I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley.
The story was off to a good start with a startling revelation at a funeral, but after that the action is a slow simmer with all of the family relationships being tested. It reminded me of the difficulty of being around your parents or siblings once you are an adult and need to reconcile being grown up with still being someone's child and sibling.

I generally love books about large families. Unfortunately, IF WE’RE BEING HONEST didn’t hit the mark for me. And it’s a bummer, because the book has such a promising premise: Gerry, beloved husband, father and grandfather, has died suddenly and his family descends on their small hometown in Georgia for his funeral. During the eulogy, Gerry’s best friend goes up to the podium and makes a shocking claim that sends the family into a tailspin.

The main issue for me was the large cast of characters that I couldn’t keep straight. I tried hard at first, but about halfway through I just gave up and attempted to enjoy the story. There are some good plotlines here, but every time I’d start slipping into a groove, the narration would move someplace else.

There are some lovely moments in the book and I am glad that I stuck it out to read the ending, but I just couldn’t get into IF WE’RE BEING HONEST. It’s not for me but I do see it resonating with others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an eARC of IF WE’RE BEING HONEST and the opportunity to give my honest feedback.

Thank you to Celadon and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a solid read! I loved the family aspect that was present throughout this book. There are several characters, all of which I found interesting, but I do wish we had gotten a bit more development for each of them. I found the overall plot to be unique and interesting, especially since it was set really for a one week time period. The chapters were rather long, which could cause the pace of the book to feel a bit slow at times. However, I really enjoyed the family aspects and different character studies!

What a unique story about a southern family's drama.

If We're Being Honest is a multigenerational story that takes place in Eulalia, Georgia. It begins at the funeral of Williams's grandfather. It takes place over one week and ends after the wedding of one of his neighbours children. It involves the tension and love that occurs in families and among long time friends. Shook presented a shocking and awkward situation and successfully allowed the reader's view to evolve throughout the story, and see it from other perspectives.

The SQAF Book Club had a chance to video chat with Cat Shook. It was a wonderful conversation and it was great to hear her perspective on aspects of her debut novel. Though not from Georgia herself she is very familiar with the area and attitudes, having grandparents who lived there and having gone to University there.

Shook talked about how funerals are 'fertile ground' for humour and a place for inept or awkward situations to arise. With this in mind she decided to being her debut novel at the funeral of a grandfather. She even used this in the first line of the book; 'Gerry Williams's funeral was a shit show.' Now who wouldn't want to find out what happened at this funeral.

The story weaves it's way through various members of the Williams family and their internal struggles and relationship with each other. Many themes are studied such as sexuality, divorce, love, pregnancy, death, just to name a few.

One criticism is that the book should have a list of all the characters at the very beginning. There are a lot of them and it is difficult to keep track. If you are picking this book up I would start by making a list of them as I read.

People talk about books that should be adapted to movies and series all the time. This is something I never think about, but this one should be a miniseries. I think that is the best format for it. @reesewitherspoon are you reading this? Diane Keaton should play Ellen, the grandmother. Jack Nicholson would play a great Fred, the long time friend of Ellen and Gerry. Grant who appeared on The Bachelorette could be played by Ashton Kutcher. I could just go on and on about who should play which character, but it's more fun to read and envision these people for yourself.

After reading this I want to plant a magnolia tree. Though I am pretty sure it wouldn't survive a winter up here.

Shook has another novel already in the works titled Humor Me, it will be coming out in 2024. It is also set in the town of Eulalia, Georgia but is not a continuation of this story. I look forward to reading it and seeing if any of the characters from If We're Being Honest show up in her second book.

Thank you @celadonbooks and @netgalley for my advanced reader copy of by this debut author. Thank you @catshook33 for taking the time to speak with us.

Fans of the family novel will enjoy this for the surprises which await members of the Williams family when they gather for the funeral of the patriarch who, as it turns out was in a long time more than friends relationship with his best friend. If we're being honest, there are a lot - a lot - of characters and while this might not bother other readers, I felt at sea. I kept hoping thing would settle down- that perhaps we'd deal with one at a time but it didn't. I know we're not meant to like Jennifer but she often felt like the only person who had her feet on the ground. There's a lot of drama of the sort you expect after a death and in the lead up to a wedding. I only wish I could have kept everyone straight enough to finish this. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A miss for me but I'm sure others will enjoy it.

I love reading these multi-generational stories because you know there’s going to be some drama. This one was no exception! While the chapters were way too long, I was still entertained throughout.. even if I couldn’t remember who was who. A family tree would have been helpful because there are SO many characters that I could not for the life of me remember who was related to who, and which was an aunt, uncle, cousin, etc. Overall it is a solid debut and a heart warming story!

Thank you to NetGallery and Celadon Books for this eARC!

When the beloved patriarch of the Williams family passes away, his children and grandchildren converge on their Georgia hometown to honor his passing. When a shocking revelation is delivered during the eulogy, small town chaos ensues, and all of the Williams’ lives are on the cusp of change.

This heartwarming family drama is charming, a bit chaotic, and thoroughly entertaining. Although all of the children and grandchildren are adults, this feels somewhat like a coming-of-age story. It took me a little while to get everyone straight, what with 3 children, 4 grandchildren, and various significant others and supporting characters. Once I got my mind around the family structure, I was fully immersed. The characters are well-developed considering there’s such a large cast, and they are all going through some major stuff. The way the family deals with their grief in constructive and not-so-constructive ways feels authentic and relatable: sometimes sad, sometimes touching, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. A unique and impressive debut!

Many thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy of this book.

This novel is about family and how they interact through the good times and the bad. The family is a diverse group of people that rhe author works to let you know throughout the book. They have gathered together for a funeral. In a humorous way, you learn why none of the family is able to give the eulogy and a best friend of the deceased agrees to speak. He gives a revelation that is a shock to the family and from this point on other secrets are told.
I loved the humor, lessons and honesty of this novel.

This is a debut novel from an American author. The story revolves around the Williams family. Three generations gather when the patriarch, Gerry, dies suddenly. When a close family friend reveals a long held secret in a drunken eulogy, the family is left in shock. Other dramas ensue among the four grandchildren and their parents and the story reads like a 'coming of age' tale but with fully grown adults. Told with humour and some romance, the book is a good recommendation for fans of family dramas as long as they are okay with lots of characters. I enjoyed it.

This was really 3.75 stars. After some shocking news at their grandfather’s funeral our characters are left reeling and unable to process what they’ve learned. This is a story about overcoming hardships and understanding that we’re all human. I really loved the family structure in this as it was chaotic, funny, sad, and uplifting. The ending was so beautiful I couldn’t help but tear up.

Thank you to Celadon Books for the arc and the chance to read and review this book!

This book truly grew on me - I almost decided to DNF it, but I stuck with it instead and ended up becoming invested in the characters and their individual dramas.

This is a rare book that I started in audiobook format and ended up switching to (digital) print. Nothing against the audiobook narrator - I just found the large cast of characters and super long chapters with oscillating points of view really taxing to following in the audio format. It was easier to follow for me with a visual. I would have loved a visual family tree in the beginning to keep all the characters straight! Once I got to know each individual character's specific drama, it became much easier to follow and much more engaging of a story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon for inviting me to read this novel.

The first line of the first chapter is a real shocker! It sets the tone for this amazing debut novel from Cat Shook. After a shocking revelation during the eulogy of Gerry Williams, the story opens up to delve deeply into the lives of the family members affected by this oh-so-unexpected news. The writing is compelling beyond belief and the characters are each unique and dealing with many crisis situations. I dare anyone to stop reading after the first page!

f We’re Being Honest is a solid family drama with a lot of heart and humor. The book really started off with a bang with a huge dramatic event, but the pacing of the middle portion was a bit slow. There is a large cast of characters, and it took a bit of time for me to be able to keep everyone straight. The end though wrapped things up nicely and was very satisfying. For fans of tv shows like This Is Us or Parenthood this book will be really enjoyable!

Read this if you enjoy:
🍑 family dramas
🍑 southern small towns
🍑 This Is Us

This was a fun family tragedy/comedy. The Williams family comes together in small town Georgia to say goodbye to Grandpa Gerry. At his funeral, a big secret comes out about him. The family, all with their own secrets, spends the next week dealing with the fallout. I loved the characters, all written so well I could perfectly imagine them. I only wish the ending had more of a wrap up, but I did enjoy this one a lot. The dialogue was especially a lot of fun--sometimes silly, but made me laugh and smile.

An entertaining and heartfelt family drama debut that sees a cast of relatives dealing with their grief over the loss of a beloved grandfather. Full of memorable characters dealing with relatable life issues. This was good on audio narrated by Kathleen McInerney and perfect for fans of authors like Emma Straub, Tracey Lange or Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for what this author writes next.

"If We're Being Honest" revolves around one family and their grieving process after the patriarch of the family passes away. Along with navigating their grief, many family members are also navigating big life changes - pregnancy, accepting their sexual identity, and re-entering the dating world. Readers will find elements of themselves in many of the characters, making this read feel very personal and relatable.

I had such high hopes for this one as I LOOOOOOOVED "We Are the Brennans" - which is one of the books that is supposed to resemble this one. However, I just couldn't love it as much as I wanted to. The chapters were very long and the changing viewpoints within each chapter were a little too chaotic. The book would work much better if there were smaller chapters that just focused on one viewpoint at a time. Some elements of the book just didn't seem necessary either. It could have been trimmed down a bit to make it more powerful. I was really hoping for a 5-star with this one, but the chaos with the writing just didn't do it for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon books for this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I typically love a good story about family drama and relationships and was really excited to read If We're Being Honest, however, I had to DNF around the 41% mark. While I felt like it certainly had the bones to be a strong story, I found it to be incredibly jumbled and confusing at times. There are far too many characters jammed into each chapter, and I found it really hard to keep track of everyone's individual stories. The character that still stands out in mind out of all of them is Alice. The others all blend together.

I think this story could have worked a lot better if the chapters were broken up by each character's POV, instead of having everyone in each. Even then, it may still have been too many POV's.

Either way, I've seen some great reviews for If We're Being Honest, but it just wasn't for me.

Thank you Celadon Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC and provide my honest opinion.

Rating ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ .5 /5 (rounded to 4)
Format ebook ARC copy

I want to thank Celadon Books for the ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love the concept of this book. The intricacies of a multigenerational family while dealing with the death of the patriarch. Not only his death but reeling from the revelations that he had a whole side to him that nobody knew. I loved the exploration of each family member's struggle with grief while simultaneously dealing with their own relationships and drama. I particularly loved Alice and Peters story of a second chance romance and Red's coming of age while accepting himself as he is. I could see this family and elements of my own in each character.

I initially struggled with the sheer number of family member's and who was who as the book started and the quick switches of POV, sometimes even paragraph to paragraph, could be jarring. Once I got through the first third of the book I felt like I had a handle on the characters and was getting to know each of them.

The ending was perfect. What should have been resolved was and what (like life) would stay messy, did. I am so happy I had the opportunity to read this book and would recommend it for anyone looking for a story that deals with realistic family dynamics and the relationships between.

I was hooked on the characters in this book from the first few pages. Starting out with a huge plot twist, If We’re Being Honest took me on a wild ride of emotions and family relationships. While hard to keep track of at first, the characters were well developed and the story was emotional and heartwarming. It reminded me that family is the first and most complicated relationship most people have. Family is always worth fighting for.

If I’m being honest, If We’re Being Honest wasn’t really my cup of tea. Or coffee. Or wine. This falls much in the vein of the currently lauded Sally Rooney style, where multiple characters give you a disaffected look into their lives while they try and figure out the world around them. In this story it is the Williams family, who already having had their lives disrupted by the fact the family patriarch Gerry is dead, is thrown into even more upheaval when Gerry’s best friend Fred drunkenly informs them all during his eulogy speech that the pair were in love with each other. And they’re all stuck together for a whole week in which the story is told as they wait around for family friend Rebecca to get married. The story is seen through the eyes of Ellen, Gerry’s wife; Wilma, Gerry’s daughter; JJ, Gerry’s son; Jennifer, Gerry’s daughter-in-law; Alice and Delia, Wilma’s daughters and Grant and Red, JJ and Jennifer’s sons. Remembering all of the characters telling the story isn’t easy; constantly switching between them all is exhausting, made even more so by the personal conflicts in many of their lives. There are characters that drove me crazy, Gerry’s other daughter Carol Anne at the top of the list. Carol Anne is self-absorbed and narcissistic, and everyone kind of just shrugs their shoulders and goes, eh, it’s Carol Anne. Her significant other Robert explains why he stays with her, and I know people that need that kind of drama in their lives, but clearly the rest of her family does not. JJ is oblivious and Jennifer is in a constant rage at the world. And Grant is the prototypical dude that coasts through life, shallow and uninvested in anything. Thankfully Shook does provide closure for many of these characters that makes the reader feel like it was at least somewhat worthwhile to invest their time in all of these people. The scene at the end with Ellen and her grandchildren is definitely a redeeming part of the book and finally invests the subtle emotion and depth that is deliberately lacking in the rest of the story. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.