I received an ARC of The Second Home in exchange for an honest review. This is a family saga that centers around a summer home that has been in the family for generations. One fateful summer, things happen that change the dynamics of the family, which was heading for changes anyway. Lies and secrets contribute to the misunderstandings taking place in the family. This is an excellent beach read, especially since it centers around a beach community. Nice quick read.

So loved the setting of this read as I spent several weeks every summer vacationing on the Cape as a child and then again as an adult, within a 5 minute walk of the Beachcomber in Wellfleet. So many memories flooded my brain as restaurants etc. were mentioned. It really was an incredible place to visit.
Love to read books about families and their high and low tides getting in the way of their relationships. I loved the parents, but have to say most of the rest seemed one dimensional much of the time. Michael seemed more developed as a character and I found myself cheering for him on many occasions. I did enjoy reading about Poppy surfing as I don’t know much about it and found it very interesting. Found the dynamics between Ann and Maureen difficult to fathom.
An enjoyable read that held my interest until the very end. Many thanks to Christina Clancy, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read this ARC , to be published in June of 2020. Three and a half stars.

When I picked up this book to read it the description intrigued me. I thought it sounded interested.

What I wasn't prepared for was how much I was going to get invested in the story and characters.

The story starts with Ann one of the Gordon kids. Through her, we get introduced to Michael and Poppy. From the beginning, you are sucked into the Gordon family and the secrets they have but also the love and family connection.

As the story unfolds alternating from past to present through each character you begin to see the story unfold from multiple points of view which were really fun. You got to see how each choice made by a family member affected the others.

Christine writes a beautiful story about family, love, and finding your way back, She also takes us a journey through heartbreak, tragedy, and unspeakable acts of darkness. She wrote in a way that I felt Gordon's pain, love, happiness, sadness, anger and eventually forgiveness. It was truly a wonderful journey that I would take again and again.

Not an original story.

The first half of this novel explores the relationships between two sisters, an adopted brother, and the parents. The setting is the summer home in the Cape.

Nothing about this book is novel or original. The first half was especially clichéd, and the second half was a maudlin acceptance. The writing is good. The characters and plot are fleshed out. However, it’s a story that’s been told thousands of times. Nothing new to read here.

Thank you to Christina Clancy, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was a great family drama, written by my new favorite author. The only thing I didn't like was the ending between Michael and Ann. Other than that, it was an entertaining read.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I hate that I waited so long to start this book. This was a great story of family, traditions, love, miscommunication, sexual assault and forgiveness. I enjoyed this novel and loved most of the characters. This book was well written, you could truly feel the emotion being experienced by the characters. . I definitely enjoyed how characters that were known to the siblings when they were children came back into the story during their adulthood.

If you like a good story about family drama this book is for you! Thank you to the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book, I will definitely be seeking more books by this author.

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.

This was a great book for those who love a romantic story. The “second home” was described so well that I could picture it in my mind. Such great detail.

In Catherine Clancy’s debut novel, The Second Home, she gives us the idyllic setting of a summer retreat: Cape Cod, where else? With her descriptive prose, you don’t have to do much to imagine days and evenings filled with oysters, Lilly Pulitzer, and sandy beaches. The family at the center of the book, the Gordons, are, at first glimpse, a solid unit, with parents who could best be described as “such good people.” They open their home to a classmate of their daughters’, a young man who has been orphaned. As the story progresses, a number of plot twists (along with those that are to be expected when children grow up) shake the family’s seemingly perfect foundation. While the characters were initially promising, Poppy and Ann felt increasingly one-dimensional and predictable in the latter half of the book. About a 3.25 for me—a solid book for the beach. I look forward to reading more by Christina Clancy, and I’m very grateful to her (along with NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press) for allowing me the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Just a nice relaxed summer read. Has everything you would want for the genre. Nice writing style and a good flow to the story

I did enjoy this book but the characters fell a little short for me. I was intrigued enough to finish the story and did enjoy the book. I'd recommend it just with a note that there is a bit of a slower pace with development needed, give it a chance!

Christina Clancy's The Second Home explores the many layers of family love and conflict. The story moves back and forth between the late 90s and present day following the Gordon family as they spend their summers on Cape Cod in the family home that's been passed down for generations. During one particular summer a secret rips the family apart and creates fissures that ripple throughout the rest of the book. The chapters alternate perspectives between the three children giving the reader tremendous insight into the motivations and inner turmoil of each character. I found myself very frustrated with the main characters Ann and Michael as it seemed to me that they both were too quick to believe the worst about each other. That frustration compelled me to keep reading however so I suppose it was an effective plot device. Overall this book examines the love of family and the resilience of family connections through trauma and grief. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the review copy.

Solid beach read or those looking for family oriented fiction. No surprises but very readable and likeable characters.

Two sisters decide to sell their family's summer home after their parents pass away; until their adopted brother shows up.

Michael is ready to set the record straight about that summer years ago.

Compassionate & Heartbreaking!!

Each summer, the Gordon family packs up the car and heads from Wisconsin to an old family home on the Cape. But one summer changes everything. Sisters Ann and Poppy grow apart as Ann becomes closer with the family for whom she is a babysitter. Poppy falls in with a new group of friends (for better or worse). And their newly adopted brother Michael is just struggling to figure out where he fits in -- especially with his "sister" Ann.

That summer leads to more than 15 years of secrets, lies, and festering resentment.

Circumstances force these siblings -- now strangers -- back together to reconsider that summer and their feelings about each other and their second home.

The story had a couple twists that kept me interested and separated it a bit from all the other books about houses on the Cape (of which there are many). I wanted to keep reading to see how it all worked out. It was fairly fast-paced and had a few rather poignant moments, particularly those moments that included siblings' parents, Ed and Connie.

There also were frustrating moments. This was another book where I felt like screaming, "Just talk to each other!" When resolution comes, it was almost too quick and felt lacking. There was a lot of angst, some of it understandable, but some of it was a tad over the top. Also, because of how time passes in this book, I feel like I missed seeing some of the character growth.

I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a beach read and anyone interested in family dynamics.

Currently classified on Amazon as Family Life Fiction and Coming of Age Fiction, this debut novel is a family drama that meshes the soul of Cape Cod with the heart of a family. The family’s salt box cottage on the Outer Cape bears witness to the struggles of the current Gordon family, as it has stood strong for other generations who came to this world of ocean, sand, and scrub pines.

The cover of the book is eye-appealing and enticing. Three young people, who must be the three siblings in the book are together, yet separate. The title of the book could have been “The Summer Cottage”, “The Vacation Place, or even “WellFleet”, but “The Second Home” is the only title it could be - this truly was a sheltering ‘home’, the place you go back to when you have nowhere else to go.

So, we have the perfect title and cover. What’s inside? First, the word pictures of Cape Cod are the best I have read (and Cape Cod is a popular setting for books). Second, the gentle wit and fresh use of words is appealing. Third, this story of a family united by so much, yet pulled apart in a moment is readable and compelling, like the constant ebb and flow of the tide.

In many ways this is a 5-star book, but for me, it was a bit long and slow in places. Some reviewers have called this book the perfect summer beach read, but I’m not so sure. Dark, tragic, evocative, this is a book to be read in late February, as the hope of spring begins to nudge winter away. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance review copy. This is my honest review.

Absolutely fantastic. A mix between a beach read, but with being slightly dark and edgy instead of light and fluffy, with mystery and romance. Loved the character development through the years, every character followed a clear and consistent arc.

Ann and Poppy are sisters - daughters of two pseudo hippies from Wisconsin, who also happen to have inherited a house in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Since the parents are teachers, the family is able to spend their summers at the beach house and the girls and their adopted brother, Michael, have many happy memories from those visits. One summer, however, something significant takes place and changes everyone’s lives.

For much of the first half of the book, you get lulled into thinking it’s a book about families and their challenges, but that changes! It seemed to take a long time to get to this point and the author then condensed a lot of years into the remainder of the book. I must admit that I like endings with no loose ends, but this one tied up a bit too predictably for me.

On the positive side, I’m also a fan of books about families and that take place at the beach/shore and so I liked these elements. The historical background of their beach house and learning about Wellfleet were also interesting.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Publishing Group for the opportunity to read The Second Home in exchange for an honest review.

This was an okay book, but I would read more of this author in the future. The plot seemed stale---estranged siblings and a hidden secret. I did not give up on it, however, and it would make a good beach read. Who wouldn't like a house on the Cape?

The Second Home centers around three siblings and a rather intense summer in their youth. The story time jumps from when they were teenagers and then several years later with them as adults when their parents are killed in a car crash and they are forced with the decision of whether or not to sell their parents' summer home.
It was decently written. There was definitely a villain in the story that feels a bit over the top of still a formidable foe without giving too many spoilers.
Plot wise, there seemed to be a lot of situations and unnecessary drama added to the story with the characters' life choices. Definitely PG-13/moving into R rating. Overall, not really my favorite but not a bad vacation type read.