Little Monsters is a character driven beach read. A family saga for the summer. A slow burn with dislikable characters taking us back to summer of 2016 and how naive some of us were. And I definitely recommend it!

This novel opens when it is almost time for the patriach of the family, Adam, to turn 70 with a big party approaching. Adam is a brilliant oceanographer who has stopped taking his medication for his bipolar disorder to achieve one last big scientific breakthrough. His two children, each deciding what grand gift they can give him to achieve best child status, both have their own issues to work out, AND now there's a third adult child with a connection to the family. A Cain and Abel story with some twists. All of this set on one of my favorite places, Cape Cod.

This book is perfect for anyone that loves a good messy family story. This one about very privileged people that wlil make you both want to never hear from or about them again and also absolutely need to know what's up. It can be hard to be in the heads of such dislikable people, but Brodeur knows what she's doing and crafts characters that feel very much real and multi faceted that you can't look away. The slow build of tension throughout has a definite pay off at the party. This family will definitely be stuck in my head for awhile. Little Monsters publishes on Tuesday!

Well well, I have to say that overall the plot was decent. The mental health aspect was great! It depicts a father who has struggled being bipolar for years going through the cycles. The effects it has on the kids is not too clear but, as adults, they try to monitor his meds while he does the same and chooses to go off them frequently.

The part of the plot that I liked was the history of this family. I will also say the Ken and Abby sibling story was SO drawn out making it more tedious than enjoyable. The rest I could do without. It was very wordy and too descriptive at times.

I found the Steph story to be decent, but.....it was so weird how she infiltrated the family. I would have thought someone with political aspirations would be more careful who is injecting themselves into his family and home. Some parts of the political portion are far too typical.

I would read more from the author.

I read this author’s memoir Wild Game and liked it so I decided to request her new novel. It is the story of a father and his two adult children living on Cape Cod in various forms of dysfunction. The father, Adam, is bipolar marine biologist who upon reaching his seventieth birthday has decided to forgo his medication in because he believes it will lead scientific breakthroughs. His son, Ken, is wealthy and narcissistic and his fraught relationship with his sister is based in secrets and trauma. Abby is a quiet artist who is trying to come into herself among the hyper masculine men that make up her family. This novel take place in 2016 leading up to Donald Trump’s election while there was still an excited certainty that a woman would assume the presidency. This is really well written and a propulsive storyline as different factors come to light and implode the characters lives. I will say that there are some disturbing plot points and some of the characters are insufferable and hard to read about. Adrienne Brodeur is an author I will continue to read because I really like her writing style.

I received a digital advance review copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book was set over a long summer in 2016. Unfortunately for me, it was a very long summer as I was unable to relate to the characters. I did not enjoy my time spent with them. I think I am in the minority but to me the book just plodded along. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC. This opinion is my own.

This book was amazing! The ups and downs of this book made me gasp, smile and even had my heart racing. This will definitely be a book I recommend to my friends and family!

Thank you netgalley and publisher for the e copy of this book!

Family, secrets, drama! Everything I love in a book.

The kind of book you can really lose yourself in. A terrific read for summer--or any time.

This book did not live up to all the hype! I found it to be poorly written with completely unrepeatable characters.

Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur

Adam is a retired scientist in the midst of a manic episode. His children are two opposites of one coin: an aspiring politician and a working artist. Together they are heading towards a reckoning that no one can believe but yet always knew was coming...

This was really excellent. It is a slower read but the build-up was really propulsive. I absolutely loved how she developed the characters. This is her first work of fiction, but her memoir Wild Game was also excellent and centers in the Cape as well (one of my favorite settings for books!).

Many thanks to the publisher @avidreaderpress and @netgalley for this ARC. Little Monsters will come out June 27, 2023!

An interesting novel exploring a dysfunctional family and the different members lives. This was good but not as good as I had been hoping. I did start to lose interest about half way through.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Little Monsters is a well written book that follows a dysfunctional family. The character development was consistent and solid. The author is very familiar with Cape Cod, sharing the area with the readers. This was written in alternating narratives making it enjoyable to see each character's take on things. The bipolar father was a story in itself.

The story hums along comfortably, that being said when it was over it ended with a whimper and not a bang. I wish there had been more to the ending.

A perfect beach read. The story takes place on the east coast, with lots of drama within the family. I couldn't put it down and will be recommending it to others.

"Little Monsters" by Adrienne Brodeur takes readers on a tumultuous journey through a dysfunctional family set against the backdrop of Cape Cod in the summer of 2016. With an enticing cover and comparisons to "The Paper Palace," this novel promises an engaging exploration of family dynamics. However, while the alternating chapters from different family members' perspectives offer an intriguing narrative structure, the book falls short of its potential.

Initially captivated by the premise and fueled by my love for "The Paper Palace," I approached "Little Monsters" with high expectations, only to end up feeling disappointed. The story started strong, gripping me from the beginning and holding my attention for a while. However, as the plot progressed, I unexpectedly found myself becoming underwhelmed and losing interest. Although I managed to finish the book, I was left wanting more, particularly in terms of character development.

One notable exception to the lackluster character portrayals was Adam, the father, whose chapters stood out as truly captivating. Through his perspective, we delve into the fascinating world of marine biology while witnessing the complexities of his character. Despite his struggles with a mental disorder, Adam's chapters exuded a lightheartedness that brought a refreshing dimension to the story.

While the setting of Cape Cod was described with beauty and precision, evoking a strong sense of place in "The Paper Palace," "Little Monsters" fell short in this aspect. The immersive experience of breathing in the Cape Cod air and feeling the ambiance was absent, leaving the setting feeling somewhat lacking.

One aspect that detracted from the overall enjoyment of the book was the constant references to the 2016 election. These references felt unnecessary and failed to contribute depth or complexity to the story. They became distracting rather than enriching the narrative.

In conclusion, "Little Monsters" could be recommended to readers seeking a quick beach read.

Thank you to NetGalley & Avid Reader Press for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Little Monsters was the pet name for widower Adam Gardner’s two children in this novel set in Cape Cod in 2016 by Adrienne Brodeur due out June 27. Ken and Abby became motherless shortly after Abby’s birth when their mother suffered a pulmonary embolism.

Adam, a recognized oceanographer, raised his children mostly by himself having tried marriage twice more but unsuccessfully. Ken and Abby became deeply committed to one another as children but as adults, their relationship has withered, partly because Ken inherited his mother’s studio where Abby now lives and works.
Abby is an artist who started with sculpture using found items but grew into painting. Ken is a businessman who has visions of becoming a member of Congress…and then, who knows? Abby has remained single while Ken has a beautiful wife and two daughters.

Despite his ability to work and care for his children, Adam has long suffered a bipolar disorder, controlled by medicine. On the cusp of his 70th birthday, he has decided he needs to make one more scientific discovery. To think clearly, he stops taking his meds correctly, knowing his adult children will be upset as he spirals.
The Gardners are all carefully hiding a number of secrets, when one they do not know about shows up: Stephanie Murphy, a Baltimore police officer, who has a deep interest in the family. She surreptitiously lays plans to meet Abby, Ken, and Adam before she reveals a nearly four-decade-old bombshell.

How will Steph’s secret upset the Gardners’ world? What will the result be for a father who abuses and misuses his medicines as he grasps for one more achievement in his field? Is there a way for Abby and Ken to come to a point of reconciliation with each other and their father?

Little Monsters is Adrienne Brodeur’s first work of fiction having produced the memoir Wild Game in 2019 that was one of the most talked about books that year. In addition, she founded the literary magazine Zoetrope: All-Story with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. She has contributed essays to Glamour, The National, The New York Times, Vogue, and other publications.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting June 16, 2023.

I would like to thank Avid Reader Press, a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Little Monsters
by Adrienne Brodeur
Pub Date: 27 Jun 2023

The story has multiple themes such as family, sibling rivalry and ambition and family dynamics and dysfunction.

Overall, this is a very good, enjoyable, entertaining summer read and one to become absorbed in as it’s a genuine page turner from the first page until the last!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #PenguinRandomHouse for the much appreciated arc of #LittleMonsters in return for an honest review.

This book was honestly a little bit of a letdown. It just didn’t wow me like I thought it would, but it was still good.

3.5* rounded up to 4

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

Little Monsters is a debut novel about a soon to be retired marine biologist named Adam and his two adult grown children, Ken and Abby. Adam's wife died during childbirth with Abby when Ken was a few years old.

The setting of Cape Cod is almost a character in itself- Adam lives in a home he built in the woods, Abby lives in a studio built by the mother, and Ken in a large home on the water in Chatham. There are a lot of descriptions of animals and plants that paint a beautiful picture.

I love a good family drama and I liked the alternating perspectives but felt the ending was a little abrupt and ambiguous, which is why I gave it 3.5 stars. Adam's curmudgeon personality was the highlight and I found Ken annoying and Abby endearing.

Loved this! Slow build but the character development was excellent and I did feel connected to the characters. Told through gorgeous prose---you will feel something for these flawed characters!

Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur was an interesting look into family dynamics when the family is led by a brilliant scientist who is bipolar. The mark he leaves on his children, who lost their mother at a young age, has led them to leave vastly different lives of which he doesn't really approve. This novel is a looking glass into a functioning dysfunctional family and is riveting as it portrays each member. Couldn't put it down! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars. This novel provides an absorbing look into members of a family, each of the their secrets, and their relationships with one another (and how those have changed over time.) Adam, the family patriarch, who is a renowned oceanographer that suffers from being bipolar, is approaching his 70th birthday, which the novel centers on while divulging the inner workings of his family members: his son, Ken, a wealthy businessman who wants to be in Congress; his daughter Abby, an artist and teacher; his daughter-in-law Jenny, Ken’s wife and Abby’s best friend; and Steph, who discovers that she is Adam’s daughter and thus Ken and Abby’s half-sister. Definitely a character-driven story, Little Monsters is told through alternating POVs through which the reader is thrown into the world of family dysfunction and sibling love turned into rivalry. All in all, this was an interesting read.

Every family has issues... Some are obvious but some are long buried. The Gardner family of Cape Cod is no exception. As the patriarch Adam is turning seventy, their perfect lives are starting to unravel. Told in alternating voices, Brodeur has perfectly portrayed a family that is coming apart at the seams. The characters are deeply flawed and struggling to find the answers to the secrets of the past.
Set in an idyllic and affluent Cape Cod, surrounded by the vast water and marine life, this is a novel to cherish.
Thanks to Net Galley and Simon for an early read.