"The Snowbirds," by Christina Clancy, is a thoughtful exploration of midlife challenges and reinvention, wrapped in a narrative that balances humor, intrigue, and heartfelt reflection.

The story follows our two protagonists, Kim and Grant, a long-married couple navigating the disorienting transitions of middle age. Trying to escape their mounting struggles, they trade their cold Midwestern routine for the sunny, quirky world of a Palm Springs snowbird community. While Kim eagerly embraces new friendships and adventures, Grant finds himself adrift, setting the stage for a poignant and, at times, tension-filled examination of their partnership.

The plot unravels at an even pace, with Clancy building suspense and emotional depth as the couple’s differences come to the forefront. The idyllic setting of Palm Springs contrasts beautifully with the complexities of Kim and Grant’s evolving dynamic, offering both glamour and a subtle edge of unease. When Grant goes missing on a hike, the story takes a turn toward mystery, raising questions about love, commitment, and personal growth that will keep readers engaged. Though some plot points may feel familiar, the emotional authenticity of the narrative provides a compelling anchor.

Kim’s journey of self-discovery is both relatable and inspiring, while Grant’s struggles elicit a mix of empathy and frustration. The cast of eccentric neighbors at Le Desert adds a layer of humor and charm, balancing the novel’s heavier themes. While "The Snowbirds" doesn’t completely upend expectations, it offers an enjoyable and heartfelt look at the possibilities and challenges of life’s later chapters. Fans of character-driven stories with a touch of intrigue and humor will find much to enjoy here.

The Snowbirds, Kim and Grant, were a couple who had 2 daughters, been together for over 30 years, and seemed to know very little about one another. They are now empty nesters and Grant's job has disappeared as the college he worked for shut their doors. Kim decides they need to get away, and her ex-husband lets her use his condo in Palm Springs for the winter. Kim seems to fit in well with the quirky community, but Grant struggles. He finds a friend who is a hiker and they often go off for the day on hikes, while Kim spends time with her new friends. Is this a relationship that is going to survive? When Grant goes off on a hike alone one day, he doesn't return. It seems he is lost in the mountains, or has he left her?

Perhaps I should have read the description a bit closer before requesting this book, because it wasn't what I was thinking it would be. This story was more about a relationship unraveling, two people who lived together but separate lives, and weren't very agreeable to compromise. I found them both hard to like, but I think I preferred Grant. I did love the setting. I have never been to Palm Springs, and I felt like I was seeing it through the eyes of the characters. Both the quirkiness of the condo community and the beautiful surroundings made me want to visit sooner rather than later. The main plot of them reevaluating their lives and what was important to them, was hard to get into when I didn't really like the characters. There is a back and forth as we learn about their past through flashbacks, so I could see how they ended up where they were. The mystery of what happened to Grant was there, but didn't seem as much of an emergency as I thought it should. There you go, not my cup of tea, but solid writing. After all that, I say that this is only my opinion and if you enjoy a relationship story with a mystery thrown in, they you might love this one, so give it a try.

The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy focused on many aspects of life, but truly represented a love story in all its messy rawness!

Kim and Grant's thirty year relationship is suddenly in crisis, so they head to Palm Springs in hopes of finding answers amongst the desert landscape.

Coming just shy of a full mid-life crisis, Kim is questioning herself, her career and her relationship with Grant. She was a beautifully relatable main character and a strong heroine to root for!

From the drab and depressing Midwest which represented feeling emotionally trapped, to the beauty, fun and excitement of Palm Springs, the surroundings changed to match Kim's outlook as Clancy perfectly captured these opposing settings with black and white precision.

Told from two timelines, the mystery subplot ramped the pacing up as the story progressed; the last few chapters quickly alternated viewpoints, perfectly mirroring Kim's panic!

Simply put, I loved Clancy's writing and the love she had for these characters.

Bonus: I enjoyed the references to Canada throughout the book! Second bonus: fantastic audiobook!

For fans of Susan Wiggs, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Mary Kay Andrews and Elin Hilderbrand.

Equally good as the perfect getaway book to escape winter or as a beach read when those warm days hit!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the complimentary copy to read and review.

You can’t go wrong with a Christina Clancy book. This story of a marriage, two people Who love each other and her just trying to figure it out after years of marriage beautifully written deeply felt and surprising and all the right places I loved it.

Thank you Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I guess this author's work doesn't not click with me because I have not been a fan of any of her books. I didn't find myself wanting to read more and find a resolution to the character's stories. I don't always have to have something in common with the characters, but I would like to still be drawn into the pages, and this one did not do that for me. I liked the Palm Springs setting and wish the author described more about the location. I also liked the back stories but felt like both adults were selfish. This isn't one that I would necessarily pick up for me or a friend.

A look into the lives of two future to be snowbirds. Kim and Grant lead a different life, partners for 30 years. They have grown twin daughters and are now empty nesters, but then Kim has been a part time empty nesters for a while. Grant works as professor and lives in Mounds, WI and comes home to Kim on the weekends. When the college closes down and Grant is now permanently home in Madison, Kim isn’t sure if this is what she wants. Given the opportunity by Kim ex-husband to stay free in Palm Springs she pushes Grant into joining her.
Once there it was like living in a different world, nothing like the Midwest. Adjusting to a new life style and making new friends, has Grant finding a love for hiking. And Kim is questioning what she really wants in her life. To finally say yes to Grant’s many marriage proposals or what? And then she whole world is turned upside down when Grant doesn’t return from his hike.
This wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Living in Florida I know a lot about Snowbirds, but this was more a finding herself story. Was interesting in the beginning, but then it just dragged on for me. If it was my curiosity to find out what happened to Grant I might have DNF. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I liked it well enough, the setting was good and the characters were well developed I just didn't really like them that much or identify with them very much, but that's not the authors fault.

The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy has more emotional depth than one might assume by the cover as readers meet Grant and Kim - a couple that has been together for thirty years and are now coming to terms with what their commitment to each other means. Told in alternating timelines, this book explores the bounds of their relationship and what it means to truly stay with a person through one's own evolution of self.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Romance with some thriller and some dark and heavy topics. I really dig that! Not all romance has to be light and fluffy!

Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy. Kim and Grant have been married for 30 years, and the magic is gone. They are trying to figure out their next steps, when they get an offer to spend the winter in a friend’s condo in Palm Springs and get away from winter in the cold Midwest. It turns out to be rejuvenating for them individually, and maybe for their relationship? Then Grant goes on a hike and doesn’t come back. The novel is about their lives, and the search. The thing I liked best about this was the coverage of Palm Springs, an area I don’t know much about. The story was okay. #thesnowbirds #christinaclancy #netgalley #advancedreadercopy #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #fictionreader #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #booknerd #whattoread #readingtime #bookaddict #ilovetoread #ilovebooks #needtoread #readallday #palmsprings

Finished this heartwarming story of Grant and Kim and their lives. The messy, adventurous, dramatic, funny, sad, but persistents. Not only persistent in figuring themselves out but persistents in finding their way back to each other. This book had all the feels. Humor, drama, thriller, mystery and over all just amazing story telling. Loved this book! Thank you netgalley and St. Martins press for this copy!!

The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy is a beautifully crafted story set in the sunny, vibrant world of Palm Springs. The novel follows Kim and Grant, a couple navigating the complexities of their relationship and personal desires while grappling with the passage of time. Clancy's writing is engaging and insightful, capturing the nuances of their lives with both humor and heart. As a first-time reader of this author, I was impressed by her ability to create relatable, flawed characters whose journey feels authentic. It's a thoughtful exploration of love, self-discovery, and the challenges that come with change.

I absolutely loved this novel -- Kim and Grant have been together for 30 years and are at a crossroads in life and their relationship when they decide to leave their homes in Wisconsin and go to Palm Springs for the winter. Once there Grant takes up hiking, and goes missing one day during a hike. Told in alternating timelines, I found this book hard to put down as I wanted to read about what lead them to Palm Springs and what was going to happen to Grant.

Palm Springs is one of my very favorite places, and I loved reading all the descriptions of it - it made me feel like I was there.

I loved both Kim and Grant, and really enjoyed all the side characters -- especially the friends they make in Palm Springs. They are all hilarious and added so much to the book.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys books about relationships -- ultimately this is a look at the relationship between Kim and Grant. The characters are so endearing and compelling. I am so excited to read more by Christina Clancy!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Do not be fooled by this cover. This is not a cozy winter beach read. This is a family drama in a very non-traditional sense with the major theme being about committment. Or lack of.
Kim and Grant have been together forever - Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell style. Early in their relationship, they became pregnant with twins and decided to make it work. But making it work for them also meant living seperate lives while still being a family. He had a job an hour away and rented an apartment where he stayed during the week and she kept up the family house. Then came the Palm Beach opportunity. What was supposed to mean a fresh reset for a couple of months turned into a very serious and life changing event.
The story takes us through Kim and Grant's current situation as they attempt to settle into empty nesters lifestyle, verging on retirement and need for something new. The chapters take us through Kim's perception of their life together currently and then as she reminsces back to when they first met, along with entries of Grant's journal.
Because I went into this book without knowing what it was really about, I was pleasantly surprised with the story. Although there is discussion on different political and philosophical views, I did not let that deter me but it may have lowered my star score just a little bit.

Good, not great. For a shorter novel, it took me a while to get through. I think this was due in part to the main male character - I couldn’t get on board with him and while the main storyline has to do with him going missing on a hike. I couldn’t bring myself to root for him to end up dead or alive.

Felt like the book was lacking something. It was slow to start and took me awhile to get through and finish. The plot sounded interesting and I did stick it out to see what was going to happen. But, I think I might not have been the right demographic for the story. I didn’t feel attached the characters. Enjoyed the setting. But overall just wasn’t for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️[Really liked it]

A great character driven book. The story and pace of the book worked well and kept me wanting more. The writing was amazing, as always, I love this author. The narration of the audiobook was also excellent. Highly recommend if you like character driven stories. Out now!

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this ebook & audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

(3.75 stars)
The blurb of The Snowbirds appealed to me because that’s exactly what I am! In this story, the snowbirds are from Madison, Wisconsin and go to Palm Springs, California. In my case, it’s New Jersey and Florida. (Yep, cliché!) But this story is about Kim and Grant, not me!

Grant and Kim are in their 50s and have been together for around 30 years but never married. They have twin adult daughters who have left home and made their parents empty nesters. A crisis comes about when Grant’s liberal arts college closes its doors and he loses his tenured professorship. It’s no easy task to get a new tenure-track professorship in philosophy at his age. At the same time, Kim’s nonprofit organization offers her a sabbatical, coinciding with foot/ankle surgery. When her ex-husband offers his Palm Springs condo for the winter, Kim jumps at the chance. Grant needs more convincing but they wind up driving to California to become the titular snowbirds.

When they get to Palm Springs, they meet a quirky variety of people. One of them suggests that Grant take up hiking, which he does, and he gets quite good at it and gets in good shape that way. But on New Year’s Day, he heads out for a solo hike, after an argument with Kim, and he doesn’t come home. This forms the “action” of the book, but make no mistake, this is a character-driven book. We gradually get their backstory, with clearly labeled/dated flashbacks, which helps us understand why they are the way they are.

The Snowbirds is mainly told in the first person POV by Kim, with a few excerpts from Grant’s journal. On the audiobook, a female narrator, Karissa Vacker, does most of the book and a male narrator, Graham Halstead, does Grant’s journal entries.

I thought I’d relate to this couple more than I did, but I couldn’t wrap my head around why Kim was so opposed to marrying Grant after all those years together. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed the journey with Kim and Grant.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book and to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to a review copy of the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

This was just an ok book for me. Two middle age people living together for many years. The decision to move to Palm Springs. Grant who gets lost on a hike. It all seems like a great story, but just didn’t do it for me. But I did enjoy his journal.

In Snowbirds, while spending the winter in Palm Desert, a woman’s husband goes missing while on a hike. The book includes entries from the husband’s journal while lost, along with the story told from the wife’s point of view. This was a character driven drama with plenty of comedic elements tossed in to add some levity and so emotional themes of getting lost to find out what you really want from your marriage and just from your life.