Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

I had a solid reading month in December, with three great (4-stars each) books, and my reading year of 2025 was overall fabulous, with FIFTEEN 5-star books of fiction! so naturally, I wanted to start 2026 with a very successful read. I looked through my list of TBR books in NetGalley and decided on More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen. I finished it in two nights because it was THAT GOOD.

Favorite quote from the book, which is in itself a favorite quote:

I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship. ~Louisa May Alcott

Now, I know some people have already reviewed this soon-to-be published book and didn’t have quite the same experience. But that is the beauty of reading…to mix metaphors, there is a pot for every lid. Not every book will appeal to every reader, and sometimes, it won’t appeal to that reader at that very time in life. This book fit me just perfectly.

Some reviewers found it lost steam halfway through, and some said there were too many subplots that distracted from the main plot. Some thought there were too many characters and the minor characters played too heavy of a role in the storyline. Some thought there was just too much zigzagging about.

I didn’t feel that way at all. I loved this book, and I loved ALL of the characters (even Thomas, IYKYK). I thought this book wrapped up all of the subplots quite nicely and I didn’t feel distracted at all by the minor characters. In fact, I thought they were all integral to the storyline of the main character. Polly is many things: wife, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, teacher, mentor, best friend. All of those things and the people who connect to her make up who she really is.

There were many things that caught my interest when I was asked to read this book by the publisher. The main character is an English teacher, happily married, in a book club with three close friends, and has a good relationship with her in-laws, her brother, and her colleagues at the all-girls private school where she teaches. Sounds a lot like me!

Most of the book, however, Polly and vet husband Mark are struggling with infertility. The pain they feel is palpable. In that regard, I can’t personally connect because I was blessed with two daughters, despite starting a family at an older age just like Polly.

Polly also struggles with her relationship with her mother, a presiding judge with a distinguished law career. Additionally, Polly spends much of the novel worrying over her father, but details on that may spoil the reading experience.

This is my first reading experience of Anna Quindlen’s work. I really enjoyed this book so much I will be looking at her backlist to see what else I can read to compare to this. Family sagas/dramas seem to be my favorite genre (sub-genre?) these days, overtaking my previous favorite of mysteries.

If I could give one small point that some may feel is a negative, it’s that everyone in this book (except maybe Polly’s first husband and Polly’s mother) seem to be too good to be true. In today’s dissonant society where we seemingly have lost the ability to be civil, to disagree without severing a friendship or family relationship, to accept others for who they are and not what they are, it’s easy to see how some people may think a book full of people like the ones in More Than Enough is simply too much. I disagree.

There is enough struggling and pain from the characters to make up for the fact that they are all really good people, just doing their best, trying to make this world a better place. I found it to be refreshing and uplifting to live in the pages of this book with these kind-hearted and supportive people, even though most of them suffer from something in some way, both large and small. I was sad when I got to the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Anna Quindlen for the advanced reading copy of this book. Best wishes on your publication day; I’ll be spreading the word how good it is!