Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I love these great big books with lots of information for kids and adults and so much to look at.

This was a truly spectacular read. I loved every single minute of this book. I also learnt so much from this book it was truly a delight to read. It is very informative with splashes of humour thrown in to lighten the mood and make you smile while reading it. I loved the authors little paints of the fish at the start of every fish description. Also the collection of fish pictures before the start of the section this added to the overall enjoyment of the book it added that special something, made it feel more personal. I love how it was split into sections like dangerous fish or ancient fish as it was more engaging than the standard split into country or regions. I loved the close up pictures of each fish in there natural habitats. There was a fantastic bio of each fish and a world map showing its distribution across the globe. I was actually surprised at how many were found around the United Kingdom.  This was just a perfect book in every way. This book was so interesting that it would be brilliant for all the family and a very useful learning aid for all those people like me fascinated by the natural world that we live amongst. This book due to its wonderful cover would be brilliant as a centre piece book to stand out in your collection.  I can't recommend this book enough.  I can't wait to read more by this author.  With his talent he really should start creating a collection of children's books.
So much praise goes to the author and publishing team for creating this stunning page turning, extremely interesting and informative book for us all to enjoy.
Already left the above review on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-secret-life-of-fish-by-doug-mackay-quarto-publishing-5-stars

A wonderful book! If you want to learn fun things or even if you don't, you should definitely read this book! It's written in a way that's easy to understand, but still suitable for fish enthusiasts. Would be a great reference book for aquarium visits, but can also be read cover to cover quite easily! The illustrations convey so much personality and are so cute. The only problem with this book is that the author is overly fond of run-on sentences. I totally get it though; fish are too exciting to use short sentences. New favorite fish fact: icefish, which live near Antarctica, have colorless blood! This is because they lack hemoglobin, and they are the only fish that do this!

eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Interest information presented on select fish species with illustrations and some photos of species. If you are interesting in learning some facts about fish, this book is for you. It would make a nice coffee table book.

Perfect book for my kids and I to read together! My son is fascinated with ocean animals, this book has a lot of information. The pictures are vibrant and colorful, he has learned a lot. Thank you to NetGalley, Ivy Press, and the author for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

A beautiful book, in which 50 different species of fish are explained in a very interesting way and their descriptions are accompanied by drawings and maps. It is practically designed as a children's book and written as an essay for adults, absolute perfection!

Un libro bellissimo, in cui 50 specie di pesci diversi vengono spiegati in modo molto interessante e le loro descrizioni sono accompagnate da disegni e mappe. Praticamente é disegnato come un libro per bambini ed é scritto come un saggio per adulti, la perfezione assoluta!

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

The book cover and title are just the beginning...the illustrations and photographs within beautifully capture fish characteristics. Information includes zones where they live, habitats, eating and mating (and other) habits and loads of details on each species in the body and side bars. There are 33,000+ known species of fish in the world and I reckon there are thousands which are unidentified or even seen. Bodies of water are resplendent with mystery and intrigue and this fascinating book includes 50 fish species, common and less common, which inhabit them.

Amongst my favourites illustrated here are the white-spotted puffer which startles its predators, stunning lionfish (which, as is wittily pointed out, complicated to draw!) with its toxic spines, ocellate river stingray with excruciatingly painful barbed stinger, common thresher which...threshes its prey, cute bargibant's pygmy seahorse which is a masterful hider, clingy candiru with its unusual vampirism, less than lovely leopard moray eel, massive fast-growing hoodwinker sunfish, Peter's elephantnose fish which may be able to see colour where there is none, not so cute fanfin angler with a bunch of appendages, leafy seadragon which carries around its own forest and the sociable sardine. Each is intriguing. As I live in the Mediterranean part time one of my goals is to learn more about the sea and its creatures and what I'm swimming with!

Whether you know all about marine life or not, do read this riveting book. It hooked me immediately and I did not want it to end.

My sincere thank you to Quarto Publishing, Group - Ivy Press and NetGalley for the privilege of learning more about the secret lives of fish!