Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy
is a coming of age story about newly orphaned 19 year old Sherri. Needing money she lets her best friend talk her into applying to be a Playboy Bunny waitress at the local resort. Thoroughly researched we feel Sherry's mixed emotions from the misogyny treatment of her employers and customers to her physical pain from too tight costumes and very high heels.

Narrator Karissa Vacker portrays Sherri's fears, gullibility, and frustrations with an amazing degree of honesty and youthful naiveté. The 1980s cultural references were a lot of fun especially a cameo appearance from rocker Gregg Allman. There are few surprises and Sherry makes some poor decisions. Hearing her wiser looking back at a more free wheeling time was very relatable even though I never was a bunny!

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher via NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was my first read from Christina Clancy and is very different from the normal books I choose to read or listen to. After reading the description, I was intrigued and thought this would be a pretty light, coming of age tale. It was those things in a sense, but it ended up being so much deeper than I anticipated. It showed a lot of struggles young women go through and the male-dominated world we face. I would have liked a bit more character development from all the side characters but really enjoyed the main character. Sure, she made a lot of mistakes but she had a genuine heart and I loved watching her journey to adulthood. This was a very interesting read and it had very even pacing so I was never bored. My only gripe was their was no real climax, just a few peaks and valleys. Overall though it was still very enjoyable. I received an advanced copy of the audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Christina Clancy's latest book Shoulder Season is an intriguing work of historical fiction. Set in the 80's we follow Sherri on her journey from a young caretaker for her ill mother to working as a Playboy Bunny at the Playboy resort in Lake Geneva Wisconsin. Sherri is drawn into a new world at the Playboy resort and she encounters a completely different lifestyle which subsequently shapes most parts of her future life choices/relationships.
The story was easy to get into and although it wasn't a fast paced read I was quite engaged in the story and seeing where it went. The audiobook was very well narrated and I enjoyed listening to it. This is my 2nd book by Christina Clancy and I think she is an excellent author.

Shoulder Season is a historical fiction novel and coming-of-age story about Sherri Taylor who, after spending her teenage years taking care of her sick mother, lands a job at the Lake Geneva Playboy Club. It perfectly spoke to how many women struggle between young adulthood and adulthood. It starts at present time then takes us through her past life as a Bunny and her romances with Mitch and Albert and then skips ahead to her present, describing how her life came to be. The raw insecurities, the struggle to fit in, friendships, romances, mistakes, tragedy, and the confusion of not knowing what you want to do with your life.

It was perfect for a summer day on the beach, in your garden, or sitting on your couch in central air. Personally, I was lucky enough to be able to listen to the audiobook which I thoroughly enjoyed. The narrator, Karissa Vacker, did a fantastic job. I didn’t want to stop listening. I listened while I worked, did dishes, cooked supper, and crocheted.

My only complaint is that I wanted to hear more about her life and the “stuff” in the middle, but I understand that the book couldn’t go on forever. One of my favourite reads so far this year!

Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy is an exciting and intriguing story about Wisconsin's Playboy House set in Lake Geneva during the 1980s. Sherri Taylor is a nineteen-year-old who has lost both of her parents in quick succession. Now needs to make her way in the world. Sherri becomes "Bunny Sherri" and navigates the trill of being financially independent, sex, drugs, romance, and fame. This novel is gripping, and I became lost in this fictional story so different from my own. I would recommend it.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio, for my complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sherri's "shoulder season," her time between childhood and adulthood, is explored throughout Clancy's novel Shoulder Season. After having lost her father, and being the sole caregiver to her ailing mother until her death, Sherri felt stuck. She has not had an average teenager experience, and with the death of her mother she is finally free to grow and explore. Begged by her best friend to join, Sherri follows Roberta to an interview for a bunny position in the Wisconsin Playboy resort. After impressing the bunny mother, Sherri begins her journey as Bunny Sherri which opens a whole new set of doors to the otherwise very sheltered teen.

Despite being a bunny, this book really isn't focused on the actual job itself. You do learn a little about the life and hardships the bunny's face, but it is more about Sherri transitioning into a woman with all the emotion, trauma, heartache, and challenges that the transition takes for many women. Her first love, first heartbreak, first pregnancy scare. Introduction to parties, alcohol, drugs, etc. Like any young woman, Sherri's life has its ups and downs and the book follows her life into adulthood. At the end, Sherri is able to reflect on her decisions and how her life has been shaped by those around her.

I enjoyed the build of this book. It is definitely more character driven rather than plot driven so some parts were slower for me. I do feel that Sherri's characters as well as the supporting characters in the book were well developed and very relatable. You could really feel her growth as a young adult and how she felt about the pressures around her. Very interesting read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for granting me a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Sherri has spent her whole teenage years taking care of her sick mother. When her mother passes, Sherri is floundering. She has no direction or guidance. Her best friend talks her into going for a job interview at the Playboy Mansion. Sherri never dreamed she was “hot” enough. But, she lands the job and it changes her whole outlook on life!

I enjoyed so many things about this novel. My favorite was learning about all the strange rules and odd happenings at the Playboy Mansion. I would so love to see this made into a movie.

Then there is Sherri. She has had a hard life in her short 19 years. So, when she is offered the job at the Mansion, she is starstruck and out of her element. She has been sheltered her whole life. So, the new lifestyle has opened up her eyes to other aspects of life, some good, some bad.

Karissa Vacker is the narrator of this audiobook. She does and awesome job! She has wonderful voices. She really made the characters come alive!

Need a unique novel with a very unique setting…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Shoulder Season was such an interesting book! I really like books that take place in the 70’s and 80’s and this book fit perfectly into that time frame.

The writing in Shoulder Season was great, this is the second book I’ve read by Christina Clancy and I can’t wait for more. I like her unique writing style and original stories.

I would highly recommend the audio version of this book, the narrator was extremely likable and had a great reading voice. Whether you choose the book or audio, you can’t go wrong with a book from Christina!

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one and was pleasantly surprised. Enjoyable with some plot twists I didn't expect--I really liked it although it felt a little longer than necessary. Overall, though, it was a good read!

This was an enjoyable story to listen to however I didn’t really feel like Sherri grew as a person throughout the book. At 19, Sherri interviews at the Playboy Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

I honestly didn’t love Sherri throughout the entirety of the book. She grated on my nerves, she has a blasé attitude about everything and is incredibly naive. She also doesn’t think about anyone else around her.

That said, I really did enjoy the lush descriptions of Wisconsin, the resort, the cabin.

The narrator Karissa Vacker was truly enjoyable and brought the story to life.

Overall, I didn’t love this book, but it was a fun and fluffy summer read.

This is the first book that I have read by Christina Clancy. Shoulder Season follows the main character Sherri as she comes of age in the early 1980s with parts of the book taking place later in time when she is in her 60s. Sherri lost her parents in close proximity to one another and is a little lost. In an attempt to pull her out of her grief her best friend, Roberta, drags her along to a job interview to become a Playboy Bunny at the Lake Geneva Playboy family resort. Sherri gets the job but along the way she loses herself in a world of partying, sex, drugs, mandatory weigh-ins, and being taken advantage of. While other Bunnies realize that this job/this life is just temporary and that they still need to have goals/aspirations outside of the Resort, Sherri just wants to stay there and have a place to call home. Along the way Sherri learns hard lessons, makes careless decisions and poor choices, lives with the consequences, she gets hurt and she hurts people in turn......all of the things you'd expect to find in a coming of age story. When a tragic accident occurs, she takes it as a sign that it's time to leave her bunny days behind and she heads out to California where she ends up staying. The book comes full circle when she makes a trek back home to check in on a few things.

I sympathized with Sherri to be sure, but overall I did not much care for the main character which is a problem when the story is character driven. I think there are people who will enjoy this book more than I did. I wish there had been more focus on the Bunnies and the Playboy resort itself. I listened to this as an audiobook and it worked well. I could easily follow the storyline and really enjoyed the narrator.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for providing me with a copy of the the audiobook for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Sadly this was a DNF book for me. I couldn't get into the storyline and there were too many characters to keep track of.

Oh man what a read. Sherri’s life as a playboy bunny was very intriguing and I feel like it might be a close to how it really was than fiction. The narrator did an amazing job but it was so hard to hear Sherri slide downhill and how she was treated and how she treated others. Even though you know from the prologue that she survives everything it didn’t make it easier to read and not want to shake her. Overall though it was a great story!

This is a quirky, fun story with some serious undertones. Small-town girl leaves her small town, starts working at a Playboy resort. Small-town girl falls under the influence of some not-so-great people. Small town girl is forced to return temporarily and she starts to see the charm of the town and what she's missing. She meets a really terrific guy. This small-town girl knows tragedy (she has already lost both her parents) and unfortunately, she's about to be hit with some more. While the tale isn't new, I very much enjoyed the way the author described the main character's experiences and didn't paint her as a perfect Pollyanna, she's just a girl coming of age. A well-paced audiobook with a great choice of a narrator, although the breathy tones of voice I could do without. Overall this is a solid 3-star book. I love the witty cover and title--indicating the character's time as "Bunny Sherry." I think this title will be well received. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced listening copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

The story telling done in this book was very well done. Even though it wasn't fast-paced, I got sucked into the story and was curious to follow it through.It didn't have any extreme highs or lows (so I didn't show much emotion in this book), which is often when I give a book 5 stars, so this one gets 4 because of that. But I enjoyed listening to it. The narrator was also well done as in I don't remember being annoyed at her, so thats a check!

I felt so connected to Sherri because I am also from small town Wisconsin and also wanted something much bigger. I also grew up to realize that little town really shaped me and that I loved it so much more than I let on.

This was an amazing story. Sherri lost her parents and needed to figure out her life. Her best friend Roberta convinces her to audition to be a Playboy Bunny at the mansion in Lake Geneva, and surprisingly, Sherri is selected but not Roberta. Sherri easily adapts to life at the Playboy Mansion and falls in love with the job and the lifestyle. Though she enjoys it, she is way out of her comfort zone and makes choices that are going to have a long-term impact.

This book made me laugh, made me sad, made me hopeful...I didn't want it to end. I got through it quickly and I didn't feel it was slow at any point. Every paragraph was important to the bigger story. I absolutely will read more Christina Clancy.

Shoulder Season
by: Christina Clancy
narrated by: Karissa Vacker
Macmillan Audio - St. Martin's Press
Sherri is a young woman from East Troy, Wisconsin who has lost both of her parents. She feels alone and can't see where her future will take her. During this sad and confusing period in her life, her friend Roberta persuades her to interview for a job as a bunny at the Playboy Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Sherri tells fibs in her interview with Gloria and gets the job. Her life suddenly changes. When she was fitted for her bunny costume and became “BunnySherri”, her previous life was severed. Her complex, painful, and evolving new career, friendships, relationships, and sense of self as a woman make for an intriguing narrative tale of this period in history at a Playboy Resort.
This book is a coming of age story about the choices we make when we are vulnerable and young, and how one decision can set the course for a lifetime. Those who like historical fiction set in the 80s and stories of women's journeys to self-discovery will enjoy following Sherri’s path. The descriptions of the regional locale and culture were outstanding.
Karissa Vacker did an excellent job of narration in the audiobook version. Her voice was poignant and captured the spirit of characters, place, and plot.
Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio - St. Martin's Press for the Advanced Reader's copy of this audiobook and the opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#NetGalley #ShoulderSeason

I have to be honest, I did not finish listening to this audiobook. The narrator was good and the premise of the plot intrigue me but just couldn’t get into the story.

I wanted to help Sherri build her confidence. I know that with the loss of her parents she was wandering aimlessly at times. I kept rooting for her to make good choices and still rooted for her when she made bad choices! A very interesting look into the life at the Playboy resort in Wisconsin. Overall this was a great book to listen to. The narrator did a fabulous job,

Sex and drugs and rock & roll - it's all right here in Shoulder Season, along with so much more. I enjoyed Christina Clancy's first book, The Second Home, so was happy to get the chance to read her new book - even better, that I was able to listen to the audio version.
I really liked this one - at 19, Sherri Taylor is thrown completely for a loop when her parents die just a few years apart. After her mother's death she's not quite sure what to do with her life. Becoming a bunny at the nearby Playboy family resort at Lake Geneva Wisconsin is definitely not in her plans, but a friend gets her to come with her to interview and she ends up as Bunny Sherri. The story starts with Sherri in the present, around 60 years old, living in Palm Springs California. She finds herself needing to "go home again" and in the process, taking a look back at a pivotal time in her life. As maddening as 19-year old Sherri was at times, I enjoyed going back in time to 1981, a year when I was about 11 years older than Sherri. So much happened in that year that changed the course of her life and informed her subsequent life decisions - when she does go home again, what will she find has changed, and remained the same, and what will she learn?
Karissa Vacker narrated this audiobook (not sure why the Goodreads info says it was Annaleigh Ashford) and did an excellent job.
My thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing a copy for an unbiased review.