Humor Me was a very different read and not quite what I was expecting. A little bit of romance, a lot of friendship, some self-discovery and coming of age, and some "me too" movement - this book had a lot going on. For a book with humor in the title, I didn't find it very funny but I did appreciate the stand up comedy elements.

There was more suspension of belief in this novel than I anticipated. Shook did a good job explaining how Susan and Presley reunited and bonded but it still took me a while to believe it. Part of me wished there wasn't the backstory of Presley's mom and Susan and that Presley and Susan just kick started their own friendship. That would've felt more genuine for me.

I enjoyed this book but there were times when I was a little underwhelmed. I didn't get the Adam obsession nor did I really feel invested when she finally saw the light and had enough. I liked Presley's feminism generally but at times found her grating and immature. Her reaction to her best friend finding love, her jealousy issues, and her general demeanor toward men was often frustrating and obnoxious. Also if I heard the word "gag" one more time or read about one of Presley's very unnecessary dramatic reactions to just about anything I was going to lose it!

I listened to this novel and didn't particularly love the narrator - her voice was a little obnoxious and immature which was maybe perfect for Presley or just added fuel to the fire for me!

Overall, I did enjoy this book but it's not one that will likely stick with me. I may have enjoyed it more had I not listened to the audio so I'll be curious to hear my fellow book club members' opinions!

Thank you to Celadon Books, MacMillan Audio, and NetGalley for the copy.

Humor Me was a solid women's fiction novel that blended several themes. I saw it described as a love letter to stand up comedy in NY City and I would definitely agree with that analysis. But it was so much more. It was also a romance but not a typical one because our main character, Presley had to figure out how to love herself before she could love anyone else. The book was also a heartbreaking story of loss in that Presley is grieving her mother. Even though she tries to downplay it by mentioning her mother's alcoholism casually as if it's so matter of fact and no big deal, It was just so very sad. I could feel her underlying anguish and was saddened for her.

Meanwhile, there were other side plots going on that all blended together to truly pull this story together into something special. From the issues regarding her co-worker, Adam to the accusations made against her mother's friend Susan's husband to her blossoming relationship with Susan's son, Lawrence, Presley had a great deal to balance. All of this was going on while she was trying to get an up and coming female stand up comic discovered.

This book was just like a warm blanket that you enjoy covering your self with.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The audio was done very well and truly captured to spirit of the book itself. I was engaged throughout and really felt that the narration was spot on. 4 1/2 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for early copies of both the ebook and audiobook.

I can’t tell if there’s a trend in literature at the moment, or if it’s a coincidence, but it seems the last half dozen or so books I’ve read, both fiction and memoir, feature similar characters and circumstances, and even in some cases, the style of writing. Complicated mother-daughter relationships, fraught with addiction and/or mental illness; grief over loss, depression, and loneliness; low-grade toxic men (it’s not that they’re horrible, but the mark they leave on the women who love or lust after them remains, ever-present); and an educated, but working-class, female character at the center who is struggling to grapple with it all. I guess those elements are rather broad and therefore it’s not altogether strange that there would be a string of books featuring them, but it’s worth noting that I think my reception of this particular book may have suffered because they’ve all sort of started to blend together for me.

All of that being said, Humor Me did stand out as being a perfect balance of smart and introspective, and fun and escapist. Author Cat Shook deftly navigates the landscape of grief and connection as her protagonist ventures outside her comfort zone, exploring a friendship with an unlikely source, in the form of middle-aged housewife Susan, and a relationship with an even less likely candidate, Susan’s buttoned-up, silver-spoon-raised son. I really love books that challenge our notions of right and wrong, and I liked that this one inverts the now-cliché trope of small town MC has liberal awakening. Here, our already liberal city gal has her own prejudices against what she perceives as the wealthy, white elite, challenged. She discovers that she can connect to the woman who she would normally write off as inaccessible, aloof, or vapid, and similarly, finds her expectations upended in regards to her upper crust son.

I would definitely recommend this to fans of hot mess contemporary women’s lit who are looking for something of quality, but with a twist.

3.5 STARS

Humor Me is a character driven novel, not a laugh out loud comedy which was kind of what I was expecting. I did go into this book pretty blind, having no real knowledge or expectations. Humor Me gives us life's complications and deals with serious issues such as the loss of a parent, but it's still is a light and easy read for the most part. I will say that it had a bit of a slow start for me but then had me rooting for our main character, Presley. As a reader you want to see her happy and you're rooting for her in life.

I love the idea that this book is a love letter to NYC. You can't read this book and not think about planning a trip and one day I will visit and enjoy a trip to NYC. I love how this book talks about the city and it makes you feel like you're there, you can feel the city around you at times.

There's love, loss, friendships, everyday life, trying to find yourself in a big city, and a little humor. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys literary fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

A love letter to NYC, a raw coming of age, a real look at the complicated thing that is grief. This book was truly fantastic. I was a bit skeptical at first, thinking it might be too immersed in the comedy scene and our main character too "cool girl" and sarcastic, but that was not the case at all. Presley is a 20-something dealing with the still fresh loss of her alcoholic mother. She's trying to climb her way up the career ladder at a late night comedy television show. She's juggling friendships and situationships and very real unresolved emotions and internal struggles. All of these things came together in a great novel that encapsulated just how hard it is to be an adult in New York City and how hard it is to face your past. Cat Shook is an excellent writer with a strong voice and a knack for complicated characters!

This was an interesting story that really kept me on my toes. Just when I thought it was one thing, like a comedy, it sucker punched me with some authentic grief and then bam we had romance. None of the pieces were bad, but it was a lot to take in all together in one book. The writing was good, but this was a book I picked up and put down more times than I would have liked. I liked our main character Presley, but in her keeping her deep truths to herself I felt like we didn’t get to see her fully developed either. Presley is working for minimum wage as an assistant at a late night show and she is working hard to take over the stand up comedy spot to help her move up in her career. This is a story of unconventional friendships and how they change and develop. Presley doesn’t have a lot of friends. Her best friend and roommate Izzy, her deceased mother’s old friend who bumps into her adopts her Susan, Adam her coworker, and Lawrence Susan’s son. This book did hit the gambit and I laughed out loud and shed a few tears. Overall I gave it 3.5 stars which I rounded up for the genuine emotion it inspired.

Thanks for the review copy. I knew I would like this one since I liked Romantic Comedy. I loved the friendships in this book.

While I enjoyed the descriptive imagery (such as scenes in New York and a look into the BTS of comedy) and the mature themes (such as parental loss, and marital issues among others); it simply was not for me. It was very slow-paced and did not capture my attention as I wanted it to. I did not feel a connection to the characters that would make me invested in what would unfold next; they were likable at best. Overall, I feel the premise of the book was promising, but fell short of my expectations.

Humor Me is such a unique & original read. Yes, it is a Romcom, but it is also, was so much more!

Presley, in her mid-20's, is working as an assistant to a producer of a TV comedy show and trying, unsuccessful, to overcome her deep grief over the recent loss of her alcoholic mother.

The New York setting was absolutely perfect and just screamed SNL! It truly was so atmospheric and makes me want to visit NYC so much, now!

Despite all this, the novel is filled with humor… and the spice was so well done!

I also loved the more difficult topics including the Me Too and office politics discussions.

Thanks to Netgalley and Celadon for my ALC and Macmillan Audio for my ALC in exchange for my review!

First of all, I did not finish reading this book. I read 30% and said it was going nowhere. There are so many good books to read out there and I was not going to waste any more time waiting for this one to do something.

The run-on sentences drove me out of my mind. When a page is one long paragraph with several topics included, I know I will be paying more attention to that than I am to the subject, if there is one. It had to be written by someone either young or trying to be young who might not know that it's not right to insult boomers. Someday you might be one!

The main characters seemed immature and silly, though that could not have been the aim of the story. Living in NY, being or thinking of being gay or not and dating and drinking and visiting comedy shows since it is work related is all I got out of the story. I will not bother to read the last chapter as I don't care what happens with this story even though it did include digging a bit into the Me Too movement.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader book. Honest opinions expressed here are my own and are freely given

It was great. I was surprised by just how much I loved! I enjoyed Cat’s book “If We’re Being Honest”(was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me last year) so was excited to get my hands on this. I loved (almost) all of the characters, and just like her first book, this one had me laughing out loud, and then crying some ugly tears, too. She’s magical! Thank you, @catshook and @celadonbooks!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.3 (3.5/5)

𝑴𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔:
One thing I can say about this author, is that she knows how to write stories which are well composed with great detail and character development. Like her debut last year, this book does not disappoint with the plot at all! It was so well written, and there was a lot of intricated details, which I really enjoy when I'm reading contemporary fiction novels.

One aspect which I wasn't the biggest fan of was the pacing of the story. While the pace was rather slow for my liking, it does make sense based on the story itself. I would have like a bit of a quicker pace though in order to hold my attention more at certain parts.

When it comes to the characters, I absolutely loved Presley and Susan! I thought the bond they grew to have so sweet, and loved reading about their adventures together, and don't get me started on Susan's son - I loved him!

𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆:
- Character driven stories
- Emotional read at times
- Love letter stories to New York City

𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈: 2019 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - Ravine Vineyards🍷

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀 & 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒐𝒓 𝑴𝒆 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐅𝐫𝐲, 𝐚 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐍𝐘𝐂 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐛. 𝐈𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲-𝐭𝐨-𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 “𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭.” 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐨𝐟-𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐨𝐟-𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐞𝐧-𝐙. 𝐈𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞-𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧; 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒞𝒶𝓉 𝒮𝒽𝑜𝑜𝓀, 𝒞𝑒𝓁𝒶𝒹𝑜𝓃 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈, 𝑀𝒶𝒸𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Humor Me is a fun, fast paced and character driven romp through New York City. The book follows relationship-averse Presley, a late night show production assistant, who unexpectedly befriends Susan, an old friend of her deceased mother, who is dealing with the fallout from her husbands affair in the midst of the MeToo movement.

Despite her flaws, I really enjoyed Presley’s character and her emotional growth throughout the book. Her struggle to deal with her grief over her mother’s death felt poignant and was surprisingly emotional. There’s also a great cast of supporting characters. I wasn’t sure about Susan at first, but I came to really like her friendship with Presley. Izzy and Clark were also loveable and I think the perfect match to Presley’s tough exterior.

I will say, for a book that talks about comedy a lot I didn’t find it very funny but that might just be personal taste. The reason this is only a 3.5 star read for me is the ending. After all the build up, the ending felt rushed and fell a bit flat. I really wanted better for Susan wish she had made a different choice or at least that it was discussed in more depth.

I kind of fell in love with Cat Shook’s latest novel, “Humor Me.” I really wasn’t expecting that - I don’t mean that in a negative way - I thoroughly expected to enjoy this book from the beginning, but by the end, I was completely hooked on all of the characters, New York, the comedy scene, and the found family that Presley surrounded herself with.

A coming of age story about Presley Fry, a 20-something assistant at The Late Night Show who scouts comedians in New York; Presley navigates work, friendships, grief, and even relationships as she begins to come into her own. I loved the emphasis this storyline had for female friendships and all the subtleties within. Presley’s relationship with Isabelle is an authentic female friendship with all the love, angst, and support that you hope for from your besties. I thought the pacing was realistic allowing each of the novel’s relationships (platonic and romantic) to develop at a natural pace that lent itself to becoming truly connected to the characters. Susan is delightfully awkward as she tries to befriend Presley and set her up with Susan’s son even as she navigates family changes and unwanted media attention in the midst of the me too movement.

A heartfelt story that even made me a little teary, “Humor Me” is a must read that I cannot recommend enough! I loved audiobook narrator Ferdelle Capistrano who expertly brought each of the characters and storyline to life, particularly Presley. I’ll definitely be watching for other books she narrates. I switched back and forth between the audiobook and ebook; thanks Macmillan Audio Celadon Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read #humorme by @catshook_ I am a fan!

#celadonbooks #macmillanaudio #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #fiction #comingofagebook #humorme #humormebook #catshook #ferdellecapistrano #audiobooknarrator #netgalley #bookrecommendations #bookreview #highlyrecommend #strongfemalecharacters #youshouldreadthis #bookgeek #booknerd #imnotreadytomakenice #dixiechicks

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

I thought I would like this book but it was not for me. I am not a huge fan of stand up comedy in books and this one had that. I just feel like I don't usually find it super funny to read and I would rather see a comedy show. I also just didn't connect with the characters or the plot.

This is not a bad book, it was just not my taste. I hope others love it!

Humor Me was my first book by Cat Shook and I ended up enjoying this women’s fiction read, which touched on so many themes. I enjoyed following Presley on her journey, and her ups and downs, as she navigated her career, dating life, friendships and grief. She felt very realistic to me and I really enjoyed the friendships Presley made throughout this book, particularly with Isabelle, Susan and Clark. I loved the backdrop of the book of the comedy scene in New York City, which added some humor to the story as well. I did find this book to be a little slower paced than what I usually gravitate towards but I was happy with the ending and at times didn’t know where the book was going which made me want to keep reading.

Overall, I enjoyed this one and rated it 4 stars! If you are looking for a women’s fiction read set in NYC that focuses on a 20-something trying to figure things out that centers around the comedy scene and scenes of relationships of all kinds and grief, check out Humor Me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the advanced copy, out now!

First time reading this author, and I am very impressed with how witty and fun this book is. The story is about friendships, awkward relationships, second chances and living in the best city in the world New York. Presley has some very interesting adventures with her best friend who is her ride or die and a newfound friend who happens to be her mother’s friend from when they were younger, and she develops a relationship with a person who she never thought she would have feelings around. This book is filled with wit, great banter and lots of emotions. It’s a cute summer read.

💭 MY THOUGHTS: I really just couldn’t get past the fact that I did not like Presley, the book’s female lead. She was not intentionally unlikable. I get she was dealing with the loss of her mother and hang ups from her past, but she really could not get out of her own way. She would often contradict herself in her own inner monologues and I could not find it in me to root for her. I felt she was too good for Lawrence. His patience for her was impressive a he deserves a medal for putting up with her hot then cold attitude. She also was really judgmental of people while condemning others for doing the same. End rant.

I did like the supporting characters though. They were dynamic and interesting and although I don’t understand why, really supported Presley and were great friends to her.

🎧 The audiobook narrator did a fantastic job bringing through all the different emotions Presley grapples with. Scenes of the comedians doing their acts were great to listen to as well.

Read for:
💙 Loss of a Parent
🍄 Unlikely Friendships
🚺 #MeToo References
🤣 Stand Up Comedy World
🔎 Single POV
📍 New York

⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Spice Level: 🌶️ / 5

Presley is a 25-year-old intern at a late-night show, nursing a crush on her co-worker Adam, and still grieving her mother's sudden death 18 months earlier. Lawrence (Clark) is an assistant at an entertainment agency, son of Presley's late mother's friend Susan, and dealing with the fallout of his father's recent #MeToo scandal. Presley had a difficult relationship with her alcoholic mother, and she seems to hold herself apart in her other relationships. Clark is still struggling with a past breakup. There's a lot of dense relationship stuff to unravel throughout the book, especially as filtered through Presley's experiences with her mother, her close friendship with Isabelle, her feelings for Adam and her growing friendship with Clark and Susan. This is a 1st-person singular POV (Presley), which fits because this is more a story of Presley navigating her relationships, her work life, and her grief over her mother rather that it being a full-on romance. It's also very definitely a love letter to New York City, it's clear that Presley (and the author) have a deep and profound affection of the city. It was well-written but maybe a bit slow-paced for me. On a final note, I don't know how to feel that 25-year-old Presley had no idea who Michael J. Fox was, but of course the mother figure does. Why, just...why?? That's it, I'm officially too old to relate to books with twenty-something main characters. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an Ebook ARC of this story in exchange for my honest review. I give it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.