Mercy Island, Maine, is meant to be a place of healing for Julie and her dog Depot. Her daughter died, her husband filed for divorce, and the small Adirondack town where they lived felt suffocating. Sure it will be a challenge to teach grade k-8 in a one room school house but she figures it will help her to be busy. What she didn't expect and what she finds is that all small towns are the same and that there's a problem on the Island that's unique to fishing towns. The kids don't feel like they have a future and this is where she runs into trouble. Peter, a teen with issues, keeps visiting her, the Hempstead family matriarch is a real pain, her new friend Ellie is not really her friend. and there's something creepy going on. Don't worry- it's not a horror story or even really a thriller but more a story of grief and changing tides. Milchman has a way of capturing characters and she's done a good job here. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

Julie had been barely holding it together since the death of her infant daughter Hedley. Her marriage is failing and she can’t move past the massive amount of guilt she is feeling. That is until she finds a job posting for a one room school house teaching position on a remote island called Mercy. Everything on the island looks normal at first but Julie soon finds out that the island is hiding some dark secrets.

*Sigh* I wish I could say that I loved this book but honestly it was just ok. The book was extremely slow moving and though it had moments where it picked up, all the action happen in the last 100 pages of the book. Which is fine but then the ending was so abrupt. I don’t know it just felt for me a lot of things happened all at once and the then the book was over.

I liked the main character Julie and how she started to put her life back together through out the book. Also the dog lover in me loved that her dog Depot was a huge part of the book. I kinda wish that Callum (Julie’s love interest in the book) was in the book a little more then he was.

Overall I liked the book…i just didn’t love it.

Thank you to Books Forward, NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!
*I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a honest review*

After getting a divorce Julie accepts a teaching post in a remote town in Maine. Julie is continuously warned that it is a very isolating town and hard to fit in at, which is the wicked truth of small town life. Small towns can be spooky and this book really embraces how eerie they can be. The first few moments that she is in the house alone start to play out how creepy it is to live alone in an isolated house. I love how atmospheric the story is as excellent descriptions of the island play into the isolationism.

Accommodating to being in a new small community plays a huge role in the progression of the plot. A backstory of the loss of a child makes the isolationism in the story even more eerie.

I won't give away any crucial plot points, but I can say that the island setting and realities she faces as a teacher are central to the story's plot. I really love how the characters and the setting really build the tension in this thriller. It is definitely a good read for a slow Sunday afternoon.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

What an underwhelming meh book. I felt like I had to work for something to happen. Nothing happened. It's just tons of dialog sprinkled with a coastal landscape. The main character, Julie has definitely been through the ringer but my God she's boring. Every page you're weighed down by words that take you no where. There is little to no suspense. One chapter ends with a (brace yourself) locked door.

Book wasn't for me. 2.5⭐

Julie is running away from her problems and starting her life over. She accepted a job as a teacher on a remote island off of Maine where there is no cell service, no wifi and the community is incredibly close with one another. As she settles in a few strange things happen and she begins to wonder what she’s gotten herself into.

The island itself seems like paradise but also very isolating. The author did a great job describing the island and making it feel welcoming but also a bit creepy at times. Julie would find random things in her house or her door locked when it was left unlocked and scenes like that that made me wonder what was going on.

As for the characters themselves you don’t know anything about them at first, like hardly anything besides their names. When you meet Julie there isn’t much distinguishable about her except she has gone through something heartbreaking and traumatic that she is working through. As she settles into life on the island you learn more about her as well as everyone else she meets on Mercy Island.

There were parts where things just didn’t make sense to me and I thought I missed something but didn’t. They are explained later on and I think that’s why I continued with the book, I needed to know why people/things were the way they were.

The story was pretty slow, definitely more of a slow burn than an action packed thriller. I didn’t know if anything was ever going to happen but I kept reading because I needed to know if anything would. I didn’t hate this book by any means, it was just kind of boring at times and too long. I appreciated the details of the island but at the same time nothing happened until the last 20% of the book so just prepared to wait it out.

Thank you to BooksForward and Sourcebooks Landmark for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book didn’t really wow me- I almost considered giving up at many parts. It was just soooo long and the characters and story were kind of meh. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

Julie Weathers lives in Wedeskyull, a small town in the Adirondacks where she has been her whole life. Since losing Hedley, her only child (an infant), Julie has become a shell of her former self, drinking scotch at all hours of the day and having embarrassing meltdowns of grief and guilt in public. Not surprising, early on in the story, her husband David asks for a divorce. Julie has a giant Newfoundland rescue dog named Depot who provides comfort and protection for her. Hoping to escape the painful memory of her daughter and the sense of failure of her marriage, Julie decides a change and a move away from Wedeskyull is just what she needs. She answers a wanted ad for a certified K-8 teacher in a one room schoolhouse on a remote island in Maine, and to her surprise and excitement, she is offered the position. A chance to start fresh in a new place.

Mercy Island, Maine is completely surrounded by water and there are no vehicles on the island. Cell phone reception and WiFi are spotty at best and can't be relied upon. At first, exploring the island with Depot in tow seems therapeutic and enjoyable. Most of the men on the island are lobsterman, spending much of their time out to sea setting and checking traps. But as the summer comes to a close and visitors to Mercy Island leave, the island becomes quiet and mysterious pretty quickly. The more Julie uncovers about the island and the history of the prestigious family who owns most of the homes and land on Mercy, the closer she gets to the lurking danger. Julie was wary of the icy, dark waters surrounding Mercy, but what about the people who live there. Who can she really trust? The friendly gal who showed her around town and comes over to drink wine and chat on occasion? The handsome lobsterman who takes it upon himself to protect Julie and Depot? I guess you'll have to read it and find out.

Fans of Lisa Jewell and Wendy Walker will enjoy this heart-pounding story of psychological suspense. The twists and turns don't stop until the final pages, creating a unique thrill ride set in an atmospheric, secluded place.

This book wasn’t right for me. I felt like it was dragging and a little too much of a slow burn for my taste. I wasn’t very attached to the characters so it didn’t pull me to read and I was never able to get into the story.

This book was amazing! I couldn't put it down. I had to keep reading because I just had to know what was going on and why! The Second Mother was a twist of mystery and intrigue that I just couldn't stop thinking about, even after I had to put the book down. Jenny Milchman is a great storyteller that had my pulse racing with excitement and anticipation up until the very end

For a womens/romance book I thought this one was OK. It would be exciting to move and start over on an island, The realism of the teaching job wasn't too bad. The evil, all knowing grandmother was WAY over the top. Not really a thriller/mystery. The author tried to fit a lot into this story with alcoholism, abuse, SIDS, divorce and so much more. I think the ending was a bit abrupt and I would like to know more about what will happen on the island. So many loose ends. A map of the island would also be nice. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

not for me. It was too slow and not much going on to hold my interest.
Thank you for my free arc in exchange for my honest review.

Overall, I enjoyed The Second Mother. It was an intriguing thriller that was fast paced and hard to put down because it got my attention quick. I enjoyed the small island in New England setting, it felt like I was getting away while staying at home. While I did like the book, I felt that some of the action scenes felt rushed and choppy. I also would have liked some more backstory and explanation for some of the characters, especially Eddie and the captain. I also felt like there were some parts where Callum would have an accent and then other times it would go away, it was a little distracting to me.

I gave this a 3/5 star rating because it was good but not one of my favorites.

Wow, just wow! This book secures Milchman’s position as a top-notch writer of deeply-meaningful fiction.

This story was so thrilling. I really enjoyed it! It kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters were well described and I had a good image of the characters of their motives and actions in my head.

The Second Mother pulled me in with a great premise, but the execution came up lacking in my opinion. The story drags along to the point that I lost interest a number of times and set it aside for something more interesting only to come back and try again with the same results. There's a lot of dialogue, and I do mean a lot. That wouldn't be a bad thing except that there wasn't much going on otherwise. I also felt like the story got bogged down in unnecessary details. The author does a great job of describing the location, but a lot of the rest felt like padding rather than solid storytelling. For example, I really didn't need to know every time the dog ate or drank or every step of feeding the dog. Had the dog done something interesting, fine, tell me all about it, but I just can't find it in me to get the least bit interested in the mechanics of opening a can of dog food. And that's just one example. I did push through, although it took me much longer than I liked, and here's the thing - the ending was stronger than I expected given my feelings about the rest of the book. I feel like this one could've been seriously shortened, and it would've been better received, at least by me.

This story was a bit crazy pants :) I am just at a loss for how insane things got! I wasn't really invested at the beginning, I would consider this a slow-burn thriller, but things really got going as the story progressed!

I thought that the author did a good job helping to settle the reader into the story, but it was a bit slow going at times, and I just wanted to move on to the next thing that was going to happy. The twists and turns towards the latter half of the book though, they were worth reading!

I would suggest this book to a reader that enjoys a slow-burn story. This one isn't going to jump right into things, so be patient!

I was provided an advanced reader's copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

This book was CRAZY. Like crazy crazy. I’m talking Lifetime crazy during Halloween crazy. Not even writing crazy all these times is enough to describe how insane this book was. From the beginning we don’t really know much about the main character, nor any other character for that matter as we slowly learn about them as we go along. The more you read, the more you understand in essence. I get why their were so many harsh reviews in terms of this book because I did find myself skimming a large portion of this book but I couldn’t give it up.

There’s something in this book, like a Lifetime movie where you can’t make sense of anything but you still can’t change the channel no matter how ludicrous you find the entirety of the drama.

This isn’t a book that I can summarize down in a couple sentences because the fact of the matter is that to understand everything that Julie Weathers goes through on Mercy Island (an island basically in the middle of no where with no WiFi or Cell Signal leaves you completely at the mercy of the crazy) with a family who thinks of itself as judge and jury rules; how she got there, what did she did and how it all ended.. you have to read it. It may not be your favorite book of the year but it‘ll definitely keep you entertained.

3 Stars

At the beginning I felt like Milchman did a good job of setting the scene with the amount of detail based on the unusual location of the story. As the book went on, the details of the forest near her house, and the ever changing ocean just kept on going.

There was much of the story where I would zone out because I didn't feel like much was happening and then get confused.

Overall, I found the twists towards to the end to be somewhat shocking, but also underwhelming. I felt like everything led up to the last 20% of the book which is why I started to get bored.

If you like more of a slow burn thriller with lots of details on the scenery and explicit dialogue of characters then you would probably enjoy this one more!

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book!

EXCELLENT THRILLER! I loved this book. The atmosphere was everything I wanted it to be. I loved the plot and storyline in the book. I loved the characters in this story. It gave me all the feels I was looking for when I started reading this. I highly recommend this author. I loved the writing. I will be looking for other works in the future from this author.

DNF at 50%. Was too concerned over the dogs welfare to be able to connect with any of the rest of the story.