I enjoyed both books an recommend both. And they are now available for purchase or at your libraries. I hope that you take a chance to read them and enjoy them as much as I did.
Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters by Jennifer ChiaveriniMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley for my honest review.*
Mary Todd Lincoln attempted suicide 10 years after the assassination of President Lincoln. The events leading up to the attempt lead Robert Lincoln, her son, to have her declared legally insane and commit her to a hospital for rest. In the years after Lincoln's assassination, Mary had become estranged from each of her sisters for various reasons. Once she was committed to the hospital, she began having people reach out to a sister to be saved from the harsh treatment she felt she was receiving.
This historical fiction novel follows 2 different timelines: 1875 after the trial to have Mary declared insane and the years leading from childhood through the assassination of President Lincoln. Each chapter is through the eyes of a different sister - Elizabeth, the eldest sibling; Frances, the next eldest sister; Ann, the sister following Mary; and Emilie, a younger half sister. Each sister has a different relationship with Mary based on their younger years which is explained in the second timelines in the book.
I enjoyed this novel and learning more about the Todd family. I hadn't realized how many siblings Mary had and didn't know about the suicide of declaration of insanity. It was also interesting to see how many influential people the Todd sisters were related to or had in their close circles. It was also a bit of a shock to see how vindictive Mary was and the threats that she made against her son after she moved into Elizabeth's home from the hospital.
It has been a while since I have read a Chiaverini novel. I really enjoyed the Elm Creek series and a few of the novels she wrote (for example the one about the underground railroad), but I stopped reading them after some of the books that were set during the Civil War because I found it hard to make it through the descriptions of what was going on in the war. The writing was very dry and almost just a regurgitation of facts. I'm happy to say that in this novel, the chapters about the war were set against how the war affected sisters directly and it was much easier to read.
Overall, Chiaverini does an excellent job of bringing the story to life. And letting the sisters live on through her words.
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The Second Home by Christina ClancyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my honest review.*
Ann Gordon's parents have died suddenly and it is up to her to get the houses in order to sell - the house in MIlwaukee and the house on Cape Cod. As she meets with the realtor on Cape Cod, she is remembering that one fateful summer that changed everything. The book then drops back to the summers and the family all together including Michael, the teenager the family has taken in. The first year after the adoption is when everything changes. Affter that summer, the novel jumps back to the current time period and we follow the 3 siblings through the aftermath.
Ed and Connie Gordon are the wonderful hippie parents. Ann meet Michael through school and develops a crush and when she learns that his parents are both dead and he is surviving by hiding from authorities, she brings him home and Ed and Connie take him in. Ann is the no-nonsense daughter - Ann with a Plan - who takes care of everything. Poppy is the younger daughter and a free spirit who gets caught up in drugs and a nomad life chasing the perfect wave.
I enjoyed this novel. I thought that the plot was well laid out and the writing was amazing. I was drawn in from the first page. The writing was very descriptive without being overly poetic and drippy. I have never been to Cape Cod, but could almost imagine it after this novel. I did enjoy the parents and felt the enormity of their loss through the siblings in the second half of the book.
There were some things that were glossed over that I wish had been a little more detailed - the changes in the relationship dynamics surrounding the adoption and a relationship after a death in the second half of the book. I feel like these could have been major books on their own. And the latter maybe could have been left out altogether? And things did seem to get wrapped up rather quickly in the end.
Overall, a great debut and I will recommend to others!
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