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!

I have been provided with a review copy of If We're Being Honest from NetGalley for an impartial review. I was just drawn into this wonderful story and I just couldn’t get enough of it. It was just so easy to get lost in this great story. I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

If we’re being honest, this book was just alright for me. It kept me on my toes which was nice! But the overall plot and twists left me wanting more.

If We're Being Honest was a family saga that had me laughing and crying. The book starts with the patriarch's death and what happens at the funeral sets the plot in motion. Lots of family members to remember which at times had be flipping the pages back to know who was who. Overall, a enjoyable story. 3.5 stars

Formal review and links coming soon.

This one was so so good. I read it shortly before losing my grandfather who was my world. I kept finding myself comparing my grief to the experiences and plot of this story. It is always nice to have open discussions about grief and the journey it takes us on.

The Williams’ are a large family of complex personalities and personal situations any of us can relate to. All of their secrets come out when they have to gather for the funeral of their patriarch: Grandpa Gerry, who also has a secret taken to the grave until his best friend spills his guts at the eulogy, and the small town is given the scandal of the season. The Williams family has to grapple with being the unwanted center of Eulalia, Georgia’s attention while confronting all of their secret as they huddle together in their grief, heartbreak and hope for the future.

This story is a deep examination into large family living and the bonds made within tight family units. It shows the differences in generations, the struggles many of us had to face, and also how strong family love is along with a sprinkle of found family.

So many characters! For a character driven story I found I couldn't connect with any of them. There were some laugh out loud parts, just wish it gave me a little more cohesion.

Before I get into my review, I want to thank Netgalley and Celadon for my chance to read and review this book.
It took me over two months to finally finish this book. That should pretty much say it all. Whenever another book I was excited about arrived, I set this one aside. There's nothing wrong with it per se, it just didn't do anything for me. The writing was basic, the characters annoying, and there was not much of a plot.
If you like family sagas, it may appeal to you. I typically like this genre as well, that is why I wanted to read it. I'm sorry, but it was a complete waste of my time.

I was SHOOKED since the first chapter! Just like the main characters I didn't even know what was going on until BAMN, it was revealed! Gerry's best friend really took being honest to a whole other level 😭
This was a nice read that provided a realistic view on how families truly are with each other. My only issue was that there were so many characters introduced at once that I couldn't wrap my head around the premise and I just forgot who each character was each time.

It was a good book though.

Gerry sounds like an amazing man, if his families opinion is to be trusted. The description of the book doesn't tell you much about what happens in these pages, so I don't want to spoil it. But, you should definitely read. This book could be anyone's family. We can all relate to parts of the book. First, Gerry's family can't be trusted to do the eulogy for various reasons, so his best friend happily steps up to the plate. He overshares and alienates the entire Williams clan. One grandkid is trying to get an engaged woman to rekindle their relationship, One cousin is trying to get over her ex or back with him, hard to tell. One cousin already got together with one her first love and keeping a huge secret. That leaves Red, the last cousin in the group and the most confused and nervous of them all. The way this family ends up coming together despite Gerry's passing and the unbelievable week between the funeral and wedding is admirable.

I think family dramas may not be a genre I enjoy. This book had an interesting premise with the family coming together for a funeral and the drama that ensues in the aftermath with all of the family members' doubting their connection to Gerry. I did like how every character really processed grief in different ways and how that was expressed in the book. It was raw and honest. One of the biggest things I struggled with is how many storylines we were following. I felt overwhelmed at some points trying to follow everyone.

Thank you to Celedon Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for this Advanced Readers Copy of If We're Being Honest by Cat Shook. Ultimately, this was just an ok book, there were to many characters to really fee connected to them or the story.