Many thanks to NetGalley for a free ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I love books that are about a very specific snapshot in time. In this case, the snapshot was take a Playboy Resort in 1981 Wisconsin, just before the resort closed down.

The book was essentially a coming of age story about Sherri, who breaks out of her small-town life by becoming a Bunny at the resort. She’s looking for glamour and excitement and finds it, along with the seedy underbelly that comes with any kind of sex work. She proceeds to make every bad decision you would expect from a sheltered 19 year old trying to find herself.

The book is readable and the story goes quickly but at some point the story took on the patina of a Lifetime movie. Sherri walked into disaster after disaster without learning from her experiences. The final chapters serve as an epilogue that tied the story up in an awkward and slightly confusing bow.

I would have enjoyed a deeper dive into the workings of the Playboy resort to give that environment a more complete feel. The setting was more intriguing than the characters but less fully conceived.

All in all, this is a fun, if flawed book. You can read it at the beach, then leave it behind for someone else to find and not regret that you didn’t keep a copy.

In the summer of 1981, my mom was 19 and preparing to get married in Milwaukee. Just an hour away, Sherri, the main character of Shoulder Season was 19 and working as a Bunny at Lake Geneva's Playboy resort. For me, learning more about this part of semi-local history was a part of what made this book so interesting. This made for a compelling coming-of-age story as Sherri learns a lot about life and the world while working in such a unique environment and dealing with the judgments of her small town.

I requested an advance reader copy of Shoulder Season to review as a break from a steady stream of political thrillers, psychopath killers, and mysteries “based loosely on actual events.” So, what appealed to a reader like me? I grew up in the Midwest, and the nostalgia of the familiar always warms my heart. The character’s coming of age as a rookie Playboy Bunny also grabbed my attention. I enjoyed the saga of Sherri Taylor’s trials and tribulations- and there were many. To me, the narrative had a leisurely pace, especially the first half. I felt impatient at times with copious descriptions of high-school-girl cruelty and Sherri’s impressions and new discoveries. And yet….. There is a touching if heartbreaking love story at the novel’s core, and plumbing the mystery of that kept me reading.

Rounded up from 3.5 stars.

Sherri is 19 years old and has just become an orphan. She has spent the last three years nursing her mother and now doesn't know what to do. College isn't affordable so when her best friend, Roberta, asks her to go to the Playboy Resort to apply to be a bunny she goes reluctantly. Then she gets the job and Roberta doesn't. From that point I didn't like Sherri much. She is very naïve and often I just wanted to give her a good shake. All she wants to do is party, drink, do drugs and go out with men. She cares too much about what others think of her and is very shallow but doesn't like to say no because she is afraid she won't be liked. I found the whole Playboy thing interesting. I knew the men were probably creeps but those gals worked so hard. She did redeem herself eventually and I found the end somewhat of a surprise.

I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I was so impressed by this book. It reminded me of a mix between Elin Hildebrand and Kristin Hannah. It had love sadness and just the joy of life and trying to live your best life. It was a great story.

𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.

I’m showing my age here, but this book took me back to the movie A Bunny’s Tale in which Kristy Alley portrays Gloria Steinman, journalist and feminist who went undercover exposing the darkness of life in the Playboy Clubs. Different timeline, I know, but the friendships with other bunnies in this novel also takes the sting out of the demands small town, Wisconsin native Sherri faces- much as Steinman came to like the camaraderie and support of her fellow bunnies. Sherri never had the chance to misbehave, raised by older parents, working alongside her German father in their family clock repair shop below stairs of their home, life was sweet, quiet. Then he died, leaving Sheri and her mother with a business they could no longer run. While other people Sherri’s age were going off to college and finding themselves, she was left behind caring for her mother, who was stricken with a neurological disorder that soon takes her life.

“Berta”, her childhood best friend, ascended from the pits of their shared Nerdom to become cool, beautiful, popular, and tough during high school. Sherri hadn’t emerged from such a cocoon, and though left behind in the dust, Roberta still protected her friend so the others wouldn’t torment her. Sure, they weren’t hanging out anymore, Roberta’s reputation couldn’t afford that dent, but she still cared. It’s 1981 now and all of that is behind them. Sherri’s mother is gone and Berta’s year working in Milwaukee is finished so she convinces Sherri to apply alongside her at the Playboy Lake Geneva Resort. Shari is free now from the demands of her mother’s illness, she can do anything, though she feels remnants of guilt after the loss. Fearful of what being a bunny would do to her reputation in their small town, she has doubts she can stomach such work. Berta makes her see reason, the benefits. Besides, Sherri has no prospects and even less money. They can make thousands there… in a week! Despite her reservations about the sort of girls who work there, as well as her perception about the types of men who frequent the place, she can’t say no to “Berta”. Sherri doesn’t really believe she’ll be picked anyway, as dowdy as she feels. As luck would have it, she gets great advice before her interview from a bunny, and her lack of an edge is exactly what seals the deal and lands her the job. What was supposed to be an opportunity the best friends could share, drives them apart and a new Sherri is born.

She gets a shocking awakening and is finally initiated, desperate to do whatever it takes to fill the high heels of her new life. Sure, experience will cost her that wholesome persona, but we all have to grow up sometime. She no longer has to hide, she ‘takes up space’ in every room she enters, embraces her sexuality and acing the bunny thing. She befriends her fellow bunnies, living the dorm life similar to college but without the dual books and boring classes. For her, it’s mixing drinks and learning how to uphold to the bunny brand while making good money. Finally, she is enjoying ‘top shelf’ living, even inspiring jealousy in Berta, who was always the one who showed up for life. The men are exciting, handsome, wealthy and connected. Her old life no longer seems to fit, living as she does now in two worlds. Celebrities, sex, drugs, and open doors to high class living- Sherri finally feels alive but it’s only a matter of time before the cracks appear, before she notices how degrading this scene can become. Her naiveté has her taking what men say at face value to her detriment and embracing the flippant attitude other bunnies have towards drugs and lovers, but how much does she truly understand about liberation?

As her star rises, she finds love but doesn’t have a clue that tragedy is waiting around the corner. Everything she has worked so hard for, changed her very personality to become, is on the verge of going over a cliff. Can she truly live as wild and free as she wants without consequences? Is this really a rung on a ladder worth climbing, a career that has a future? Don’t the bunnies age out fast? She feels larger than life until she finds other Playboy locations have higher standards. She is making messes, poor choices and some that are life or death consequences, tying her to people and life altering decisions she may not have otherwise made. We meet her older, wiser and still tending to oozing wounds of her wayward past. How much guilt is truly Sherri’s to bear?

Sherri gets a bit full of herself, of course she does, desirable, finally allowed to ‘let her hair down’, it’s what one would expect but it isn’t endearing- it’s not meant to be. Maybe times have changed, but in her case, she is used and loses her way, men do crummy things, that happens when one person holds the power. She lives two extremes, but she may well get the chance to truly be the architect of her own life- it just won’t be what her young heart assumed. Best laid plans often do go awry, especially when you’re slipping and no one is there to help you steer.

Publication Date: July 6, 2021

St. Martin’s Press

Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy is a coming-of-age story that is poignantly raw and genuine. I was quickly taken back in time to the early 80s as Sherri Taylor, nineteen and recently orphaned, finds herself interviewing at the Playboy resort in Wisconsin close to her hometown of East Troy. Sherri wants to break out of her small town, experience anything and everything, and sees the Playboy resort as a means to an end. I can’t say that I liked Sherri, as she didn’t give me anything to like, but I did sympathize with her naïveté and found the conclusion to be very satisfying. If I had more time with present-day Sherri, I would have found her more relatable and a character with which I could connect. Nineteen-year-old Sherri, though, is a hot mess. Her story provides a look into the Playboy world, which has an air of mysterious naughtiness even today. I enjoyed the uncompromisingly honest narration of this gripping tale and the information I gained about the period and the setting. This book is perfect for anyone intrigued by the Playboy world and what happened to all those young women who once made a career of serving resort guests in a tight corseted costume with a fluffy tail and a headband with bunny ears.

Sherri and her friend Roberta are teenagers ready to get out of the small Wisconsin town where they’ve grown up. From where they can see, the fastest route out is to get a job at the Playboy club in Lake Geneva, step up their glamour, and (obviously) find a filthy rich boyfriend and ticket to success.

When Sherri gets that “dream job”, reality sets in; she embarks on a path of bad decisions, wasted opportunities, and self-destruction.

We know from the opening chapter of the novel that Sherri will find her way. The book starts in current day Palm Springs, where Sherri is a successful event planner, being called back to her home town to visit a dying business partner. Knowing that Sherri will have a “happily ever after” didn’t keep me from cringing away from her behavior as she bunny-dips, drinks to nausea, picks up a nasty cocaine habit, and chases after miserable choices in men.

Sherri’s life-changing moment happens late in the book and felt abrupt and under-motivated. I felt plenty of sympathy for her, though, and was happy for her to be rescued from the downwards spiral she was on.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an enjoyable read that I loved up until the last quarter or so when it kind of fell apart. The setting of Wisconsin, the 1980s, and the main character all were done really well, I just felt like the ending was rushed and the shift in time was abrupt.

In the small town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, one of least likely places you would expect to find a Playboy Resort, 19 year old Sherri Taylor makes the life changing decision to get a job and move there. to their dorms. She is a small town girl who grew up playing the organ and taking care of her sick mom, wno just died. She never considered herself beautiful, or even pretty, but her best friend was going there for an interview and convinced her to go for one as well, so she did, thinking nothing would come of it. Then she got the job and nothing was ever the same again. She was thrust into a world of glamour, drinking, drugs, partying, but also of too tight shoes, uncomfortable outfits & having to starve herself to keep down her weight. Life in the dorms, or the "bunny hutch" as it was called taught her about sisterhood, as well helped her to grow up into the woman she eventually turned into. But she had to suffer through a personal tragedy and learn a lot of hard lessons along the way.
This book was so good. I wanted to shake Sherri at times because she was so naive and did such dumb things and was too trusting. I had never heard of the Playboy Resorts before and found it fascinating. The author did an excellent job researching these, and made the book very realistic. I highly recommend this one!

I have watched The Girls Next Door and even in this current climate, I frequently proclaim that I wanted to be a Playboy bunny when I "grew up". (I am currently 47 with 4 children so this is clearly an aspiration that is strictly fictional.) I have watched A Bunny's Tale movie based on the Gloria Steinem article written when she worked undercover as a Playboy Bunny cocktail waitress at the NYC Playboy Club and chronicled her experience. So, when I saw the book Shoulder Season...I was all in!

While I enjoyed the story arc of the main character Sherry, I couldn't always find myself rooting for her. Would she be considered a flawed character? She tried to do the right thing but her character's development was a little uneven and inconsistent. The storyline was kind of all over the place and I'm not even sure what genre this would be considered. I think it had great potential but fell a bit flat.

Overall, I found the novel to be a tad problematic, even despite my intrigue for all things Bunny.
Grateful to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the opportunity for this review!

This book was so much more than I was expecting it to be! I live in Wisconsin and found so much to connect to- I think all Midwestern readers will! I thought this would just be "brain candy", but instead, I was deeply invested in Sherri and her story.

I didn't know if Christine Clancy could top her debut novel but boy was I wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is by far in my opinion her best novel so far!!!!! I fell in love with shy little Sherri from the first page. It was so comforting watching her find her way in life and mess up a thousand times but she always found her way. This is a book that will stay with you for a long time. It reaches into your soul and doesn't let go. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Even if you've never read a Christine Clancy book I guarantee you will enjoy this one immensely.

I was provided a free copy of this from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
Set in Wisconsin in 1981, we follow 19 year old Sherri. She has never been the popular girl, and never fit in with her love of playing the organ and responsibility of taking care of her ailing mother. After her mother's death she is unsure of what to do. Coaxed into interviewing at the Lake Geneva family friendly Playboy Resort, she is shocked when she is hired. Unsure how to deal with the newfound attention of being a Playboy Bunny, Sherri learns about life, love, drugs, and a bit of rock and roll.
Sherri was a tough character to like for me. She was initially so naive and unsure of herself and along the way she seemed to make worse and worse decisions. I may have rated it lower if it weren't for the last part of the story. Although the time jump was pretty large and abrupt, older adult Sherri was a much more likeable character.
Ultimately it was an interesting story and I did learn some stuff. I never knew there were "family friendly" Playboy resorts around the world.
This one will be published next week, 6 July, so add it to your TBR if it sounds interesting to you!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC! I devoured it over two days at the beach. I grew up near the former Playboy Resort in NJ, which is mentioned in Shoulder Season, and I was fascinated reading this story about Bunny Sherri at the Lake Geneva resort. Much more than just a beach read, I loved reading about Sherri's coming-of-age and her "becoming" - I highly recommend this book if you like 80s-set dramas or if you're as intrigued by the Playboy Resorts as I am!

I usually read a book every two to three days, sometimes a book a day on the weekend; this book took me two weeks to read. I just found myself not wanting to pick it up and it seemed long even though it's not. That said, there were interesting parts but a lot of unanswered questions that just didn't come together for me. Something about the time period -- flashbacks from nearly 40 years ago to near present skipped a lot. Maybe you'll have better luck.

Shoulder Season comes out soon on July 6, 2021 and you can purchase HERE.

Roberta was late. Sherri waited for her friend outside of the family store on the town square, shivering, her stomach in knots, her ears tuned for the sound of approaching cars. Under her parka she wore her favorite Junior House outfit, which she'd purchased on clearance at Waal's Department Store in Walworth, a burgundy velour skirt with a pink tie and a matching pink blouse. She'd loved it when she first bought it, but that morning she worried that her clothing made her look like a priss, and the heavy fabric felt stained from sadness because she'd worn it to her mother's funeral the week before.

A unique twist on a coming-of-age story centered around a young girl from the Midwest who becomes a Playboy Bunny. Loved the setting of this book in the 1980s, loved the love triangle, and watching the transformation of Sherri from innocent girl from the Midwest to Bunny! A great summer read!

A coming of age story set at the Playboy Resort in the early 1980s. Sherri is lost, she just lost her mother and father very close together. When her best friend asks her to go on a job interview to the Playboy Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, she decides to go, just to spend time with her friend. Unbeknownst to her, she receives an offer, while her friend does not.

Quickly Sherri’s life turns into a world of glamour, partying and drug use. She meets men, who fly her to locations. When she meets Arthur, Sherri catches a glimpse of her future. While trying to mange Arthur and this wild lifestyle, an incident happens that will haunt her for the rest of her life.

This was such a fun read. Sherri entered the story, lost, not knowing what to turn to. She quickly grows into a strong confident woman that you get to follow for the next 40 years. I really enjoyed this story a lot. This is a perfect beach read for anybody looking for a little glamour.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan Audio for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

1981…this book takes us back to a simpler time…before cell phones and hundreds of TV channels. Women were aspiring to many things. For 19 yo Sherri, she is at a crossroads. She just lost her mother, who she took care of, Father died previously. She needed to make a living. Talked into an interview to become a Playboy Bunny by her best friend. Which takes her on a ride of sexual awakening and coming of age.

Interesting backdrop of the life of a Bunny. Sex, drugs the famous and the not so much. Your heart will initially go out to this poor girl. No one to guide her, 19, immature, considered an adult and 100% on her own. What takes place will shape her and haunt her for the rest of her life. Introduced to many characters, but easy to follow. After a while, you might just want to smack her and tell her to grow up. I really was hoping for more of a storyline with Roberta, her BFF. Overall an enjoyable read…easy to pick up and put down. This book will really take you back to the 80s…the good, the bad and the ugly.

Thanks to Ms. Clancy, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

After reading and enjoying The Second Home last year, I was so excited to get my hands on Clancy’s latest novel, Shoulder Season. Set primarily in the early 80s at the Playboy resort on Lake Geneva (which I wasn’t even aware was an actual place!!), it’s probably no surprise that this book is full of drama. When orphaned 19 year old, Sherri, is hired as a bunny at the resort over her wilder and more boisterous best friend, everything about her mundane, small town upbringing changes overnight.

For me, the book had a quick takeoff, a slower build in the middle, and then an abrupt stop. I really enjoyed this coming-of-age story…and especially the late 70s/early 80s pop culture references (there’s even a special cameo from Gregg Allman!).

Not gonna lie though, Sherri made me angry more than a few times throughout the book with the decisions she made. But then I stopped and gave myself a quick reality check when I thought back to allllllll the stupid things I did when I was at that age, and it gave me a lot more empathy for Sherri. But then I quickly blocked out all those thoughts again because 😳😳😳

Overall, I really liked this book and I would definitely recommend picking it up when it hits shelves next week (7/6)! Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.