I wanted to love this story, as I leave for Palm Springs next week and thought this was the perfect book to read. The main characters, Kim & Grant, were unrelatable until the end of the story. The other characters were good and I liked them, but not enough to make the book enjoyable for me. It was well written, just not my type of story.

I really disliked these characters. Dragging on for 30 years? It was just not my cup of tea.


There was a lot of complaining but very little of a relationship that I could see. Both of them were just awful.

Well, the cover is nice and fluffy, cute and endearing. The characters not so much. I tried! And I will try again later if I want to dive into an emotionally confusing book.

A+ cover! Just did not want to hang with these characters at all.

This was a lot more serious and full of tension than I expected. It’s a deep dive in the experience of mid-life self-discovery. I didn’t know how this would end as the story reflected how couples change as individuals over time and how hard it can be to adapt as a couple to life’s changing circumstances.
The ending was fitting and heartwarming.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.
Kim and Grant have been a couple for 30 years and have 2 grown daughters. They never married and basically lived separate lives, but were committed and faithful. Now middle aged, Kim and Grant have a chance to spend the winter in Palm Springs. While there, Grant goes missing and there's quite a shift in their relationship; are they going to stay together or not?
The couple is not particularly likeable, they are both selfish in their own way, but I loved the Palm Springs history bits and the overall feel of the book was quite pleasant. I'm glad I had the chance to read it.

Kim and Grant have a complicated relationship. They’ve been together for 30 years, raised two daughters, and are at a crossroads. Grant wants to marry. Kim doesn’t. Grant is a stick in the mud, resistant to change, needy but sincere. Kim is whiny, codependent, and self-absorbed, taught by her mother to settle for whatever she could get in life. They constantly clash over the smallest things. The setting alternates between their time in stodgy Madison, Wisconsin and liberated Palm Springs, California which was a last resort, the place where they went to reconnect and decide their future.

Kim’s confidante is her gay ex-husband, Basil. Grant’s best friend is his ex-wife Sasha. So it’s a pretty crowded field! The people they meet at their winter digs in Palm Springs are colorful, comical, and wise, welcome counterparts to Kim and Grant’s drama. It’s a good read, watching the characters intersect, regroup, and ultimately try to help Kim and Grant navigate their future. But will they even have a future?

As the story begins, Grant has not returned from a day hike at Indian Canyon in Palm Springs. Kim is frantic with worry which grows more dire as days pass. Grant has not been located, despite a legion of searchers on foot and in the air. Time is running out. You’ll pick up the book because Clancy is such a good storyteller, and you’ll stick with it to see if Grant is rescued. Book clubs will enjoy discussing a variety of topics.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Publishing Group for a free advance e-copy of this book. I have written this review voluntarily. (Publication date is Feb 4, 2025.)

3 stars- The pacing in this book felt a bit disjointed. Things started to become interesting until roughly 40% in but remained a slowburn throughout the entire novel. Thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Clancy is a master at peeling away the layers of a relationship until she reaches the inner core—the part where both people are on the precipice of change.

Grant and Kim have been together for thirty years when one gets lost physically, while the other tries to find her way out of the ‘what ifs’ that muddy the waters of life.

The Snowbirds is stunning, evocative, and packed with tension so tight you can bounce a quarter off it.

I enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were well developed and the storyline worked. Going from past to present was interesting and moved the story along well. A few surprises here and there kept things interesting. Very easy reading.

The synopsis dubbing this as The Last Thing He Told Me meets Fleishman Is In Trouble (plus that cute cover!) was pretty much all I needed for this book to pique my interest!

Despite having been together for 30 years, Kim and Grant have had a very unconventional relationship and now find themselves at a crossroads. When given the chance to escape the dreary Wisconsin winter and spend a few months in sunny Palm Springs, they use this opportunity to try to find themselves, and see if they can find their way back to each other.

Narrated entirely by Kim, this story is told in alternating timelines: the present where Grant has gone missing after a day of hiking, and two months prior when they first arrive in Palm Springs (interspersed with flashbacks further into the past where we learn more about their relationship).

What I liked:
- The mystery element
- Kim’s voice and her raw, honest, and relatable ruminations
- The found family element
- The strong sense of place—I really felt like I was transported to Palm Springs
- In addition to the comparisons to The Last Thing He Told Me and Fleishman Is In Trouble, this also gave me a bit of The Wedding People vibes

What I didn’t like:
- Grant’s character (both characters are very flawed, but I found him especially dislikable)
- While I enjoyed the writing style a lot, this did drag quite a bit for me in some parts

Overall I found this to be a really enjoyable read. I was quite invested in their relationship and couldn’t wait to find out what choices they would make. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC!

good mystery about a couple coming to palm springs for the winter and trying to figure out their life together and whether or not she will marry him after 30 years. loved the journal and what they are figuring out.

"It was unsettling to feel so unsure in middle age—more unsure of life than I'd ever felt. I'd always thought this was a time when I'd stop struggling and striving and finally just...be. Instead, I was at loose ends." 

I seem to be on a "stories about older couples" kick lately and enjoyed adding Christina Clancy's new book to the mix. As someone who *is* half of an older couple, lives in the midwest, and dreams of being able to snowbird, I was up for whatever Clancy had in store for me. I hadn't read her previous novels, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Though I hoped for a happy ending, it felt dicey to walk through the ups and downs of the years with this couple, Kim and Grant. Of their 30-year relationship, Kim says it "felt like a Jenga tower that was built out of both love and resentment. One small insult, one uncomfortable truth spoken aloud, and we could precariously wobble and come crashing down."

Told with humor, a keen eye, and the poignancy that comes with being on the earth for more than fifty years.

I really like this story of a couple (Kim and Grant) who leave Madison Wisconsin to spend the winter in Palm Springs and to see if they can continue together as a couple. They've grown apart--can Palm Springs bring them together? The story is told from Kim's point of view and in multiple time periods that give the reader a great overview of their history, but the main focus of the novel is--where is Grant? He left to go hiking on New Year's Day and never came home. I really had to force myself from reading ahead to see if Grant was OK. I liked both characters--they were both very real, meaning they had their good parts and their bad parts, and the other people who come in and out of the story were great as well. All in all, I think this is a good portrait of a long term relationship and I'm glad I read it and will search out other books by the author as well.

The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy was, I am sorry to say, just ok. There wasn't enough of a storyline and the characters were neither likable nor well developed. This is my first book by this author and I would definitely try another one of her books. Thank you NetGalley for a complimentary ebook in exchange for a review.

In my head this was two old people dating in Florida for the winter, a funny romcom....

But in reality, it is a commitement phobic couple out in California for the winter. I didn't relate to them AT ALL and therefore took forever to read this book. It was good... just not what I was hoping for.

The cover is what drew me in to this novel. It started out OK and kept my interest. However at 35% it lost me. It failed to keep my interest and I didn't care for the main characters. So I ended up DNF.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

The writing was great! I struggled relating to the characters or even liking the characters but it was still a slow read!

Thanks for the review copy. I didn’t like the main characters much but had to know what happens with Grant. The writing was done well, though. I’m sure others will like it more than me.

I liked that this book started right away with Grant missing. So there is some suspense. Then it takes us back. I really liked the characters and the setting of this book. I think this felt like a real relationship with grownups making real choices. There was love and humor and great writing in this book.

The book was very slow for me. I couldn’t relate to the characters. I had hoped the story would pickup as I got further into the book. Sadly that did not happen. I don’t think it’s a bad book, it’s just not one that resonated with me. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.