I need to stop expecting every book featuring an octopus to wow me like Remarkably Great Creatures, and in no fault of the book at all, every book with any connection to an octopus will probably run into this comparison.

A solid story, but not a forever favourite.

Good, not great.

Parts of this book really engaged me, but I found it terribly uneven and overlong for what it is. I also thought the author explored too many side-plots too deeply. There was a very clear main character and main conflict, but at times the author gave us an omniscient deep-dive into the thoughts of secondary characters (sometimes quite tangential!), and that would always take me out of the story. The reason for the book's odd title isn't revealed until nearly the end and I found it pretty faux-deep and not really central to the main theme. It unfortunately comes across as a bit of a marketing gimmick to give the novel a quirky title rather than an apt one.

While I had some issues with this book, I still enjoyed a lot about it! I thought the characters were largely well-developed, realistic, and mostly likeable. I love a good story set during university or college as my own time at university is a part of my life that I cherish. Some of the more serious and honest conversations between characters I thought were very well done and added a lot of emotional depth and payoff.

Overall, I think if you enjoy more mature young adult coming-of-age stories and family dramas, this isn't a bad read. But be prepared for an uneven experience.

Title: The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus
Author: Emma Knight
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: January 7, 2025

I received a complimentary eARC from Penguin Random House Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Unique • Witty • Convoluted

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Arriving at the University of Edinburgh for her first term, Pen knows her divorced parents back in Canada are hiding something from her. She believes she’ll find the answer here in Scotland, where an old friend of her father’s—now a famous writer known as Lord Lennox—lives. When she is invited to spend the weekend at Lord Lennox’s centuries-old estate with his enveloping, intriguing family, Pen begins to unravel her parents’ secret and to fall in love for the first time.

Her best friend, Alice, an aspiring actor, is starring in a university production and making the most of the feminine power she wields—until a tryst with her tutor threatens to spin out of control.

As Pen experiences the sharp shock of adulthood, she uncovers the truth about her own family and comes to rely on herself for the first time in her life.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, from debut Canadian novelist, Emma Knight, shortly after adding it to my list of anticipated releases for 2025. But like many other readers, I struggle having too many books to read and not enough time, so it took me awhile to finally pick it up, even after seeing all of the hype (or maybe in spite of it?).

A coming-of-age story filled with themes of female friendship, motherhood, first love, and sexual awakening, it sure has a lot going on within its pages. While it does provide perspective from many different characters, the abrupt perspective switches made for a clunky and rather confusing reading experience. Because of this, I never found myself entirely immersed in the narrative.

My favourite part of the entire book were the parallels between the life cycle of an octopus and motherhood. And I wish there would have been more of an emphasis on this entire aspect throughout the narrative. There was certainly something beautiful within the metaphor and could have easily been explored to a greater degree.

The bones of The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus were solid, however, the execution and delivery could have used some polishing. I'll admit I had the highest of expectations going in, and while it didn't live up to everything I was hoping it would be, it's definitely possible this is another case of the hype negatively impacting my reading experience. Despite not adoring this one as much as I had hoped, I would definitely be willing to pick up something else written by Emma Knight in the future.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• campus life
• self-discovery
• a touch of mystery

⚠️ CW: bullying, sexual assault, rape, sexual violence, toxic relationship, emotional abuse, gaslighting, misogyny, sexual harassment, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, infidelity, infertility, pregnancy, miscarriage, abandonment, stalking, alcohol

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"The mother who insists on keeping that inner self of hers alive is monstrous. No one blinks when a father continues devoting himself to whatever it is he most wants to accomplish in this world. But a wife and mother who has priorities of her own and refuses to put them last? Hers becomes a life of conflict, between who she is and what is expected of her. Society deems her selfish and unnatural. If she lets herself believe it, she’s doomed, and so are her children."

"I was your home for awhile, I think, as I hold your head in the palm of my hand. And I will be your harbor for a long time yet. But not forever."

This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me. It's a solid debut with some genuinely thoughtful themes. The premise of a coming of age story wrapped in family secrets and set against the backdrop of Edinburgh was intriguing, I had a hard time connecting with the characters. Pen's journey had interesting moments, and the setting itself definitely made me want to visit Scotland, which is always a bonus! However, the pacing felt a little slow in parts, and I sometimes wished for a bit more pizazz to pull me in. Also, this has nothing to do with octopuses. 😂 3.5 stars and congrats to this Canadian author on her debut novel. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This reminded me of remarkably bright creatures simply because i never see an octopus as a character or pivotal part of a story.

I was a bit confused when I realized this has almost not anything to do with the octopus.
A coming of age story that may be unfairly compared to a similar presenting story.

a poignant and introspective debut novel that delves into the complexities of identity, family secrets, and the tumultuous journey of self-discovery. Set against the backdrop of Edinburgh in the mid-2000s, the story follows Penelope "Pen" Winters, a Canadian freshman at the University of Edinburgh, as she navigates the challenges of university life while unraveling the mysteries surrounding her parents' divorce.

This was unexpeditcly brilliant - a perfect hybrid of coming of age/family mystery. so atmospheric and eerie in places.

This one took a minute (a very long minute) to get into. I think I restarted twice, one time being around 50% but I couldn’t remember what I had read. But at the 60-70% mark is where it changed for me, something clicked and I was interested in where the story was going.

The main part of the story the reader is following Pen (Penelope) a young adult on a journey to find herself and learn about her parents at the same time.

Overall I think this book is about the love parents feel for their children, no matter the circumstances, even down to Pen’s middle name, Elliot. There are friendships, romantic relationships, and deep conversations had between parents and children. This book does well to showcase all of the growth and change that came happen to one person over the course of a year.

The book itself however, wasn’t very memorable. Besides the beginning being tough to get into, I found a lot of the characters to be lacking. They weren’t memorable to me, and as such I often forgot bits that I had read just moments ago. The last handful of chapters when everything comes together (even if you weren’t fully paying attention) is what gave this book an extra star. It was tough to get to that point, but once I was there it was very much worth it!

This ARC had been sitting on my tbr shelf for quite a while, waiting for the perfect moment for a "witty", "charming" and entertaining read. Unfortunately, this just wasn't it.

From the start, it felt like the plot pacing was off, and it was difficult to connect to the characters. It took a lot of mental energy to keep up with Pen and Alice's stories and the other characters that weaved in and out. The writing style didn't work for me personally. I kept waiting for the moment in which the plot would make sense and invite me in. Sadly, I didn't get that experience.

It could be just my false expectations. I will admit, I was anticipating a story along the lines of Remarkably Bright Creatures, but this wasn't that at all.

I want to be clear that this wasn't a poorly written book. It just didn't resonate for me. I believe other readers who have different expectations, enjoy a slow paced plot, and connect better than I did to the characters might really enjoy it. I would encourage folks to look at some of the higher reviews.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This debut novel is charming and witty, with a quirky premise that definitely caught my attention at the start. The writing has a playful, clever tone that makes for a fun read in parts. However, like several other reviewers noted, the story started strong but gradually lost momentum. I found myself losing interest as the plot unfolded, and I never fully connected with the characters emotionally. A promising first novel, but it didn't quite land for me.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me at 40%. I tried to both read it and listen to the audiobook. I just could not get into it.

I truly wanted to love this one! The cover is stunning and I have loved all interviews with Emma in anticipation of the pub date. I read this after it's publication and, after all the hype, was slightly disappointed. Although the story had so much promise and hello set in SCOTLAND, I felt the storyline fell a little flat and I didn't care about the characters. I needed them to be more rounded out, even if at times they were not relatable. Great premise as a debut and I hope to see more from this author even if I didn't connect with this one.

This was a great book! At first I wondered about the octopus analogy, but as I got engrossed into the story I forgot all about it.

This book gave me Saltburn vibes at times! I think it was the old British Estate and the family with the secrets. I've always been intrigued by the Scottish countryside so it felt like a bit of an escape for me. The story is set in the early 2000's which is when I was in university and being a Canadian myself, I was drawn to the main character Pen.

That being said, I had such a hard time remembering who was who throughout the book! Some chapters were told through Alice's point of view which felt a bit disjointed. I found myself having to stop often to bring my brain back around to the characters.

Overall, I liked the story and the twist at the end. I definitely didn't see that coming.

2.5 stars

I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. I heard it compared to Pineapple Street which I adored, but I wouldn't say it had many similarities (other than a beautiful cover). It was interesting enough that I kept reading, and there were parts I enjoyed. The parts that focused on campus life I preferred over the parts with the Lennox family. It felt quite disjointed and like I was reading two different books.

I'm still not really sure what the point of this book was. I didn't really care about any of the characters, and the 'big reveal' was so strange. The other issue I had was that I kept forgetting the time period it was set it. It read like it should have been set 50+ years ago, but was set in the early 2000's. I found this especially hard when trying to follow what was going on.

Going into this book, I expected a bit more mystery and drama surrounding the secret alluded to in the summary. Instead, what I found was a thoughtful exploration of friendships, relationships, and that pivotal transition from adolescence to adulthood—when you begin to see your parents as people, not just parents, and your friendships take on new depth and complexity. The narrative meanders between perspectives, offering beautiful insights on growing up and connection, and that’s what kept me reading.

That said, I found the plot itself to be quite minimal. While the novel touches on heavier themes and has moments of intensity, the ‘big secret’ didn’t feel as shocking or revelatory as I had anticipated—though perhaps that was my own misinterpretation of the setup. The book’s pacing is slow and introspective, which suited the themes but wasn’t what I had expected. The cover, with its bright, colorful imagery, suggested something more vibrant, but the tone is far moodier—think rainy London, Edinburgh, and the countryside rather than a sun-drenched table of flowers.

Overall, it was a lovely and reflective read, rich in atmosphere and emotion. It just wasn’t quite what I had imagined it would be.

This book first caught my attention when I read that the story took place in Edinburgh, Scotland and that our female main character is Canadian like me. I am a proud University of Edinburgh alumni and recently traveled to Edinburgh for my MSc graduation ceremony in November. My trip was still fresh in my head and in my heart (it still is!) and so I knew right away that this book would top my to-be-read list!

The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus did not disappoint. This is a coming-of-age story that will bring you right back to your young adult years, when your parents have just dropped you off to uni, where the possibilities and the freedom seems endless, yet overwhelming. The descriptions of emotions, of the confusing feelings the characters experience throughout one year of university felt visceral, like I could feel their loneliness, their pain. This book explores the complicatedness of young love and friendships: the desire to love and to be loved, and to belong -- But also of family secrets, of the things about your family that you never quite understood as a child and the need to uncover what was once hidden from you as you navigate into adulthood.

As side note: this book may give you a strong urge to impulsively purchase a flight ticket to Edinburgh... don't say I didn't warn you!

🙏Thank you Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for a gifted advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⚠️ Potential Trigger Warnings (may not be an exhaustive list): miscarriage, infidelity, sexual assault, divorce.

I had high expectations for The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, given its selection for Read with Jenna and Barnes & Noble’s book club. The novel is beautifully written, with a lyrical and literary style that showcases the author’s talent. However, despite its strong prose, I found it lacking in narrative momentum.

At 350 pages, the book feels long, especially when very little actually happens. I kept anticipating a turning point, a moment where the story would take off, but it never truly did. By the halfway mark, I had lost interest. While I can appreciate quiet, introspective novels, this one left me feeling underwhelmed.

Additionally, the novel focuses on adolescents and college students, which made it less engaging for me as a reader in my fifties. The themes and character experiences didn’t resonate as much as I had hoped. Perhaps a younger audience would connect with it more.

Overall, while I admire the writing, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus ultimately didn’t meet my expectations. If you enjoy character-driven stories with a slow, meditative pace, it might be worth a read. But if you’re looking for a novel with a compelling plot, you may find yourself, like me, waiting for something that never quite arrives.

The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus is a beautifully written debut that pulled me in with its wit and emotional depth. Pen’s journey from Canada to Scotland for university felt so real, as she navigates not only the complexities of growing up but also the mysteries surrounding her family’s past. The narrative masterfully blends the themes of love, friendship, and self-discovery, all while keeping me hooked with its intriguing family secrets.

Pen’s evolving relationship with her best friend, Alice, adds another layer of richness to the story. Alice’s storyline, with her flirtation with power and the consequences of her actions, kept things interesting and thought-provoking. And as Pen slowly unravels the truth about her parents, I found myself rooting for her growth and independence.

The setting in Edinburgh, the lush family dynamics, and the sense of impending change made for a compelling read. While some parts of the plot felt a bit predictable, I still found myself deeply connected to the characters and their personal journeys. This is a story about the messy, beautiful, and sometimes painful process of coming into your own—and I loved every minute of it.

Big thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for giving me early access to this title in return for an honest review.

About 3/4 of the way through this book I was wondering when the title would come in to play and it did in the most wonderful way. The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus follows Pen, a Canadian in her first year at the University of Edinburgh, who is intent on solving her families mysteries that she believes started here, in Edinburgh, when her father was a student. This is a beautiful coming-of-age story that follows Pen and several of her friends as they navigate the world of new-adulthood, family secrets, and tutors who prey on their students.

I really loved the writing in this book. It was very lush. There was so many great references to Canada and Canadian Literature throughout the book which made my heart smile. Pen is such a great character and I felt a real kinship with her. She has a delicious tenacity and despite some anxiety is unapologetically herself.

The mystery underlying this book was really well done. There was enough clues throughout the novel and a good amount of misdirection which was perfect. I also found the answer very satisfying.

This was a really excellent book and I'd highly recommend it.

3.5 stars. I loved the plot and overarching themes. A beautiful coming of age story that really reminded me a lot of my own experiences in young adulthood. I found there to be a lot of characters to keep straight sometimes but isn’t that kind of the point?! In university you meet so many people and have different depths of experiences among them. Some become main characters in your life and other merely names or faces. Overall, good read!