Absolutely wonderful. Best book read so far this year. Not totally likeable characters but so well written that you easily identify with their needs and challanges.

Very well written, with relatable characters and well-constructed dialogue resulting in a very disturbing — but also satisfying — storyline covering some important issues ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved Cole's debut 'Groundskeeping' and leapt at the chance to read this - so I am very grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of 'Fulfillment'.

Cole's writing is brilliant, in my opinion. This novel is about Emmett who works in a fulfillment centre (similar, I guess, to a behemoth like Amazon) in Kentucky. He isn't particularly close to his more academic, older brother, Joel, and he feels that his mother, Kathy, favours the older of the two siblings. When Joel and Alice arrive back in Kentucky from New York for Joel's teaching job at a university, it becomes apparent that things are not too good between the couple.

Seemingly, Alice is quite different to Joel and, eventually, they drift apart. Much to the detriment of the couple, but the pleasure of Emmett and Alice, they start sleeping together and arranging illicit meet-ups. Eventually, it all crumbles and they get found out. One thinks that Alice and Emmett are going to live happily ever after but this is not the case - instead, Alice is left alone and Emmett moves to LA to pursue his screen-writing dream.

This is a perfect contemporary novel for me and I love the way readers are taken on a journey with this family. I think this is superior to 'Groundskeeping' and I look forward to reading more by Lee Cole in the future.