So many things attracted me to this book.
#1) That cover. I mean, look at it! It pops.
#2) The setting...coastal Maine. Yes!
#3) Woman escaping her past. I am a sucker for a backstory + a reinvention story
All that being said, I really liked this book. Small towns have a lot of small town history and our protagonist runs up against that in this book. The pacing was a little inconsistent and I wish it had been more suspenseful, but the writing was solid and the ending was good.

This book has wonderful descriptions of Maine. I live on the Maine border and have spent a lot of time in Northern Maine and I felt the authors descriptions were spot on. However the actual storyline fell flat for me. There was too much filler and not enough bulk.

This book was more than I expected. The author’s writing style was fantastic and the story blended together elements of mystery, romance, and literature. Really an interesting story with an intriguing setting.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50199748

Although I received a copy of this e-book in exchange for a review, all opinions remain my own.

This book was so crazy! It left me guessing the entire time! A bit on the creepy side for me, left me wishing I wasn't reading it right before bed, but it wasn't too bad. No nightmares from this scardy cat. I felt the characters to be real enough (though the main character's battle with alcohol was too easily dropped in my opinion...)

Overall I think this book is amazing. I would read it again and probably would read something else by this same author.

So many thrillers are available these days that it takes an exceptional one to stand out - I found that this fell a bit flat.

Absolutely love this book. Basically to me it was about change and how difficult it can be. It’s a challenge to adjust to if you ever can. It’s about a mother trying to adjust to the loss of her baby. Finding a new job in a new place. There are undercurrent Brewing. Page turner for me. Excellent thriller

A tense, claustrophobic novel of suspense. This was a bit slow to start, but picked up in pace and intrigue once Julie moved to the island. Readers expecting this to have the pace and twists of a thriller may be disappointed—this really does fall more on the suspense end of the spectrum. Milchman is a beautiful writer, and her descriptions of atmosphere and setting kept me interested—perhaps even more than the plot itself.

Julie has left her hometown and a life of sorrow to go to Mercy Island. There she will be a teacher. Hopefully she can get over her divorce and the death of her baby daughter. The Hempstead's are the top echelon of Mercy Island. Their family have been the top lobstermen in years. Their grandson Peter will be next in line to take over the family's business.
Right now he's only eleven and will be in Julie's class.
Julie discovers things aren't always what they seem. Friendly faces one moment and not so friendly later. Strange and mysterious sounds and happenings are all around her.
Her survival may be in discovering the secrets of Mercy Island.
Great story, lots of colorful detail. Strong characters.
Great book!

2.5 stars

I didn’t dislike this book, but I didn’t like it either.

Let me get through the bad before I get to the good. I really struggled with the author’s writing style. Throughout a lot of the book, I found myself unsure as to how a character got into a particular situation and had to go back and re-read several paragraphs to figure out where I got lost. I also felt like for such a long book, not a whole lot happens.

Ok, now that I got that out of the way, let me say what I did like about this book. I loved the main character. Her grief in the beginning of the book is so tangible it felt as if I was living it. I also loved her relationship with her dog, it so accurately portrayed how pet owners bond and know everything about their pets.

The settings were another really high point of this novel. The confining picturesque landscapes of the island and the small mountain town Julie came from were stunningly described and amazingly paralleled.

The book was an ok read, I finished it and don’t regret reading it, I just didn’t love it like I had hoped.

The Second Mother is the latest story by Jenny Milchman. True to form, Ms Milchman gives the reader a page turner that is difficult to put down. The Second Mother takes place on an island in Maine and with the descriptions given I could not only picture this island, but felt like I was smelling the salt water. Fair warning, there may be a few tears. I want to thank Net Galley and Sourcebooks for an early copy to review.

This book was an OK read for me. It felt really long, with a lot of detail and many scenes that took up space but didn't directly relate to the central story. It centers on Julie, a woman who lost her baby daughter a year ago and has been suffering through the aftermath of that situation, turning to drinking heavily, and experiencing the break-down of her marriage. Julie sees an opportunity to teach at a multi-grade school on a tiny island off the coast of Maine, and jumps at the chance to start anew. Once there, she makes a friend, meets a nice man, but also has some creepy things happen that makes her feel like things aren't quite right,. Much of the story centers on her interactions with Peter, who is in the family that pretty much owns the island, and is a character whose intentions are not clear.

I liked Julie, for the most part, and thought it was really cool how big of a part her dog, Depot, played in the book. There was an overall spooky vibe throughout the book, but the pacing just felt really slow to me. That being said, the last few pages of the book seemed rushed to tie everything up and didn't line up with the pacing of the rest of the book. Also, this is a small nit but I was bothered by the fact the book kept referencing one character as "the Grandmother" even though the reader and Julie both knew her name.

Overall, if you like a slow burn up to a faster paced ending, with a little bit of mystery, I think you'll enjoy this book. Not my favorite but was a decent read for me. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this. I will be posting a full review to Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram.

I love the process of picking books for my TBR. Whether it's a good blurb, a beloved author, or an amazing cover, it's something of which I never tire. The Second Mother's cover caught my eye; that pink is striking, and the blurb was intriguing. I jumped in and lost myself within pages.

Following the unexpected death of her baby girl, Julie is lost. She's an alcoholic treading water, unable to find her footing, until a chance job posting gives her the opportunity she didn't even know she was looking for: one year of teaching on a secluded island off the coast of Maine. As her husband asks for a divorce, Julie is pleased to accept the position and start over, only to find that things on the island will require more than adjusting to life without wi-fi and cars.

This is the kind of sprawling generational book that digs deep into a way of life that you might not expect to still exist. Having grown up near the ADKS, I loved the references to mountain life and being off the beaten path. Tourist season in Lake George keeps the area booming, and life on Mercy wasn't much different in terms of the familial expectations and routines. Milchman created an insightful, stark portrayal of a small fishing community whose town is disintegrating faster than the crumbling banks on which it sits. Without the younger generation to carry on its legacy, Mercy will be lost, and the wealthiest family on the island is hell-bent on keeping things in order. I loved this aspect most of all, and the parts where this novel really succeeded were in Julie's interactions with the lifers.

Additionally, the spirit Julie embodies when she accepts her job as teacher carried more symbolism than the giant lighthouse on stage. While she quite literally has a "savior complex" to a degree, Julie is motivated by nothing except doing what's right for the children. She's not trying to save them from their way of life. She doesn't want to expand their technological horizons or show them that there's a big world out there; rather, she wants them to learn the maps of their own hearts. Many of the kids are expected to fulfill their parents' wishes, and while she understands most if not all will do that, she also wants them to find satisfaction and truth for themselves, and I found that aspect of her character to be beautiful.

On a final note, it was so refreshing to read a book with a dog as a secondary character that wasn't used solely as a way to create emotional conflict for the main character. Deep was my favorite.

More quietly suspenseful than all-out thriller, The Second Mother is a slow burn of exciting proportions. You won't regret getting lost in Mercy, just be sure you know how to swim. Big thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing an eARC in exchange for review consideration.

I enjoyed the remote Maine location. I didn't feel like it was very suspenseful or a mystery which I had expected It was well paced and I felt like the main characters were well developed.

Jenny Milchman’s new book, The Second Mother, is an inside look at a troubled woman’s decisions to make changes in her life to move forward instead dwelling on the problems of her past and focus on the results of those decisions. The fast pace of the author’s storyline centers on Mercy Island’s lobster industry and the island’s key residents and the way Maryanne Hempstead’s family influences life of the island residents. The main protagonist, Julie Weathers is looking for a fresh start creating a new life, as she prepares to educate the students of Mercy Island’s one room school house. Julie’s future looks promising and understands she must continue working to overcome her issues of alcoholism, loss of her child, her husband’s betrayal and her need to put her past behind her.

The author provides background details of the families on the island as well details of the different class system of Mercy Island’s lobster industry. The mystery and intrigue begins to build as Julie starts her teaching job in a one-room schoolhouse, then noticing that strange things start to happen around the house where she's staying. She tries to ignore what is going at her new house and continues working on strengthening her relationship with her students. Milchman take the time to introduce her readers to ne of Julie’s students Peter Hempstead providing his backstory as well as his family connections and their history. She goes into detail explaining the circumstances of the death of Peter’s father.

The storyline uses subplots and key support characters as the intrigue and suspense intensifies as events unfold on the island. Readers sit on Julie Weathers shoulder as she works with her class to plan a special project at the school. The Second Mother storyline builds to a dramatic and emotional ending that involves Julie and her dog Depot and all the special people she cares about. Milchman’s new book is a must read earns a five-star ranking.

Sorry I wasn't able to go on and finish this book.
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Thank you for the accept

A book about the struggle to define our place in the world, how our past defines our future, and every person's quest for autonomy in the face of the need to survive the daily pressures of life. Julie is a charming and plucky heroine who won't quit til she solves the compelling mysteries of Mercy Island.

The second mother was an entertaining read and the storyline was exciting at times. However, I found myself getting a little bored at times and the characters were not particularly likable. Some of them were a bit confusing, for example Peter. I am still not sure if I was supposed to like him or not. Overall I enjoyed it but I would have liked to see more character development.

TW - Child loss, alcoholism, suicide

I actually really enjoyed this book. It was full of twists; some predictable and some not so much. The story was well written and I found it a quick, easy read. I loved the main character, but I have to say I loved her dog even more. The two of them were the perfect duo and made me continue reading, hoping that all would be well in the end.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing my the opportunity to review this book.

I warmed up to it eventually, but the author kept doing this thing where she separated the main character and her dog, implying that the sweet beastie would be hurt (though, spoiler alert: He wasn't). I'm all for a good jump scare or a cliffhanger chapter ending, but this was a bridge too far.