The Celebrants by Steven Rowley showcases the same whit and charm as The Guncle but explores a heavier topic. I love Rowley's writing and humor, which carries through this book. We meet a group of middle aged friends who originally met in college. After they lost their friend Alec at 22 they have gathered together to host "living funerals" at the moments that they have needed each other the most to stay connected. This year there is a big secret that is yet to be revealed.

This book is full of heart - you will laugh and you will cry. I don't want to give too much away. Steven Rowley is an auto read author for me and this book will convince you of that too.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC - The Celebrants is out now!

This is one of those books that you read, and it lingers with you a while, and you revisit it every so often.

This group of friends meet at Berkley and are drawn together as they are all transfer students. Things happen. Life happens. And when one of the gang, Alec, unexpectedly passes away prior to graduation, they make a pact. They are going to have their own living funerals - at any point in life, when any one of them feels like they are floundering, they need the others, they can call for their funeral and the rest will come, no questions asked. But this can only happen once per person.

This was a motley crew, all very different, but that friendship survived it all. Oh it ebbed and flowed. They would lose touch. They all lived their lives. Mistakes were made, on their own and with each other. But when one called, they came.

I am not much of a book crier, but that last little bit definitely got me misty!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 Stars ⭐️

Wow. I really loved that book. I had no idea what to expect going in, but I was pleasantly surprised. This book was unique, heartfelt, and so well-written. It was also VERY funny. I was absolutely cackling during the skydiving scene. This book was also inspiring and a beautiful reminder to not only LIVE life, but also to tell those you care about what you love about them while you can.

It was such a joyful read and I was sad to say goodbye to my new friends when it was over. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 Stars was because I felt the end was a little rushed and lacked the emotion I expected. I was ready for and wanting a full on sob fest. I did tear up, but otherwise he's gentle on us in the end.

Read If You Like:
-Found Family
-Now/Then Timelines
-LGBTQ Rep
-Character Growth
-Characters Working Through Loss/Grief
-Stories That Celebrate Life

Audiobook Review: I truly cannot recommend the audiobook enough. Thank you so much to Penguin Random House Audio for the gifted audiobook. It was narrated by the author himself and he did a FANTASTIC job. He wrote the book, so you could hear his passion, love, and emotion come through. I highly recommend!

Thank you to BookSparks for the physical copy, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the eARC, and PRH Audio for the free audiobook!

Thanks for the ARC Netgalley! This Read with Jenna June pick is a perfect summer read. It’s heartwarming, funny and has depth.

A group of college friends mourns their friend Alec’s sudden death. Distraught, they make a pact: each member of the group gets a “living funeral” when they choose, to celebrate each other fully. Spanning decades, we see the group young and grief stricken to middle aged and floundering. We see living funerals for three of the members in flashbacks, framed with a present storyline of a current living funeral.

I loved Rowley’s “The Guncle” and his wit, atmospheric writing and fleshed out relationships are all alive and well here too. I really enjoyed this feel good book with its big beating heart. It’s touted as a “Big Chill for our time” and I completely see that. The only reason this isn’t 5⭐️s for me is because the friend group is large and it took me awhile to grasp who everyone is fully. This book will be a big hit this summer and for good reason!

✨Trigger Warnings: Cancer, Death of a Parent, Addiction, Suicide

Funerals are for the living, so why not celebrate your life when you are living? That is exactly the idea for these friends after losing a close friend in college. Each person in the pact can call, no questions asked, just show up, and have their funeral thrown for them while they are alive.



I was not sure how this would play out, would it be incredibly sad, would it be corny? I believe it played out perfectly. Each person has their funeral, their story is told in their own chapter. Their friends celebrate them, challenge them to keep living, and show them how much they are loved. I really liked that no one took making the call for their funeral lightly. The calls only came during times of need and ended up changing their lives for the better.



The Celebrants is a unique look at living life, true friends, and celebrating living.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗦 and I got off to a bumpy start, but in the end I really liked it. This is the story of five college friends who tragically lost the sixth in their group just weeks before graduation. After his funeral, they made a pact. They’d have their own funerals while they were still living, to be able to call for the others at a time when they most need support and most need to be told how much they’re loved.⁣
⁣
This was a really interesting, fun mix of characters, anchored by “The Jordans,” Jordy and Jordan. As the book opens, Jordan has called the group together for his funeral, but his has not been the first. I loved that this intense, snarky group of friends were always willing to honor their pact even if sometimes they did so kicking and screaming. The progression of their friendship over the years felt both comfortable and relatable.⁣
⁣
Now for the bumpy start…I began 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 on audio and ouch! While I thought Steven Rowley did a fabulous job narrating 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦 in 2021, here I felt like all the characters sounded like its title character. This was a book that would have really benefited from a full cast of narrators. With just Rowley, I grew frustrated in how similar everyone’s sarcasm sounded, in how every character’s inflections and tones were alike. At 25%, I was ready to quit, but instead I turned to print and that made all the difference. I immediately could relate to the cast as individuals with distinct personalities rather than one big mass. So, my recommendation is twofold. First, do read this fun, sweet book of deep, lasting friendship. Second, do so in print!

(𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 @𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 & @𝘗𝘙𝘏𝘈𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.)

I have been excited for Rowley's next novel since I read the last page of Guncle. The Celebrants is a story of 5 college friends who make a pact after a loss off friend to be there for each other when they need each other. I don't want to give the story away. I struggled with the first half of this story but glad I stuck thru it because it picked up for me at about 60%. I love how Rowey connects the character with something as simple as nitpicking on one another. Gives the story an authentic feel and you feel the power of friendship feeling more like family. Thank you #NetGalley and #TheCelebrants for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure to review this one!

I’m so sad to report this one didn’t work for me. I loved The Guncle and i really loved the premise of this book but it fell short for me.

🎁📚 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀📚🎁
3.5/5🌟

As 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒆 was truly one of my favorite books of 2021 - a total 5🌟read for me - I had such high hopes for Rowley’s follow up, just published on May 30th. Sadly, it fell short. First off, the premise is totally macabre - five college friends create a pact after the untimely death of the sixth of their group, promising to hold funerals for one another while they’re all still alive, so that nothing will be left unsaid and they’ll each always know what they’ve meant to the other. It was just so dark. Idk, maybe just celebrate each other in a non-funereal way? Also, the occasions of said funerals were far between and it kind of made no sense as it seemed the five had lost contact long ago and didn’t know one another very well any longer - aside from gay couple Jordan and Jordy (thanks for keeping me consistently confused with the same name thing!). I really didn’t have the feeling of knowing any of the characters, although each had an interesting back story. I wanted to badly to love this one, and it’s not a bad choice for a summer read, but it never hit the humorous highs and emotionally poignant moments of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒆 that I’ve now come to expect from Rowley.

Many thanks to @netgalley and GP Putman Sonz
For the opportunity to read this ARC.

#bibliophile #stephsalwaysreading #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #tbrlist#thecelebrants#ARC#netgalley #summerreads

“Life is what you celebrate. All of it. Even its end.” —Joanne Harris

3 out of 5 stars (3 / 5) After the sudden death of a friend, a group of college friends vow to celebrate “living funerals” so the “deceased” can hear all the amazing things their friends have to say about them. It’s a story about life, struggles and death. But most of all, the importance of friendship.

Rowley wrote one of my top books of 2021, Guncle. The beauty of his writing grabbed me immediately but the story is what held my heart. I wanted that for this book. It felt as if it would be a book to make me think, to appreciate life and the people in it. And while I did love the premise of the book, it still fell a bit short for me.

“Do as many things as you can to remind yourself you’re alive.”

I love the idea of their “living funerals” even if they were awkward and inconvenient at times. It showed the beauty of friendship and reminded me that others see me differently, a lot of the time, better, than I see myself. For this idea alone, I loved the book. Hearing the words and feelings people have about you BEFORE you die? Why haven’t we thought of this before?

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single one, and the life of that candle will not be shortened. That’s what you do for others. You light their candle with yours.”

Sadly, this didn’t hit the mark for me. While I liked a few of the characters, I never felt connected to them. Their trials, while sad, didn’t tug at my heart like Guncle did. The book ended beautifully even for all it’s misgivings and I haven’t given up on Rowley yet. Guncle was too impressionable for me to not read him again. I do believe those of us in the “olderish” generation would appreciate the humor (the generation where you wake up and you find yourself sore but also find yourself grunting when bending down. Are these our golden years? I feel jipped).

Thank you to Shelf Awareness and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the copy!

The book releases May 30, 2023.

I really enjoyed The Celebrants! I really enjoyed this author’s previous work, so I went into this one very excited. I was not disappointed. The Celebrants is about the lives of 5 friends who make a pact to have their funerals before they’re dead. So they can witness just how loved and appreciated they are, while alive. I love stories built on friendship and this one was no different!

I’m not sure there’s anything I can say that hasn’t already been said. This is another pull on the heartstrings that you won’t be able to put down. But it is also a study on grief and grieving and how it shapes us as well as secrets, forgiveness, and found family.

The characters are well formed and grow and mature significantly over the years. I adored all of them even while I didn’t understand or agree with some of their decisions.

It did start a bit slow for me, but the payoff was totally worth it. Be sure to read the author’s notes at the end too. You’ll love Rowley’s shoutout to bookstagram. Rounding up to 4.5⭐️

So far this has been an amazing year for books but I think I already have a favorite - The Celebrants by @mrstevenrowley . Not surprising since The Guncle was my favorite book of 2021 and this was my most anticipated book of this year.
This book touched my heart in so many ways. Welp. I am a puddle. It is the story of a group of college friends who throw each other funerals while they are still alive but going through a rough patch so that they know how much they are loved. It has Big Chill and Four Weddings and a Funeral vibes with that same comfort of old friends who are there to support you and love you in your darkest days but with snarky humor and dry wit that had me cackling when I wasn’t wiping my tears. The characters were so well developed, so multi-dimensional and so relatable and likable. Such a heartwarming, moving look at friendships and friends who are like family. I could gush for days about this one. Oh, and I loved the nod to @jordys.book.club - one of my favorite bookstagrammers!! Out now so do yourself a favor and get this book. All the stars.

Steven Rowley excels in that sweet spot right between hilarity and heartbreak and this book is no exception. My only (mild) criticism is that that I had a really hard time keeping the Jordans straight in my mind.

I adored The Guncle so much & I feel like this book was missing so much of what made The Guncle so special. I felt like I couldn't connect to the characters as much as I could in his other book. I think the primise is extremely interesting but it just fell a little flat for me. I think I am definitely in the minority here though so it is definitely worth giving a try. I think it would be a huge hit for people who can connect to the characters.

this book was like a warm hug to my future 😭🩵

long-lasting friendships have always been a soft spot of mine! there’s something about everlasting love through the decades that mushes my heart and actually gets me excited about growing older with my buddies

THE CELEBRANTS did just that! while the cast of characters was fairly large without a ton of explanation or characterization, I got into the rhythm of the writing and plot quick enough. especially with all of their nicknames for each other (which was cute af 🥹), I was totally confused at “nana” who was really craig LOL

this was definitely a character heavy plot, with no real story connecting all of the chapters. however, while I have to be in the mood to read character books, I did enjoy this one so much!

it did drag a bunch in the middle, and there were some side plots that I thought were pretty unnecessary. BUT steven’s writing is so beautiful, it felt like prose!!

thank you to netgalley and putnam for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! this one’s out now!

rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: sonoma coast chardonnay

3.75 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the E-ARC. Even though this was not my usual vibe I did enjoy this book. I enjoyed the thoughts it provoked. It made me think of the my friendships. My best friend and I have been friends since junior high. It also had some dry humor which I love there were two parts that made my LOL and many more that made me cry

I love every book Steven Rowley has written. THE CELEBRANTS was no different. Once again, Rowley’s writing is a dreamy concoction of heart and humor with a splash of GenX that, in my opinion, can not be matched. Yes, this extraordinary tale definitely had me blotting my damp eyes on MANY pages, but most importantly, it reminded me to live my life fully and to love my people fiercely. Cheers to Steven, “The Scale of Courtneys,” and ALL the Karen Carpenter songs!

Absolutely enjoyed this story about living life to the fullest and never letting people go without telling them how loved they are. Emotional, yet full of laughter and good times

In his latest novel, "The Celebrants," bestselling author Steven Rowley delivers a heartfelt and luminous exploration of friendship, self-discovery, and the enduring power of promises. With his signature blend of humor and heart, Rowley creates a captivating story that will resonate with readers long after they turn the final page.

The narrative revolves around a group of college friends who reunite after twenty-eight years to honor a unique tradition they have upheld over the decades. The friends gather in Big Sur to throw each other living "funerals," symbolic celebrations that serve as reminders of the importance of life and the profound connection they share. As they navigate the challenges of adulthood and confront their own personal struggles, this reunion takes on a deeper significance than ever before.

Rowley's masterful storytelling shines as he delves into the complexities of these characters' lives. Each individual is grappling with their own doubts, regrets, and aspirations, and the author skillfully peels back the layers to reveal their vulnerabilities and innermost desires. The friendships portrayed in "The Celebrants" are authentic and beautifully rendered, capturing the deep bonds and unconditional support that sustain us throughout our lives.

What sets this novel apart is Rowley's ability to infuse the story with both poignancy and humor. The book tackles universal themes of self-discovery and the passage of time with grace and sensitivity, while simultaneously offering moments of laughter and levity. The author's wit and clever dialogue create a delightful balance, allowing readers to experience a range of emotions as they navigate the characters' journeys.

Rowley's prose is elegant and evocative, painting vivid portraits of the characters' experiences and emotions. From the stunning backdrop of Big Sur to the intimate moments shared between friends, the author's attention to detail immerses readers in the story's world. The Celebrants serves as a poignant reminder of the fragility of life, the importance of cherishing our relationships, and the transformative power of friendship.

Overall, "The Celebrants" is a luminous and enchanting novel that will capture the hearts of readers. Steven Rowley's gift for storytelling shines through in this exploration of friendship and self-discovery, offering a profound and uplifting reading experience. With its relatable characters, engaging plot, and resonant themes, this book is a testament to the enduring bonds that shape our lives and the power of celebration, even in the face of adversity.