If you need a book that will draw you in, I have found it for you!
The Second Home by Christina Clancy has so many things in it that I love. It is written from different perspectives, covers a span of years, has various locations in it, and pulls you into the lives of Amy, Poppy, and Michael. I felt like I became a part of this book as I read about the lives of this family. I found myself wanting to give them advice! A great weekend read, beach read, escape from real-life for a bit read. Enjoy!

“I felt like I became a part of this book as I read about the lives of this family.”-Green Gables Book Reviews

The Second Home by Christina Clancy, an overview:

The Gordon’s are the perfect family.
Mom and Dad, Ed and Connie, Ed is a teacher.
Daughters, Amy and Poppy.
And, their adopted son, Michael. Michael and Amy met at a track meet for school and had been friends ever since, and Michael fit in with their family so well that they adopted him! If it weren’t for the Gordon’s, Michael would be a teenage boy still stuck in foster care.

The Gordon’s have a vacation home that has been in the family back to when Ed’s grandfather won it in a game of poker. It is their tradition to spend the summer there, enjoying the beach and sharing memories, and spending time showing everything to Michael makes it new and fun again.

Poppy has offered to teach Michael to swim, and they become good friends, but over time, Poppy feels a little left out as Ann and Michael are so connected and care so deeply about each other.

An event happens during this summer that changes everything for this family. Choices are made, worry is expressed, and words are said that can not be taken back. And the family is destroyed.

Years later, lives forever altered, Amy and Poppy have to decide what to do with the vacation home. It is all up to them until Michael hears about it and wants to be a part of the decision.

It was very exciting to be given an early copy of The Second Home to read and review!

From my blog: Always With a Book

Somehow I never got around to reading this debut novel last summer by Christina Clancy, but after reading, and loving, her sophomore novel, Shoulder Season, I knew I had to pick this one up sooner than later and I’m so glad I did – I really enjoyed it! And now I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to read it!

I love family dramas and this one just pulled me right in. I loved that it moved back and forth in time and really allowed the story to unfold bit by bit. I’ve been to the Cape a few times, many many years ago, but there is just something so nostalgic about that place and it clearly comes through in this story.

Sibling relationships are one of my favorite dynamics to explore – I’m the oldest of six, so I totally understand sibling rivalry and I thought that the complexities that the author explored here were so real and relatable. She really hit the nail on the head when it came to issues with communication and lack of understanding and how that could lead to fractures amongst siblings.

This book evoked a wide range of emotions in me, partly because I could relate to so many different parts of it and partly because it was just such a well-written book. Having now read two of Christina Clancy’s books and loved both of them, she is now a must-read author and I will be recommending her books to everyone!

An engaging and engrossing family drama that had me gripped. Also enjoyed the atmosphere and found it to be deeper than I expected it to be.

This powerful debut brings readers to Milwaukee, WI and Cape Cod for a haunting, heart-wrenching story. Told from different points of view, readers will be engaged from beginning to end.

After coming back and rereading the synopsis, I no longer believe I would enjoy this book to it’s full potential. Some of my most trusted book friends have written reviews that show me that I am probably not going to enjoy this one so I am going to spend my time elsewhere. I look forward to reading her future books.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

I love a good family drama story and as someone who vacations in the same place every year per family tradition, The Second Home stuck a nostalgic location chord with me. Fortunately for me, I don't have the family strife or secrets that these three struggled with. This was a fast read with well developed characters. I highly recommend it.

The Second Home by Christina Clancy was an enjoyable read. The characters were written in a way that I felt like I knew them. I now want to visit the "Outer Cape". I also plan on reading other books by this author.

If you like stories about lots of family drama then this is the book for you. Siblings reconnecting after long period of time with old secrets resurfacing. I did find parts of the novel slow but like how everything came together in the end.

Cope Cod is a place that I want to visit so bad, so having this set there was awesome. It started off quite slow and I didn’t think I was going to continue with it. But I’m glad I did.
It was told by three different perspectives of the Gordon children, which I enjoy. Everyone loves reading about family drama.
Something horrible happened one summer and the siblings all went there separate ways.
The ending felt like it was missing something, I wanted a little bit more.
I gave it 3.5 stars so I rounded up to 4

DNF @ chapter 5. I tried it on audio as well. I just don’t think this one is for me. I felt like I should have connected to the characters that quick but I definitely wasn’t.

I love a "first novel" that doesn't feel like a first novel, and this one definitely sits comfortably in that category. Family drama, especially teenage drama, is at the heart of The Second Home, and some of it is dark. But I really enjoyed this book - the characters are interesting, if at times maddening, and their stories are funny and heartbreaking and frustrating and feel all too real. And the author's love of two very different places (Cape Cod and Milwaukee) shines through her descriptions of each, each becomes almost another character.
Not long after finishing The Second Home, I saw that it had been optioned to be made into a mini-series, and I hope that happens. It has the potential to be a great one.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

I really enjoyed this book and Christina Clancy! This book was generously provided to me through NetGalley. Highly Recommended!

Even though it's only April, I've been on a tear reading "beach reads" in the hopes I'm able to actually go to the beach sometime soon -- and this book was the perfect addition to that beach read marathon! It was a great family drama set on Cape Cod, with just enough dark elements to keep me interested and turning the pages.

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.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Good book, well written.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

This family saga follows three siblings: Ann, Poppy, and Michael. Ann and Poppy are a year apart, and Michael is their adopted brother who came into their lives as teenagers. However, Ann and Michael have a bit of an unconventional relationship that they are trying as hormonal teenagers to navigate, and one ill-fated summer will change their lives forever. Now, 15 years later, the siblings parents' have passed and the treasured Second Home on Cape Cod has fallen into their laps - and a decision needs to be made as to what to do with it. This brings the siblings (who have fallen apart in the last 15 years) back together to try and come to term with the past.
I enjoyed this difficult read - while I didn't necessarily love any of the characters, the author made them all very human and flawed that my heart reached out to each one of them at some point during the book. I do recommend the book as it was written wonderfully!
Thanks to Christina Clance, St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

The Second Home is a well written family drama. This is a good, relaxing read. The characters are vibrant and normal people, and life just happens to them. I really enjoyed this and could not put it down. There were twists and turns that had me riveted! A clever and realistic depiction of the cape.

I thought this would be a light fluffy beach read and wow was I wrong. Lies, secrets, and drama. Oh the family drama! The story is dark but left me wanting to know what happened next.

Trigger warnings: rape and substance abuse

This is a story about family, friends, secrets, heartbreak, and eventually, healing. It’s told from Poppy’s, Ann’s, and Michael’s POV. The MC’s are relatable and flawed. We see Poppy, Ann and Michael struggle through the late teenage years that shape the rest of their lives in profound ways.

There are some heartbreaking moments. Anthony is a horrible person that 99.9% readers will loathe for what he does. Through his actions, though, Ann gets close to several characters (don’t want to spoil it lol). The ending is sweet and each MC gets a HEA!

Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy!