This book is a treasure. The gorgeous photography along with Sy Montgomery’s expressive writing and enthusiasm for octopuses made it a delight to read. ( )

Filled with beautiful National Geographic photography, Secrets of the Octopus explores the underwater world of the octopus and brings to light new information that affirms the underwater, alien-like creatures are one of the world’s most intelligent and complex creatures.

Y’all - this is my first nonfiction book that's not a memoir and/or wasn’t assigned to me in school (which, I’ve been out of school for 9 years, if that tells you anything…). I asked for an advance copy of this off NetGalley because that always gives me a little more pressure on myself to actually read the book and not just say I will. Plus, once I found out this was a companion novel for the newest special coming out, I wanted it even more. Oh man, am I glad I did.

Obviously being my first nonfiction novel, I haven’t read anything by Sy Montgomery before, but I really like her writing. It was informative but I never felt like I was just being thrown the science. It was written in a way that was easy to follow and understand. I was constantly screenshotting and highlighting things all the time. I read this in two days and then proceeded to chat my partner’s ear off about it over lunch the following day.

I learned so many things and am proud to say octopuses are my new favorite marine animal.

Overall, I believe anyone who picks up this book will be walking away a little bit more of a lover of these eight-legged saltwater creatures with this easy to digest novel. This will also get one excited for the miniseries coming out here soon.

*Thank you National Geographic and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ( )

Sy Montgomery is an absolute gift to curious readers wanting to know more about their world. She has a long history of writing readable science for both adults and kids, and I've never read anything by her that has struck me as dull. Like the readers who enjoy her work, Montgomery is curious, and that enthusiastic desire to know comes through in her books.

Secrets of the Octopus looks at the same subject as her best known book, The Soul of the Octopus—octopuses, of course. These are tantalizing creatures to read about. Their intelligence and personalities are striking; yet, they're so different from us that knowing what that intelligence and those personalities mean is, at the moment, mostly impossible.

Secrets of the Octopus is written for adults, but it would also work well for children with the patience to read nonfiction. It's also full of striking photos of octopuses engaged in many of their behaviors, so one doesn't just have to imagine what's described in the text. One gets to see! If you spot the title in you local independent bookstore, pick it up and give yourself a taste of what Montgomery has on offer. Odds are good you'll find it very difficult to leave the shop without buying a copy to allow for more thorough perusal

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own. ( )