. . . 𝓷/𝓪
Ooh I tried. I couldn’t finish this one. I must have picked this up seven, maybe eight times, but I just could not get into it. If I’m being honest ( pun intended ), I do think it was at least a 50% case of “it’s not you, it’s me”, but overall this one didn’t grab me as I had hoped.

The synopsis sounded right up my alley - multiple characters, some heavy family dynamics, a balance between heartwarming and quirky, and just an all-around good story.
But almost immediately, I found myself struggling a bit with the who’s who of the characters and how they were ( quite literally ) related - I think this was largely due to the fact that they were introduced all at the same time. While it completely made sense as to why - it’s how the story begins - I felt a little overwhelmed by getting all the family and their drama all at once.

And once I lost my footing on the characters, I felt like I was trying to catch up with the storyline but couldn’t quite make it there. In turn, it wasn’t able to hold my attention for the same reason - I wasn’t invested because I couldn’t get a good grasp of the characters.

But as I said, it was probably mostly me. The problem with being a mood reader, is that sometimes, you don’t know that you’re in ( or not in ) the mood for a book until you’re already reading it - so it could be doomed from the start.

This is all to say: maybe it’s me? Don’t avoid it, it’s probably me. The plot sounds completely worth it, and there’s something to be said for the ‘right book at the right time’ motto; this one may just need a different time.

~👩🏻‍🦰

I was honored to receive a copy of this one and was hooked immediately by the opening scene -- the drama! The description! I felt like I was at the funeral service. But after the first 20% — which was explosive and I flew right through — I had trouble getting engaged with each character's individual storyline. It felt like the pace slowed way down, and I wasn't able to pick it up like I did. Ultimately, this was a DNF for me.

This is the story of a family reuniting after the death of a family member. The family does not get along very well and everyone has secrets, even the dead.

I enjoyed the book but it was not my favorite. I found some of the family drama to be overblown. The characters are very well written.

Loved the humour in this one! At the heart of a family in grief & there is love, bonds between cousins and forgiveness.

A very heartwarming story.

I rounded up I'd give this one 3.5 stars if half star ratings were a thing. This is a book full of characters to keep track of it takes place over the course of a week, starting out in which the Williams family are figuring out who is best suited to give a eulogy for Gerry the patriarch of the Williams family. Fred Gerry's best friend delivers quite the unexpected eulogy.
I love a good family saga full of drama If We're Being Honest certainly delivers it's fair share of drama in a small town. Family drama in a small town always makes for a good story especially with a family as big & multigenerational as the Williams.
A solid debut from an author. I'm looking forward to reading more from Cat Shook!

I’m so sorry, I had to DNF this one. I love character driven books and was so excited for this but there were TOO many thrown at me within the first 10 pages. I feel like I needed to take notes. It would have beneficial for the author to maybe do a family tree or brief descriptions before the book started. I was just absolutely lost. I kept trying but I had no idea who was who and it made the story very disconnected for me.

Oh wow! I loved this book. It was both quirky and heartwarming. It kept me smiling the while time. I also found myself laughing out loud a few times. Such a great debut!

I liked this family saga but holy cow there were a lot of characters to keep track of over the course of the novel. I am a fan of the character list at the beginning of a book, and I wonder if that would've helped.

Going to DNF this one. I feel like it was really overhyped right before/on pub day but now has fallen flat. After the first chapter it’s obvious there is way more “telling” than “showing” — not to mention way too much over-description of the characters and a weird amount of parenthesis? Almost reads like a creative writing class short story. Thanks but no thanks.

I have this on ebook and audiobook. The narrator for the audiobook did a good job, but I struggled with the amount of characters in the story. This is a family drama during modern day in a make believe town in Georgia with a little humor thrown in. The secret revealed at the family patriarchs funeral was one that sent all family members reeling and everyone else to gossiping.

The author wrote a good story but it was one I struggled with due to the amount of characters. You get the backstory’s in their own chapters but I’ve never been good with a large cast or POVs

This is about the Williams family. Their beloved patriarch, Gerry, dies suddenly. No one wants to give the eulogy. His best friend, Fred, happily accepts and delivers an EPIC speech. This is a week-long story that starts with a funeral and ends with a wedding. I had to follow a family tree to keep up with the many characters. All the characters in the book had a perspective. It took me a while to read. I had to stop and go back and reread because I didn’t know what character was speaking at the time. The characters were realistic, relatable, and funny. The chapters were extremely long which also took me a minute t read. The concept of the story was great. The moral of the story, I think was that even though they were a close-knit family that loved each other, family will still hurt you. I recommend this book to book clubs so that they can break down the story and have meaningful conversations. I give this book 3 stars.

⁉️Let’s talk swimming. Are you a pool or a beach person?
I love to sit by the beach but swim in a pool. Also, I’ve mentioned it here a million times, but I’m OBSESSED with the smell of chlorine. It’s weird, help. 🤣

BOOK/AUDIOBOOK REVIEW
If We’re Being Honest by Cat Shook
Pub date 4/18/23 (out now 🥳)
304 pages
@celadonbooks @macmillan.audio @netgalley Thank you for the EARC & ALC 👏

I’ve seen lots of comparisons here to Tracey Lange and Emma Straub. If you’re a fan of either, I agree you might like this one. Though, All Adults Here, is my favorite Straub and this doesn’t hit close to that for me.

This is a family drama in which the Grandpa dies and a huge secret is revealed during his eulogy 👀 The rest of the family is left trying to make sense of it and deal with their own private issues at the same time. There are A LOT of characters in this, and they’ve all got some drama to explore.

I liked this one while reading it, but it won’t be one that I remember a few months from now. However, can I just say that this title and cover are 👌 👌 👌

#bookreview #ifwerebeinghonest #celadon #arcreader #bookworm #bookishpost #bookreviewer #booksofinstagram #instaread #applewatch #netgalley #iread #booksiread #bookrecs #booksandplants #bibliophile #reading #bookgram

I enjoyed this family drama about what happens when the father/grandfather dies and a big secret is revealed. My only complaint is there were so many characters it took me awhile to keep everyone straight. It was like walking into a family reunion and being introduced to 30 people at once. The story itself was interesting and heartfelt as the characters worked through their grief and their own life struggles. I love these kinds of family stories. It was original in that the family is left reeling from this huge secret dropped on them at the worst time and are unsure of their emotional which are varied. The ending with the secret Magnolia trees was very sweet and brought a closure for the family which was perfect. I think fans of Meet the Brennans will enjoy this one.
Thanks to Netgalley and Celadon Publishing for an arc for review.

If We're Being Honest was a slow grower type read for me. The cast of characters is large and that made it difficult in the beginning to keep track of everyone.

Some of the aspects I enjoyed were the character development and seeing a close, Southern family sort through many emotional themes. The writing is active and entertaining.

Overall it was a pretty good debut and I would pick up another book by this author in the future.

Boy, does this start off with a bang! We are catapulted into the lives of the Williams family as they attend the funeral of their beloved patriarch, Gerry. The family, and everyone in attendance, is shocked when a secret Gerry has been keeping for decades is revealed during his eulogy. This was such a great and heartwarming story of a family that bands together after their world is turned upside down. This book really embodies the fact that families can be some of the hardest relationships to navigate, but at the same time, are also full of love and connection. As an audiobook, it was confusing at first to keep track of all the characters, but it gets easier the longer you continue to listen. So good and gave me all the feels!

In my March Wrap Up you might have seen that I listed 𝗜𝗙 𝗪𝗘’𝗥𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗧 by Cat Shook as a book I DNF’d. When I listened to the first third, I just wasn’t very into the story and called it quits. Then, I read 𝘐𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘮 and was left with a serious, all encompassing book hangover. Nothing was working for me. Everything felt dull in its glow. Eventually, I decided to go back and try 𝘐𝘧 𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 again…this time in print.⁣
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I’m happy to say it worked much better for me this time around. It's the story of a family who have all gathered back in Georgia after the passing of their beloved patriarch, Gerry. Gerry left behind four adult grandchildren, three children, his wife and a darn big secret. That secret is revealed early on, and in part, the rest of the story revolves around the family's reaction to it. But that’s not all! Everyone left behind also has personal issues that they’re working through with varying levels of success. ⁣
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It was a cute story. Maybe a little too cute for me. Still, I’m glad I went back and gave this book another try. It scratched the itch I had as I read it, but in the end it won’t be all that memorable for me. I’ve read this story before, but I think many (less jaded) readers will love Cat Shook's heartwarming family story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫⁣
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Thanks to @celadonbooks and @macmillanaudio for advanced copies of #IfWereBeingHonest.

I've been reading a lot of family dramas lately and must be burned out on them. This one takes place in my home state (GA) and is a family saga centering around a funeral. It is funny and exciting but this one wasnt my favorite,

Thank you for the advanced copy!

I had high hopes for this one, but had to put it down after a few pages. I love family stories like this, though this one had too many characters introduced at the same time and it was hard to tell them apart at times. And I felt like I wasn't given much description about the characters to really get to know them

When the family gathers for Gerry Williams funeral, a rather large secret is spilled, and that's only the beginning. I loved the premise of this book but the story got very muddled for me. First, there are a lot of characters! And they all come at you at once. The girls even started to blend together, even the neighbor Rebecca, until I actually wrote out a family tree. And while the characters were likeable enough, I never felt like I really got to know them enough to truly care about them. Jennifer, for example, I knew where her storyline was going, but never understood how she got to where she was. Delia, also, I really don't know what happened between her and Connor. Secondly, I think maybe the book tried to tackle too many subjects but never really delved into them. There were so many relationships in this book, each so different, but none fully explored. The book came together at the end in a heartwarming way, but I felt it lost its way before getting there.

I really have a hard time with long chapters so it felt like it took a long time to read this. Although the story has some touching moments, it didn’t quite resonate with me. A family tree would have been appreciated.