Member Reviews

If you’ve wondered what your life could be had you chosen a different path, love choose-you-own-adventure stories, or enjoy trying every possible path in video games, ALL will be a fantastic experience! I’m blown away by how intricate various choices lead to—sometimes the same ending and other times vastly different. Since ALL is more about the experience of choices, each character’s backstory isn’t the main focus. As readers jump from one parallel universe to another, world-building or character development isn’t always straightforward. I recommend ALL to readers who enjoy THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY (Matt Haig).

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Peng Shepherd is one of the best writers in the realm of Science Fiction. I have devoured all of her previous works. Once again she has written a truly innovative book. In someone else’s hands this choose your way process could have felt gimmicky but it works perfectly for this story.

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Peng Shepherd has created a nuanced speculative novel where a divorced single mom gets a chance for a do-over on a this could br your life reality TV show. Unlike most books, you, the reader, have a say in what happens, by a unique mechanism reminiscent of the CYOA books of your childhood. Unlike reality TV, the choices March makes will stick after the show ends.

It's part mystery, part SciFi, part love story. Marsh makes mistakes. You can choose pathways that aren't fulfilling. And both you and Marsh can go back and try again.

I loved it. I, of course, read through every pathway!

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Thank you to the publisher for a copy.

I really enjoyed this one! I thought reading it in the kindle was super easy bc when you made a choice you could easily flip back to change it.

The premise of the dif storylines was fun and when it all came together, I really was happy with it.

Very creative and really fun!

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Imagine an adult choose your own adventure book set inside a reality bending reality show… this is that story! I read it straight through without making choices that would destroy the linear path, but I hope to make time to read it with different choices because I really enjoyed the funky setting and hilarious characters!

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I have loved everything that I have read by Peng Shepherd. This is another hit for me. The style reminds me of Choose Your Own Adventure books. The reader can read to a certain point and then select which direction to take the story. This style of writing is fun as a reader because you can follow the story in one way and then reread (or now read) the other choices to see a different version of the story. Highly engaging and would strongly recommend, I would say that I have gotten the physical book for this as well and feel like it is an easier way to follow the story (or go to alternate plot lines) than with an ebook. Either way....go for it!
#AllThisandMore #NetGalley #WilliamMorrow

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Once I read the synopsis for this book, I was very intrigued! I did feel very engaged from the start and found the premise very interesting.

This book is set up like a choose your own adventure but somehow I missed that I was actually supposed to be picking throughout so I just kept reading it like any normal book. I did finally figure this out about 75% in and think it probably would have been more interesting if I had actually made choices along the way. It did seem to drag about halfway but that was probably because I was reading everything.

Overall, I thought this was a fun book and it definitely kept me guessing as to what was going to happen. It was fun to read the different endings but I didn’t feel like it had as much resolution as a typical book did. I would recommend it but don’t know that this would work in audio.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

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okayyyyyyy. not truly a choose your own adventure book in the traditional early reader chapter book sense, more an exploration of self and existential place. but i liked this. it's peng shepherd's bread and butter, especially coming from someone who liked the cartographers more than most

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DNF at 20%

I'm unfortunately very bored by this. It's very repetitive and I do not care about Marsh's life. It's too long to be a fun choose-your-own-adventure type of book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

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All This & More by Peng Shepherd is one of the most unique books I have ever read, and while I KNOW it won't be for everyone, it blew me away! I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure books when I was younger, and this was a more adult and complex take on that. I did not love Marsh all the time, but I could certainly understand the draw to make your life absolutely perfect. Instead of jumping around the way I would have in a CYOA book, I decided to read straight through since I was listening to the audiobook. This did get repetitive at the end and a little weird, but I still loved it.

The audio is narrated by Helen Laser, and I thought she did an excellent job! She certainly made me connect to Marsh more as a character, and she was also just really easy and fun to listen to. Due to the format, I would definitely have a copy of the physical book as well, and during the card portion, there were actually pictures of the cards in the book which I thought was really cool. I don't know how it would work, but I think All This & More would be awesome to see on TV too, especially as something like a series. This would make an excellent book club choice and I think it would garner lots of discussion. Shepherd made an instant fan in me with such a clever and unique novel!

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Peng Shepherd’s ALL THIS & MORE (thanks for the gifted book!) took me back to my childhood when I voraciously read through all of R.L. Stine’s choose-your-own-adventure Goosebumps books. There was something thrilling about directing the course of a book as a reader. About taking the lives of fictional others into your own hands. But what if those people were real? What if the decisions you made impacted the actual fate of everyone around you?

ALL THIS & MORE takes an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure structure for the reader—but also for its main character, middle-aged Marsh, who is lucky enough to be chosen as the season 3 star for the hit reality TV show, All This & More. On the show, contestants are literally given the chance to explore all the what-if’s, all the different paths they didn’t take, and live them out…until that find that perfect, happy ending. Marsh has regrets, and she’s determined to use this chance to make it all right. But when the technology powering the show begins to glitch, and strange coincidences begin to follow her through her alternate paths, she begins to realize that there are secrets to the show that might keep her from her perfect ending—and that the choices she’s making might not even be her own choices at all.

I absolutely devoured this book. There’s many ways to read it, but I ended up plowing straight through until I was forced to skip pages and choose…and then I went and read all of the alternate paths 😂 While ALL THIS & MORE does carry a big message at its end (after all, what is a “perfect” life with no regrets, anyways?), this read for me more as a fast-paced and light-hearted book than a drop-everything-existentialist sci-fi. Carrying Shepherd’s signature plot twists and addictive pacing, I would recommend this for anyone looking for a fun summer read 🔅

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All This & More has an amazing premise and I was immediately drawn in by the opening pages. What if you could go back and make different choices and see how your life would play out - over and over again? I also loved the idea of an adult Choose Your Own Adventure book.

Unfortunately, the execution fell a little flat for me. There were so many places the story could have gone and maybe I preferred my own imagined options than the ones offered by the author. I read all the possible endings and found myself equally unsatisfied by all - and while maybe that’s the point, it definitely isn’t what I had hoped for. Thank you to the publisher for the free book to review.

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Short synopsis: Marsh is chosen as season three contestant on a reality TV show dedicated to creating the perfect life based on her choices.

My thoughts: This book is equal parts genius, and stressful. It’s an adult “choose your own adventure” book where you make choices for the main character in propelling her story forward. I haven’t read a book like this since i was kid, and man was it a wild ride! I have the hardest time making difficult decisions for myself, so making choices for Marsh had me feeling so anxious!

Marsh was such a great main character. She starts out as very timid and nervous to be in the spotlight, but throughout the book she really grows to find her true (or what i chose for her) happiness. This is one that I will be thinking about for a long time to come, highly recommend!

Read if you love:
- Making decisions
- Being stressed out
- Reality TV
- Living your best life
- Character growth

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Thank you William Morrow, #partner, for the finished copy of All This & More in exchange for my honest review.

No one is more shocked than me that I loved this book! It’s so different than what I tend to gravitate towards…but the author’s last book, The Cartographers, was one of my favorite books from last year, so I had to read this one. And let me just say, this new one will be a favorite this year! ⁣

This is such a smart, thought-provoking book & I loved the interactive part! Yes, this is an adult “Choose Your Own Adventure” type read as I read & made choices for our main character, it definitely had me reflecting on what I would have done had I been in her position. But not only that, it also begs the question…if you could go back & change decisions in your life for better, would you? ⁣

I tabbed quite a bit as I was reading because so much spoke to me in this book. And I have a feeling that with each new reread – of course I have to read it again to explore all the paths I didn’t make the first time around, I’ll be tabbing even more! ⁣

I had the opportunity to go to one of Peng Shepherd s book events & it was so fun! She did an interactive reading that I took part in! But more importantly, I just loved hearing about how & why she decided to write this book. ⁣

This book is one of the most unique, fun books I’ve read in a while & I highly recommend it!!!

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The choose your own adventure style of this book was really a unique way to present this sliding door story. I don’t usually like sliding door stories but liked this better because of the quantum physics aspect of the novel.

I loved how the story started and I really liked choosing the ending (although I did read through all 3 endings to see what I missed in my chosen ending). The middle got a little chaotic and that part was harder for me to read. However, overall, I had a hard time putting this book down because I really wanted to know where Marsh’s life was heading and what was really going on in the bubble.

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If you liked the Choose Your own Adventure books growing up (at least in my generation), you will enjoy this. I had fun choosing Marsh's next moves as she joins a reality TV show that can send her back in time to make different choices. As a middle aged woman, divorced, single mom of a teenager, not working her dream job, she relishes this chance to go back and change her trajectory. But is it all that it is cracked up to be? With the choose your own adventure style--actually choosing her life choices-this book can be read many times. So fun, and so touching as well. Maybe our lives are best the way they are, and going back to make new choices might change things in ways we didn't even expect (or want).

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Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

This book is like a choose your own adventure but for adults. The main character is on a reality show that allows people to go back and change their life decisions.

I do give this book points for originality and for something new! I think the concept was very unique and interesting.

However, I do feel like the story itself was just a bit confusing to me. Maybe a physical copy would be better than a kindle copy. I also felt like the writing was just a bit hard for me to understand.

While I think this was an interesting book, it was not necessarily for me. I hope others love it.

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All This & More presents an interesting premise that blends the concepts of quantum technology and reality television, reminiscent of Matt Haig's "The Midnight Library" and Black Crouch's "Recursion." The story follows Marsh, a forty-five-year-old woman whose life is falling apart. Her career is stagnant, her marriage has crumbled, and her relationship with her teenage daughter is deteriorating. Desperate for a fresh start, Marsh seizes the opportunity to be a contestant on "All This and More," a show that allows participants to revise their pasts using quantum technology.

Marsh sees this as her last chance to achieve her dreams, and she embarks on a journey to transform her life. She becomes a famous lawyer, reunites with her high school sweetheart, and travels the world. However, as she delves deeper into this new reality, she begins to suspect that the show's promises might be too good to be true. The technology is incredible, but something feels off, and Marsh is left questioning whether she can truly create the life she wants and if it is worth the cost.

Shepherd's novel has a fascinating premise that on paper would ensnare any fiction fan, but the execution leaves much to be desired. The concept of an adult choose-your-own-adventure story is compelling, yet the narrative seems to trip over its own lofty ambitions, especially in the final quarter of the book. Instead of building toward an exciting climax, the story stagnates with repetitive chapters, lackluster reveals, and a protagonist who remains frustratingly passive.

Marsh's character was the weakest link in the story for me. Despite the opportunity to revise her life, she lacks agency and backbone, making it difficult to immerse myself with her journey. Her passivity throughout most of the book is disappointing, and her moments of decisive action are fleeting and underwhelming. The portrayal of Marsh's various lives, particularly her stint as a Nobel prize-winning actress, feels implausible and disconnected from the core narrative.

Overall, All This & More has the potential to be a thought-provoking exploration of second chances and the impact of our choices. Fans of Shepherd's previous work and those interested in speculative fiction may still find elements to enjoy, but the novel ultimately misses the mark as a compelling and cohesive story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

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This wins the award for the most interesting and original approach to writing a story. There was a lot I felt vested in initially, but I felt my interest waning in the middle. I don’t think I ever connected to the main character and I have a hard time when I don’t feel anything for a main character. I’d rather have some measure of like or dislike, but with Marsh I just felt meh.

I read this as a e-version, and I definitely would have preferred to read this as a physical copy. I doubted getting to the right spot sometimes and felt like I re-read some information. I have seen several really good reviews for this one so chalk this up to me being the problem. The writing is good, the story is good and the presentation is original. There is a good chance you will have better luck with this one than I did.

This is a book that gives you choices in how the story progresses. You choose the path you want Marsh to take in order to find the future she hopes to find. In a futuristic and social media based live tv show, one chosen contestant is given the chance to return to a moment in his/her past and change their choice in order to achieve a different future. Sounds amazing. In reality though, that one choice begins a chain reaction that redefines many more aspects of the future. To get rich, you give up this. To be successful, you can’t also have that. And so on. Such an interested premise that got a little stuck in the weeds around the halfway mark.

I think this book is worth picking up. I’ve had a lot going on in my personal life and I think there is a very strong possibility that my attention drifted just enough to make this book more confusing for me that it should have been. I recommend reading a physical copy. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow. I still have this author’s previous book, The Cartographers, on my shelf and will definitely be picking it up in the future.

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Oooooh, I love, love, loved the premise of this one! Who hasn't wished they could go back in time and make a different decision? Correct a mistake? Choose a different path? Well, Marsh has the chance to do just that. Using quantum mechanics, she gets to rewrite her history. At first, she's thrilled with the results. But as her chosen life is falling into place perfectly, she starts to feel like something is...off. But things are okay...until they aren't. Wildly entertaining, with multiple timelines and phenomenal worldbuilding, albeit a bit too long.

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