Cat Shook writes another enjoyable contemporary fiction novel! Presley Fry is an assistant on a Late Night Show and has been trying to prove herself by finding the best stand-up comics in the area. This novel focuses on many different aspects of Presley's life like the loss of her mother, her professional growth, and her personal relationships. I enjoyed the characters in this novel as they felt realistic and relatable. This novel had a comforting aspect as a young professional attempting to have a balanced life. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction with a strong female lead, with themes like loss and relationship struggles.

This was not a romcom. This was not a deep book. This was a book about a lady with an alcoholic mom who has since passed away and her dealing with her life, oh and she has a crush. Do I seem annoyed? Maybe this one hit a little too close to home. My mom was an alcoholic and has passed away, so I think that I went into this one expecting more. More depth. More feeling. But it was bland. I also expected for a book I expected to be a romcom to have more romance. I love romcoms. I especially love romcoms that can take deep subjects and give them some levity, but that didn’t happen here, and I’m not sorry but I am just annoyed. I also don’t need to be reminded all the time where the book is set, I get it, this book takes place in New York City. I also didn’t appreciate the references to the Me Too movement. I felt that they were out of place and didn’t work nicely into the book.

I loved Cat Shook’s debut novel, If Were Being Honest. So I was excited to see she was coming out with a new book. This book started out slow and took me awhile to get into, but by the end I was totally invested in Presley’s life! Allison of the different relationships in the book seem random, but I loved how they all came together in the end. It was so sweet and really put a smile on my face. I enjoyed how Presley’s character grew and evolved throughout the book. She struggled with her mother’s death and I think a lot of readers will find that relatable. There is romance in this book, but it definitely isn’t the focal point.

Overall, this is an engaging book full of friendship, comedy, and finding yourself! I recommend it to readers who enjoy reading about female friendships with a hint of romance.

Humor Me is 50% friendships new and old, 30% workplace grind, 20% romance, and 100% a love letter to New York. Living with her best friend, hoping for a promotion that's long over due, and sticking exclusively to business casual hookups, Presley Fry is a wonderful balance of jaded and hopeful - essentially what you'd expect from a woman working in the city's comedy scene. While still working through the grief of her alcoholic mother's recent death and trying to ignore her feelings for Adam, her Late Night Show co-worker, Presley suddenly finds herself spending time with Susan, her mother's childhood friend who is dealing with her own recent familial issues.

This is not your typical romance, and there's arguably not much that actually happens in the story, but I think that's why I liked it so much. It felt real. There's the office politics of a male-centric field and the nods to MeToo, but then there's also the solid female friendships and the warmth of a new relationship that comes when there's no need or desire to be anyone but yourself. In the end, Presley is a 20-something woman just living her life and taking us along for the ride. Humorous yet heavy at times, this was such a joy to read.

I enjoyed this, I didn't love it (which is OK). It felt more like a love letter to New York City. I kept waiting for something to happen, but I guess that was the point. Presley's friendship with roommate Izzy was celebrated, as was her new friendship with Susan. I think the latter was the most interesting part of the book, a friendship to between people of greatly varied ages.

All in all, this was pretty well-written, interesting, and hopeful. That's a pretty good combination.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

Karaoke as catharsis, stand up comedy as career advancement, friends of the family who meld into more. @catshook_ has written a book I didn’t want to end.

I want to run into Presley at a comedy show and see her face as Clark throws his head back in laughter, see her order white wine with Susan when she’d rather have an old fashioned, see her accept the good and the bad, and let herself be happy.

In a weird way, this gave me a similar vibe to Definitely Better Now by @avarobinson - a woman not trying to overcome her past but learning to live within it. Finding a way to admit she deserves to be happy.

If you’re looking for a romcom, this isn’t for you. It’s got such depth that to pigeonhole it is a mistake. It’s about a woman - coming of age - learning to love herself. It also features a man, Clark, who won’t let her shut him out, patient and kind - my favorite kind of romantic partnership.

Presley is surrounded by the characters in her life: Isabel, her best friend and roommate, Adam, a coworker she has an inconvenient crush on, Patty, her dead mother, Susan, her mother’s best friend and maybe her new friend, Clark, Susan’s unrelentingly charming son, New York City, the place of dreams.

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Presley is living the dream in NYC; a tiny walk up shared with her best friend, a dream job in late night TV, and a friend at work to flirt and banter with.

She’s also dealing with the recent death of her alcoholic mother, the reemergence of her mother’s childhood best friend, and the maleness of her chosen career path.

As she tries to reconcile a difficult childhood with the warmth of a perfect female friendship, Presley lets herself admit she might want - and deserve more.

I loved this book. Top ten of the year, I bet. Immediate pre-order.

Highly recommend the audiobook, too. I love how the narrator captures Presley perfectly.

Thanks to @netgalley, @macmillianaudio for the audiobook and @celadonbooks for the eARC. This will be published July 9, 2024.

Oh my, this book. I absolutely adored and loved everything about it. HUMOR ME is centered around Presley Fry, a couple years after the passing of her alcoholic mother. I was delightfully surprised by the emotional depth and realness this book exhibits. I connected and related to Presley so much, that it felt therapeutic to read.

With her upbringing, Presley didn't have a model to look up when it comes to relationships. Being let down by the person supposed to take care of her, Presley would rather be alone instead of letting others in on what she's feeling, especially when it comes to her grief and vulnerabilities. Which is why she gets along so well with Isabelle, who can't commit to relationship if her life depended on it. At work, Presley has caught feelings for her co-worker and friend Adam who is consistently giving her mixed signals. Presley happens to run into the childhood friend of her mother's, Susan Clark, and unexpectedly and begrudgingly at first forms a new friendship with her. With spending time with Susan, Presley also is reacquainted with Susan's son, Lawrence, also known as Clark, who they knew when they were little. I loved Clarks' directness, vulnerability and honesty and how he is confident is speaking his feelings and how he sees Presley in his eyes.

I'm so happy and grateful to have to witnessed Presley's story. HUMOR ME has a special place in my heart. I'm off to go read the author's other book while I wait to read whatever the author decides to grant us with next!!!

Many thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Presley Fry works on a late night show, looking for the next new stand-up comedian who might hit it big. Her life revolves around humor, but lately she isn't finding much amusing about her own life. She is a twenty-something single living in NYC, but she takes the opposite of a Sex and the City approach when it comes to her dating life.

At first, I found her crush on her co-worker fun, but it got pretty boring and felt like it took too long to resolve itself. Presley's relationship with her best friend/roommate was the best part of the story, and I honestly liked Isabelle more than her (I think Isabelle deserves her own book). The friendship she strikes up with her mother's former friend Susan is entertaining, but the entertainment value comes more from Susan than Presley.

I know her relationship with her mother was a huge part of her storyline, and why she was the type of person she was throughout the book, but it didn't seem like enough of their backstory was shared in detail to make all of the time Presley spent avoiding speaking about her make sense.

There was nothing bad about this book. It was fine... not great, but also not bad. Just an average book that is worthy of a summer read when you don't want a story that you have to delve too deeply into to keep the storylines and characters straight.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a good story of friendship, family, and work life in your early adulthood. I actually thought this was going to be a more outright romance since it had been compared to Romantic Comedy, so I suppose I shot myself in the foot a little bit there. I liked this book. I think the first half is pretty slow paced, but overall I enjoyed it.

The characters and plot were present and lovely but I thought it was gonna be more romancey than it was which disappointed me.

I was so engrossed in reading and being so excited and then something terrible happened. It ended. I loved this book. The excitement of young people living life in New York City. Learning to trust. Cat Shook, sit down and write the rest of the story. I want to know what happens with the Clarks. I want to see Presley happy with C. I want more shopping and bars and climbing the ladder.
Thank you NetGalley and Cat Shook!

This is a sweet novel that deals with a young woman, Presley Fry, trying to deal with the loss of her mother while attempting to handle a relationship. It is made interesting by a good group of supporting characters. I also liked the setting, gritty NYC, and working on a talk show.

I did find it quite dated. All the references seemed old and stale. Such mentions, i.e. seeing the show The Band’s Visit, performed in 2017, probably should have been updated. Central to the story were the “Me Too” incidents after Weinstein’s indictment, in 2018.

Shook has elected to write about the complex relationship between mothers and daughters, even those with issues. It seems this is a meaty topic which has been explored by several recent novels, which was the crux of Presley’s story.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

I wish I could read this book over and over again! This was absolutely one of my favorite reads so far this year and it hasn't even been published yet!

Thank you Cat Shook, NetGalley and Celadon. I was so thrilled to be able to read this book. As a NY’er I absolutely loved the setting and really enjoyed this.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy

This is going to be pretty high on my best books I read in 2024 list. From beginning to end the writing, the characters, the way New York was the beating heart of the story...I loved everything about this book and am only sad that I can't read it for the first time again.

I just read "Humor Me" by Cat Shook and I must say, it was an absolutely brilliant novel. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it has become one of my favorite novels of 2024. The plot revolves around the life of Presley Fry, a woman who has been struggling to come to terms with her mother's death and has been feeling lost and directionless in both her career and personal life. However, a chance encounter with her mother's childhood friend, Susan, leads to an unlikely but heartwarming friendship between the two of them, which they both desperately needed.

What I loved most about this novel was the way it dealt with complex themes such as grief, friendship, love, and the complicated mother-daughter bond, all in a refreshingly honest and humorous manner. The author has done an exceptional job in developing the characters, and I found myself emotionally invested in their journeys. I can confidently say that "Humor Me" is a 5-star book that I would highly recommend to everyone. This is the first novel I have read from Cat Shook, and I am wholeheartedly looking forward to reading more from her in the future!

A rom com, a com com, and a multigenerational relationship..com.

Presley Fry works at a Tonight Show time company. She is guarded with her feelings and still grieving the death of her alcoholic mother. She isn't sure what to make of her almost co-dependent friendship with her work crush Adam and so, like many things in her life, she just let is exist in a purgatory like state.

In this great story, Metoo is just exploding. When another MeToo type scandal materializes in NY, Presley is surprised to learn that the wife involved a family friend - her mother's best friend in fact, growing up. When Susan reaches out to meet up for a drink Presley awkwardly accepts and begins an adventure of sorts which allows her to gain confidence and grow.

Truly beautiful, truly hilarious, truly the best! #celedon #humorme #catshook

***** FIVE HUNDRED STARS *****

"I'm guessing she's a performative reader, like the kind of girl you would see walking down the street reading a book, which makes absolutely no sense." --- a line I read while walking down the street reading this very book - bwaaaahaha

I absolutely LOVED this book and binge-read it in a day (thanks in part to reading while walking and in large part to benignly neglecting my family and all of the boring grownup person tasks I should have been accomplishing today -- WORTH IT!) I'm honestly having the hardest time writing a review for this book because I loved it so much and am afraid I won't do it justice.

ANYWAY, Cat Shook's debut novel, If We're Being Honest, was one of my favorite books published in 2023, and Humor Me is going straight to the top of my 2024 favorites list. It was smart and funny and moving and all of the things anyone could want in a novel - a little romance, a lot of female friendship and struggling to figure yourself out as a young adult. Part of me wanted to shake Presley and tell her to get herself a therapist ASAP, but a bigger part fully understood where she was coming from, since hiding from emotions and making a joke is 100% easier than dealing with them, even the good ones (ahem, yes, my old therapist Hillary: I KNOW), especially when you're in your 20s, but eventually all of that business needs to come out and you just have to hope there are good people around you when it does and you're at your most vulnerable. [Best BFF Award for Isabelle]

This is blurbed as being perfect for fans of Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld, which I agree with and also loved, but I think I loved this book even more. I'm definitely picking this for my book club to read and cannot wait to talk about it with people when it's out in the world. READ THIS!

Humor Me isn't my usual type of read, but I love books set in New York City so I thought I'd give it a try. It took me a minute to get into, I guess I wasn't sure what the 'conflict' or the 'why should I keep reading' was. The writing (& humor in it) is what kept me going. Soon I felt love for Presley and my why became to see how her story continued to unfold. I really enjoyed the friendship that formed between Susan and Presley. I don't read many character driven novels and Humor Me made me realize I may want to dip my toe in a little further.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Humor Me was a book that did a wonderful job of balancing the poignant and fun, dealing with heavy topics in a way that was helped by light and funny characters and special care.

Presley lost her mother and hasn’t truly dealt with her grief due to conflicting feelings and memories. Her mother’s alcoholism puts a dark veil on a lot, and her own reticence in embracing her emotions holds her back. But as she works on succeeding in her job finding comedians for a televised late night show, she runs into her Mother’s old best friend, Susan, who is dealing with her own low points in life, and they help each other get to the light.

There are many great characters (and character studies) in this book, with Izzy, Clark, and Adam, and they helped round out Presley’s development and journey as well. I loved the balance this book found in tackling Presley’s grief and Susan’s realistic thoughts and feelings over her own conflict. It was great to watch Presley grow and the journey through both made sense and was well written and paced, so this book flew by. Recommended for readers who like to find the balance in their books.