During my teenage years Rookie Mag was incredibly influential in my life and I absolutely credit it and its contributors with helping shape me in my most formative years so it is no surprise that I greatly enjoyed this style of writing, the characters and the book as a whole. That being said, I’m glad I did not make the connection between the author and Rookie Mag until right before the end of the book because I feel like it gave me a less biased opinion of it.

And my opinion from the very start was quite positive.

From the moment I picked it up the novel was hard to put down because of how compelling I found it; I spent my lunch breaks reading it, my nights staying up way too late, hours in a bathtub with quickly cooling water because I just wanted to keep going.

I found the main character, Naina, to be extremely relatable, although that might at least partially be because we’re both bi/queer and desi, as is the author, and we therefore share similar experiences and move through the world in a similar manner. I do however think it’s also because of the way the character was written.

I found Naina to be a fully fleshed out, complex person with complex thoughts and feelings. I thought she was someone who felt very realistic and relatable and someone who you could easily run into in your day to day life. She’s written in a way that makes her humanity shine through in a very lovely way. Just like most of us, she struggles with certain things — her job, her pride, the intellectualising of her feelings, her habit of stuffing everything down until it eventually explodes in her face… but she does her best to fix things when they go wrong, to improve and do better. Be better. In a time where characters often have to be perfect and morally correct at all times, I found her to be such a breath of fresh air. She was unapologetically human. Similarity, I found the other characters to be well written and well thought out.

Furthermore, Naina’s struggles with her sexuality felt extremely relatable. The almost universal bi experience of constantly questioning yourself, your attraction to others and feeling guilty or judged or like you’re letting somebody (yourself or others) down for liking one gender or another was portrayed in a very real manner and her struggle with accepting herself and feeling enough felt similarly grounded in real experiences. It was a comfort to read about a character who always had to question whether nor not something was comphet anytime she thought she might like a man! Similarly, it was a comfort to read about how the other characters responded to and reassured her when she was dealing with this. Like Naina’s roommate says: who cares? Stop questioning your queerness! In the end, we like who we like and we can’t change that. It was lovely to see that message delivered in such an organic way.

My only real qualm with this book is that it wasn’t longer because I wanted to spend more time with the characters and their storylines. That being said, the ending felt perfect for the story that was being told and left you on a hopeful note.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a story about a queer person of colour in their 20s trying to start over, do better and figure their life out. To anyone who feels lost in life, in love, in general, and who might need the comfort of knowing they are not alone. If you’re a fan of stories like that, this lovely novel is for you.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and 831 Stories for sending me this ARC and allowing me the chance to read and review it!

This was such a sweet and realistic love story! Her ups and downs of navigating a breakup alongside coming to terms with her feelings for David were so relatable. Additionally, as someone who was a NYC transplant a few years ago, the feeling of coming here and making friends and finding love was very realistic. Her feelings were so visceral and while I didn’t agree with some of her choices I understood them and empathized with how she felt. Overall a very compelling and sexy read!

831 Stories are quickly becoming must reads. I've read all the ones that have been released so far and have loved them all. This one may actually be my favorite but the first one was absolutely epic as well. These are super short novellas but still so authentic, so romantic and so well written. If you like romance, give this one a read!


Comedic Timing comes out next week on January 28, 2025, and you can purchase HERE! I love this book!!

"I have to go to the gym now, and you should probably go back to bed. I'm going to text you later. To make plans. To be around each other." He smiles, his eyebrows scrunched. I stand up to walk him out.

Smashed it!
Endearing story about the struggles of labels and the definition of what it means to be queer to yourself, but also to others and how much that should affect your decision making. Charming, multilayered characters which we accompany for a few weeks in NYC. Surprisingly, this 831 Story falls out of the celebrity x non-famous person pattern I’ve become used to when picking up these novellas, nevertheless, it might be my favourite so far.

This was a very fun novella. I loved the New York City setting, and the way it was written made the city come alive. I thought Nainas relationship with David was really fleshed out and I really enjoyed it.

I've enjoyed all of the 831 Stories I've read but this one was my least favorite. The female main character was hard to like most of the time, which I should have expected when the author of You, Again blurbed the book. I will still read all of the 831 novellas but recommend Big Fan the most of their works. While I enjoyed this one by the end, I'm not rushing to read it again or recommend it like their other stories.

Unfortunately, I only made it about 25% through the book before I had to DNF it. The plot and MC were not for me, although I appreciated the representation. I feel like 831 Stories really hit the nail on the head with their first publication and ever since then, I have been a little disappointed!

Comedic Timing is my first foray into 831 Stories. It’s a company that’s interesting to me: they market themselves as an entertainment company that publishes books but also creates “loyal, active fan communities” based on those books. An interview with the creators and Glamour cites how for their debut book, you can not only read the novella itself, but stream a song on Spotify referenced in the book, buy a piece of jewelry mentioned in it, and read an epilogue from the characters online. When I navigate to 831 Stories website, I’m prompted to buy a ticket to “spend the night with Comedic Timing author Upasna Barath and a wine tasting matched with passages from her debut romance at Lovestruck Books in Cambridge”. It’s a cocktail of community, world-building, and books, and I’m impressed by the ambition. So far, each of the three books published by the company come in at a crisp ~170 pages and have slick branding that strays from the norms of the modern rom-com cartoon character covers that plague a corner of every bookstore I walk into. So there’s the vision: how is the execution?

In this case, it’s fine. We follow Naina as she moves to New York post-break-up, goes to parties and comedy shows, is offered drugs with great frequency (do we need to capitalize Molly? Do any style guides cover this?), and has a surprisingly un-steamy friendship with a tall man named David that tumbles unceremoniously into a relationship. Why didn’t this really work for me? I guess I figured when I signed up to get an ARC for a romance novel, I expected a little banter, steaminess, playfulness, and fun. Instead, I got a maybe too-realistic love story. Some awkward moments, miscommunication, a bit of mess, a boring job, a dream of writing… satirical essays about the Internet. A little drab for me. Maybe this was meant to be a will-they-won’t-they story, but in 160 pages, all you can really do is will-they-okay-they-just-did. Didn’t quite land for me, but I’m still compelled by the fantasy of a funky-brainy-romance-novella-company that I’ll likely be back for more.

I really enjoyed this novella!!! I thought for being a short book, the characters and plot still felt appropriately flushed out. I also think that this book perfectly depicts what it’s like to date in your 20s, to like someone and not be sure where you stand but feel so consumed with thoughts of them that it makes you feel so anxious.

I ate up this story and am looking forward to 831s other novellas!!

I enjoyed this novella. You follow Naina who makes some questionable decisions while she recovers from a breakup in NYC and discovers her sexuality. This story brings you back to partying in your 20s and dating cute boys.

Thank you NetGalley and the 831 Team. I read 'A Modern Romance' to kickoff the year and I'll be coming back for more!

Comedic Timing is a quick and introspective romance between Naina, who is starting fresh in New York after the break-up of a 5-year relationship, and David, who she forms a fast friendship with.

Naina’s journey is the perfect realization of our young generation, especially when it comes to romance. She is still discovering new aspects of herself, like her aspirations and sexuality while trying to adapt to a new life. I think she will be relatable to so many readers!

Naina and David’s relationship development from friends to more was great, and I really enjoyed all of their conversations on life, art, and so many interesting topics. However, their communication regarding their feelings for each other was lacking, especially when they were so open with each other in other areas.

My only issue with this book was that I thought it could have used another 50 pages or so to really finish out Naina’s character arc. In the second half, she was going through a lot of emotions, and it felt a bit like whiplash to get to the happy ending.

Thank you to 831 Stories for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Oh.

If you have any lingering doubt that 831 Stories is a novel idea that will get old fast... let it go. Now.

Comedic Timing is a wonderful continuation into the 831 Universe, this time centering Naina, a Chicago-transplant new to NYC and hoping to start over. She owes it all to her best friend, who introduces her to a friend he knows in Brooklyn, thus kicking off our love story.

Enter: David. Tall, hot, and *checks notes* a fuckboy according to his ex but so so sweet to Naina. But, honestly? The real love story develops as Naina (our bisexual queen!) learns how to give herself grace and understanding as she navigates being attracted to a man for the first time. It's a straight awakening for the ages.

To Upasna Barath, thank you! Your pithy writing and sarcastic comedy were right at home with me as a reader and I enjoyed reading about the struggles bisexual people face trying to fit in on both sides of their sexuality. I wish your pillow to be always cold, and your favorite Mischief song to always come on shuffle.

This was extremely breezy; I read it in one sitting. The breeziness was effective in shepherding the romance along (I liked the romance), but also held me back from enjoying much else (character, plot, etc). The writing had a weird thing where it was simultaneously showing and telling, so I received every piece of information twice but, to repeat myself (meta) this was short so it didn't grate for too long. Recommended for bike riders!

Comedic Timing by Upasna Barath is such a good depiction of modern love — not the fairy tale kind, but the kind that’s messy, confusing, and imperfect. The characters struggle with communication, they hurt each other, and they make mistakes, but that’s exactly what makes them so real. You can’t help but root for them, even when they’re hurting each other or messing things up.

What I loved most about this novella is how it captures the highs and lows of being young and trying to figure out love and who you are. It also touches on deeper themes like grief. Even though it’s a quick read, it hits hard emotionally and feels so authentic. Barath does an incredible job of capturing that messy, vulnerable feeling of starting a relationship and not having everything figured out yet.

This is the second novella I’ve read from 831 Stories, and I’m definitely looking forward to more! If you like stories about the messiness of modern relationships and characters who feel like real people, you’ll want to check this one out.

The contemporary romance genre can start to feel repetitive and predictable, and I love that Comedic Timing and the other 831 novellas take a totally different path. The plot and characters are unlike other romances I’ve read, and I like how 831 upends some of the conventions of the genre — like having an obligatory “married with two kids” epilogue, for example.

Naina and David are complicated lead characters, and they’re not perfectly likeable throughout the whole story. I found Naina to be pretty immature (reasonable enough, giving her age and limited romantic experience), and I thought David’s character could have been explored more (but why couldn’t he text while on that trip?!). Still, I think having leads who aren’t completely perfect makes the story more interesting and engaging.

All in all, I thought this was a quick and interesting read, which packed a lot of punch into the novella format.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Writer Naina moved from Chicago to New York for a new start. Freshly broken up with her long-term girlfriend, Naina is ambitiously pursuing publication of her essays, partying with friends, falling for a filmmaker named David and finding herself along the way.

At less than 200 pages, Comedic Timing is an easily digestible novella for those who want a quick read to get out of a slump. It is painful, messy and authentic— not a romantic comedy. (The FMC desperately needs therapy for her rage management.)

Thank you to #NetGalley and 831 Stories for an advanced reader copy of #ComedicTiming. To be published Jan. 28, 2025.

This book is the equivalent of pouring one out for all of my girlies who lived in NYC in their 20s (specifically NYC - sorry, it's all I know!). I felt in moments that I was taking a trip down my own memory lane, recalling these scenes as if they happened in my past apartments, parties that took place in those quirky Brooklyn apartments that you were pretty sure were not meant to be homes. I saw a lot of myself in Naina, and a lot of my best loves in David, and I really appreciated Upsana Barath for bringing a deft touch to this grounded, realistic romance in Comedic Timing.

The style of writing is of the same flavor of 831 Stories' previous two releases, and is a welcome a departure from the celebrity-woes-normie fantasy (though more of that, too, please). This is a satisfying story, but it did fall flat for me in spots. I was really yearning for a stronger conclusion to Naina's mental and emotional journey through her queerness, but I felt it got a little lost in the plot of the romance in the last third of the book.

This one is worth a shot. It may not be the favorite read, but it should go down easy and sate most appetites.

Thank you to NetGalley and 831 Stories for the ARC!

Thank you to 831 Stories for sharing this ARC.

I went in very excited to read this - my second read from 831 - but more so because of the South Asian representation! As a fellow South Asian, we love to see representation, particularily in the romance setting.

That said, I don’t think I was the best audience for this read. I couldn’t relate to Naina. Not that I need to but it does make it harder to sympathize with her. I found her to be quite annoying and I couldn’t support her actions. I wish this was longer to maybe have explored her relationship with David - definitely needed more flushing out. I see a mini sequel of sorts that could help.

Comedic Timing
This might be my favorite release by 831 Stories?! Every time they release a book, I feel like I say this. Now on to Comedic Timing by Upsana Barath. This was absolutely brilliant and so, so, well done. It had so much packed into a short amount of pages and it didn’t feel rushed. It was well thought out and processed different topics in a way that was approachable and made me want to engage. I found Naina’s growth around emotional regulation so real (and so relatable)! I was rooting for Naina to be able to process her sexual identity authentically and in an unproblematic way, and by the end of Comedic Timing, I thought she was able to :’)

I adored the chemistry between David and Naina!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and 831 Stories for the ARC

I thought this book was pretty realistic, much more so than typical romance books which is perhaps why I didn't like it as much as I do other books in this category. I thought the topics it explored were interesting. It definitely felt like reading an author's debut novel. But I would be excited to read more of her work as it comes out in the future!