If you're a sucker for character driven novels, this one's for you. It takes place over one short week where an entire family is congregated together for a funeral and a wedding. There is every facet of family drama one would expect or want - a death, infidelity, an unplanned pregnancy, a breakup, a wedding, coming out, pseudo-celebrity, and so much more.

There are a lot of characters in this novel and I could see that being a struggle for some readers. The chapters are lengthy and while the text switches from family member to family member, I didn't have trouble keeping up or keeping anyone straight. Every story was unique and interesting enough to hold my attention and keep me wanting more.

This is one of those novels that you can sense is coming to an end but you think, 'how?' You become so invested in these characters that they become real people and you just can't imagine their 'lives' being limited to a finite number of pages. Will Alice have a boy or girl? Will Red find happiness? Can Jennifer and JJ reconcile? Did Grant make it on BIP? Will Delia find a true soulmate? Will CarolAnn ever become less self-absorbed? So many unanswered questions!

I listened to this novel on audio and it was a perfect book for that format. The narrator was excellent - her inflection was spot on and she had me hanging on every word. It really played out like a movie in my head!

This is one I definitely recommend and I look forward to reading more by Shook in the future!

Thank you to Celadon Books, MacMillan Audio, and NetGalley for the copy.

If We're Being Honest by Cat Shook is a Southern and Family Fiction Story!

The Williams family, from far and wide, are all gathered together for the funeral of Gerry Williams, the beloved family patriarch.

As the funeral gets underway, Fred Clark, Gerry's BFF steps up to the podium to deliver the eulogy and what he shares about Gerry, in an extremely inebriated state, sets all in attendance and the entire town reeling. It's quite unexpected...

And that's just the beginning of what takes place with the Williams family in the town of Eulalia, Georgia over the next few days...

If We're Being Honest is a Family Fiction story, one of my favorite sub-genres, but this particular story takes some time to get acquainted with.

We're introduced to this ginormous family list right from the get-go. I started taking a few notes and when I got to my third sticky note, I stopped. Yes, there are, in fact, that many characters.

If We're Being Honest does have great topics nestled into the story but the style it's written in is similar to reporting it rather than describing it. I also found there to be an overabundance of details and dialogue that could have used further editing.

I was excited to listen to the audiobook but I found myself backtrack-listening numerous times to figure out who was who. I finally stopped doing this and simply enjoyed narrator Kathleen McInerney's perky voice. Unfortunately, her gender voicing was similar with all male and with all female characters which created further muddiness with determining who was who.

If We're Being Honest is one I wanted to love but sadly this author's debut novel didn't work for me overall. However, I'm glad to see that it has resonated with others.

3⭐

Thank you to Celadon Books for an ALC of this book through NetGalley. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book! Unfortunately, I did not finish and stopped about 25% of the way into the piece. Perhaps this piece would be easier to follow while reading, but as an audiobook, it was almost impossible to keep track of the characters and numerous story lines. Additionally, it felt like there wasn't much happening within the piece. Again, I appreciate the chance to read, even if this wasn't my favorite piece.

Thank you Celadon and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC of If We're Being Honest! All opinions in this review are my own.

What a debut! From the opening chapter of this book, I was drawn in! If We're Being Honest accurately depicts how learning secrets about family members can vastly change the dynamics within the family, especially when this is also coupled with grief.

Even though there are quite a few characters in this novel, I didn't find it difficult to differentiate between them. I listened to the audiobook and was a little nervous when the family tree was being read, but each character had their own story to tell.

If We're Being Honest is such an engrossing read and I can't wait to read the next book from Cat Shook!

I received an advanced listening copy of If We're Being Honest by Cat Shook through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review, and here it is.
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☆☆☆☆
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At first I was very overwhelmed with the immediate run down of everyone in the family and it honestly took me a while to get them all straight and once I did I was able to enjoy the story completely.
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This is a charming story about less-than-charming topics. After a family friend eulogizes the patriarch, Gerry, of the William's family, everyone is in shock. Every member of this family is dealing with their own internal struggles, and now the grief and reconciliation of what Gerry means to them after some secrets are revealed.
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It's lovely to see how these family members are there for the matriarch of the family and for each other to a certain extent. I appreciate the witty, honesty, and funny commentary on what a relatively relatable family is.
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This is Cat Shook's debut novel, and I'm totally going to read for future books!
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Thanks to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and author Cat Shook for this ALC to honestly review. If We're Being Honest is out TODAY (April 18th)!

*3.5⭐ rounded up*

A family drama that opens somber with a funeral and a secret revealed. This debut novel reminded me a lot of my family. My grandfather passed last year, there was no secret revealed, but the family dynamic is very similar to the Williams'. I really enjoyed the story and characters. The audiobook was very well done and the narrator was wonderful!

*Thank you @celadonbooks for the egalley and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

I listened to the audio version of If We’re Being Honest. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, which is a little difficult in audio format. The book does start out with a family tree but it’s hard to get a good understanding without the visual. Aside from there being several characters, the book was sad and heartwarming all at once. This book tackles somewhat difficult topics which is always nice to see, especially when handled well like Shook does. All in all I would pick up another book by this author!

“𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮'𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸.” That’s the opening line of Chapter 1 of If We’re Being Honest which definitely had me intrigued. This book tells the story of four cousins and their parents, and how they all deal with a big bombshell being dropped at their grandfather’s funeral.

I love a good family drama, and this debut novel was definitely filled with more drama than most families deal with at one time. I cared about some characters more than others and found some a bit too whiny or self centered. What I loved was that no matter what, this family cared about each other even when it seemed like they didn’t.

I listened to the audiobook, and I found it really hard to keep track of all of the characters. I wish I had known prior to listening that there was a family tree in the physical book which would have helped me follow along better. Although I enjoyed Kathleen McInerney as the narrator, it would have really helped to have a full cast narration to differentiate between the characters.

There’s a major theme in the book of magnolia trees being planted around the town, and I absolutely loved the ending and figuring who was planting them and why. That definitely redeemed a book I was struggling with at times.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for an advanced listeners copy and Celadon Books for a physical ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book. The death of Jerry really shook everyone and definitely left a lot of questions for the entire family. I would have loved to see more of Alice and Peter, maybe a sequel? 🤗 Overall I thought this was a good book. I didn't care for Carol-Ann, she was a snot 🤣 I would also like to know more about Red and really everyone..I think there's definitely room for a sequel!


Thank you to netgalley for the audiobook version.

This one just felt okay. It made me sad that big secrets came out after a death- far too late! I was glad that it seemed to have an impact on others and allowed them to open up. The many different storylines in the characters kept this one moving quickly. It just didn’t resonate with me personally.

🌀Synopsis
When Gerry dies, everyone comes home to grieve. What they don’t know is a bomb is about to drop. The man they knew as Gerry’s best friend announces that they were actually lovers at the funeral. The entire family is shaken and shocked.
Alongside this news we have Alice- who announces she is pregnant and has to also break the news to her high school sweetheart that is the father. There is Delia who is trying to convince herself that she and her ex truly made the right choice and don’t belong together. Red- who is figuring out his sexuality at a young age. And trying to hold them all together is Ellen, Gerry’s widow who also didn’t know he had a lover besides her.
Through their grief this family opens up to each other and finally lets secrets be revealed. They seem to all realize life is too short to keep it all bottled up.

When Gerry, beloved father and grandfather, dies his family is forever changed. At his funeral a bombshell is delivered that changes his family’s perception of who he was. As they all grapple with their grief can they find comfort in each other?

Y’all I really liked this one. I grew up in Georgia so this felt a little like home. I love a good family drama and this did not disappoint. Despite the funeral this one is kept fairly light-hearted. My only complaint - the amount of characters! I made myself a family tree elementary school style so I could keep everyone straight 😂. I also received this one on audiobook from netgalley and was equally as impressed in that format. Pick this one up today!

“This is a complicated situation. It’s okay to have complicated feelings about it.”

A shocking revelation at the funeral of Gerry, the patriarch of the Williams family, sets in motion a series of events that changes a family forever.

This was a very character driven story that I quite enjoyed. There are a lot of characters here..children and grandchildren and nieces and siblings. So in that respect I don’t think I ever had a full grasp of each individual character and their relationship to the rest. But I enjoyed the dynamics between them all, and the truths and honesty that came out between them over the course of the book.

The audiobook was done very well, with different cadences for some of the characters making it a tad bit easier to follow along when there are so many.

The book ended on such a high note and tied the story together so nicely. If you like character driven stories or peeking inside the dynamics of large families then I think you will enjoy this one.

Thank you to Netgalley, Celadon Books, and the author for the #gifted ARC and ALC.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for gifting me an audio ARC of this debut book by Cat Shook and wonderfully narrated by a favorite, Kathleen McInerney - 4.5 stars!

The story opens at the funeral of Gerry, the patriarch of the Williams family. Gerry's friend, Fred, delivers the eulogy that includes a bombshell for the gathered family. Over the next week, we are privy to all the family drama affecting Gerry's family as a result. In addition, a scheduled family wedding is planned for the next week so all the cousins who came in for the funeral stay for that event.

I love messy family stories - maybe it makes mine less messy? There are a lot of characters here, but eventually you can keep them straight as everyone has a particular issue as well. I thought the writing was spot on and the narration of all those characters great. Families are all complicated in various ways and this book kept me engaged until the end. Full of heart and hope, with humor to pave the way! Looking forward to more from this author!

If I’m being honest, this book didn’t work for me. I just didn’t really get the point. There were a lot of people doing a lot of things but none of them seemed all that interesting. It starts off with a funeral and everyone finding grandpa’s best friend was more than a friend. And that was the most interesting part of the thing. I didn’t connect with the characters and the whole thing didn’t go anywhere I was interested in seeing.

The writing in this book is awesome as well as the narrator but unfortunately it’s just too much. There’s a lot going on in this book and I found that I couldn’t stay focused and interested. I ended up DNFing at 33%, I’m sure others will love this one but it just wasn’t for me.

I did not finish this book. I was extremely bored and just didn’t care for it. The narration was done well given what they were working with.

Thank you to Celadon Books, author Cat Shook, and NetGalley for my ALC of If We’re Being Honest.

This book follows the Williams family as they navigate life after the loss of Gerry—loving father, grandfather, and husband. From all corners of the country, Gerry’s children and grandchildren gather in his small hometown in Georgia. This is meant to be a coming-together and celebration of his life but as great at Gerry was, he harbored a secret for many years that was exposed at his funeral. Now, the Williams family has to piece together their feelings and navigate these muddy waters whole grieving and dealing with their own drama. Did I mention there’s also a wedding the same week? Messy, messy.

If We’re Being Honest was a comforting listen and the narration was really well done. Unfortunately, for me, the novel simply had too many characters and storylines/character arcs that either went on a bit too long or wrapped up so quickly that I forgot about them until they were next mentioned. Overall, I enjoyed it and give it 3 stars.

The book starts with a funeral and gets the reader engulfed in the vast Willams family. The story here is not focused on a single character but branched out like a family tree into the lives of all these siblings.

There were a few things that make this book a bit audience specific, so let me lay it out in front of you:

📝 many characters which may make it difficult to keep up
📝 a contemporary world with no specific tale
📝 a display of ordinary life and humans going through their lives
📝 LGBT friendly
📝 Supportive tale of coming out and accepting your identity.

Now from my personal take, I do well with many characters and tailing each of them with specific character traits. However, a contemporary setup with no main story makes a book a little less engaging. I would have liked it if for the least it has a learning to it. As for the representation part, I feel it was captured very well.

Thank you @netgalley @macmillan.audio for the Audiobook ARC.

IF WE'RE BEING HONEST is the debut by Cat Shook and the audio is narrated by Kathleen McInerney.

This is an extended family drama that kicks off at the funeral of the Patriarch, Gerry. The three kids of Gerry and Ellen Williams and the four adult grandkids are all there when the eulogy goes off the rails and rattles the entire family. With a wedding of close friends in a week, the family are all together processing the revelations which spur on deeper conversations within this clan. Finding a way to move forward is the challenge that they all must meet.

Coming from a large and close extended family, this was a story that had some familiar idiosyncrasies. I loved the cousin connections as they felt authentic. It was a lot of drama to keep track of, but that also felt real.

This story definitely had its moments of crazy. I did enjoy each of the character's wrestling with what to do with the information they received and whether it mattered going forward. They each had personal growth challenges that had to come up against grief and reframing what they though they knew. I appreciated the bittersweet moments that closed out this story as well.

I listened to this audio as well as followed the digital ARC and that may be an additional reason why it was not hard for me to follow. McInerney did a great job differentiating between characters. I do believe that in the final printed version, it would benefit more readers to have a family tree, however.

I think there were a lot of really great moments in this story. After reading several powerful family dramas lately, this one did not have the deeper powerful emotions that I expected. This would be a perfect choice for readers looking for a lighter family drama with a bit of sass!

⭐⭐⭐💫

Thank you to @celadonbooks for the @netgalley digital ARC and audio ALC! I truly love having both and this was a delight. This title will be available on April 18th!

I love this southern family drama that starts with a funeral and a secret and ends with a wedding and new beginnings. The soap opera of this entire family was just the right amount of drama. I loved the ending and the secret of the magnolia trees that were planted around the neighborhood was such a sweet touch.