Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur is about dysfunctional and complex family relationships with secrets and revelations being revealed.

I normally very much enjoy reading family stories and this was no exception. The author did a great job weaving together the life stories of the Gardner family members. In particular I was impressed with how skillfully she created and developed the characters with very distinctive voices one from the other. They are all different people, with different experiences, strengths and flaws and this comes across very well throughout the book. In addition, she depicted the setting of the story so masterfully that I feel like I have set foot in Cape Cod myself. I can't wait to read other books written by Adrienne Brodeur!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange of an honest and impartial review.

I received an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, Cornerstone, and the author Adrienne Brodeur.
I enjoyed this story up until a slightly disappointing ending. The pace was brisk and the characters vivid, but the abrupt ending left me with a slightly unfinished and underwhelming feeling. Would still recommend as an interesting read, but unfortunately can't score it more than 3 stars.

This was a bit slow to get into at first due to each character being introduced but once I got into it I struggled to put it down. Part of of me was expecting a thriller of sorts going into this read but instead it was a beautifully written moving story about family, family drama, secrets, betrayal and untimely love. A very pleasant surprise.

The setting in the book of Cape Cod was absolutely beautifully constructed and I wanted to visit from the very first line. However, the main characters were hard to like - particularly the men: Adam and Ken.

This book weaves an intriguing story showing just how dysfunctional families can be and the destructive nature of secret that are not uncovered and addressed fully. Into the mix of this family who each harbour simmering resentments for past slights, you meet Steph, the illegitimate daughter from a one-night stand. If I had been Steph, I would have run for the hills at my first meeting with most of this family!

The secrets are slowly revealed at a pace which kept me interested and reading on, but I never did get to like the men in the book. Abby's relationship with David did not give me any sense of hope that a new generation would not repeat the mistakes of the last!

Family secrets, relationships, twists and turns this book has it all, a good thriller for anyone who likes this type of book

This is the first novel that I have read by this author and I throughly enjoyed it. This is a family saga set in Cape Cod. As with most sagas it is full of secrets and intrigue. Each chapter is told from different points of view and therefore you get a good insight to each character. First there is the father Adam who suffers from mental health issues. His two children Abby and Ken and their relationships. There is the outsider Steph and her partner who is looking in from the outside. The family have wealth and influence; there is Ken who is involved in the next election between Clinton and Trump and is an obvious Republican. The rest of the family seem to be in favour of Hilary Clinton. For me Ken is an unlikeable character who is misogynistic and consumed with jealousy. Abby who is a budding artist is very likeable and has troubles of her own. As the novel progresses there is a tension that has you turning the pages , you really feel something bad is going to happen. I felt that the characters were true to life and found myself thinking about them after the novel had finished.

The premise of this book was interesting however I have found it hard to continue with. The characters weren't immediately likeable or interesting enough to grip me into the story - I do keep dipping in and out but it'd one I'm struggling to finish;

Set in the summer of 2016, we follow the Gardner family as they organise a 70th birthday for their patriarch, Adam. We follow Ken with his picture-perfect family and political aspirations and Abby, a quiet reserved artist who is on the brink of fame.
Adam is bipolar and has always managed his condition with medication, but he wants one final hurrah with a discovery that will change oceanography.

This is a novel full of family secrets and fraught relationships. Ken and Abby were extremely close as siblings but have drifted apart as they have grown older and have a very fraught relationship. Abby relies on Ken to ensure she always has the Arcadia, the place where she lives and works, as he inherited it all following the death of their mother in her early 30s.

Throughout the novel we look at the lives of each person and how they intertwine and although they're family, they're mostly only on everyone's periphery. No one wants to discuss what's happened in the past or why they are how they are.

Brodeur leaves a lot of things unsaid, having the reader interpret them rather than spelling them out. I didn't like Ken, he was a detestable character who, I found, chauvinistic, especially towards his own sister and daughters.
We also follow Steph, who has recently found out her family has secrets and tries to interweave herself into the Gardner's lives. I liked this perspective as she was an outsider looking in - she didn't know any of the trauma or history yet she could see it clearer than any of them.

I enjoyed reading this, although I found the beginning slow at first it picked up pace after the first quarter and I needed to find out what it was.

If you love a family saga with buried secrets and scars then definitely check this out.

Little Monsters is an intimate betrayal of one family, each member hiding from the past whilst trying to navigate the present. A family with secrets and betrayals never acknowledged - a conspiracy of silence.

As father Adam's seventieth birthday approaches, plans are in place for a party, a celebration.

But as secrets are exposed and long held resentments admitted, the party is less a celebration, more a collapse of the facade.

Beautifully written, elegiac and utterly captivating.

Family dramas written as if we are part of the family when done well as some of my favorite things to read. This was done really rather well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I picked up #LittleMonsters by Adrienne Brodeur last week as I fancied a family saga and this definitely delivered!

I was swept up in the stunning Cape Cod setting and the lives of the Gardner family. Siblings Ken and Abby, and Ken’s wife Jenny are making preparations for their father, Adams 70th birthday party. The trio have a complicated relationship with lots of hidden buried secrets, and the story is told from their perspectives. The writing was captivating and emotive as I really felt I got to know the characters. It was a slow burner and then as the party approached, I couldn’t put it down! The tension and drama mounted and the cracks in the family started to show. The plot covers childhood trauma, mental health, ambition and friendship. If you are looking for a family/sibling drama, then check out Little Monsters.

I love a family drama novel and this is one of the best I have read. Set in the stunning scenery of Cape Cod with the most delicious scene setting, this is the tale of brother and sister Abby and Ken, back together to celebrate their fathers 70th birthday but with tensions simmering underneath. A great read.

Dysfunctional Cape Cod family has a crisis one summer.
Not usually something I’d bother with, but I ultimately judge books as to how much I look forward to getting back to reading them, and this pulled me in time & time again.

Abby exudes the warmth and humanity of an emerging artist who wants to be heard in her own unique way, even if that means causing a rift with her brother, Ken.
Ken meanwhile is having his own existential crisis. Ambition is ruining his relationships with his family and he can no longer judge what is meaningful and what is just for show.
Their father Adam is coming to terms with losing his intellectual sharpness as he celebrates his 70th birthday.

The other players are just relatable as the main protagonists. The daughter Adam did not know he had comes looking for her real father, and is surprised by what she finds.
Adam’s teenage daughters have got the measure of him and are reappraising their relationship.
A shame the author doesn’t spend more time on David, family friend and Abby’s long term lover. He is written in a dismissive way and the author suggests he is just another domineering ‘mansplainer’.

Overall I really enjoyed the book. An absorbing page-turner with enough twists & turns to keep you wondering. Smart, witty and well-written.

Thank you to Netgallery and Random House for my ARC.

This book took a while to get into as the characters were all being introduced, however when they were all introduced the book flowed nicely and it was a great read.

Little Monsters, by Adrienne Brodeur

What a family! What a mess!

Bipolar Adam’s complex family is full of lies, secrets and personal agendas.

Siblings Ken and Abby remember their childhood very differently and it is still haunting them both in vastly different ways, impacting on their relationships with their own partners as well as Adam and each other.

The arrival of Steph throws an even bigger spanner into the emotional works, bringing more secrets and highlighting Adam’s betrayal.

In the build up to Adam’s 70th birthday party, the family dynamic implodes.

Brilliant writing, raw and flawed characters, I enjoyed seeing this all come together to its gripping conclusion.

The only thing I didn’t love was the politics. As the book was set in 2016, there was much made of the US election of that year, which just didn’t interest me and o skipped those parts of the book.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Adrienne Brodeur and Random House Cornerstone for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Ok this book had all the ingredients I look for in a book. First it stated on the blurb for fans of Fleishman is in Trouble and The Paper Palace, two books I loved. A Cape Cod setting. A dysfunctional family . Family Secrets. Ticked all the boxes with a gorgeous cover before I even began reading and it mostly delivered on its promises.

I enjoyed this. Its a quintessential summer read. The Garner family have always lived on Cape Cod. Adam the father is turning 70 , a renowned oceanographer who mostly raised his two children alone when his wife died when, Ken and Abby were very young. Ken and Abby as adults have a complicated relationship and very different people. Ken is successful, nice house, wife, children with plans to run for office. Abby is a visual artist, free spirited but determined and their relationship has an uneven power dynamic. Set over the summer of 2016 both Abby and Ken struggle with aspects of their lives as they plan to celebrate their father on his 70th birthday. Family secrets are unearthed, darker elements of their past are unveiled and the story is unveiled at a decent pace that held my interest.

I really liked the female characters in this novel and had little time for the male ones. The star of this book for me was the setting. Really loved the vivid and lush descriptions of Cape Cod, I spent the summer there years and years ago and it was a joy to read this setting. Overall this was a decent read, it lacked some spark or that something that elevates a good book to a great book but I enjoyed it overall.
3.5 star

Little Monsters follows the story of siblings Ken and Abby who have grown apart as adults, both keeping secrets from each other and family members. Their father Adam is struggling to achieve his career ambitions as he approaches his seventieth birthday and stops taking his bipolar medication, much to the dismay of his children.

A brilliant character-driven story.

I really enjoyed that the focus of the book was the family relationships. The characters were extremely well-written and they came to life on the page. I particularly liked that you saw different perspectives in each chapter as the narrator varied.

The writing is beautiful and really pulls you into the lives of the characters. Despite having never been to Cape Cod I could imagine every single scene as if I was there myself.

If you enjoyed The Dutch House by Ann Patchett you will love this too.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Adam Gardner is approaching Seventy, he has brought up his children Ken & Abby mainly single handed. He has had a successful long career as a Marine Biologist, studying the Ocean, obsessed with Whales, he is still working for now.
His life has always been complicated, taking constant medication for his medical conditions, or he should be taking it, but Adam is Adam.
Ken, the eldest child who is married with his own family is ambitious, he intends going places in life.
Abby, an Artist, has had to take a back seat in her life, dealing with her father and brother who have always put themselves first. She doesn’t want to have to handle their self importance, vanity and ego’s anymore.
Then enters Steph, how is she linked to their story?

This book follows the lives of a dysfunctional family, how they lived, adapted and survived.
Moving forward to 2016 the story is told in different chapters by Adam, Ken and Abby who are now adults, and Jenny and Steph with their connections to the family.
The story is complex, it’s packed full of descriptive writing that transports you to the Ocean, to the Gardens and Ponds. I could feel the nature and wildlife through the words, richly described, I felt as if I were there looking at it, hearing the buzz, calls of nature and insects, and croaking of the frogs.
It’s an exciting and unpredictable book, which totally drew me in, so difficult to put down.
A lot of feelings, open and hidden. Secrets pushed down and buried away, resurfacing, to be dealt with.
Some likeable characters and some very much not.
It is a book that touches on sensitive issues.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

Little Monsters is a wonderful family tale of love, betrayal, and female friendships. It’s was a welcome break from my usual genre of books and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well written and knowledgeable, it’s an evocative read. I was right back at Cape Cod, having visited both Chatham and Provincetown many years ago. Highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.