Thank you Celadon Books @celadonreads and Cat Shook @catshook_ for this free book.
“Humor Me” by Cat Shook ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Fiction. Location: Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. Time: 2017-2018.

Smart, snarky, prickly, lonely Presley Fry (25, dirty blond ponytail, maybe a tiny bit goth) is from Eulalia, Georgia, and she’s grieving her out-of-control, alcoholic mother Patty’s death less than 2 years ago. Now she lives in an East Village 5th floor walk-up with best friend Izzy. Presley can’t catch a break. Her dating life is nonexistent. She’s a lowly assistant at TV’s #1 late night show. Patty’s childhood friend Susan befriends Presley. Susan is married to a disgraced network head. Her son, Lawrence, who is definitely not Presley’s type, joins their odd friendship. Can Presley open up enough to grieve, and also learn to navigate relationships in the city that never sleeps?

Author Shook has written a book about unlikely, yet healing female friendships, the vulnerability of grief, unexpected love (and stand-up comedy) that’s also a love letter to NYC. Her writing is heartfelt and insightful: (“I feel the pre-ache of a deep sadness coming on…”), and my favorite cultural reference: (“…kisses my forehead , which somehow has a kind of Dementor effect in that it sucks out some of my hangover.”) There is, as Shook puts it, “a chasm of our generational differences” between my world and Presley’s world. And yet I found myself sucked in and loving it, cheering for her to stay snarky, funny, and honest through her growing pains compounded by grief. It’s 5 stars from me🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️ #celadonreads #partner #humorme

Presley Fry, an assistant at the Late Night Show, welcomes readers into her world in NYC in this witty novel. As a reader, I felt taken along for the ride as Presley navigates many different types of friendships, an occasional romance, and the demands of a career in a male dominated industry. This book is funny, very entertaining, but also sneaks in a few really importance lessons in self respect and love. I really enjoyed this latest book by Cat Shook, and I felt it handled some pretty important themes while managing to keep the flow of the book feeling light. Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the advanced copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

Presley searches for comedy talent in New York City for the Late Night Show. She may just be an assistant but she enjoys her job. When her late mother’s childhood friend, Susan, reaches out, Presley is forced to face her grief.

This was a slower paced story that packed a punch. There’s an underlying feel of grief, as the main character is doing everything she can to avoid working through it. I got a kick out of Susan. Sometimes you are surprised by characters who you think you have figured out from the beginning. If you enjoy deep character studies, especially single women in NYC, this will be your book.

Humor Me comes out 7/9.

This book really has slowwww pacing, just want to warn you, contemporary read, I am not particularly a fan of slow burn but I love the banter with the characters in the novel. I honestly did not like how it ended, I felt it was sort of lacking but nevertheless I still enjoyed the book.
I also liked how mature the characters were when talking about trauma or how to express their feelings.

If you need an easy read, comedy romance, I’ll recommend this book. I am only rating it a 3-star because I feel that there could be more interactions wiith the lead characters , less unnecessary scenes that doesn’t contribute to the plot , rushed ending but overall enjoyed the comedy and the romance in this book.

Sadly I had to DNF at 38%. I don’t understand the comp to Romantic Comedy as the only thing this remotely had in common with that book was the fact the MC also works in the comedy industry, though in a vastly different capacity and situation than late night tv.

I also don’t see how or why this is pitched as any kind of romantic comedy when there’s no romance to be found and I found the references to romcoms more anecdotal as just something the MC liked than something this book was actually trying to emulate at all.

This feels like it got lost and confused on what it wanted to be because it’s not even a particularly sharp character driven story. While we hear again and again about Pressley’s alcoholic mother who passed, there isn’t anything that takes us deeper into those feelings. Despite the heavy topic, it’s never quite examined and doesn’t feel like it serves any broader character arc or storytelling purpose. Even as I skimmed the rest of the book, I didn’t see how this piece of backstory ever really comes full circle in a meaningful way.

Presley is a twenty-something woman working as an assistant (for too long if you ask her) at a late night show in New York. She had a very complicated relationship with her mother, who passed away recently. She is very close with her roommate and best friend, Isabelle. She has no interest in dating, with the exception of her coworker who she has a massive crush on and a relatively codependent friendship with. One day Presley runs into her mother's childhood friend, Susan, who lives in New York, and whose husband is an executive at the network that airs Presley's show. Shortly after, news breaks that Susan's husband has been having an affair with a subordinate, and the #MeToo movement has come from him as well.

Presley strikes up an unexpected friendship in Susan, and eventually her son as well. Slowly but surely, Presley starts standing up for herself, whether it's at work or with that crush that has taken advantage of their friendship. But things are changing, and Presley is struggling to adapt, which frankly feels like the most relatable moment of all.

This book took me back to my 20s and living in a big city - the good, the bad, and the ugly. The hard lessons - personally and professionally. But also the importance of your family, both birth and chosen, the ones that will lift you up on the hardest of days, and join you in celebrating the wins. Big thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for this ARC, which comes out on July 9.

This was such a fun read, with a very “vibes only” feel but I really enjoyed the vibes. This book immerses you in the world of those working in the entertainment tv industry, specifically comedy, and does a great job with entertaining the audience through the character’s anecdotes. The writing was engaging, and although I found the main character her to be annoying after a while, I still enjoyed the various friendships and found family. This was a solid read, and I look forward to more by this author.

This isn't really a rom com but rather a smart, insightful look at a 20-something woman struggling with grief, her job, her crush, and life in general. But it's funny. The death of her mom still hangs over Presley who works at a late night show and shares an apartment with Izzy. And then one day she runs into Susan, her mom's friend from Georgia who is living an upper east side life which has just imploded thanks to her media mogul husband's bad behavior. These two build an unlikely but wonderful relationship which includes Susan's son Lawrence, who likes to be called Clark. And this is where the rom com comes in Presley's been in lust for her colleague but now Clark sparks something else in her. It's a nicely done relationship to be sure but this really shines with Susan. Shook has created characters who feel very real (Presley's grandparents, Izzy, her family, and her love interest) and made them sympathetic. And the comedy bits! I went into this expecting a quick toss off of a read but it quickly made me slow down to enjoy it. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Great read.

This book was surprisingly deep, in my opinion. I've never been to New York, but this book does a really good job telling the story of people living there. Living, loving, leaving, all of the things.

Presley truly comes into her own by the end of the book, and it was lovely to see. Maturity looks real good on her. Her job at a late night talk show is a nice backdrop for who she is, and why she is.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

What is this really about? I had a hard time getting into this story. In my opinion, the writing lacks .... something, it was seriously all over the place. I couldn't figure out the plot and as I read the reviews it looks like this was a common theme.

Thanks Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I actually loved this book more than I thought I would. If you’re going into it expecting a cute romcom then you’ll be disappointed. There is romance but this is mostly about Presley and her coming to terms with herself and her alcoholic mother who died.
I loved how there are so many different types of relationships in this book. So many! There’s some good, some bad, and some that are just there to help push you forward. I really loved that Presley was also pretty smart and didn’t hold on to the relationships she didn’t need anymore. I loved that the love interest was THE perfect person to be along for her journey. He was so patient and so kind to her. She really needed that. I loved it 🥹😍

Presley had so much growth as a person in this book. She became a better friend, a better partner, and a better version of herself. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Absolutely awful. There might have been a great story in here somewhere but I couldn’t get passed the dismal writing to find it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Humor Me by Cat Shook

This story follows 25 year old Presley who is navigating through life in Manhattan, with her best friend Izzy. She works for the Late Night show, scouting comedians for Friday night showings. Not big on social connections, Presley is a little jaded when it comes to people and relationships. She hasn't faced the feelings that come along with the loss of a parent, drowning herself in work and denial. Through it all, we watch Presley strengthen existing relationships, develop unexpected connections, and learn to trust herself.

I really enjoyed this book. If you asked me what the plot was I couldn't really give you a clear answer, but what I can say is that it is a great story. These characters are so real; Just like people you would meet in every day life. It really brought Manhattan alive and I felt like I was right there with her. Izzy is absolutely amazing and there are other characters that I fell in love with, but I don't want to spoil it. This just read like real life and was so fantastic to read! Her issues with her mother really hit home with me (not my mother but another family member) and my heart broke for her. However, she meets some amazing people and builds such heartwarming connections. I love how this story evolved!

I recommend this book if you like:

Real life
Found family
Tough topics
Character growth
Urban setting
Office politics
Unexpected romance
Comedy

Thank you NetGalley and Cat Shook for providing me with an ARC and allowing me to review your book!

Sometimes a book is smart and engaging and comments on social issues in a way that is light and digestible. Sometimes books are heavier handed. This is just a bit too much for me. Thanks for letting me try.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for this digital galley!

OUT JULY 9TH

The first thing you should know about Humor Me is that this story is largely character driven and is what I would describe as “no plot, just vibes.” I love a good character study, so this worked great for me. I found this charming and funny and found myself smiling down at my kindle at times while reading.

All of the characters felt fully formed and real and I often found them endearing. I enjoyed our main character, Presley. She’s outwardly very sarcastic and sardonic, but inwardly, she’s a good person who loves her friends and her family, even if she struggles to express it. I did at times get annoyed with Presley’s inability to express herself, but I think that was the point and we do see real growth and development in her by the end.

I enjoyed the range of friendships featured here. You have the close, ride-or-die best friend with Isabelle; a new, developing, uncertain friendship with Susan; a work friend with confusing signals with Adam. I think what I liked about seeing these different relationships is we get to know Presley more fully because we see different sides of her depending on who she’s interacting with.

The first note I took on this while I was reading was that it “felt like a love letter to New York.” In the synopsis, it says that about the NYC comedy scene, but I think it’s more about the city itself. I think the synopsis makes it seem like Humor Me is far more career-heavy than it actually is. It’s definitely a big part of the story because it’s a big part of who Presley is, but I don’t think it stood out over other parts of her.

There are a few different themes throughout, but the most prominent one is grief. We see different kinds of grief: infidelity in a marriage, ending of a friendship, and, of course, death of a parent and friend. I think it was shown in a very real way: no one has any answers and every one is dealing with it differently the best that they can.

I don’t think this is for everyone, but I really enjoyed it! If anything I said appeals to you, you should definitely read it!

I struggled big time with this book. I found I had to force myself to sit and read it because I didn't want to. I didn't feel any sort of connection to the characters, which is a shame because Presley really had great potential.

I also found the use of parentheses throughout the book annoying. Each set of parentheses added more details to what was going on, but wasn't necessary at all. For example, "Though tonight, eating a chicken salad sandwich (Trader Joe's Wine Country Chicken Salad is the only tolerable chicken salad in the city) with as much rage as..." It got to the point I stopped reading what was on the parentheses because they didn't add anything to the story.

I was incredibly underwhelmed with the story. It ended and it felt like there were so many things left that needed to be wrapped up. Overall, I give it two and a half stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Humor Me is out July 9th.

Major thanks to NetGalley for this ARC! A funny, heartfelt, and often heartbreaking ode to NYC, comedy, and the ties that bind. I had a lot of fun reading this one and was rooting for our main girl & her crush SO HARD by the end!! There were some slogs in the middle, but overall I found it an engaging read - and a total time capsule for a time not so long ago, but somehow lightyears away.

Navigating life in New York City and trying to make it big at her dream job, Presley falls flat in almost every aspect of her life. Her mother’s passing is still a painful reminder of how short life is, and her lack of a romantic life has her roommate orchestrating her every move to get her back on the scene and living life to its fullest.

I was waiting for something big to emerge within this story but was unfortunately disappointed. While this isn’t the usual genre I would choose to read, I needed to change things up and try a light-hearted read for the summer. Light it was. Maybe too light for my liking. Lacking depth and with emotionally stunted characters, I couldn’t get into it enough to finish it.

Overall, I recommend this novel to anyone who loves romcoms and fun, non-complicated, character-driven storylines.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ehhh - I spent the entire book waiting for more. It just felt very flat to me. The characters were fine, but I wanted a little more dimension from them. The story line was just okay, very predictable and there were no moments where I couldn't turn away from the book. I listened to this and read this and they were both just okay. I did not love the main character and I wanted more drama, entertainment and banter than we got. I did like that this book touched on trauma (a mother with substance abuse who passed away) and the dating world today. I also did like that the main character was very much a "I don't need everyone to like me" kind of person. I just thought that there was not enough oomph to the book and it was just flat.

Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader and audio copies!

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to discover an author I never knew about but am so glad I do now. Humor me is a wonderful story about a young woman, Presley, who is such a fun character that I wish I could be friends with her. Presley is trying to figure out life. She wants a promotion at her dream job finding comedians for the late show she works on while she navigates life in NYC.

I loved the realistic friendship she had with her best friend Izzy and how Presley grew as a person throughout the book. The ending was perfect with it not being a complete happy ending for both Izzy and Presley but with them both growing so much that the reader left the book having faith that a happy ending was a distinct possibility.

Thanks again to Netgalley and to the publishers for opening my eyes to another amazing author and I look forward to seeing what else she comes out with.