[arc review]
Thank you to Celadon Books for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
If We’re Being Honest releases April 18, 2023

A one sentence summary: This is a multigenerational family saga with <i>a lot</i> of characters, and really long chapters.

The Williamses are a known family in Eulalia, with Gerry being the patriarchal figure. In the wake of his death, and the family’s dilemma of being unable to choose someone to give the eulogy, they land on Fred — Gerry’s life long best friend and business partner. But at the funeral, Fred is extremely wasted and confesses that not only were they best friends, but also lovers, which is a shock to Gerry’s children, grandchildren, wife of sixty years, and is deemed the biggest scandal the town of Eulalia had ever seen.
Having someone's sexuality outed (who isn’t even alive) and called a scandal seems icky and homophobic, but surprisingly that isn’t even the main focus of the entire story.

If we’re being honest about this book (ha, get it?), the beginning was so info-dumpy and there were way too many characters that didn’t feel developed enough. Most felt superficial at best, and all had at least one very specific character trait that was greatly fixated on.
Grant was eliminated from The Bachelorette, Alice is pregnant, Red is dealing with coming out and always seems to be flushed red from embarrassment or anxiety, Carol Anne can not stop talking about herself or her “acting career”, Jennifer thinks her husband is cheating on her, Delia will not shut up about her recent breakup with Connor… I could go on and on.
It was just so much and didn’t really lead anywhere? And the writing style did not help at all, because every characters pov blended together with no visual way to break anything up within the extremely long chapters.

I can see the potential, but at the end of the day, there was too much going on. I would have liked to had a scene where Fred got to discuss his relationship with Gerry, otherwise it just feels kind of weird to make something like being gay seem so controversial without even diving deep into it?
This should have been titled something like “Underneath the Magnolia Tree” because reaching that scene at the end was so bittersweet.

The most developed plot line here was Alice and Peter’s — being childhood friends/neighbours, first loves, a one-night fling turned second chance with a side of accidental pregnancy. I mean, it has all the elements for a great romance novel.

I was so excited to snag a copy of this one because I loved Tracey Langes We Are The Brennans, but unfortunately for me, this one did not hold my interest like any of Ms Langes work.

This book takes you back to when chapters were long and drawn out - I am not a fan. To me it’s more of an entire short story instead of a chapter and I get bored. I also found there to be way way too many characters to fully care about any of them. We’re talking about a man’s children, and his grandkids. I would have much preferred if one generation would have been picked - or there weren’t so many in each generation. It felt that the author just wanted to check every social box (closeted gay, cheater, homophobic, and interracial relationships among others) instead of fully developing one group.

Overall I think some people will enjoy this one, the writing is superb and flows naturally - however for me there was just too much going on and not enough depth.

Thank you so much to Celadon for offering me this book. I will not be posting reviews outside of Netgalley for this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the AR copy of If We’re Being Honest. This family story is a debut novel from Cat Shook, taking us through a funeral and a wedding of a big sprawling family over the course of a couple weeks. The funeral is for Gerry, the patriarch of the family who has passed away and who’s funeral reveals some major secrets about his life. The family deals with these secrets, and all of their own issues and complications, over the next couple of weeks as they all stay in town leading up to the wedding of a close neighbor. The book is funny and at times touching, though there are way too many characters and it took me a good portion of the book to keep them all straight. I have an uncorrected copy and I’m hoping they put a character list/map at the beginning of the finished novel. Overall I enjoyed it a lot and would recommend to anyone who enjoys stories of complicated families.
4 stars

A family patriarch dies and the entire family returns to mourn him. At the funeral, his best friend has been asked to deliver the eulogy, and boy, it is a doozy. For the following week, the book follows several interesting storylines and a few minor bombshells. Because there are so many people involved, I struggled a bit to keep them all straight and figure out who was who. I thought maybe I should have made a family tree to help me navigate the book. Regardless, the author does a great job capturing the dynamics of a large family--the good, the bad, and the ugly--and at the end of the week, at a wedding, it all comes together nicely. I absolutely loved If We're Being Honest and would recommend it to anyone who loves family drama.

I should have known when it said "for fans of We Are the Brennans" that this probably wouldn't work for me. Unfortunately these big family sagas usually fall flat for me and this was no exception. The characters had really well developed story lines and depth, but, and this is definitely a ME problem, there were too many I couldn't keep track.

I just am not one for these big family drama books, unfortunately.

If We’re Being Honest is the story of the Williams family dealing with the aftermath of the eulogy given for the family patriarch. Fans of big family sagas will love this one but this one fell flat for me. I had trouble keeping track of all the characters and didn’t feel like I connected with any of them. While the story had some touching moments, the rest fell flat for me. Fans of We Are the Brennans and All Adults Here should check this one out.

This book gets 5 stars from me. Like all families, Gerry and Ellen’s family had problems. Siblings bicker or may quit communicating, cousins get in trouble together and everyone has secrets. When Gerry dies a very big bombshell is dropped on family and friends at the funeral. Of course since this was a little town everyone heard what Fred, Gerry’s best friend had to say. The family draws ever closer and soon all the secrets are out. For some reason reading this book just made me “feel the love” and I became part of this family. Thank you to the author for this well written book. I anticipate that it will be enjoyed by many.readers of women’s fiction. Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC. This opinion is my own.

**A huge thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

The members of the Williams family come back to Eulalia, Georgia when family patriarch Gerry passes away. At his funeral, in front of the whole town, a family secret is revealed that shakes the whole family.

“If We’re Being Honest” is a charming, funny, delightful book that highlights family bonds even at the worst of times. We are quickly introduced to the entire clan; Ellen the matriach of the family and Gerry’s wife; their children JJ, Wilma and Carol Anne and the grandchildren Alice, Delia, Grant and Red. Each person has a different personality and their own drama they have to work through, but all are tied together by their dedication to their family. The book allows us a glimpse of this family in all their glory in the week between Gerry’s funeral and the wedding of a family friend.

There were so many points of this book where I was left laughing out loud, thoroughly enjoying the witty back and forth dialogue between siblings or cousins. At first I was turned off slightly by the sheer amount of characters in this book, but I found myself picking up the family tree pretty quickly, and becoming attached to each character the more we learned about them. By the end, I felt like instead of reading a book, I was watching a season of a feel-good TV show, wanting to keep going to the next episode to see what else we’ll learn. The ending was like the season finale, and I’m a little sad that I won’t get to watch another season. I would really love to read more about each member of the family!

The writing style was so fun and witty, adding in little quips in parentheses here and there to explain a little more or just poke fun. However, another issue I had that I really hope is changed for the final publication are the length of chapters—there is something soul-crushing about starting a chapter on your kindle and seeing you have over an hour to read to the next. Don’t worry, there are break so it’s not overwhelming, but still really hated the chapter length and thought it wasn’t necessary.

This book is a solid 4.5 stars for me. Funny, I actually enjoyed this book so much more than the books it’s compared to in the synopsis because it felt more like getting a peak at a real family vs. reading about a family drama. I will miss these characters and would be thrilled to read more about them if ever given a chance.

Enjoyable family novel mostly told from perspective of grandchildren as they are gathered for their grandfather's funeral.

In Eulalia Georgia, a matriarch and her children and grandchildren are gathered for a funeral as Gerry, the patriarch of the family has died. The book tells of their week together processing a shocking revelation about Gerry that is revealed during the eulogy given by a neighbor and close family friend, but also dealing with drama related to the problems and surprises of various family members. There are many characters introduced very quickly so it did take some effort to remember how they were connected, especially at the beginning of the book. This got easier as I moved through the book and I enjoyed the sometimes amusing, sometimes surprising, and sometimes sweet moments. I loved the theme related to family and how the story imparts a message about the messiness of family and the ways that families hold each other together. It's a quiet, unique, and uplifting story.

I thought the idea sounded fun but from the beginning, I felt like it was clunky. Too many characters were introduced at once. We were told facts about them but I didn't get much feel for their personalities. The chapters were oddly long and wordy for a book that was written on a low level. I just didn't care about anyone.

Nothing says spring to me like a great family drama.

Cat Shook’s debut novel If We’re Being Honest is a beautiful multigenerational family story. When the patriarch of the family Gerry dies and everyone returns to Eulalia for his funeral, the drunken eulogist unleashes a surprise on the family.

Ellen is Gerry’s wife and is surrounded by her three children and four grandchildren while she grieves. They are each struggling with the funeral revelation, while also dealing with some of their own secrets.

Fave character. Probably going to have to go with Miss Sparkles, Gerry’s dog. Her sashay was on point.

I think this would work well for a book club pick. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to people who like character driven family stories. It will take a few chapters to nail down all the characters and how they relate, but soon enough you won’t forget them.

Looking forward to seeing more of Cat Shook’s work in the future.

3.5/5⭐️

When the beloved Williams family’s patriarch dies, the scattered clan returns to GA for his funeral, only to discover a jaw-dropping secret during the eulogy. As they each (his widow, three children and four grandchildren) grapple with this new revelation, they also have their own life issues to resolve.

While hilariously dysfunctional, this family has some life-changing decisions to make…forgiveness, sexual orientation, independence, pregnancy, possible infidelity, drug/alcohol abuse…there’s a lot to unpack. And while I didn’t agree with some of the rhetoric on the hotbed issues in this one, it was definitely well-written, with realistically defined characters and great humor.

On a humorous note, it did seem odd that EVERYONE was having such weighty issues at the same time…guess that’s life…and the backbone of a good story.

I’m sure this one will do well in the mainstream.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing the free early arc of If We’re Being Honest for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Wow! This is an amazing debut novel, and I am secretly hoping the next one picks up where this one leaves off. I need to know what happens with the whole Williams family, but especially Ellen, Fred, Alice, Peter, Red, Brady, JJ, and Jennifer!!

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm having trouble starting this review because I keep wanting to call If We're Being Honest a lighthearted contemporary, which feels wrong because the inciting incident is the death of a parent/husband/grandfather. But this book really is lighthearted and moving. Shook explores so many types of family relationships that you're sure to relate to one of them. I loved the prose and the way the characters were developed. I found them all loveable, even the ones who were fun to dislike.

I thought the ending to each character arc was very satisfying and well-deserved. I felt like the plot lagged at times because I enjoyed some characters and their conflicts more than others, as is to be expected, but I was never in a slump or in danger of DNFing. I do almost think there were too many main characters - definitely had to use my Kindle lookup feature a few times - but once I got a handle on it it wasn't too bad.

Overall, I would recommend this one, especially if you have a close, large family or are going through some interpersonal relationship issues. I don't know if this one has staying power in my mind, but I do know I enjoyed it while I was reading.

If you like family drama tempered by some laughs, this is the book for you. The narrative thrust comes from the Williams family being forced to grapple with a startling revelation revealed at the patriarch’s funeral. But the real fun comes from the omniscient narrator who offers a consistently witty and honest overview of the various reactions, spiralling and maturation of the widow, her three adult children and the four cousins. Thank you Celadon and NetGalley for the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of this novel.

When Gerry Williams dies, his children and grandchildren return home for the funeral. Gerry's best friend delivers a drunken eulogy and drops a major revelation about the family patriarch. The family, all dealing with their own personal issues, must band together to deal with their grief. Cat Shook's debut novel is a poignant and funny look at one family's dynamics.

This book follows the Williams family following the death of the patriarch of the family, Gerry. The family members all return too Eulalia, Georgia for the funeral, which end in a surprise for the whole family. We follow the Williams family in the week between the funeral and the wedding of a neighbor and family friend. Each of the family members are learning to reconcile the events of the funeral, the grief of losing Gerry, and everything that was occurring in their lives prior to the tragic passing of Gerry.

I really enjoyed following the storylines of all the Williams family, however, some of the storylines didn’t feel as complete to me. It follows the remaining members of the family; Wife: Ellen, Children: JJ, Wilma, and Carol Anne, Grand Children: Grant, Alice, Delia, and Red. Since the book follows so many characters, it felt like too much at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is the story of a family, mostly told from the perspective of the adult grandchildren. The grandfather passes away and a secret comes to the surface during his eulogy that shocks the family and each member takes it in their own way as they grapple with their own lives, their own struggles and their own secrets.

I love books like these that are mostly character driven and we get a glimpse into other lives, other choices, other struggles. It makes me feel less alone in the world and I end up getting invested in the characters' lives and choices and I end up having deep empathy for each of them.

Really enjoyed this book full of humor and heart.

with gratitude to netgalley and Celadon Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I love the cover and the title. That's what drew me in. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for the purpose of this review. Four stars for the debut novel. Reading about extended families is a favorite of mine. I come from a long line of aunts and uncles and cousins so it's intriguing to hear and read about books where those characters interact. I found bits of the book laugh out loud funny!