"If We're Being Honest" was not for me. Though I thought that the premise of the book sounded great, I couldn't connect with the characters.

The character development and the multiple POVs left me flying through this book! Loved the family drama as well.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy If We're Being Honest by Cat Shook by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I really enjoyed this book and the writing style of the author. It's a really good read and I highly recommend.

The book starts out with the Williams family losing their patriarch, Gerry. When Gerry’s best friend gives the eulogy at the funeral, he says something very unexpected, which leads to a book filled with family drama.

The cast of characters was way too large and it was hard to initially get everyone straight. All characters were a part of the Williams family and was told during a very eventful week between a funeral and a wedding. Needless to say, the characters were all on an emotional rollercoaster dealing with grief but it wasn’t a sad book. There was a lot going on with each character within their own personal lives and there were too many social issues thrown in. Sometimes it was just so hard keeping up with every character. This one wasn’t for me but if you enjoy character driven books filled with family drama and dynamics then give it a try.

This book is about a family who comes together for a funeral when the partriarch of the families dies and a secret is revealed. I had a hard time keeping up and connecting with all the characters in this book. It wasn't my favorite but it wasn't terrible.

A heavy novel with lots of dynamics, POVs, and different characters. Dramatic and wrenching at times, lengthy chapters and the pacing was slow at times.

Unfortunately, this one ended up being a DNF for me. I'm not a huge fan of super long chapters and this many characters. However, I can see why people do enjoy this book.

This was a book that was a sure page turner. I really enjoyed the drama and felt the character's were relatable.

The chapters in this book are SO long and I struggled a bit with the many characters and the third person POV. It was constantly switching between all of the characters and I couldn’t remember who was who and how they were connected to each other.

Also, the content is heavy (it opens at a funeral of a close family member), so check trigger warnings if you need to.

But... I loved this book! It's about family and secrets and the messiness of life and relationships. It was heartwarming and funny and emotional and somewhere along the way I started to feel like I was a part of this wacky family.

When a years long secret is revealed in a eulogy, a family is turned upside down. I found this story to be very touching, and I loved how it ended with some parallels to its beginning. There were quite a few characters, all with issues they were working through, which took me awhile to get a handle on. But overall, I liked all of them, and could feel the emotions they were feeling while reading this.

Yay! Funny and tender. Reminiscent of the film, Death at a Funeral. I love the structure of framing a narrative around a funeral - forcing family members together and emotions are running high. Great read.

Cat Shook gives us a different take on "coming out" as a beloved grandfather is outed at his funeral by his best friend and long-term lover. Here, we don't learn about the grandfather's struggle or how his relationships with his family change after the revelation, but how his wife, children, and grandchildren process the news, and how it makes them reflect on their own lives. A well-done picture of grief and the celebration of a life, even one that wasn't what everyone thought.

If We're Being Honest is a debut novel that focuses on a rather large family who come together for the funeral of a beloved grandfather/father/husband. Gerry's best friend is chosen to give the eulogy and drops a bombshell that rocks the family as they figure out their own problems.
What I did like about this book is all the different relationships highlighted in this story and the different ways one can shoulder through the grieving process. I love a family drama novel because I think there's so many dynamics one can represent and this one definitely covered quite a few! My only complaint is that I felt there were TOO many characters and it was hard to keep them all straight in my mind, especially with the extremely long chapter length. Around the 50% mark I was able to keep up with who is who better and I enjoyed unraveling the secrets and drama. The story comes to a satisfactory conclusion, and ultimately it would be one that I recommend if you're into family dramas!

If I’m Being Honest, this was a bait and switch.

Baited us in with a juicy first sentence and then didn’t follow through closing up that plot like while introducing drama for each family member.

I’m bamboozled on how a 304 page book became an over 11 hour audiobook when it should’ve been 8-9 hours at most like every other book that length. The audio narrator did absolutely nothing for the story.

An enjoyable story, but it was a little hard to keep up with so many characters. I would love to see it “tweaked” and on the big screen.
Many thanks to Celadon Books and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I honestly felt like this book would never end. It took me forever to read it and I was close to quitting several times. It starts with a big secret and ends with...well not much resolution. A lot of characters to remember, most of whom are not likeable at all. If I'm being honest, I do not recommend this book.

The book started great with a shocking revelation but I just couldn’t get into it. Im not sure if it was the characters or location but I stopped reading after 100 or so pages.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for letting me have advance access to the book that I did not get to till now. Life happens, but I am doing my best to read and review all of my books.

I did more listening to the audiobook than I did reading the ebook. I loved all the different points of view that were in the book. I think listening to the audiobook let me get through the book faster, and sometimes that is really helpful to me because my inner monologue does not tend to include other voices or characters.

I think this might have been a debut novel, and I have to say great job!

I loved the different point of views. You get so invested into each character with so much depth you stay entertained through it all.

What a journey. I found myself invested in each character throughout this one; however, there were moments where each characters made me roll my eyes or get extremely frustrated with. Carol Anne is the absolute worst by the way. There were so many times throughout this story where the idea of grief was handled. This family is going through so much. The lies that their grandfather kept from them lead to them realizing that they need to be honest not only with their family but with themselves. Red's journey is the most touching throughout and I loved his character. I also enjoyed the underlying story behind the magnolia trees. While I really enjoyed this one, I did struggle to connect with the characters and there were times where the story felt super slow. Also the dang chapters were so long. For me personally, I struggle with long chapters. There were breaks throughout which I did appreciate. Overall I really liked this book. Having recently lost two grandparents I felt I could connect in a lot of ways with some of the feelings of grief the characters were experiencing. I definitely want to check more out by Cat!