This book was well written and i was a good story. Unfortunately, I struggled to get into it and connect to the characters. I will try more books by the author because I think it was just not a good match.

Literally no plot, I was so bored. I kept increasing the speed just to finish the book.
I was hoping it would make me laugh out loud. It did not.

Loved this beautiful story. It is about the complicated emotions of grief, friendships, unexpected friendships, the comedy scene, New York and a lil romance. Loved everything about it

I enjoyed this. Great friendships, some romance, a lot of nods to NYC. This was a cute story about growing up in your 20s.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley.
Presley is quite a character with a lot going on as us humans tend to do. Her alcoholic mother died almost 2 years ago. Presley has a gay roommate whom she adores and is jealous when Izzy starts dating. Presley has a work crush that isn't working out. She also becomes entangled with her dead mother's high school friend who's husband is swirling in the "Me Too" movement. Not to mention work stress from being behind-the-scenes on a high energy talk show. I can't say that I loved Presley, but I definitely felt empathy for her as someone who basically raised herself and now has to figure out all this stuff mostly on her own.

4.75 stars rounded up. This was a wonderful rom-com that I didn’t know I needed!

Presley is closed off to love and talking about her mom and spends a lot of time avoiding both until she cannot. She’s an assistant working a late night comedian’s tv show and it’s a big part of who she is and how she spends her free time.

Presley is from Georgia, which gives her two friends we get to know in this book. Susan, a friend of her mother, and Isabelle. Honestly? They were both friends that *i* wanted! Their relationships with Presley are supportive and reciprocal which was really nice to truly feel through the characters actions + dialogue.

Thanks to Humor Me, I’m a Cat Shook fan! This book was a true delight and the audio was excellent!

Advance reader copy provided by Celadon Books and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

Probably more of a 3.5, but I liked the ending.

Set in 2017, Presley works at a late-night talk show in New York City as an assistant, trying to find up-and-coming comics to perform on the show. Her alcoholic mother died the previous year, she has a huge crush on a coworker, lives with a fabulous roommate, and then bumps into a friend of her mother's. And she suddenly finds herself becoming friends with this woman whose husband was caught up in the Me Too movement.

Some could call this a romance, though romance is definitely not the main part of the plot. It's mostly about Presley coming to grips with her mother, her relationship with her mother, and how that's affected how she handles her own emotions and relationships. She finds herself incredibly closed off. The relationship with her coworker crush was all too familiar, and extremely deftly handled by Shook. I also loved the growing relationship between Presley and Susan, her mother's friend, and the relationship between Presley and her roommate Izzie. The mixed emotions when a single friend suddenly is in a relationship is, again, all too familiar and well done.

A good read, though just as Presley puts up walls to keep people out...I felt a little removed from her, too. Still. Recommend, particularly if you want a low-key ode to living in New York City.

Thank you Celadon books and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I ended up attempting this book via the audio as I was gifted an eARC and ALC. Unfortunately both the physical and audio was boring for me. It got me through a work day but I didn't relate to the story or characters at all.

Humor Me by Cat Shook is about twenty-something Presley Fry dealing with life in New York City as an assistant at a late-night talk show.

I adored this book. It definitely has some great romance elements, but it is mostly about friendships. Old friends, and finding new friendships with people you never expected.

I absolutely loved all the movie/TV references. Nice to see Emperor’s New Groove get a shout-out! All of the nods to different parts and places in NYC were great and made you feel like you were there.

I really liked the character of Presley. She had very relatable issues with men. I truly felt for her as she was dealing with moving on after the death of her mother.

Very enjoyable book. Definitely recommend. Rated solid 4.5 stars. Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the eARC.

4.5 stars rounded up! While this is a romcom, at its core it is so much more than that. Presley is an assistant at a late night comedy show. She's navigating life in NYC as a woman in her 20's, in love with her co-worker who may or may not feel the same way, while also struggling with the terms of recent death of her mother. An unexpected encounter with her mothers friend Susan (who is also dealing with some big life changes) leads to a heartwarming friendship with Susan (and her handsome, charming son) that both women desperately needed.

I absolutely loved this book! Written as a love letter to New York, it really sets the scene and explores how comedy can be used as a coping mechanism and bring people together. All of the characters were relatable, felt realistic, and I was rooting for them all in their own ways. I particularly loved Presley's friendship with Izzy and how it showed friendships evolving during different phases of life. If you enjoy strong female leads with a character driven story, you will love Humor me! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Presley is an assistant on a late-night talk show in her mid-to-late 20s, and she's trying to make her way in NYC with her roommate Izzy. Presley's alcoholic mother died a couple years ago, and she's harboring some unresolved feelings about that. Presley runs into an old friend of her mother's who married a high-profile executive, and, through Susan, Presley might be able to gain some insight into her mother. At work Presley is navigating the ongoing drama on set along with a crush on a co-worker.

I enjoyed the friendship between Presley and Susan. Susan could fill that mother-type role without the drama that you could see that existed between Presley and her mother Patty. The banter between Presley and the other characters was good but not too banter-y, if that makes sense. It felt deeper than a typical romance.

There are a few similar beats to Curtis Sittenfeld's ROMANTIC COMEDY in this one, and I enjoyed Sittenfeld's novel a bit more. Perhaps it is because the protagonist is so much younger in this one that I couldn't relate as much. I think the plot line with Susan's husband Thomas could have been fleshed out more as well.

Overall, I enjoyed this one and still have the author's debut on my TBR, and I hope to read that soon!

The majority of this book is about Presley getting her own way to avoid making real connections all the while being forced to become friends with someone unlikely. Overall I enjoyed it, but Presley was a character that I struggled to connect to, or even like sometimes. Overall, I thought the book was good and it did have similar vibes to Romantic Comedy. It just felt very unfinished. I only just started getting invested in the story and then a few chapters later it ended.

Presley Fry is an assistant on The Late Night Show, she gets to scout new comedians and maybe someday she'll even get promoted.  She also lost her mother recently with whom she had a complicated relationship - her mom was an alcoholic and as such was not always the best parent.  One day while waiting for a cruller from Daily Provisions (they have the best crullers) Presley bumps into her mother's best friend Susan Clark, Susan is married to the head of the Late Night network and he has recently been ousted due to some unsavory behavior.  Now single and a bit lonely herself, Susan takes Presley under her wing and the two begin an unlikely friendship. WIth Susan Presley now has a connection to her mother which is allowing her to see her mother in a new light, she is hanging out with Susan's very handsome son and she has a new outlook on her life.

This was a cute novel about life in NYC and the TV comedy world around the time of "me too".  It was sweet, but for me none of the relationships really rang true.  Maybe it was because Presley just didn't have enough dimension for most of the novel and then just allowed herself to fall into these relationships, either way I never really felt any real connection to anyone while reading it; I just enjoyed the story and moved on.  I think the story was there, but the character development needed more and for that I just didn't get fully invested.  The audio was really well done, I thought the narrator was wonderful and enjoyed listening to this one as much as I enjoyed reading.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC to review

I chose to DNF this book quickly due to multiple instances of the MC, Presley, putting down other women, insulting them, and treating them as less than, and while this might be a character flaw that changes throughout the book, I choose to not listen or engage with fiction that does this.

HUMOR ME is a heartfelt story takes place in NYC at the dawn of the #MeToo era in 2017. Presley Fry is an overworked and underpaid assistant at a late night comedy show with a lackluster romantic life. Presley is floundering as she tries to navigate new adulthood without having the steady anchor of her mother. Presley connects with her late mother’s childhood friend and the two embark on an unexpected friendship. This story explores how humor can be used as a coping mechanism to avoid vulnerability, but also the way comedy can bring people together. I enjoyed the relationships Presley developed as she attempted to find her place in the world.


READ THIS IF YOU:
-have a soft spot for intergenerational friendships
-are interested in a character-driven story with a vivid NYC setting
-believe comedy can heal hearts

Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book. 🥰 the characters were relatable, the jokes were funny, and I had a great time. Also the cover is of course beautiful! 💕

Enjoyable. I liked this story and thought Shook crafted wonderful characters. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Celadon Books for granting me early access to this eARC! I am looking to read more contemporary fiction that features an ensemble cast (or similar), so I'm real excited for this. Full review to come!

While I liked the concept of the novel, it was too slow moving and interior for me. This has elements of Lily King's Lovers and Writers and the

The main character is a low paid assistant on a late night comedy show in New York City. She is coping with the recent death of her alcohol-addicted mother while experiencing the New York comedy scene as a young woman in her 20s. Following a sexual harassment scandal of a senior leader at the network, the main character connects with an old friend of her mother's and through this friendship and various romances, comes to grow emotionally.

I had high hopes for the comedy setting but the book wasn't very funny. The characters are well-developed and the novel has a strong sense of place. Would be a great read for lovers of character studies.

I had a bit of a tough time finishing this read. It kind of just felt a little pointless to me. Like there wasn't really a plot or any sort of problem/solution in this story. The main character was pretty boring and we were just following her day to day life but there wasnt anything pushing the plot forward or making me want to continue turning the page. The ending was VERY abrupt. I thought my copy might have been unfinished. I'm guessing the author just didnt know what to do there and it was kind of awkward to say the least.