I enjoyed this novel despite the fact that I didn’t particularly like any of the characters. This is set in 2016, just before everyone thought Hillary Clinton was going to herald a great time for women’s rights and women’s history instead of the dark ages our country actually reverted to.

Adam is turning 70. In his heyday as a marine biologist, his discoveries made him renowned in his field. He’s battled bipolar disorder, but as long as he takes his meds, he does all right. Except he’s decided to go off his meds so he can make one last amazing discovery, despite his age and people acting like he has nothing more to contribute.

Adam’s son Ken is also a bit of misogynist like his father, feeling so, so bad for how perilous things have become for straight white men. His mother died when he was just three and half, hours after his sister Abby was born. Between that and being an overweight kid, he was bullied, so now he thinks that as long he’s fit and wealthy, nothing bad can happen.

Abby is an artist whose talent and fame wavered for many years, but she may just get a chance in her spotlight again. But that’s not the biggest development in her life.

Family secrets come to light at Adam’s 70th birthday bash. The author does a good job with how childhood traumas have an impact on our adult lives.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES JUNE 27, 2023.

Family drama but make it clever-I liked delving into this family a lot. I knew nothing about the book going in except the name and the setting and it did not disappoint.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

“I know that no one’s story is simple. And no single story tells the whole truth.” Adrienne Brodeur

This story struck every chord for me. Cape Cod, family drama, siblings, loss, secrets, deception, loyalty and friendship. I read this enthralling book in one sitting. And what a sitting it was! It is the perfect summer read - do not miss it packing this one for your summer vacation. You will be glued to the page!

'WIld Game' by Adrienne Brodeur was one of my favourite books the year it came out-devastating, incisive and memorable. I was thrilled to get an ARC for her first novel. While it's not as good as her memoir, it's still one of the best books you'll read this year.
Set in Cape Cod, an area that Brodeur knows very well and is practically a character in its own right in this book, about a family with its secrets, that might be coming to a head. Ken and Abby Gardner are siblings who share an uneasy relationship, with resentment over the division of real estate, and the added complications of Ken starting to take the first steps towards a political career with the Republican party, and them having to organise their father's 70th birthday party. Ken's wife, Jenny, who was Abby's roommate at college, is feeling stifled in the life she's chosen for herself, as perfect wife for a would-be senator, who's good at organising events and managing her family's schedules. Adam Gardner is a renowned scientist in his field, who wants to make that one final breakthrough before the dying of the light. There's another character as well, Steph, with her connections to the family. Every character has a distinct personality, and voice, and their narrative arcs are compelling and real. I love Brodeur's vivid descriptions of the ecology of Cape Cod, with the abundant wildlife it supports, and the certain knowledge that it's being eroded every day, woven in beautifully into the way these characters feel about events beyond their control, and how they all come to terms with it. The events are set in 2016, in the run-up to that pivotal election in America-a constant backdrop to the characters' lives. It made for quite a difficult read, and a reminder of how just how ludicrous everyone seemingly found Trumps Presidential run, all the way up to the shocking election result.
This isn't a 5 star read for me because some parts felt a bit cliched-specially Jenny Lowell, who seemed like a spoilt white woman who isn't really particularly bothered about social causes but seems to cosplay rebellion. THis is a minor quibble though, in an otherwise very well-written and keenly observed book. I'll definitely be reading anything else Adrienne Brodeur chooses to write

Thank you to Avid Reader for the advance copy.

Little Monsters is beautifully written - I was totally drawn in to the world of the Gardner family in Cape Cod. The character development was excellent.

As an international cetacean specialist faces his upcoming 70th birthday, his children face their own crises as emerging secrets lead to a summer of drama on Cape Cod. Well-drawn characters and a backdrop of Cape Cod made this a page turner for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur.
I really loved reading this family drama. The character development was so rich. And even through each person's faults, and how they contributed to the family's dysfunction, it was easy to empathize with them. In addition to the family story, the details of the setting at Cape Cod were so plentiful.
I really loved this book!

This one was slow to start for me, but once it got rolling I was in for a fascinating ride of interwoven characters and family secrets. The setting felt a bit underwhelming, but it’s the people that are really written to shine.

Great family drama. Loved all the dynamics.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. Whle I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

Thank you so much for the opportunity of an early read of Little Monsters. The author's ability to convey a variety of characters in a believable and compelling way is wonderful. I'll be advocating for this to be a selection of our book club and talking about it relentlessly. Lynn

I LOVED this sweeping family story set in Cape Cod.

Adam is turning 70. He has dedicated his live to the local whale research and neglected both his health and his children that he raised solo. As his birthday looms he purposely stops taking medication for his bipolar diagnosis.

His children have led strange and.complex lives as they live out the issues of their childhood. All of it will come to a head this year at the party. Set against the backdrop of a very beautiful and familiar area of cape code, all of the characters are relatable, likeable, hateable in their choices. A perfect story of American life in the Northeast! If you like sweeping family dramas, contemporary novels and commentary, you will absolutely love Little Monsters.
a#Avidreaderpress #Avidbooks #LittleMonsters #AdreinneBrodeur

I was lucky enough to win an e-ARC of LITTLE MONSTERS by Adrienne Brodeur through a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thanks for the early look, and have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

📚 Book Review 📚

𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨
by Adrienne Brodeur
@adriennebrodeur
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(4/5 stars)

I really enjoyed this author’s memoir, 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝙈𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙚, and was looking forward to reading this one. This character-driven family drama takes place in Cape Cod and follows the lives of Adam Gardner and his two adult children, Abby and Ken. The chapters are told from several POV’s (Adam, Ken, Abby, Jenny (Ken’s wife and Abby’s best friend), and Steph). I’ll leave out Steph’s identity and connection to the other characters to avoid spoilers.
Despite a slower start, this story quickly grew on me and I became fully invested in the characters, their lives, and their complicated relationships. There’s a lot going on behind everyone’s closed doors and plenty of drama to go around. The story gradually unravels as we follow these flawed and broken family members over a relatively short period of time as they prepare for the patriarch of the family (Adam) to turn 70, and work through their long history of grief, hurt, love, and buried secrets. Cape Cod itself played a big role as the backdrop to this story and the vivid writing allowed for the reader to easily imagine every location.
*Thank you @𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 and @𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 for this early copy! This book comes out July 2023.

A moving novel about family, growing older, the need to feel relevant and the secrets we keep.

Adam is a famed scientist who is reaching his 70th birthday. He has raised 2 children on his own while working and struggling to keep his bi-polar condition under control. He wants to make one last impressive scientific find but decides he can do it without medication.

His children, Ken and Abby, are gown and with problems of their own. Raised by their father who left them on their own, their relationship is now strained. Another character, Steph, arrives and her role is very slowly made know.n.

As the party approaches, each person must decide how to move forward. Set on Cape Cod, the elements and descriptions of nature are excellent. The pacing is good and the characters well defined.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

REVIEW TO FOLLOW.

This gripping novel, by the bestselling memoirist of Wild Game, stunned me with its lyrical prose, artistic lens, and smartly layered book finish.

Little Monsters is a slow-burn dysfunctional family story reminiscent of her memoir, set in idyllic Cape Cod, following a father and his children's lives on the cusp of his seventieth birthday celebration.

While the book draws parallels from the biblical tale of Cain and Abel, setting the story in 2016 adds a unique layer of complexity. The author skillfully foreshadows the unlikely election of the last U.S. President and captures the complex emotions surrounding that period, particularly as they all are sensing quite a different outcome.

Adam, the father, is a brilliant oceanographer that openly embraces the toxic white male routine, feeling recently threatened by women's rise to power. Yet, as Adam nears his seventieth birthday, we realize this is rooted in his struggles with mortality and relevance.

More than anything, he wants to make a final scientific breakthrough to help him not seem obsolete in his older years. To achieve this, he stops treating his bipolar depression, allowing mania to seep in so he can unlock his inner genius. In these passages, Brodeur writes these chaotic and manic scenes brilliantly.

Meanwhile, his children, Abby and Ken, could not be more different from each other. Ken is a successful businessman with political ambitions but projects his insecurities onto the people around him.

Ken's sister, Abby, is a gifted visual artist who struggles with commitment and relies on her brother's begrudging generosity, as he owns the place she works.
Jenny, another vital side character, must balance the complexity of being both Abby's best friend and Ken's wife.

We discover that Adam is not the only one keeping a secret. Abby, Ken, and Jenny are each harboring secrets of their own. To add to the family secrets, a mysterious person named Steph appears on the periphery of the family story to shed light on one more long-held family mystery.

One issue that may detract from your experience is this book's number of characters. While each is beautifully detailed and distinct, it offers ambitious side stories that build into a climactic finish with a rather astounding reveal that was ultimately well-plotted and worth the journey.

This is not a beach read but a book to be savored. Fans of The Paper Palace will swoon over this one.

Little Monsters

🗓️July 11, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Ken and Abby Gardner lost their mother when they were small and they have been haunted by her absence ever since. Their father, Adam, a brilliant oceanographer, raised them mostly on his own in his remote home on Cape Cod, where the attachment between Ken and Abby deepened into something complicated—and as adults their relationship is strained. Now, years later, the siblings’ lives are still deeply entwined. Ken is a successful businessman with political ambitions and a picture-perfect family and Abby is a talented visual artist who depends on her brother’s goodwill, in part because he owns the studio where she lives and works.”

Told from multiple points of view, Brodeur accurately captures Adam’s struggles with bipolar disorder and Ken’s narcissistic personality that he much in part inherited from his father. Throw in a few family secrets and we learn of the lies that we will tell our self in order to maintain relationship and alliances. Abby often times views herself as the thread that holds the fracture lines together, but at what cost.

@adriennebrodeur beautifully depicts the natural beauty of Cape Cod, describing the sights and sounds of the sand, waves and tranquility salt air brings.

Cape Cod beaches, mentions of sea-glass and family disfunction…count me in!!! Anyone looking for a fast paced beach read this summer, look no further!
I only wish all story lines left me with a little more closure.

Thank you @netgalley @avidreaderpress @simonandschuster for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Cape cod as the setting a family drama that drew me in.Perfect reading to keep me company as the rain kept coming down outside.#netgalley #avidpress

I loved our authors memoir ‘Wild Game’ so I ran to request this one. I’m so glad I did.

Families, secrets, Cape Cod and an incredibly complicated sibling relationship, I’m in!

Somehow this book covers so many topics but never feels like our author was trying to check off all the boxes. Every topic is woven in perfectly and feels so natural to the flow of the story. As the Goodreads synopsis notes you can also tell how very familiar our author is with the setting, feeling as if you are there. I’ve always been obsessed with sibling dynamics and fiction on family dramas, this one really delivers. The characters and situations presented feel real and accurate. I felt the story line was great and the characters were well developed. I love reading about normally flawed and believable characters and this book is full of them. If you also enjoy these things I would highly recommend this book to you.

Many thanks to our author, Netgalley and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advanced eGalley copy of the book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This will be released on July 11th, 2023 and I hope if you choose to read it you enjoy it also.

I finished Little Monsters late into last night and while I know this one will be maybe a polarizing read, I personally loved this messy and often dislikable family.

Told from multiple POVs spanning only a few months and leading up to Adam the patriarchs 70th birthday we watch as male egos are tarnished and the year of the women takes centre stage.

The men in this story were infuriating, pretentious, privileged, narcissistic and while they were wildly unlikeable they created the perfect contrast to the women of this story, who were smart, creative, resilient and courageous.

No shortage of secrets or drama, this bingeable story reminds us of all the things that go on beneath the surface of a seemingly together family. Compelling and real I found it an apt portrayal of a family in quiet crisis.

The writing was lyrical and while this book is character driven there is a definitive sense of place that allows this story to unfold with ease in the mind. The Cape and all it’s intricacies connected this family in different ways, creating a more layered story.

The steady build to a very soapy and dynamic breakdown, left me sated and excited for anything else Brodeur writes.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster and Avid Reader Press for this ARC all opinions are my own.