4.5 | Jane has grown up with her reclusive father in the woods of Bozeman, MT, and his strange ways are gradually becoming more and bizarre until one day he escalates things to a new level and sets Jane on a new path. This book was the perfect combination of page turning and character building. The author made me care for almost everyone and feel the tension of their situation even if I could clearly see they weren’t making the best choices. Themes explored include the rapid pace of technology advancements, what we lose as a society when we rely on tech, and the power/influence of community- both who we are given and who we choose. I enjoyed this book and recommend it for fans of twisty family stories with a con element and side commentary on tech, AI, and just what in the world we as a society are moving toward. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

There were parts of this book where I was like, yeah, wow, technology sucks. Then as it progressed I caught myself thinking about where I would fall on the spectrum of anti tech and pro tech. What I liked most about this was that it really made me think about how technology is used and how it can be harming, especially in my role as a teacher. I love when books make me think!

Before reading WHAT KIND OF PARADISE, I had only read one book by Janelle Brown, I'LL BE YOU. That one book was all it took for the author to be added to my radar for future releases. WHAT KIND OF PARADISE was a highly anticipated release for me and I loved it.

Jane grew up in an isolated cabin in Montana during the mid 1900s. Jane's father tells her very little about their past and instead focuses their life on living off the grid. When Jane starts pushing back on her way of living, she is exposed to the dark truths about her father, thrusting her on a crash course to find answers.

I listened to this on audio and it was the perfect way for me to digest the story. Helen Laser did a great job voicing Jane's story and Peter Ganim did the same for Jane's father. I found myself turning on this audiobook any chance I had because I needed to see how Jane's story played out.

WHAT KIND OF PARADISE is a solid story from start to finish. Janelle Brown is a fantastic storyteller. I'm looking forward to seeing what she writes next!

If nothing else, I got a huge charge out of being transported back to the early days of the Internet in this thoroughly enjoyable novel - I, too, can remember the excitement over the first PCs, BASIC programming and my wide-eyed, jaw-dropping virtual tour inside the Louvre right from my computer chair. But even for those who aren't quite my age, it's a totally engrossing read that serves up food for thought given the concerns for the future that surround technological advancements with which we're bombarded every single day.

The story is told by Jane Williams, who grew up with only one parent, a survivalist father in a backwoods cabin in Montana in the 1990s. He taught her philosophy, music masters, how to kill and cook dinner and hide, should it become necessary, when strangers encroached on their property. As she reaches her teenage years, she begins to question a few things as teenagers will, but as far as she knows her mother died in a car accident.

But even though her father rails against technology, the Internet comes to Montana, providing dial-up access from the landline next to the wood-burning stove in their wood cabin. That access to what's in the rest of the world opens unending possibilities and the possibility of finding answers to questions she has about both her parents, making her beg to accompany her father when he takes off on one of his few-day forays away from home. Reluctantly - but perhaps sensing an opportunity - he agrees. And when they get to his destination - the U.S. technology Nirvana called Seattle - something horrible happens that will change the world for Jane and her father forever.

Exactly what happens there, and from that point on, is for other readers to discover, with details reminiscent of familiar headlines from years past. In the end, I, at least, was left with many rather heavy questions: When do ethics and following the law give supersede loyalty to some you love - and should they? When does technology shift from tomorrow's savior of the human race to the downfall of the world? The list goes on - and while searching for the answers in my own head isn't keeping me awake nights, those issues are still on my mind as I watch and try to comprehend what's happening in the world around me.

All in all a wonderful book, and I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity to read it by way of a pre-release copy.

This was so compelling, creepy and unique. I keep thinking about it several weeks after finishing. The author did a great job of moving the story along rather than having the lonely girl sitting alone with her thoughts for chapters on end.

I really enjoy this author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc!

Powerhouse of a novel. A tech drama meets a coming-of-age story about a girl who grew up the only companion to her hermit father.

I loved how the story develops from her childhood when she was still very much her dad’s influence to the point when she’s able to reason on her own. She has to make incredibly tough decisions as a newly minted adult who was more or less brainwashed to believe the outside world was something to fear. Great pacing & character development!

4.5 stars

What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown is about Jane, who grew up with her father, isolated in a cabin in the woods. Her father was always on the lookout for the "feds" and had an escape plan in place. One day, they need to use the escape plan which leads to Jane discovering a whole new world outside of her woods and a plethora of family secrets.

I flew through this whole book in one day! I thought it was engaging from the start. Jane's relationship with her father and her quest to uncover the truth about herself and her family was intriguing and kept me turning pages. After a while, the story shifts in setting and tone and while I still enjoyed it, I did think my engagement with the story dropped a little toward the end. I did not fully love the ending, but still this was a great read and one that I would recommend to anyone!!

This was such an interesting book!

It follows Jane, who lives off the grid in a remote part of Montana with her brilliant but unhinged father.

Breathe a sigh of relief, he's not sexually creepy, just worried about the implications of the internet and AI on the world.

However, these beliefs inform his entire existence, and as Jane gets older, she starts to question the things she has been taught all her life.

As she discovers bits and pieces of their past by snooping in her father's office, everything begins to change.

When her father informs her that he's leaving their remote home to go work on a project, Jane begs to accompany him.

I won't spoil what happens next, but it's safe to say that it changes both of their lives forever.

A thrilling and emotional ride, #whatkindofparadise captures your attention from the start and doesn't let go until the very end.

I highly recommend it!

Thank you to #netgalley for this ARC!

I loved this book until the end when it felt like it just abruptly ended. After the long build up, it was over in 2 or so chapters.
I couldn't put the boom down and was rooting for Jane/Esme. Such a fun story, until the end.

This book makes me think of Where the Crawdads Sing with a thriller vibe. I like how different genres are represented, & I loved Brown’s writing style. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy!

Thank you to the publisher and to netgalley! This book is about a father-daughter relationship built on secrecy and raised in isolation leading to a journey to uncover the truth about her past. The Montana setting felt like a character and really added to my experience reading this story. Jane wants to break free from her father but when she joins him on a venture, Jane uncovers a lot more then expected.

This will be one of my favorite books of 2025. Just a wonderful story that will surely become a contemporary classic. The plot, the characters, the ending... it's all so well-done. Great writing, no notes.

I have enjoyed other books by this author and her latest is no exception. I did feel that the 1st half kept a better pace than the 2nd but was still very enjoyable. It did feel like it could have been ripped form the headlines on multiple accounts and usually that is a turn off for me these days, I was still intrigued.

This book didn't quite live up to the premise. I was very intrigued by the idea of a girl being raised in the wilderness and finding out her life isn't what it seems. Unfortunately, the pacing was all over the place. Everything happens either too fast or painstakingly slow. There were no plot twists, and nothing really surprising happened; the story is pretty straightforward. The characters weren't particularly likable, nor were they interesting.

I found the discussion of the early internet and its potential for both good and harm to be interesting. I think the philosophical ideas raised were thought-provoking, particularly as AI is getting pushed more and more frequently.

The book was well written, and I stuck it out til the end out of sheer curiosity, but this just wasn't for me.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The premise of this book had SO much potential, but it did not live up to the hype for me.

It was not bad, just ok. It was too slow to be suspenseful and I didn't connect with the main character in a way I wish I had since it felt more of a coming of age story.

I do get why a lot of people love this one and why the average rating is so high. It just wasn't my favorite.

Jane grows up in an isolated cabin in Montana with her dad in the 1990s. As she gets older, she becomes more curious about their past and about the world beyond their remote existence.

One day, Jane’s father allows her to join him on one of his ventures. Jane unknowingly becomes an accomplice to a crime and decides to escape her restricted Montana cabin world once and for all. She attempts to find answers in San Francisco based on the few clues she has and while doing so, tries to live a normal life in the modern world. I was cringing at some of Jane’s choices and comments, yet felt for how much she had to learn and was rooting for her.

What Kind of Paradise is a father-daughter story, though not the heartwarming kind. It’s a slow burn suspense and has doomsday, conspiracy theory vibes. My favorite book by Janel Brown is still Pretty Things but I really enjoyed this one too.

I really enjoyed this book and was fascinated by the story. The second half in particular flew by for me and I finished it quickly. The pacing of the first half was a little more uneven, and sometimes plot points felt a little too convenient, but overall the story caught my attention and I liked the framing of the coming of age story against the broader context of what was going on with the dad and society. Overall a very solid read.

Read this in a day this past weekend!

The book is set in the early days of the internet and dotcoms, with peak ‘90’s nostalgia as a backdrop to the central story of a father and daughter living off the grid rejecting technology. The daughter, 17 year old Jane aka Squirrel, is written so well. I was completely invested in her, especially as she started making her own decisions and her world grew beyond her father and their cabin in the woods. The characters and the story are layered and complex and make you think about who the “good guys” actually are.

Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the advance copy of this book - I loved it.

Janelle Brown's What Kind of Paradise is the kind of terrific book that you love reading but also don't want it to end. Jane (Esme) has been mostly raised in a rural Montana cabin with only her anti-tech, militant father for company. As she begins to unravel the secrets of her past, her story moves to San Francisco at the beginning of the dot-com boom. An absolutely terrific book that you won't want to end.

The setting is in an isolated area in rural Montana in the mid 90’s. Jane and her father, Saul, are living off the grid, surviving mostly off the land. She only knows her dad, as she is told her mother died in a car accident. As Jane grows up, she begins to wonder about the world and where her father keeps disappearing to for weeks at a time. They keep to themselves with very little interaction with others except the family who owns the local bookstore. When her father is gone for a period of time, Jane goes through his belongings and discovers some interesting information about him and his life before they came to Montana. She also discovers that she is not who her father claims she is. On a few occasions, Jane is allowed to accompany her father on trips. On one such occasion, she becomes an accomplice to a crime her father commits against a former colleague. When she discovers that someone died, she makes the decision then to run away from the only life she remembers in Montana and travel to San Francisco. She does not know where her father is and has to rely on herself only to live.
This novel introduces the reader to the beginning of the internet and the computer age. While Jane’s father was one of the founders of dot com technology, he now questions the validity of it. He wonders, “Has the internet and technology improved our lives or has it ruined us”?
At times, this book moved slowly, often bogged down with a great deal of information related to computers and the technology behind it. The author did a great deal of research on the beginning of the computer world. Silicon Valley was the birthplace of the computer.
This novel is a blend of historical fiction (mid 90’s) and fiction. It is a very character driven book with Jane and her father Saul as the main characters. There is a touch of mystery involved as to why they are living off the grid in an isolated cabin. Who is Saul believed to be? There is much discussion as to whether or not moving ahead with technology is a good thing or a bad thing. Some trigger warnings for mental illness.
I would recommend this book for those interested in the birth of the computer age while immersed in a story involving a dad and his daughter and the effect on their lives with this invention.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Marketing for bringing this book to my attention and for allowing me to read the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Published on June 3, 2025.