What did this book for me was the ending and how it wrapped up. At times it felt so slow but the ending made it worth it. This book is paced exactly how it should have been. It was SO good. For me it really picked up after we found that Craig is Marielle's baby daddy. I loved the back and forth from Alec's funeral to each other theirs and then what was going in with Jordan in those times. So beautifully well done. Can't wait for more from Steven Rowley, he has this ability to entertain and teach valuable life/relational lessons at the same time.

Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for the eARC! The Celebrants is an emotionally resonating, laugh out loud funny, delightful novel. I adored the friendship among the titular group and the individual friendships explored between them. What a unique concept (the “funerals” thrown in honor of each member of the group) that allowed for an emotional and entertaining exploration of adulthood, grief, friendship, terminal illness, and more - the most present themes being love, growth, and what it means to go on in the wake of a beloved one’s passing and how it affects the orbit they left behind. I absolutely loved this novel and can’t wait to explore Rowley’s backlog. Side note: how cute is it that Rowley and his husband (Big Gay Wedding by Byron Lane) released books on the same day and are in tour together?! Goals. 4.5 stars!

This was a very character driven story with a lot of heart. The characters in this one are so real and so complicated that I wanted to get to know them better.

The group of 6 in The Celebrants become close friends in college after switching colleges and being the newbies, but not freshman. Alec, Craig, Naomi, Marielle, Jordan, & Jordan are the like the six muskateers until the sudden death of one of the groups rocks them all.

Alec was the one that was the comedian and the one to likely be the buffer in any situation so his death hits everyone hard. They all come up with a pact. They decide to do "living funerals" for each other if they are ever feeling down and out and need to be lifted up.

The Jordans are the couple that are relationship goals! Craig is the crumudgeon of the group,but he is one that grows on you. Naomi is a people pleasing perfectionist. Marielle is someone who doesn't like to be alone. They all come together after decades of friendship when called on for these living funerals. Marielle is shattered after her failed marriage and is trying to handle being a single mother. Naomi's tragic loss of her parents makes her wonder where her place is in the world. Craig gets in legal trouble after an art fraud. And the Jordans are facing another cancer scare.

This one will tear at your soul. I'm not typically a fan of character driven novels, but I did enjoy this one. The characters were so complex and real that I cared what happened to them. I wanted to know what was going to happen in their lives. The writing is amazing and the pace is just right. If you liked his previous books, you will like this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“The Celebrants“ is an enjoyable yet emotionally impactful book. It tackles themes of grief while still managing to be beautiful and heartwarming. This story revolves around five friends who form an unbreakable bond after a tragic event, leading them to hold living funerals for anyone of them who needs it, allowing them to feel support during low points in their lives. The characters each have so much depth and getting to know each of them just drew me further into the book. Rowley's writing style was just for me. I laughed, cried some, but overall enjoyed the book in its entirety.

“Yes, Mr. Security Guard, I DO realize the museum is closing. But do YOU realize that this soaring ceiling matches my book perfectly?!”😆 Aaah, this book y’all. I laughed, I cried, I gasped. Whenever anyone asks for a rec, The Guncle is my go-to. Mr. Rowley has done it again with this beautiful book 🧡.
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Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle make a pact in college after tragedy strikes. They swear to come together and throw a living funeral for any friend who triggers the pact during a time of crisis. There’s a divorce, a felony, sudden family deaths. But nobody is prepared for Jordan’s news, least of all his husband, Jordy.
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Heartwarming and heartbreaking, this book alternates between the present day “funeral” and funerals past. It’s a story about friendship, how it flexes and bends across space and time. And then there’s the true friends who will always be there to lift you up during your darkest moments. Rowley deftly balances witty dialogue with emotional gut punches and lessons on life and love. *I swear I’m not getting choked up just writing this review 🥹.*
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Perfect start to Pride Month 🧡. Thank you to @putnambook and @netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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The Celebrants - Steven Rowley
5/5⭐️
Pub Date: 5/30/23 🎉OUT NOW!🎉
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“My point is, we were all figuring out this thing called life, and in truth we probably are still. But there is always someone a little further down the path, and if they have a kind heart, if they truly care about others, every so often they turn back and light the way.”

There are a lot of very long winded reviews here so if you want details you can find them. All I want to say is this book is NOTHING like The Guncle so don’t expect to laugh out loud and be amused. But it is a wonderful story about life, friendships and appreciating who and what is in front of you. It starts a little slowly, but stick with it. And I really loved the way it ended. Four stars. Thank you Netgalley for an eARC!

Steven Rowley has written some excellent books, especially the fabulous "The Guncle." I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to read his latest book. The Celebrants focuses on five college friends who while mourning the loss of the sixth member of their tight group decide to create a pact where they have living funerals for each other whenever one of them needs to be reminded that their life is worthwhile and they are loved. This story took me a while to get invested. I initially struggled to connect with the characters because you get so little of them each time we meet up with them over the years. However, as the book continues, and this group of friends gets together again and again for each living funeral, you start to connect with them and care about what happens to them. It isn't as powerful as "The Guncle" but it still made me cry in the end.

My thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for an advance copy. My opinion is my own.

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley showcases the same whit and charm as The Guncle but explores a heavier topic. I love Rowley's writing and humor, which carries through this book. We meet a group of middle aged friends who originally met in college. After they lost their friend Alec at 22 they have gathered together to host "living funerals" at the moments that they have needed each other the most to stay connected. This year there is a big secret that is yet to be revealed.

This book is full of heart - you will laugh and you will cry. I don't want to give too much away. Steven Rowley is an auto read author for me and this book will convince you of that too.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC - The Celebrants is out now!

This is one of those books that you read, and it lingers with you a while, and you revisit it every so often.

This group of friends meet at Berkley and are drawn together as they are all transfer students. Things happen. Life happens. And when one of the gang, Alec, unexpectedly passes away prior to graduation, they make a pact. They are going to have their own living funerals - at any point in life, when any one of them feels like they are floundering, they need the others, they can call for their funeral and the rest will come, no questions asked. But this can only happen once per person.

This was a motley crew, all very different, but that friendship survived it all. Oh it ebbed and flowed. They would lose touch. They all lived their lives. Mistakes were made, on their own and with each other. But when one called, they came.

I am not much of a book crier, but that last little bit definitely got me misty!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 Stars ⭐️

Wow. I really loved that book. I had no idea what to expect going in, but I was pleasantly surprised. This book was unique, heartfelt, and so well-written. It was also VERY funny. I was absolutely cackling during the skydiving scene. This book was also inspiring and a beautiful reminder to not only LIVE life, but also to tell those you care about what you love about them while you can.

It was such a joyful read and I was sad to say goodbye to my new friends when it was over. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 Stars was because I felt the end was a little rushed and lacked the emotion I expected. I was ready for and wanting a full on sob fest. I did tear up, but otherwise he's gentle on us in the end.

Read If You Like:
-Found Family
-Now/Then Timelines
-LGBTQ Rep
-Character Growth
-Characters Working Through Loss/Grief
-Stories That Celebrate Life

Audiobook Review: I truly cannot recommend the audiobook enough. Thank you so much to Penguin Random House Audio for the gifted audiobook. It was narrated by the author himself and he did a FANTASTIC job. He wrote the book, so you could hear his passion, love, and emotion come through. I highly recommend!

Thank you to BookSparks for the physical copy, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the eARC, and PRH Audio for the free audiobook!

Thanks for the ARC Netgalley! This Read with Jenna June pick is a perfect summer read. It’s heartwarming, funny and has depth.

A group of college friends mourns their friend Alec’s sudden death. Distraught, they make a pact: each member of the group gets a “living funeral” when they choose, to celebrate each other fully. Spanning decades, we see the group young and grief stricken to middle aged and floundering. We see living funerals for three of the members in flashbacks, framed with a present storyline of a current living funeral.

I loved Rowley’s “The Guncle” and his wit, atmospheric writing and fleshed out relationships are all alive and well here too. I really enjoyed this feel good book with its big beating heart. It’s touted as a “Big Chill for our time” and I completely see that. The only reason this isn’t 5⭐️s for me is because the friend group is large and it took me awhile to grasp who everyone is fully. This book will be a big hit this summer and for good reason!

✨Trigger Warnings: Cancer, Death of a Parent, Addiction, Suicide

Funerals are for the living, so why not celebrate your life when you are living? That is exactly the idea for these friends after losing a close friend in college. Each person in the pact can call, no questions asked, just show up, and have their funeral thrown for them while they are alive.



I was not sure how this would play out, would it be incredibly sad, would it be corny? I believe it played out perfectly. Each person has their funeral, their story is told in their own chapter. Their friends celebrate them, challenge them to keep living, and show them how much they are loved. I really liked that no one took making the call for their funeral lightly. The calls only came during times of need and ended up changing their lives for the better.



The Celebrants is a unique look at living life, true friends, and celebrating living.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗦 and I got off to a bumpy start, but in the end I really liked it. This is the story of five college friends who tragically lost the sixth in their group just weeks before graduation. After his funeral, they made a pact. They’d have their own funerals while they were still living, to be able to call for the others at a time when they most need support and most need to be told how much they’re loved.⁣
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This was a really interesting, fun mix of characters, anchored by “The Jordans,” Jordy and Jordan. As the book opens, Jordan has called the group together for his funeral, but his has not been the first. I loved that this intense, snarky group of friends were always willing to honor their pact even if sometimes they did so kicking and screaming. The progression of their friendship over the years felt both comfortable and relatable.⁣
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Now for the bumpy start…I began 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 on audio and ouch! While I thought Steven Rowley did a fabulous job narrating 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦 in 2021, here I felt like all the characters sounded like its title character. This was a book that would have really benefited from a full cast of narrators. With just Rowley, I grew frustrated in how similar everyone’s sarcasm sounded, in how every character’s inflections and tones were alike. At 25%, I was ready to quit, but instead I turned to print and that made all the difference. I immediately could relate to the cast as individuals with distinct personalities rather than one big mass. So, my recommendation is twofold. First, do read this fun, sweet book of deep, lasting friendship. Second, do so in print!

(𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 @𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 & @𝘗𝘙𝘏𝘈𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.)

I have been excited for Rowley's next novel since I read the last page of Guncle. The Celebrants is a story of 5 college friends who make a pact after a loss off friend to be there for each other when they need each other. I don't want to give the story away. I struggled with the first half of this story but glad I stuck thru it because it picked up for me at about 60%. I love how Rowey connects the character with something as simple as nitpicking on one another. Gives the story an authentic feel and you feel the power of friendship feeling more like family. Thank you #NetGalley and #TheCelebrants for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure to review this one!

I’m so sad to report this one didn’t work for me. I loved The Guncle and i really loved the premise of this book but it fell short for me.

🎁📚 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀📚🎁
3.5/5🌟

As 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒆 was truly one of my favorite books of 2021 - a total 5🌟read for me - I had such high hopes for Rowley’s follow up, just published on May 30th. Sadly, it fell short. First off, the premise is totally macabre - five college friends create a pact after the untimely death of the sixth of their group, promising to hold funerals for one another while they’re all still alive, so that nothing will be left unsaid and they’ll each always know what they’ve meant to the other. It was just so dark. Idk, maybe just celebrate each other in a non-funereal way? Also, the occasions of said funerals were far between and it kind of made no sense as it seemed the five had lost contact long ago and didn’t know one another very well any longer - aside from gay couple Jordan and Jordy (thanks for keeping me consistently confused with the same name thing!). I really didn’t have the feeling of knowing any of the characters, although each had an interesting back story. I wanted to badly to love this one, and it’s not a bad choice for a summer read, but it never hit the humorous highs and emotionally poignant moments of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒆 that I’ve now come to expect from Rowley.

Many thanks to @netgalley and GP Putman Sonz
For the opportunity to read this ARC.

#bibliophile #stephsalwaysreading #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #tbrlist#thecelebrants#ARC#netgalley #summerreads

“Life is what you celebrate. All of it. Even its end.” —Joanne Harris

3 out of 5 stars (3 / 5) After the sudden death of a friend, a group of college friends vow to celebrate “living funerals” so the “deceased” can hear all the amazing things their friends have to say about them. It’s a story about life, struggles and death. But most of all, the importance of friendship.

Rowley wrote one of my top books of 2021, Guncle. The beauty of his writing grabbed me immediately but the story is what held my heart. I wanted that for this book. It felt as if it would be a book to make me think, to appreciate life and the people in it. And while I did love the premise of the book, it still fell a bit short for me.

“Do as many things as you can to remind yourself you’re alive.”

I love the idea of their “living funerals” even if they were awkward and inconvenient at times. It showed the beauty of friendship and reminded me that others see me differently, a lot of the time, better, than I see myself. For this idea alone, I loved the book. Hearing the words and feelings people have about you BEFORE you die? Why haven’t we thought of this before?

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single one, and the life of that candle will not be shortened. That’s what you do for others. You light their candle with yours.”

Sadly, this didn’t hit the mark for me. While I liked a few of the characters, I never felt connected to them. Their trials, while sad, didn’t tug at my heart like Guncle did. The book ended beautifully even for all it’s misgivings and I haven’t given up on Rowley yet. Guncle was too impressionable for me to not read him again. I do believe those of us in the “olderish” generation would appreciate the humor (the generation where you wake up and you find yourself sore but also find yourself grunting when bending down. Are these our golden years? I feel jipped).

Thank you to Shelf Awareness and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the copy!

The book releases May 30, 2023.

I really enjoyed The Celebrants! I really enjoyed this author’s previous work, so I went into this one very excited. I was not disappointed. The Celebrants is about the lives of 5 friends who make a pact to have their funerals before they’re dead. So they can witness just how loved and appreciated they are, while alive. I love stories built on friendship and this one was no different!

I’m not sure there’s anything I can say that hasn’t already been said. This is another pull on the heartstrings that you won’t be able to put down. But it is also a study on grief and grieving and how it shapes us as well as secrets, forgiveness, and found family.

The characters are well formed and grow and mature significantly over the years. I adored all of them even while I didn’t understand or agree with some of their decisions.

It did start a bit slow for me, but the payoff was totally worth it. Be sure to read the author’s notes at the end too. You’ll love Rowley’s shoutout to bookstagram. Rounding up to 4.5⭐️

So far this has been an amazing year for books but I think I already have a favorite - The Celebrants by @mrstevenrowley . Not surprising since The Guncle was my favorite book of 2021 and this was my most anticipated book of this year.
This book touched my heart in so many ways. Welp. I am a puddle. It is the story of a group of college friends who throw each other funerals while they are still alive but going through a rough patch so that they know how much they are loved. It has Big Chill and Four Weddings and a Funeral vibes with that same comfort of old friends who are there to support you and love you in your darkest days but with snarky humor and dry wit that had me cackling when I wasn’t wiping my tears. The characters were so well developed, so multi-dimensional and so relatable and likable. Such a heartwarming, moving look at friendships and friends who are like family. I could gush for days about this one. Oh, and I loved the nod to @jordys.book.club - one of my favorite bookstagrammers!! Out now so do yourself a favor and get this book. All the stars.