I absolutely adore Steven Rowley and he’s one of my auto-buy authors. Just as how The Guncle helped me deal with grief after my mother’s sudden passing, The Celebrants continued to help me grieve but also helps me to look at my own mortality. The beauty of Steven’s work is that he does this with tenderness, heart, and a human connection, but also joy, laughter, music, and always snarky wit.
I know I’m late getting this out but I do hope you’ll forgive me and with all this in mind— go pick up The Guncle Abroad! Out next month!!

Read partially on ebook and partially listening to the audiobook. A heavy, but moving exploration of grief, morality, and how friendships change.

4 stars!

"The Celebrants" by Steven Rowley is like an updated, more modern version of "The Big Chill," a friendship story about life, love, loss, growing up, making do, and moving on. It is full of heart, discovery, and humor, but it is also full of secrets, sadness, and grief. Rowley takes the proper time to explore each of these characters in painstaking detail, making them feel fully fleshed-out and realistic both individually and as a friend group. It expresses the importance of reaching out to friends, to keep your connections alive, to live before you die, to reclaim who you are if you are unhappy. It is a heavy read that you have to be in the mood to read, though there are moments of levity and excitement and vacation shenanigans. It made me think about my own life, my own friends, my own attachments, and what would happen in the event of my death. Very well written! This is my first Steve Rowley book and it will not be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley, Steven Rowley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Not my favorite Steven Rowley book, but I do love his works. Go read The Guncle. It was very good and so sweet! A sequel is coming soon.

I was pulled into this story from the very first chapter. Throwing a funeral for your friends while you're alive - a great premise! I laughed, I cried and I told all my friends to read this book. Honestly, anything Rowley publishes I am invested in.

The Guncle was the first book I'd read by Steven Rowley and it was such a charming story that I jumped on the opportunity to read this one as well. The Celebrants is of a different tone than the Guncle, but still has Rowley's charm and story-telling ability. The Celebrants are five recent college grads who are reeling from the death of the sixth member of their group. In their grief, they make a pact to hold 'living wakes', one for each member. The point of these wakes are to find out how much you are loved and the impact you made on the rest of the group. Almost thirty years and three wakes later, they're gathering again, but this living wake is different from the others.
Rowley weaves the present and the past together as we bounce back between the preparation for the most recent celebration with the ones prior, as well as more information about their college life and the minor mystery surrounding their friends death. Each character is fleshed out and above all are flawed humans, so they come across as very real. While this book was not as light hearted as the Guncle, it was still a lovely read and I really enjoyed it.
Thanks to NetGalley & Penguin Group for the free e-book.

"The Celebrants" by Steven Rowley is a heartfelt tale about friendship, growth, and the messy journey of adulthood. Rowley paints a vivid picture of Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle as they navigate life's ups and downs while clinging to their unique tradition of throwing living "funerals" for each other.

What makes this novel stand out is its perfect blend of humor and heart. Rowley's witty writing style keeps you entertained while diving deep into the struggles and triumphs of these characters. They may not have it all figured out, but their journey towards self-discovery is both relatable and inspiring.

As secrets are revealed and bonds are tested, "The Celebrants" reminds us of the power of friendship and the importance of cherishing every moment. It's a moving tribute to the messy beauty of life and the people who make it worth celebrating.

I was super super excited to read this as I absolutely loved The Guncle! Unfortunately I found that this one fell a little flat for me. I kept hoping it would pick up and I would end up loving it, but it never picked up for me. I found the start so freaking slow and unfortunately, the slow pace continued. It wasn't even one of those slow burns where once it picks up, it justifies the slow start.

I love character driven novels, however, I didn't find myself connecting with any of the characters. It might have to do with the fact that it felt like there were too many characters and none of them really felt like they were fully flushed out.

Honestly, in retrospect, my opinion of this book might be so low because I was going into this expecting something as phenomenal as The Guncle. I think if I had gone into this without sky high expectations, I might have rated it higher.

Regardless, I love Steven Rowley, and I will still read anything he writes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love books by Steven Rowley. I enjoyed The Guncle by him and I was excited to read this book as well. I read this book for a book retreat for The Read Rovers Book Club and we all signed the book like a year book after. I was lucky enough to finally meet the author this weekend at Tucson festival of books and add his signature to the book as well. I am excited that I also got approved to read the second guncle book.

The Celebrants is a sweet story about celebrating our long-time friends while we can (and will gently nudge you to reach out to them). An enjoyable vacation read.

As an avid fan of Steven Towley's, The Guncle, I was thrilled to read this book, however it.missed the mark for me. I wanted to love.it.buy it had a slow start and was too slow paced for me unfortunately. I will still continue to read all of his books and look forward to the sequel to The Guncle soon!

I love Steven Rowley books. He captures humanity and emotion so so well. You know going in that there will be heavy things in the book.
I liked the characters and their woven dependence on one another.

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam publishers and Netgalley for an E-ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED The Guncle. Especially the Audio version and I plan to reread it this year, to then read the e-arc of The Guncle Abroad ahead of publication date.

Maybe my expectations were too high but this novel didn't sit the same. The way the timeline fluctuates and the amount of main characters made me not super invested in their stories. Don't get me wrong, Rowley's writing is amazing and I expect to enjoy TGA later this year, but I didn't find myself caring enough about the characters or the plot to finish this novel.

I hope to continue to enjoy Steven Rowley's works but its the end of the line for me and The Celebrants.

I've loved some of the author's other books so I picked this one up blindly based on his name alone. I loved the premise - a group of 5 who've been friends since their college days, and have a pact to get together and celebrate their funerals when they're down on their luck in life and need a reminder of how much they are loved and cared about by their friends. I have a close group of college friends that I could imagine doing this with.

However, the book takes a dark turn when one of them (right off the top, this isn't a spoiler!) calls on the pact because he is dying of cancer. I had to put this book down many times and come back to it later because I just wasn't in the mood for such sad subject matter.

Plus, we only get to see the characters when the pact is called for - they lead whole lives outside of that, which left me with a lot of questions and didn't I feel like I fully understood or connected with these characters like I have in Rowley's other novels.

I love Steven Rowley from The Gruncle. This book was also good. I loved the emphasis on friendship and the interesting concept of having living funerals while they are all still together. The story is deep, meaningful, and filled with hope. It discusses such an important concept. I almost just wanted a little more from the stories. I recommend it, especially if you liked Steven Rowley's other books!

For all of the cute and quirky moments this book held, it was ultimately a sad read for me. From the loss of a friend comes a spiral of chain reactions through the group. This book makes you think about the fragility of life and loving those you are with.

This was my first foray into the Rowley-verse and it was so enjoyable! The contrast of humor and deep human emotion and grief was so beautifully done. I laughed and cried. I can only appreciate my most meaningful friendships that much more.

I adored Rowley's "The Guncle" for his storytelling prowess and humor. The same can now be said for "The Celebrants." Such a wonderfully unique premise of college friends eulogizing each other in life, so each can appreciate their impact on others within the friend group. The story is structured with deep dives into each individual characters life; emanating with humor, emotion, and the discomfort that comes along with adulting. Overall, this story is a celebration of life and all it's seasons, with a deep appreciation for the found family we create along the way.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Steven Rowley's The Celebrants is more fun than a book with its premise has any right to be, a book where death is on the minds of every character and on every page. But Rowley does such a great job of fleshing out the relationships and the lives of these characters that it never feels like a downer. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Loved the author's first book. Sadly, I found the group of friends in The Celebrants to be unlikeable. Thank you NetGalley for the advance ebook.