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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this book and the atmosphere. I thought she was able to describe the weather and other surroundings in a nice and further sucked me into the story. I also really appreciated the family dynamics! The characters were each flawed in certain ways and when they came together as a family unit there were still some imperfections, but it was an overall happy and functional unit. It was nice to see their lives and that they were all pretty happy in certain parts of their lives. Or if they weren't, they set out to find happiness. There was a grit to this book that I really enjoyed. It didn't shy away from making things seem imperfect. It honestly just felt very real and attainable. *spoilers*Obviously, the whole "baby daddy" drama and adoptive sibling romance was less of a relatable aspect, but still extremely engrossing. I also liked the antagonist and how he used the others' insecurities to basically serve his own purpose. The fact that almost all of the problems could have been solved just with more communication was also interesting and endlessly frustrating (in a good way.) It felt like you were that side character friend listening to the main character's drama and just shouting at them to "COMMUNICATE!"
Overall, the characters were flawed and I didn't always enjoy them or their POV, but it was interesting nonetheless. I also generally liked them, there were just a few choice moments where I didn't. I also found this book to be hilarious. I thought it was a great debut novel!
And finally, my favorite quote: "You know what she said the last time we went to dinner? She told me she makes a list every morning of all the things she thinks she should worry about. A goddamn worry list."
Overall, the characters were flawed and I didn't always enjoy them or their POV, but it was interesting nonetheless. I also generally liked them, there were just a few choice moments where I didn't. I also found this book to be hilarious. I thought it was a great debut novel!
And finally, my favorite quote: "You know what she said the last time we went to dinner? She told me she makes a list every morning of all the things she thinks she should worry about. A goddamn worry list."
The second home is the story of complicated relationships, and the love and despair that comes with family. It is the story of Ann and Poppy, along with their estranged adopted brother Michael, and how their lives unfold during their teenage years, and how they find each other again after their parents pass away tragically. This story pulls on your heartstrings and also has a beautiful setting in Cape Cod.
This book kept my attention from the beginning, and I found the story to be very interesting. There were, however, two continuity/fact errors that bothered me: it referred to a character's ex-wife when it also said they never got married, and also talked about a cryptosporidium outbreak and the vomiting it causes, but crypto does not cause vomiting. I can forgive the author for those errors, since she clearly did a lot of research on Cape Cod to be able to beautifully explain the setting of the novel.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. I would definitely recommend it to others.
This book kept my attention from the beginning, and I found the story to be very interesting. There were, however, two continuity/fact errors that bothered me: it referred to a character's ex-wife when it also said they never got married, and also talked about a cryptosporidium outbreak and the vomiting it causes, but crypto does not cause vomiting. I can forgive the author for those errors, since she clearly did a lot of research on Cape Cod to be able to beautifully explain the setting of the novel.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. I would definitely recommend it to others.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 bumped up to a 4. I found this book so readable. I wish the main characters were given a little more depth and also wish the last chapter was longer, but I recommend it!
If you love stories about complicated families, Christina Clancy provides a doozy in her debut novel. She provides an intricate tale of three siblings told in multiple points of views. ***Please note, there is a trigger warning for Sexual Assault. This is written in two parts, the Gordon siblings as teenagers and then as adults.
For my full review, please visit my blog at: http://obsessedbookaholic.com/2020/05/17/a-second-home-book-review/
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
For my full review, please visit my blog at: http://obsessedbookaholic.com/2020/05/17/a-second-home-book-review/
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Hireath is the word that sprang to mind when reading this novel. The feeling of longing and nostalgia for the places of your past. All three protagonists feel it to some extent.
This debut novel was skillfully written and though I didn't always agree with the characters they all became important to me and I felt invested in the outcome of their lives. Told via three narrators, giving the perspectives of all three Gordon siblings, the story gave a well-rounded view of how each of them felt.
The setting was for me quite idyllic. I have a personal strong affinity for settings near the ocean, so found the Cape Cod setting sublime.
The title was extremely apt as the old Wellfleet, Cape Cod house was the Gordon's 'second home' AND it was Michael's second chance at a family so was his second home as well. Of the three siblings, my personal favorite was Michael.
The story delved into many themes. Family secrets, miscommunication, betrayal, familial love, place attachment, emotional manipulation, loneliness, and heartbreak. The ending of the book was a very satisfying conclusion to the family drama.
I loved my time spent on Cape Cod with the Gordon clan and I expect I'll remember it for quite some time. It was a tale of complex family dynamics and strong and unique characters. I found "The Second Home" to be a very enjoyable read and can confidently recommend it to others.
This debut novel was skillfully written and though I didn't always agree with the characters they all became important to me and I felt invested in the outcome of their lives. Told via three narrators, giving the perspectives of all three Gordon siblings, the story gave a well-rounded view of how each of them felt.
The setting was for me quite idyllic. I have a personal strong affinity for settings near the ocean, so found the Cape Cod setting sublime.
The title was extremely apt as the old Wellfleet, Cape Cod house was the Gordon's 'second home' AND it was Michael's second chance at a family so was his second home as well. Of the three siblings, my personal favorite was Michael.
The story delved into many themes. Family secrets, miscommunication, betrayal, familial love, place attachment, emotional manipulation, loneliness, and heartbreak. The ending of the book was a very satisfying conclusion to the family drama.
I loved my time spent on Cape Cod with the Gordon clan and I expect I'll remember it for quite some time. It was a tale of complex family dynamics and strong and unique characters. I found "The Second Home" to be a very enjoyable read and can confidently recommend it to others.
Although this wasn’t my typical genre, and had a bit too much exposition for my personal taste, I still enjoyed it and there’s definitely a demographic (think Elin Hildebrand fans) who will eat this up. This will definitely make a fun summer “beach read”.
What a beautifully written book about siblings who return home together after many years. They discover the challenges and changes that occur when people return to their roots. What a great story of the messiness of life and family drama. This is the type of book that draws you in and embraces the difficult relationships people have as they grow up and apart, told in a lovely way.
Thank you #Netgalley #StMartinsPress and #TheSecondHome for the early copy to review.
Definitely recommend.
Thank you #Netgalley #StMartinsPress and #TheSecondHome for the early copy to review.
Definitely recommend.
Ed and Connie Gordon vacation in Cape Cod every summer with their two daughters, Ann and Poppy. When they girls are teenagers, Ed and Connie decide to adopt a son, Michael, who is Ann’s age and she found out he was homeless. Michael’s second summer in the Cape with them something happens to Ann that causes the family to be torn apart. 15 years later, Ed and Connie Gordon die in a tragic car accident which forces the kids to come back together to figure out how to deal with losing their parents and to figure out what to do with their Cape home.
This book sounded like it would be great, but I really struggled getting into it. The first half of the book just moved so slowly. There is a strange relationship that I cannot explain due to spoilers, but it made me rather uncomfortable and turned me off from the story. I did stick with it though, and the book did pick up in the second half. I really enjoyed the children reuniting as adults and dealing with the tragedy of losing their parents. I just wish the author would have gotten to that part sooner.
I do want to give the author credit for her description of Cape Cod. She really did transport the readers and make them feel they were there. I live in Massachusetts, and she did a beautiful job with these descriptions. The Cape feels like a character in the book.
There are trigger warnings you should be aware of before reading this book: rape and suicide.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
This book sounded like it would be great, but I really struggled getting into it. The first half of the book just moved so slowly. There is a strange relationship that I cannot explain due to spoilers, but it made me rather uncomfortable and turned me off from the story. I did stick with it though, and the book did pick up in the second half. I really enjoyed the children reuniting as adults and dealing with the tragedy of losing their parents. I just wish the author would have gotten to that part sooner.
I do want to give the author credit for her description of Cape Cod. She really did transport the readers and make them feel they were there. I live in Massachusetts, and she did a beautiful job with these descriptions. The Cape feels like a character in the book.
There are trigger warnings you should be aware of before reading this book: rape and suicide.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
I received an Advance Reader’s Edition of The Second Home by Christina Clancy from the publisher (St. Martin’s Press) in exchange for an honest review. The Second Home is scheduled for release June 2, 2020.
The Second Home focuses on Ann, a woman who is returning to her family’s second home on the Cape to prepare it to sell in the wake of her parents’ sudden deaths. While Ann is working to make the house ready, she is surrounded by memories of her time there. Memories of her parents and her siblings, Poppy and Michael. Once Ann is in the house, we are taken back in time with her to the last summer the three siblings spent together in the house as teenagers. Once we have learned important details of their past, we return to present day, experiencing the issues they are still working through as adults.
I often find that novels that shift between the past and present feel too sprawly for me, that they maybe include too much, and begin to feel like a day-to-day history of how characters arrived where they are now. I did not feel that with this novel. Clancy does a great job of giving us only the pieces of the past that we need to be able to move through the current day story. While the bulk of the past is laid out for us in the first half of the novel, other pieces are woven into the second half as shorter flashbacks. This helped with the balance of the story, bringing things forward in memory only when the characters (and the reader) needed them.
Clancy tells the story from the view of all three characters, alternating the point of view from chapter to chapter. This works very well for this story, where we have three characters who were very close, but have since been separated. We get to see both how they view each other (based on memory) and who the characters really are (through their own chapters). This gives us a lot of insight into the individual siblings and their complicated relationships with each other. It also allows different characters to share different pieces of the story with the reader, putting us in a place where we can see everything, while the characters are suffering through their personal lack of information.
The setting of this story is very well done. Having read the acknowledgments, this makes sense, as Clancy seems to have based the setting on her personal experience of the Cape and the old family homes found there. Throughout the novel, characters interact with the setting as if it is another character, which makes it feel very real for the reader.
Overall, The Second Home was a wonderful debut novel. While I wouldn’t quite call it a beach read, it did definitely take me to a beachy setting for a well-written family drama.
The Second Home focuses on Ann, a woman who is returning to her family’s second home on the Cape to prepare it to sell in the wake of her parents’ sudden deaths. While Ann is working to make the house ready, she is surrounded by memories of her time there. Memories of her parents and her siblings, Poppy and Michael. Once Ann is in the house, we are taken back in time with her to the last summer the three siblings spent together in the house as teenagers. Once we have learned important details of their past, we return to present day, experiencing the issues they are still working through as adults.
I often find that novels that shift between the past and present feel too sprawly for me, that they maybe include too much, and begin to feel like a day-to-day history of how characters arrived where they are now. I did not feel that with this novel. Clancy does a great job of giving us only the pieces of the past that we need to be able to move through the current day story. While the bulk of the past is laid out for us in the first half of the novel, other pieces are woven into the second half as shorter flashbacks. This helped with the balance of the story, bringing things forward in memory only when the characters (and the reader) needed them.
Clancy tells the story from the view of all three characters, alternating the point of view from chapter to chapter. This works very well for this story, where we have three characters who were very close, but have since been separated. We get to see both how they view each other (based on memory) and who the characters really are (through their own chapters). This gives us a lot of insight into the individual siblings and their complicated relationships with each other. It also allows different characters to share different pieces of the story with the reader, putting us in a place where we can see everything, while the characters are suffering through their personal lack of information.
The setting of this story is very well done. Having read the acknowledgments, this makes sense, as Clancy seems to have based the setting on her personal experience of the Cape and the old family homes found there. Throughout the novel, characters interact with the setting as if it is another character, which makes it feel very real for the reader.
Overall, The Second Home was a wonderful debut novel. While I wouldn’t quite call it a beach read, it did definitely take me to a beachy setting for a well-written family drama.