Yeahhh idk about this one... In Real Life and Other Fictions, Cassie Klein embarks on a surreal road trip to uncover the truth behind her parents’ mysterious deaths, all while grappling with her failed career and crumbling marriage. Along the way, she becomes entangled in the legend of the Mothman, blurring the lines between reality and myth. While the novel’s premise is intriguing, its execution felt scattered, with Cassie’s rambling thoughts making it hard to stay engaged. The mix of genres—part road trip, part mystery, part cryptid exploration—left me largely unsure of the story's direction. It was ok.

Really tried to start this book multiple times but could not get into it the storyline enough to enjoy it.

This book is a multi theme, multi feeling story, with very well written characters, and a quirky mystery/romance plot. Cassie, our protagonist, and her puppy Luna leave a bad place and bad husband and go on a roadtrip turn healing journey full of plot twists, family secrets, and moths. It's not a rom com although it has elements of both, it's a unique book, and I really enjoyed it. The audiobook narrator did a good job too! Thank you to netgalley, publisher, and author for the opportunity to review this.

This was an unexpected story about a woman’s lifelong desire to make sense of her past. At times, it was difficult to follow the protagonist's point of view as she rambled, making it a bit challenging to stay engaged. Additionally, the cover art didn’t quite match the tone or content of the book. However, the narration was well-executed, adding depth to the story and helping to convey the emotions of the protagonist effectively. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC and the opportunity to provide my opinion.

Real Life and Other Fictions by Susan Coll - the audiobook was a fun listen! This is my second audiobook and this experience has made me want to try more audiobooks! Kudos to the narrator Jane Oppenheimer for that!

At the beginning of the novel, it was difficult to follow the plotline as there were a lot of trivial information mentioned. But i got used to the writing style of the author soon and it didn't bother me later on as the story progressed, Only halfway through the book did i realise that the book was inspired by a real life event. The main characters are mature had lively conversations and their banters, situations were fun to follow. I personally loved the theme of age and fun were potrayed in the novel. It is a novel of self discovery, adventure and introspection while peppered with trivia to keep you on your toes.

I'm giving this book 2 stars and I feel like I'm being generous. Let me start by saying that even if the story was not at all what I expected when I requested this book, I did my best to adjust my expectations ... But I remain unconvinced. I just didn’t like it : The constant mental confusion of that unlikeable main character, the Stephen-King-if-he-was-boring vibe ... The whole atmosphere was bizarre and heavy, and not in a good way.

We all know better than to "judge a book by its cover", but come on ... When you ignore the basic rule of choosing an artwork that matches the mood / genre of the book, you end up attracting readers that are not looking for ... Whatever said book has to offer. And everyone loses in the end.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for providing this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I really tried to listen to Real Life and Other Fictions by Susan Coll and narrated by Jane Oppenheimer, even restarting it several times (I heard the moth story multiple times) but I could not finish this one. It just did not engage my attention.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus for this advanced listen in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Harper Muse, net galley, and author for my ARC of this book. Cassie is at a turning point in her life. Her marriage is over, she is preparing to be an empty nester, and now more than ever questions from her past keep plaguing her. Adopted by her aunt and uncle at a young age, no one would talk about her parents deaths. All she knows for sure is that her parents were killed in a bridge collapse. Cassie grabs her puppy, Luna, and jumps in the car. Finally ready to have her questions answered.
Likes: Luna is perfect! Love the antics and puppy behaviors. I enjoyed her journey & the oddities of the book. What seems like myth & reality converging. Only to learn this is fact based (Google it!) The cover! Isn't it wonderful?
Not for me: cover did not match the tone or feel of the book. Cassie makes super emotional decisions all the time. There seems to be no logic in her actions. Though Cassie wants to know about her past, she never actually leans in to the investigation. She let's the answers come to her without ever really taking charge of the hunt.
I enjoyed some parts of the read & others left me frustrated & in need of a bit more character growth. Overall a decent way to pass the time.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Kinda felt like a fever dream at a few points, but overall interesting read! Not really what I expected from the cover and the blurb, but I did enjoy it. The narrator did a good job.

"Real Life and Other Fictions" is a story about a middle-aged woman who is wrestling with the effects of a buried childhood trauma that resulted in the deaths of her parents. When we first meet Cassie, she is running away from a loveless, adulterous marriage, but she doesn't know what she is running to. She just hopes that in the process, she will find the answers she needs to get her life back on track.

Along the way, she gets stranded in a run-down small town, whose existence is maintained only because of the interest people still have in the cryptid Mothman; a figure that Cassie herself has been obsessed with for years. She meets a fellow Mothman enthusiast and they set out together to figure out the truth of the matter.

I'm not certain why it's been categorized as "multicultural interest" instead of anything paranormal or scifi, which would seem much more fitting. And I will say, I have never read another book like this. Cassie's obsession with the parallels she sees between her life and a movie based on the Mothman is extremely odd, and I can't tell you how many times I considering not finishing the book. Ultimately, I did, hoping that it would be worthwhile. But honestly, I don't know that it was...

Thank you to Susan Coll, HarperCollins Focus, and NetGalley for the advance review copy.

The book Real Life and Other Fictions by Susan Coll was interesting. It was different than my typical book choice, but it was entertaining.

The narration of the audio was very difficult for me. I couldn’t jive with the narrator at all. i continued on and hoped to get so wrapped up in the book that it didn’t matter. However, this plot was all over the place and I found the writing so tedious. I could never really get into it, unfortunately. My thanks to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️ REVIEW ⭐️

Thank you #NetGalley and @harpercollins @harpermusebooks for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook #RealLifeandOtherFictions by Susan Coll, narrated by Jane Oppenheimer.

Emojis: 🦋🧟‍♂️🌁🌉⛈️🐕🚗

🌟 Rating: 3/5 stars 🌟

Synopsis: “If you’re fascinated by unexplained phenomena, hop in a beat-up Audi with the kooky and supersmart Cassie Klein and her dog Luna for a voyage of discovery involving a giant moth, a West Virginia bridge collapse and a cryptozoologist.”

My thoughts: The full description and cover of this book had me wanting to love it, but in reality, the story drug out and was a little too unbelievable for my liking. The narration was rather monotone, and I did find myself having to rewind and re-listen to parts because my mind would wander. Unfortunately, I think this book was a little too “other fictions” than “real life” for my liking. 🤷🏻‍♀️ the cute dog scenes were a bright spot though 😊

I picked up this book based on the colorful cover and synopsis. In my opinion, the happy cover and smiling dog do not match the tone of this book at all.
There is a lot of unnecessary information dumping and multiple storylines that it made it hard to not only stay focused but also keep it interesting. There were aspects of the story that had so much potential but were not developed or wrapped up.
The plot was all over the place.
This is mainly a women's family drama where one woman embarks on a road trip with her dog to dig into what really happened to her dead parents and the bridge collapse that killed them. There was also a weird thing with moths and the Mothman myth surrounding all this.

This was an unexpected story about a woman's life long desire to make sense of her history. Might not be best suited for Audiobook for since 90% of the text is the main character stream of consciousness thinking. Otherwise, it was charming over all, and enjoyed the WV references that didn't portray them as bumpkins.

Audiobook ARC from publisher via NetGalley, but the opinions are my own.

All of the pieces that fall together in this one were interesting. There were so many building blocks that came together and the author did a fantastic job of bringing it all together. Ultimately, this one was just okay though. It was just a nice read, nothing too exciting but nothing that I didn’t really like either.

This is a story about midlife and trying to figure out who you are and how you fit. A lot is happening in this story: navigating family relationships, learning to trust your instincts, dealing with an empty nest, and a husband with acute anxiety who is having an affair. The story is fast-paced and well narrated.

The story wasn’t enjoyable to me. It was weird. Cassie’s infidelity was not something I love and surprisingly she was naive and unbelievably awkward. The narrator was monotone and from all the energy I have I decided not to finish this one. I just cannot enjoy something that was so bland.

I went to mark this in Goodreads & saw some reviews & frankly? I’m mad. I think the folks who DNF actually just did not get it… & that’s on them. This was a surprising gem of a book. It took me a few false starts to get into it, but I am so grateful that I gave it a listen at a time when I wasn’t about to fall asleep & could give it a few extra minutes to let the tale unfold. The moth motif worked for me. I feel like we all have these things that we really can’t explain to anyone else… whether it’s something we never fail to notice or an unshared quirk or a secret obsession. I felt like this normalized those things in our lives. As someone who is much closer to Cassie’s age than I would care to admit, I felt seen in a really unique and meaningful way. At the same time, I loved the glimpses into someone else’s life—especially one with so many detours. I am a fan.

Talk about a struggle. Unfortunately this audio wasn't for me and after a third of the way in, I've called it quits. I have no idea what's going on in this book and couldn't even give you an idea of where this is going because all we've done is heard the same few tidbits recycled ad nauseum and I don't even care. There was no hook and no impetus to hang in there - if felt purposless or directionless. I don't like giving low star reviews but this was not a good fit.