If We're Being Honest

I just finished If we're being honest by Cat Shook and here is my review.

Gerry's funeral brought everyone together. No one knows how they will cope now that the head of the family has passed. Everyone is just concentrating on getting through one moment to the next, that is until the eulogy delivered by Gerry's best friend leaves everyone suddenly reeling. Making the family wonder if they knew Gerry at all.

Each member of the family has their own secrets so really, who are they to judge?

I really wanted to love this book. The premise was amazing and I was so excited to sit down and read it. What was the problem then? Well...... The chapters were insanely long. That I could have gotten over but there were so many characters and it was all over the map. One thing I need in a book is to connect with the characters, to care and I was only mildly interested in any of them.

Having said that, the writing was quite excellent. There is raw talent in those pages. The messy family dynamic had me chuckling in the places and I am really glad I finished the book.

It didn't wow me though but it had some solid moments and anyone who loves family fiction will likely get a real kick out of this book.

3.5 stars. Don't let the star rating put you off because I am very specific with what I need from a book and I know most people love it.

Thank you to @celadonbooks @catshook for my review copy and it's available now

I've received an Advance Reader's Copy of this book through a giveaway hosted by the publisher. This has not affected my rating in any way.

DNF ~ 30%

If We're Being Honest by Cat Shook was not my cup of tea, and I knew this going into it. When I originally requested this via BookishFirst, I thought I would enjoy it and be able to mark of a square on my 2023 Bookish bingo card (for category: book from a genre you've never read before) if I won a copy. However, once I won I began to have doubts on whether I could truly enjoy this book. I considered contacting BookishFirst to have them cancel my win but I decided not to, thinking I might be able to push through.

If We're Being Honest follows the four cousins of the eccentric Williams family after the passing of their grandfather Gerry in Eulalia, Georgia. For me, I was so bored and miserable trying to read this to the point where I dreaded trying to pick it up most days. I couldn't find it in myself to like any of the characters and the story was bland compared to what I normally read. So I didn't push through. I just couldn't.

However, this was not because If We're Being Honest is a bad book but because it's too far away from my preferred genres that I'd feel more comfortable reading. While I normally read young adult fantasy, this is general adult fiction/women's fiction. It also heavily centers on grief and family connections which are things I'm currently struggling with, thus I was not in the right mental health space to be reading this book.

This was truly a case of it's not you, it's me. I fully believe that readers who frequently enjoy books from this genre and can handle topics such as grief will truly enjoy this book.