Remarkably Bright Creatures: 'That Octopus Book', the major bestseller coming to Netflix soon - Cover May Vary Paperback – 20 July 2023

A witty and light-hearted read that I couldn’t put down. The writing is easy to follow, yet full of warmth and charm. At its heart, it’s a story of fate—of paths crossing in unexpected ways—that keeps you guessing while reminding you just how small the universe can feel. An uplifting, joyful book that leaves you smiling long after the last page.

So first things first, the blurb is misleading. After reading it I thought that it would be a book about an octopus detective, finding out how the son was murdered and then working out how to communicate that to Tova. It is not.What this is is a book about family and what not having one is like. It's also about growing older. Tova is, in her eyes, approaching the end, in a house that's emptier and colder every day, with no one to look after her. Meanwhile Marcellus is reaching the end of his life, Giant Pacific Octopi only living for four years and the book treats that like a countdown.The two bond and that bond is one of the best things about this book. Watching Marcellus trying to work out how to communicate with Tova is great. Unfortunately what he couldn't have accounted for is humanity's stubborn disregard for what's in front of them. So what mystery there was was solved about halfway through the book and then everyone just continued on as if it hadn't been.So if you're looking for a mystery book this isn't it.It also doesn't have as much octopus as you might expect. The bits from Marcellus' perspective were fun but also a little few and far between. It's mostly focused on Tova, her circle of acquaintances and Cameron, who's life got to a point that going to a random Washington town on a whim was a good idea.It's all very sweet and a lovely look at a community. It was an engaging read and I loved how everything evolved. It was definitely worth the read. It just wasn't a mystery story like I thought it was.

I wish I could refind and reread as a new reader. I loved this book so much, I got fully evolved with each character and had such great pictures in my mind of sowel Bay and the aquarium. Loved every minute and will be watching for the next book by you Shelby!A great story with 3 amazing main characters along with a handful of other great characters. A little bit of real life and a little bit of love, just enthralling!! Loved it and getting a copy for friends and family because no one is borrowing mine!!!

Such an unusual plot that gently introduces you the characters, including an octopus in the neighbourhood aquarium. Just a nice read, which gives me hope for anyone in similar situations.

I genuinely liked it all. Marcellus .. What a great hero. A very easy read, a good heartfelt story, no nastiness, a bit of sadness but plenty of joy.

I couldn’t get into this book in the beginning, it was a really slow start, but eventually picked up in the second half and turned out to be a really sweet story

Thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. Very well written . The character were great and you could really imagine the whole scenario

I loved reading this. In fact, I didn't want it to end. It's a quirky, funny and very moving story. Definitely a 5 star book.