thank you netgalley for the e-arc. love a book with a house or mansion as one of the characters, even if it's not the main intention. also was loooking forward to the ghost story part of it. however, this felt like schoolwork. instead of a book for pleasure, i felt as if i was getting a history lesson in all the bad things people did and how others were treated/affected (meaning indigenous people in the story).

The Cliffs has a promising beginning. In the small coastal town of Awadapquit, Maine., Jane Flanagan never fit in. With an alcoholic norther and a sister who was sure to follow in Mom's footsteps, Jane took refuge in an abandoned property with a purple Victorian house that overlooked the cliffs and the ocean. The house appeared to have just been left - as if the occupants had just walked out the door and never returned, marbles on the floor and all. Jane spent hours every day here after school the only place that she found solace.
Twenty years later, Jane returns to Awadapquit with her marriage and career as an archivist in shambles. She is devastated and actually angered to find that someone has bought the property and turned it into a modern glass house complete with infinity pool, but without it's soul. She becomes friends with the new owner, Genevieve Richards, (as much as she can be friends with anyone). Genevieve has been feeling unsettle in the house and believes there are ghosts or spirits there. Until this is resolved, she will be staying at the inn run by Jane's only high school friend. She hires Jane to investigate the history of the house and property. In doing so, Jane gets information on the Native Americans of that area as well as the Quakers who settled there. This land has a history of loss, tragedy and hardship. Themes that Jane is all too familiar with.
As Jane begins to delve into the history of the house, the book takes a bit of a tonal turn and becomes more of a history lesson than a novel. While the information was interesting, it made it hard to jump back into the "present" plot again. These detours were too lengthy and not really in keeping with the structure of the main storyline. By the time I was nearing the end of the book, I was not as invested as I once was in the resolution. That being said, there was some beautiful writing and character development along the way. This is the first book that I have read by J. Courtney Sullivan, but I will be more of her catalog.

My thanks to Netgally and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC of this novel.

Who didn't dream of having their own secret hideaway as a child or teenager? Somewhere enchanted that only you knew about? That's exactly what Jane had when she found the abandoned Violet house on the cliff. And the house became hers. Not just as a child, but into adulthood when she would take her husband to visit the house when they were in town.

Of course, it wasn't hers and inevitably, someone else found the enchanting house and bought it. But after the new homeowner commits an unspeakable act that sets the house's spirits into a tailspin, it's up to Jane to figure out the house's history and find a way to honor it.

Add to that the fact that Jane is a mess - an alcoholic in a line of alcoholics who has destroyed her promenent career and marriage, and The Cliffs was a an amazing book that kept my attention all the way to the end. This is definitley one to read by the pool or on a beach as you soak up that last few weeks of summer.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for an advanced review copy in exchange for my honest review. This one is out now.

Historical fiction full of mysteries, ghosts, and history! The historical parts seemed well-researched and there was plenty of human drama in both the past and the present.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

This book started off slowly as it introduces Jane, her alcoholic mother and sister, her beloved grandmother, her fulfilling work at Harvard and her loving, supportive husband, David. Then the book quickly dives in deeper to Jane's troubles and how her life has gone completely off the rails, with how everything she holds dear and important is being at risk of being lost. She returns to her childhood home in Maine, when she has no where to go, to figure out the next steps in her life, connecting with her best friend, Allison, her sister Holly and her mother's dog, Walter. The author provides vivid descriptions of the small town's cliffs, picturesque tourist shops, and a once abandoned house that plays an important role within the story, as the story reflects on the women who had lived there throughout its history and on the land before it was built. The story weaves and intersects the histories of indigenous, Shaker, mystical and modern women in a historical, fascinating, and informative way. I absolutely loved learning about history that I wasn't aware of before and it prompted me to discuss these topics with others, as well as wanting to delve deeper into some of the subjects presented in the future. The characters deal with difficult topics of addiction, generational trauma, colonialism, and strained relationships but the women throughout these stories supported each other throughout their troubles, finding strength within themselves and bringing hope for a better future. I look forward to reading more of this author's work!

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read an early digital copy of The Cliffs. After reading this book, now I know why this is the book club pick for Reese's Book Club. It is definitely a great book for the summer, a perfect beach read or to curl up with on a hot day to be transported to its setting. Even though the events of the story aren't idyll, the setting is, and Sullivan is really good at vivid descriptions and imagery that make it easy to picture the setting. This was the first book by Sullivan that I have read, but it definitely won't be my last, and I am excited to take a look at her backlist, and I hope they are just as good as The Cliffs!

What a well-researched story about Maine, indigenous people, women’s history, New England ghosts, and Shakers. A huge amount of history to go with an engaging plot with twists and turns, with focuses on several women., with Jane as the main character. Jane has several flaws and starts to work through them during the story. She has an alcohol problem, lost her mom, her job, and likely her husband. At the same time, she is digging into the history of a fictional town in Maine and a home that sits above a cliff. A great story where you also happen to learn many things.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

There were many strands to this novel, plots to keep alive and to keep aligned, ghosts from different generations of these cliffs jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean on the Maine coastline itching to tell their stories.
Jane, the main character, is a smart librarian of Harvard’s Schlesinger Library but also a native of this corner of the Maine coast and an alcoholic in denial trying to get her life back in order after a humiliating incident and her mother’s recent passing. On a whim she starts research into the abandoned house she adored as a teen, which has now been overhauled by Genevieve who has turned it into an odd McMansion. Jane’s research turns up ghosts of a Shaker and a captain’s wife who had to see her husband’s shipwreck, an indigenous woman who saw her husband taken by the English, Jane’s own grandmother and a dead girl who keeps interfering with Jane’s research because she wants her mother to know her final resting place has changed. There are so many avenues to explore, Jane’s relationship with her husband, Jane’s relationship with her sister, the ghosts and their lives at different times with different needs and expectations. But it all comes together so well, I kept reading, rooting for Jane and I just loved how it all clicked in the end - seemingly effortlessly but so very well written, I loved my reading !

I really enjoyed the feel of this book, mysterious, somewhat gothic and full of family secrets, a haunted house and ghost. It is a beautifully told story set on the rocky cliffs in Maine. The old Victorian house, which sits high above the sea, is the backdrop, sets the mysterious tone to the book and to me becomes almost a primary character, and in which the book revolves around. It is beautifully written with history, drama and also a ghost story. I enjoyed how it was told in the dual timelines and how as you read and learn the layers, complexity of the characters, it keeps you reading as you try to put the pieces together. It is overall a really good book, and worth the read, especially in the historical information that you learn as the story unfolds. There were times I had to be patient and hold on as the pace was challenging at times, but midway I became fully attached to the characters, and how it was coming together. I recommend it highly to those readers who love historical fiction and those who love richly layered stories and characters.

I love J. Courtney Sullivan's work and have been a huge fan since her early days. Unfortunately, The Cliffs did not work for me for a couple of reasons. The Cliffs tells the story of Jane who flees to her deceased mother's home in Maine after she drinks too much and makes out with a student in front of her colleagues at the college where Jane works. And her husband works there too. Not a good move. Jane is packing up her mother's house and revisits an old house on the shoreline (near The Cliffs) where she used to read when she was in high school. A rich woman, Genvieve, has renovated the home and hires Jane to research the history of the house. There are many other storylines: 1. Genevive tries to make friends with Jane and Allison. 2. Jane and her sister don't get along. 3. What is the secret about Jane's grandmother. 4. Will Jane stay on the wagon? 5. The historical (and continuing) disrespect of Native culture 6. Jane's experiences with a psychic medium.

There was just way too much going on in this book. It is trying too hard and none of these story lines really shined. Also, Jane was a total snob and unlikeable, although I think we were supposed to root for her.

I really liked how The Cliffs started and thought the storyline about the abandoned house on the cliff was going to pull me in. It was eerie and mysterious and the house felt like a character that I wanted to get to know better. But then it started to feel like there was too much going on and I wasn't captivated enough to keep me from putting it down often. The main character was hard to like, which didn't help keep me into it. I wanted this one to be something it wasn't. Did I like it? Sure, it was very entertaining at times and I finished it!

The Cliffs

Wow, what a story!

This was an incredible tale following women from multiple generations and their ties to the house on the Cliffs in a small town in Maine. Jane was raised there with her alcoholic single mother, her delinquent older sister and her grandmother. Now returned to the town to clear out her late mom's house, Jane must confront her past, her family's history and the darker history of the town where she was raised.

Told in multiple POV from different women in various points in history, this is a beautiful tale about honoring the past and learning from it to embrace a better future.

Strong themes of motherhood, Native American history and alcoholism are woven into this heartbreakingly beautiful story.

I really wanted to like this book but I couldn’t connect to the book. I felt like there was a lot going on and it got confusing. It was difficult for me to want to pick up this book to continue reading. Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I've only been to Maine once, and I remember it being one of the best trips of my life. We went around this time in the summer (end of July), and the weather was absolutely perfect. This book absolutely transported me back to Maine and highly recommend reading in the summer! Things I enjoyed: the atmosphere and descriptions of the scenery, family and marital drama, and the element of mystery. Didn't care as much for the historical lectures and the length of the book. Overall, a captivating summer read that will have you booking your next trip to Maine. Would recommend if you like historical fiction and slower paced novels.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy of this book.

Loved this story. Loved how the house is a character on its own and how we were able to follow the characters in the past and learn about their lives and what secrets the house holds.
The writing is very lyrical and so rich, I was placed in the story and could not put this book down. While it is set by the ocean, it has enough of a gothic feel to be a perfect October read.
I appreciated the history of Indigenous people and the disturbing practices led by world-famous museums, some of it was new information to me and I learned a lot.

What a great book! Loved the visual of The Cliffs and the Maine connection. Loved the historical aspects and will be recommending quite a bit. Patrons will eat this one up!

I really wanted to love this one, since I loved J. Courtney Sullivan's previous book, but it just wasn't clicking for me. I loved the atmosphere and vibes of this one and think she is an incredibly beautiful writer. However, the plot felt a bit slow and meandering.

This book really snuck up on me! After a slow start and lukewarm feelings towards it and the characters, all of a sudden I was totally wrapped up in the decades-spanning stories of multiple women and their connection to one house on a cliff in Maine. I learned a lot about Maine, the indigenous people who were there long before we were, and a little bit about a lot of tiny little topics all over the place. This book was painful to read at times while also being funny, touching, descriptive, and kind of irreverent. Not a thriller, but definitely has some mystery and surprises along the way. An ending you’ll appreciate. And enough ghosts to give you the chills but not enough so that you can’t fall asleep at night. I was so impressed at all the little plot lines that were intricately wrapped up into the numerous stories that came and went throughout the book. Definitely pick up if you’re in the mood for an atmospheric story with substance! Perfect for sinking into the late summer moodiness of August.

A lot of characters, a lot of side plots, new people being introduced really late in the book, it just felt a bit disorganized. I did enjoy it, and ultimately by the end of the novel, things came together pretty nicely, but there were multiple points while reading it that I wanted to give up, as I just couldn't pull all the threads together as I was reading.

This one took me way too long to get through. I just found that I wasn’t invested in the characters or the story. Maybe I picked this book up at the wrong time.