of the Gordons, written in multiple perspectives of the childers Ann, Poppy and Michael. Following such a large timeline there is obviously alot going on and alot of character change and growth.
I thoroughly enjoyed the writing of this book and highlighted a fair amount of gorgeous quote and stand out sentences. The characters were so well written and with each having their time to be loved, and disliked it made it feel all the more raw and realistic.
I loved the main setting of Cape cod and the secondary setting of Milwaukee also the numourous other snippets of locations. But the cape cod setting and home especially, really stood out and with the turn of some events became a sad place for a time even to me as a reader.
I became so interested and intrigued by this family which really does not happen that often for me in these styles of books, so that's saying something. I would 100% pick up another book by this author and highly recommend.
If you have read the Forests by Emily perkins and enjoyed it I think you would enjoy this one but this one is better!
Thank you netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review
I feel like a while ago this book could have easily bored me but it didnt at all. I devoured it in a couple of days and was actually quite sad to finish it.
This book follows the life of the Gordons, written in multiple perspectives of the childers Ann, Poppy and Michael. Following such a large timeline there is obviously alot going on and alot of character change and growth.
I thoroughly enjoyed the writing of this book and highlighted a fair amount of gorgeous quote and stand out sentences. The characters were so well written and with each having their time to be loved, and disliked it made it feel all the more raw and realistic.
I loved the main setting of Cape cod and the secondary setting of Milwaukee also the numourous other snippets of locations. But the cape cod setting and home especially, really stood out and with the turn of some events became a sad place for a time even to me as a reader.
I became so interested and intrigued by this family which really does not happen that often for me in these styles of books, so that's saying something. I would 100% pick up another book by this author and highly recommend.
If you have read the Forests by Emily perkins and enjoyed it I think you would enjoy this one but this one is better!
Thank you netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Suicide, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
Connie and Ed Gordon bring their family to Cape Cod every summer for vacation. It’s a rustic cottage in Wellfleet and it’s been in Ed’s family for generation. He’s a teacher in Milwaukee and loves to share the island’s history with daughters Ann and Poppy, and later Michael, the orphaned teen they adopted. It’s during their second summer with Michael that things go tragically wrong and life for this family is forever altered. It’s now 16-years later and Ann has returned to Wellfleet to prepare the home for sale following the loss of her parents. Thus begins the story of what fractured their family, told in shifiting narratives from Ann, Poppy and Michael’s perspectives.
I’d expected to gain a strong sense of place in Cape Cod and was pleasantly surprised to get that also about the family’s home in Milwaukee. That’s important because it provides much needed context for each of the family members before and after Michael’s adoption and that last visit to Wellfleet. The reaction to that one event permanently shaped the paths that Ann, Michael and Poppy chose as adults. I enjoyed getting the three points of view, especially the contrasts of like events shared by them. It was often maddening how easily conflicts could have been resolved just through open communication but it was also exemplary of how typical families operate, especially when the parents are no longer there to facilitate. However, their ethereal presence on the island was hard to ignore.
This was a tough story with immense family themes that had an underlying loveliness despite some of the meanness. The effect of tradition and parental influence was skillfully managed in the crafting of Ann, Michael and Poppy. They had strong personalities and natures that permeated the story, which was compelling, especially in a debut novel. It’s atmospheric in both settings, leaving me with a sense of the cultures that defined them, though sometimes it could be overly descriptive, slowing the pace. However, it is an interesting story that I had a hard time letting go and loved the unexpected ending. 3.5 stars
Posted on Blue Mood Café
(Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)
I’d expected to gain a strong sense of place in Cape Cod and was pleasantly surprised to get that also about the family’s home in Milwaukee. That’s important because it provides much needed context for each of the family members before and after Michael’s adoption and that last visit to Wellfleet. The reaction to that one event permanently shaped the paths that Ann, Michael and Poppy chose as adults. I enjoyed getting the three points of view, especially the contrasts of like events shared by them. It was often maddening how easily conflicts could have been resolved just through open communication but it was also exemplary of how typical families operate, especially when the parents are no longer there to facilitate. However, their ethereal presence on the island was hard to ignore.
This was a tough story with immense family themes that had an underlying loveliness despite some of the meanness. The effect of tradition and parental influence was skillfully managed in the crafting of Ann, Michael and Poppy. They had strong personalities and natures that permeated the story, which was compelling, especially in a debut novel. It’s atmospheric in both settings, leaving me with a sense of the cultures that defined them, though sometimes it could be overly descriptive, slowing the pace. However, it is an interesting story that I had a hard time letting go and loved the unexpected ending. 3.5 stars
Posted on Blue Mood Café
(Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)