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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
***I received an advanced e-copy from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review
One summer, something unspeakable happens to Ann while her family is spending the summer at their Cape Cod beach house. It sets off a chain of events that tears Ann, her sister Poppy, and their adopted brother Michael apart.. Fifteen years later, their parents die in a terrible accident, and Ann wants to sell the beach house. Then Michael resurfaces with a legitimate claim to the home, and old resentments are stirred up. However, if Ann and Michael can put aside their anger for a little while, they may find that things didn't happen quite the way they always believed they did.
This was family drama at its best. It drew me in and kept me turning the pages, wanting to find out what would happen next. It was like watching a soap opera, only with less glamorous characters. Ann was that girl you knew in high school who had perfect grades and was popular and a little stuck-up, Poppy was a "free spirit" shall we say, and Michael had a tragic past and lost both of his parents when he was sixteen so the Gordon's wanted to adopt him. I loved this book, with all of the drama, and I thought it just had a really good story to it. So I highly recommend it.
One summer, something unspeakable happens to Ann while her family is spending the summer at their Cape Cod beach house. It sets off a chain of events that tears Ann, her sister Poppy, and their adopted brother Michael apart.. Fifteen years later, their parents die in a terrible accident, and Ann wants to sell the beach house. Then Michael resurfaces with a legitimate claim to the home, and old resentments are stirred up. However, if Ann and Michael can put aside their anger for a little while, they may find that things didn't happen quite the way they always believed they did.
This was family drama at its best. It drew me in and kept me turning the pages, wanting to find out what would happen next. It was like watching a soap opera, only with less glamorous characters. Ann was that girl you knew in high school who had perfect grades and was popular and a little stuck-up, Poppy was a "free spirit" shall we say, and Michael had a tragic past and lost both of his parents when he was sixteen so the Gordon's wanted to adopt him. I loved this book, with all of the drama, and I thought it just had a really good story to it. So I highly recommend it.
not much about it
This was such a frustrating experience. I’m well familiar with the misunderstanding trope. You know how a conflict could be resolved or transformed if only the characters talked to each other? However, that would result in the story ending pretty quickly because the author simply cannot imagine more for their characters. So they use this device that frankly cheapens the story for me.
It’s understandable that Michael, who has abandonment trauma, would rather disappear than confront the issue. What I don’t understand is why it takes until the 90% of the book for Michael and Ann to learn the truth. Even when Poppy, their sister, tries to tell Ann that she found the will, Ann interrupts not once but FIVE TIMES. Reading that scene still makes me pop a vein. By the end of the book, I found myself annoyed and despising all of them. Fuck this family.
In the summer of their junior/senior year of high school, the Gordons plan to adopt Michael. Sure, people think it’s odd for a family to let a teenage boy into a family of two daughters, but the Gordons are not ones to turn a blind eye to someone who needs help. Despite the attraction Michael and Ann have towards each other before the adoption, they decide to bury it for the sake of this new relationship as siblings. Everything seems to move along great as Michael and Poppy form a new alliance as best friends. Ann, being the controlling sister, decides there’s no place in the family for her (seriously, she’s portrayed as emotionally inept and it shows a little too much). All of this leads to a summer none of them will forget. Ann is sexually assaulted by her employer resulting in an unplanned pregnancy that she keeps. Michael gets roped into a scheme by her rapist. Poppy dissociates through drugs and surfing.
At first I thought it was implausible but as we find out, a lot of the hurt feelings can be placed on the rapist. I get that. But when he’s out of the picture and it’s time to talk to one another, Ann simply refuses to talk. She takes a more passive aggressive stance that allows her to be mad at Michael without understanding how this all happened? Isn’t it weird to just take your rapist’s word at face value over your own brother’s? Ugh, that was the least unenjoyable thing I’ve read this year so far. Michael on the other hand never thinks to confront Ann because he’s so down bad that when he thinks the girl he loves may be in love with someone else he just punishes the whole family by never talking to them? Idiots, every one of them. At least Poppy seems to be able to find her footing first after being neglected by these two incesty ego maniacs.
I seriously wouldn’t waste my time with this book. It sucked so much with some of the most unlikeable characters with hardly a redemptive ending. In fact, the ending seemed like an afterthought. Oh, they’re better because they got matching tattoos. Ta da. The grandkids are alright.
This was such a frustrating experience. I’m well familiar with the misunderstanding trope. You know how a conflict could be resolved or transformed if only the characters talked to each other? However, that would result in the story ending pretty quickly because the author simply cannot imagine more for their characters. So they use this device that frankly cheapens the story for me.
It’s understandable that Michael, who has abandonment trauma, would rather disappear than confront the issue. What I don’t understand is why it takes until the 90% of the book for Michael and Ann to learn the truth. Even when Poppy, their sister, tries to tell Ann that she found the will, Ann interrupts not once but FIVE TIMES. Reading that scene still makes me pop a vein. By the end of the book, I found myself annoyed and despising all of them. Fuck this family.
In the summer of their junior/senior year of high school, the Gordons plan to adopt Michael. Sure, people think it’s odd for a family to let a teenage boy into a family of two daughters, but the Gordons are not ones to turn a blind eye to someone who needs help. Despite the attraction Michael and Ann have towards each other before the adoption, they decide to bury it for the sake of this new relationship as siblings. Everything seems to move along great as Michael and Poppy form a new alliance as best friends. Ann, being the controlling sister, decides there’s no place in the family for her (seriously, she’s portrayed as emotionally inept and it shows a little too much). All of this leads to a summer none of them will forget. Ann is sexually assaulted by her employer resulting in an unplanned pregnancy that she keeps. Michael gets roped into a scheme by her rapist. Poppy dissociates through drugs and surfing.
At first I thought it was implausible but as we find out, a lot of the hurt feelings can be placed on the rapist. I get that. But when he’s out of the picture and it’s time to talk to one another, Ann simply refuses to talk. She takes a more passive aggressive stance that allows her to be mad at Michael without understanding how this all happened? Isn’t it weird to just take your rapist’s word at face value over your own brother’s? Ugh, that was the least unenjoyable thing I’ve read this year so far. Michael on the other hand never thinks to confront Ann because he’s so down bad that when he thinks the girl he loves may be in love with someone else he just punishes the whole family by never talking to them? Idiots, every one of them. At least Poppy seems to be able to find her footing first after being neglected by these two incesty ego maniacs.
I seriously wouldn’t waste my time with this book. It sucked so much with some of the most unlikeable characters with hardly a redemptive ending. In fact, the ending seemed like an afterthought. Oh, they’re better because they got matching tattoos. Ta da. The grandkids are alright.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was just an okay family drama. Very predictable.
I was initially drawn to this book not only by the beautiful cover but also by the synopsis of this family that has this amazing second home that they live at in the summer. They travel from Milwaukee all the way to the Massachusetts Cape to soak up the salt air each summer.
The Second Home is split into two parts. Honestly, the whole first part I found myself yelling at this book multiple times. It was like a train wreck you could see coming. I found myself saying “no, no, no” out loud and then putting down the book for a little time to pass before I picked it up again. I got angry with the character like I knew them. But I always picked it back up again, because I had to know what happened.
Part one is about the one perfect summer the Gordon’s have as a whole family at the cape. Followed by the next summer where everything falls apart. Part two is years later after the unexpected death of their parents, beings the estranged siblings together to the one place that changed their lives in one way or another ... the Wellfleet house.
I found myself submerged in the Gordon’s life. I wished they would have talked more, fought for their family and what they knew couldn’t be true. But I also could see how they felt it was easier to not face the truth, if you were not willing to even acknowledge it to yourself.
I really enjoyed the way this book was written and was surprised to find out this was Christina Clancy debut novel. I loved how she wrote from each of the siblings point of view. We could really see how they were thinking and feeling in every moment. Clancy was so detailed throughout, that I could close my eyes and picture each character, both the living ones and the places that took on a life of their own throughout the novel.
I know it is vague. But I find myself having a hard time writing a review and not giving anything away.
The Second Home is out June 2, and if you love a good family drama then you will enjoy this one! Thank you Netgalley and St Martins press for the eGalley copy to read and provide an honest review.
The Second Home is split into two parts. Honestly, the whole first part I found myself yelling at this book multiple times. It was like a train wreck you could see coming. I found myself saying “no, no, no” out loud and then putting down the book for a little time to pass before I picked it up again. I got angry with the character like I knew them. But I always picked it back up again, because I had to know what happened.
Part one is about the one perfect summer the Gordon’s have as a whole family at the cape. Followed by the next summer where everything falls apart. Part two is years later after the unexpected death of their parents, beings the estranged siblings together to the one place that changed their lives in one way or another ... the Wellfleet house.
I found myself submerged in the Gordon’s life. I wished they would have talked more, fought for their family and what they knew couldn’t be true. But I also could see how they felt it was easier to not face the truth, if you were not willing to even acknowledge it to yourself.
I really enjoyed the way this book was written and was surprised to find out this was Christina Clancy debut novel. I loved how she wrote from each of the siblings point of view. We could really see how they were thinking and feeling in every moment. Clancy was so detailed throughout, that I could close my eyes and picture each character, both the living ones and the places that took on a life of their own throughout the novel.
I know it is vague. But I find myself having a hard time writing a review and not giving anything away.
The Second Home is out June 2, and if you love a good family drama then you will enjoy this one! Thank you Netgalley and St Martins press for the eGalley copy to read and provide an honest review.
Christina Clancy's "The Second Home" is a beautifully written family drama that sucked me in from the first chapter.
The titular home belongs to the Gordon family - dad Ed, mom Connie, older sister "Ann with a plan," younger free-spirited sister Poppy and their newly adopted brother and Ann's classmate, Michael - who leave Milwaukee behind to spend every summer in this house on Cape Cod that's been in their family for generations. The plot alternates between the summer of 1999 when the kids are all teenagers and decisions they make change the family forever, and 2015 when Anna, Poppy and Michael, now adults, must pick up the pieces after the death of their parents. The story is told from all three of their perspectives, slowly revealing the mystery of what happened that summer on the Cape and why they've been estranged for so long.
I adore the way the author writes. There were several lines that made me laugh out loud - like "She flitted from beach to beach, chasing STDs and waves" and "It was a yard that looked unnatural, like a boob job of a yard" - and her descriptions of the Cape are so vivid, you can see yourself there. Similarly, I found the characters so real and colorful - from the Gordon family to more bit players, they all had wonderful quirks that brought them to life. And even though I thought the way the story tied up was perfect, I was so sad when it ended - I want to know what's next for the Gordons, people I came to care so much about.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for an advanced copy fo the book in exchange for my unbiased review.
The titular home belongs to the Gordon family - dad Ed, mom Connie, older sister "Ann with a plan," younger free-spirited sister Poppy and their newly adopted brother and Ann's classmate, Michael - who leave Milwaukee behind to spend every summer in this house on Cape Cod that's been in their family for generations. The plot alternates between the summer of 1999 when the kids are all teenagers and decisions they make change the family forever, and 2015 when Anna, Poppy and Michael, now adults, must pick up the pieces after the death of their parents. The story is told from all three of their perspectives, slowly revealing the mystery of what happened that summer on the Cape and why they've been estranged for so long.
I adore the way the author writes. There were several lines that made me laugh out loud - like "She flitted from beach to beach, chasing STDs and waves" and "It was a yard that looked unnatural, like a boob job of a yard" - and her descriptions of the Cape are so vivid, you can see yourself there. Similarly, I found the characters so real and colorful - from the Gordon family to more bit players, they all had wonderful quirks that brought them to life. And even though I thought the way the story tied up was perfect, I was so sad when it ended - I want to know what's next for the Gordons, people I came to care so much about.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for an advanced copy fo the book in exchange for my unbiased review.
This book was one that I could not put down. I will say that there should've been a warning of rape and emotional abuse/abuse of power. Having not read too much into the book and flipping the pages to find very descriptive accounts of the aforementioned situations was jarring, to say the least. There were a few chapters where I was so angry, I wanted to throw the book across the room and ended up just skimming to find out the basics of what was happening.
The pay-off is better than some books that make me feel this way though. It's interesting that my favorite character, and the one I related to the most, at the beginning of the novel changed by the end. I enjoyed the character development within this novel and found that it did not hold back. I think that's one of my favorite things about it: it didn't feel gushy or like fluff, it felt real.
This book will probably stay with me for at least a few years.
The pay-off is better than some books that make me feel this way though. It's interesting that my favorite character, and the one I related to the most, at the beginning of the novel changed by the end. I enjoyed the character development within this novel and found that it did not hold back. I think that's one of my favorite things about it: it didn't feel gushy or like fluff, it felt real.
This book will probably stay with me for at least a few years.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange of a honest review.
The story of Michael, Ann, and Poppy is everything I seek for when I want to read a well-written beach read: family drama, a love story, and dreamy descriptions of the East Coast. While reading, I felt like I was at Cape Cod, and could literally picture 'the second home.' The story moves from the past to the present from the perspectives of all three characters. Sixteen or so years earlier, the family home is rocked, and the story tells how each one dealt with the erosion of their family life. Secrets happen intentionally and unintentionally between all the family members. At times I was mad at each one, and at other times I cried for them. Each storyline and timeline of how all three were entangled and part of each other although at times miles apart made it an engaging and higher brow beach read.
The story of Michael, Ann, and Poppy is everything I seek for when I want to read a well-written beach read: family drama, a love story, and dreamy descriptions of the East Coast. While reading, I felt like I was at Cape Cod, and could literally picture 'the second home.' The story moves from the past to the present from the perspectives of all three characters. Sixteen or so years earlier, the family home is rocked, and the story tells how each one dealt with the erosion of their family life. Secrets happen intentionally and unintentionally between all the family members. At times I was mad at each one, and at other times I cried for them. Each storyline and timeline of how all three were entangled and part of each other although at times miles apart made it an engaging and higher brow beach read.
2.5 stars. The Second Home is a family saga, centered on the Gordon family from Milwaukee: seemingly hard-working parents, two teenage daughters and a newly adopted teenage son. The family travels each summer to Cape Cod (Wellfleet), where they spend months in a house that has been in the Gordon family for generations.
Although my interest was definitely piqued throughout the first half of the novel, I found the second half to be much less interesting: the once-charming characters were developing into unrealistic versions of their former selves and the plot’s timeline became chopped and somewhat hard to follow at points. A few of the specific scenes (and accompanying dialogue) were so far fetched that I actually rolled my eyes while reading them. I enjoy a good family saga and even a beach read, but this one — although a quick but somewhat heavy/dark read — stretched the willing suspension of disbelief way too far at points.
I realize that this is Cristina Clancy’s debut novel. While it was not exactly my cup of tea, I did find it interesting, and I am anxious to see what she does with her next.
Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader’s copy.
Although my interest was definitely piqued throughout the first half of the novel, I found the second half to be much less interesting: the once-charming characters were developing into unrealistic versions of their former selves and the plot’s timeline became chopped and somewhat hard to follow at points. A few of the specific scenes (and accompanying dialogue) were so far fetched that I actually rolled my eyes while reading them. I enjoy a good family saga and even a beach read, but this one — although a quick but somewhat heavy/dark read — stretched the willing suspension of disbelief way too far at points.
I realize that this is Cristina Clancy’s debut novel. While it was not exactly my cup of tea, I did find it interesting, and I am anxious to see what she does with her next.
Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader’s copy.
I’m in a minority here, that is, not very excited about this book. Within its genre (women’s fiction), it’s not a bad book, but the whole plot relied on constant miscommunication among the characters which I found rather unbelievable in what was painted as such a close family. Warnings: very vivid date (?) rape scene, off-stage suicide. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.
I was instantly drawn into this wonderful book from the very beginning. The story flowed so well that I could not find a good place to take breaks, it was very hard to put it down. The main characters of Ann, Poppy, and Michael and the supporting characters are complex and very well-conceived. I loved how they each have distinct characteristics were flawed and believable. The story is told with alternating point of views that give the it depth and written so well that it feels like you are experiencing the situations with the characters. The only disappointing point of this book was when it ended, I wanted to continue reading about the complexities of the Gordon family.
I highly recommend this book to fans of family drama. I am grateful to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of this excellent book in exchange for a honest review.
I highly recommend this book to fans of family drama. I am grateful to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of this excellent book in exchange for a honest review.