beta read this for 831 and adored it - charming, complicated, messy. for the people who watched Girls and The Mindy Project and also something wholly new that no one has written quite yet

A fun and honest exploration of bisexuality, packed into a punchy novella. I devoured it! I love what 831 is doing with the romance genre and I cannot wait to see what they have up their sleeve.

Thanks to 831 Stories and Netgalley for this eARC.

I’m in love with 831 Stories, and Comedic Timing was no exception. I love bi representation in books - which Comedic Timing SO delivered on, aaaaand I adore messy women, which Comedic Timing SO delivered on; the only thing better than messy or bi representation is messy AND bi representation. Loveeeeeeeeeee

Reckless, quarter life crisis meets the NYC creative hustle—with a side of romance.

Read this for:
🎭 messy twenty-something uncertainty tackling queer identity, creativity, breakups– all in 170 pages
🎬 a will-they-won’t-they between creative collaborators
🌆 dating, queerness, and ambition colliding in New York City

Naina Rao is determined to make this her year. She’s got a steady job, she’s newly single, and she’s ready to finally break into a creative career. But NYC doesn’t make it easy—until she meets David, a filmmaker who makes the city feel a little less lonely. Their connection is instant, and that makes her question everything she thought she knew about herself.

This ambitious novella takes on a lot – mid-twenties uncertainty, big dreams, messy starts and stops of relationships, carrying the weight of grief, wrestling with heteronormativity. The premise is so compelling: a queer 25-year-old falling for a man for the first time and spiraling into an existential crisis. But in its race to be hyperrealistic and self-aware, it veers into lit-fic-with-a-romance-subplot territory. It’s a love story where I wasn’t necessarily rooting for the couple to end up together, which is a cardinal sin in the genre.

831 Stories brings us yet another strong, quick, and sharp novella in a fresh new package and this one leans all the way into the messiest parts of ourselves… but Big Fan remains solidly the supreme leader of the bunch.

I ended up Purchasing this book because I have a collection of 831 Stories books and let me tell you it was everything I needed to read! The story, the connection and setting. It was a realistic and true retelling of what dating in late 20s- early 30's is like in todays worlds ! David the MMC was just perfection, he was what we all hope we can find in our world today! Oh, and the audio on Spotify also so good! I love how it is told!

Relatable, messy, short, & sweet.

Love the bi representation and everything that 831 Stories is doing! Personally, I enjoyed Big Fan more but will continue to read everything they publish.

Another lovely little book snack from 831! Loved this exploration of the various types of grief (losing loved ones, losing versions of ourselves), sexuality and identity, and how the stories we tell ourselves can alter our perspective. So fun to see the Mischief song mention (nod to Big Fan) in the first chapter — makes me want to read it again to see if there are any other 831 Universe Easter eggs!

This is the third romance novella released by 831 Stories, skewing more towards lit fiction than romance compared to the first two. If Big Fan is the romance equivalent of tomato soup with grilled cheese, this is Italian wedding with crusty garlic bread. No idea where that analogy came from, but it feels right. It was overall just a like for me. The story follows the friends-to-lovers situationship arc of Naina and David. Naina is new to NYC, having fled Chicago following the breakup of a long-term relationship. She’s drawn to David, but has a lot to figure out before starting a new relationship. This is not the situationship of your college years (no one wants to read about that hot mess of cringey behavior lol). Instead, it draws from more adult issues- the trauma and scars that result from having actually lived, loved, and lost. It was dense, and at times hit a little too close to home despite my experiences being so different than Naina’s. Kudos to the author, Upasna Barath, for that one. Everything came on too strong and too fast for me, maybe the curse of a novella. I didn’t feel like I had a chance to figure out who Naina was, or feel an emotional connection to her before we dove right into the whole tangled mess of interpersonal relationships. I felt too tired to cheer at the end of it, but appreciated that it was well written and a unique story. If you’re a fan of happy endings that really make you work for it, fictional relationships that have realistic messiness, or just in a headspace where you want to put on someone else’s shoes and walk around in them (I was absolutely not), you should pick this up!

I loved this story. Both characters were emotionally intelligent and mature. There wasn’t major conflict dealing with miscommunication which is refreshing. They were fleshed out, full characters who were imperfectly human. Telling a love story rooted in a situationship seems difficult but this felt seamless and surprisingly real. I wish it were longer because I would’ve loved getting more from the last third of the story. Overall a lovely read.

What’s comedic is how I convinced myself how this was good while reading it. Looking back, it’s just okay.

I’ve read better, but I’ve also read much worse.

I think the only reason I would purchase a copy is if I got the rest of 831’s books because they all looked pretty beside each other. Otherwise, I couldn’t care less.

This was the perfect slow burn novella for me. I loved the chemistry between the characters and really loved the way Naina’s queer identity was explored and validated. I would love to see Chloe and Christian’s story.

I absolutely devoured this book in one day. Never in my life did I think I’d be crushing over a book boyfriend named David and yet here we are!!!

Barath’s writing is so authentic and relatable and it makes me enjoy a book even more when I can see myself within certain elements of the characters.

I was lucky enough to get to attend an event with the author, and getting to hear about her influences and thought process while writing this story was so lovely.

831 stories has been killing it with their recent releases and I can’t wait to see what they come out with next!

I was intrigued by the premise but this just wasn't for me. I struggled to get invested in the characters and it all fell pretty flat.

This book was an enjoyable, quick read but I think it left something to be desired. I know it's the nature of a novella, but things moved quickly and I wanted to see more of Naina and David's actual relationship. Although that being said, it is definitely a testament to the character development that I was left wanting so much more of their interactions.

Comedic Timing is about 25 y/o Naina who recently ended a long relationship with her ex-girlfriend and moved to NYC, and she is exploring her sexuality. I really struggled to get into this short story, it’s around 170 pages long, but it felt like it was dragging. My main issue with the text was the awkward, overly introspective dialogue between the main characters. It felt completely unrealistic. I could not feel their chemistry at all. My fav part of this novella was Naina’s struggle with her sexuality. I thought it was very well done. I also wanted there to be more comedy since many of the characters were comedians. Overall, this was a 2.75-star rating for me. I love the 831 story Easter eggs that was fun. I will continue to read through all their published stories so far because I am enjoying them. Many thanks to 831 Stories & NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I can't believe this is a debut novel. Upasna's writing is SO GOOD. I devoured this novella. I loved the character development and the characters themselves. It made me sooo happy to see a realistic bisexual character. I truly cannot wait for Upasna's next book.

I really enjoyed this overall- I think it makes great points about being kind to yourself and accepting the humanness of being imperfect and flawed. I felt a little disconnected from the main character and her choices but could see why she needed to make them and learn from them.

Comedic Timing is pitched as a modern New York City love story, which feels pretty appropriate. This feels like one of those rom coms that is an indie, quirky, artsy story. It follows our main character, Naina, who has just moved from Chicago to New York City for a new job after breaking up with her longtime girlfriend back in Chicago. You watch her navigate making new friends and living in the series and getting accustomed to her new job and also trying to launch her creative career. While at a party, she meets David, who is an aspiring filmmaker and to have a pretty strong connection over the next few meetings. But she doesn’t really know if this connection is a professional one about their creative interest, or if it’s a romantic one. She’s also trying to figure out what it means for her sexuality when she is catching feelings for a man after being in a long-term relationship with a woman. Most of the romance deals with the confusion that comes with navigating a situationship where you haven't defined exactly what you relationship is with another person. Naina makes a few mistakes throughout this book in regards to her relationship with David and her relationship with their friends and roommate, and I really feel like this book was written for the messy desi girls who are 20 something and just trying to figure life out postgrad living alone away from family. I really like the writing style of this book too, it was very artsy like the vibe of this book, so I'm excited to see if there are other stories that this author publishes in the future.

I’ve been really excited to check out Comedic Timing by Upasna Barath—831 Stories always puts out such fun, quick reads, and their covers are so simple yet eye-catching! This novella follows Naina, a 25-year-old who moves to New York after breaking up with her ex-girlfriend, Sofia. Just as she’s trying to figure out her next steps, she finds herself unexpectedly drawn to a man—David—who immediately gets on her nerves by making assumptions about her sexuality based on how she looks. (He’s surprised to learn she’s dated women before.)

I really enjoyed Naina and David’s dynamic. Their connection feels natural, their banter is sharp, and their conversations never feel forced. While the book is a romance, it also offers a thoughtful look at gender politics and sexual fluidity, exploring complex emotions without feeling heavy-handed. I had such a great time reading this and flew through it in just a couple of sittings!

Thank you to @831storieshq and @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for what 831 Stories puts out next.

I love 831 Stories! Their books always have great content and are super quick reads. However, I just finished Comedic Timing by Upasna Barath, and I have mixed feelings. The story follows Naina, who is navigating a sexuality crisis as she unexpectedly starts developing feelings for a man despite typically being attracted to women—especially her ex, Sofia. While I enjoyed the overall storyline, there were moments that felt like borderline cheating, which made it less enjoyable for me. That said, it was still a fast and engaging read! Thank you to 831 Stories and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.