Thank you to Net Galley, Sy Montgomery and National Geographic for an Advanced Ebook copy of this book.

This is my second Sy Montgomery book. I picked up and read “How To Be a Good Creature” and was captivated by her memoir where she interacts or care for 13 different types of animals ranging from a pig to a little foray into her friendship with an octopus. When “Secrets of the Octopus” popped up as an ARC I immediately wanted to read it. Not only have I always found the Octopus fascinating, but I also have found them to be incredibly attractive, strange, and squishy looking. Secrets of the Octopus combines both the knowledge and personal narratives of Montogomery, but also matched with beautiful spreads of Octopuses (what beautiful colors they have).

Learning about the intelligence of such a flexible creature with no central nervous system was so intriguing. Learning about how Octopuses can feel emotions, recognize friends and less liked individuals and the protective nature of them as mothers kept my attention. Montgomery is able to explain much of the science behind learning about Octopuses with ease and offer explanations that make sense to a layman like me. Immediately after reading this book, I watched multiple videos of Octopuses solving various puzzles (which seem so complicated and they easily solve, and seem to enjoy as well). ( )

wish I could give more than 5 stars. A wonderully written book about octopuses. Beautiful pictures and a book than can be read more tnan once.. so much detail./information ! ( )

For those who have already read Sy Montgomery's book, The Soul of an Octopus, this book will come as a bit of a let down. Although it is newer, and somewhat update, it contains many of the stories and anecdotes found in that book. This book is however, much shorter, and comes with many gorgeous, glossy photographs of the titular creature. I did get a few more reading and documentary suggestions and a few exciting tidbits from recent research, but there's not a lot of new information here.

If you've read her first book on octopuses, you can probably skip this one, but I could see this book being very engaging for a new reader of Ms. Montgomery's. ( )

The copy of Secrets of the Octopus I read is an "Advance eReader's Edition." All of the information about all the species of octopuses is fascinating. It is such an easy read as is Sy Montgomery's style. The photographs were all in black and white and as noted on the cover "Please Note: Finished book will be in full color." I wish the photos could have been in color, however using my imagination and color descriptors the author provided allowed the reader to see the colors. I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Sy Montgomery and her contributions to understanding the nature around us. ( )

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. ( )