Scan barcode
A review by megansmith
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This review is going to sound kind of passion-less but, I liked it! I'm not like very fervently in love with it, I truly feel kind of neutral.
I think if you like the idea of cozy books, but hate the quality of the writing of the genre typically so you avoid it, this is a good choice for you. The writing held up fairly well from start to finish and I never found myself TOO annoyed with how things were written. I think each funeral is unique and I find that to be kind of impressive considering society has pigeonholed at least American funerals into a very specific image that few deviate from. It's lighthearted but still feels meaningful in a not-cheesy way, which I appreciate.
My complaints honestly only apply to small instances, but in some cases, cleared themselves up. A few were also personal preference.
I didn't love at the beginning how Naomi's interactions were almost solely her yelling at one of the men in the book, it felt really flat and just poor writing to me overall. But I think she felt more actualized towards the end. It might have come with writing her chapter but I'm glad it got resolved.
I personally just did not like the Jordy / Jordan couple for a few reasons. I get the name thing was to be quirky and also, based on a couple in real life, but man I did not freaking like it! Mainly because it felt like the two did not have a distinct personality other than being gay for each other and for one of them being from Columbia, and that they traveled to Italy once, until towards the very very end. And if I made the whole beginning of the book hinder on one of them dying and wanting a funeral for the other Jordan before his real funeral, I would have wanted them more fleshed out as individuals versus a slightly amorphous couple blob. The name thing didn't help but that wasn't the only reason these two blended together. The whole book kind of suffered from a personality problem at times and in some ways thats how friend groups work, but by the end it felt unrewarding that some characters got more depth while others did not, like the Jordans.
At times this book also suffered from what I'm now dubbing the "cozy book plot hole", which is when a cozy / fluffy book says one thing and does a completely other thing. It's usually minor but this always happens in lighter / fluffy books and it bothers the shit out of me for some reason. This could've been caught with some more eagle-eyed editing but, like I said it's usually minor in the case of good books like this one. The one example immediately coming to mind was towards the end, they made a note to say they weren't going to make it to the pier to watch Jordy race but then they immediately flip to Jordy's POV and he sees them on the pier. Stuff like that just bothers me with the genre and while I think it'd benefit me to read more light books like this, it bugs me enough that I end up back at dark/moody books with less plot holes lol.
My complaint section was kind of long but honestly, it didn't bother me enough to hate this book that much. Like I said I'm kind of neutral on it, didn't absolutely hate it but didn't like, love it to pieces either. It's interesting for the genre and has it's merits and I'd reccommend if the premise interests you!
I think if you like the idea of cozy books, but hate the quality of the writing of the genre typically so you avoid it, this is a good choice for you. The writing held up fairly well from start to finish and I never found myself TOO annoyed with how things were written. I think each funeral is unique and I find that to be kind of impressive considering society has pigeonholed at least American funerals into a very specific image that few deviate from. It's lighthearted but still feels meaningful in a not-cheesy way, which I appreciate.
My complaints honestly only apply to small instances, but in some cases, cleared themselves up. A few were also personal preference.
I didn't love at the beginning how Naomi's interactions were almost solely her yelling at one of the men in the book, it felt really flat and just poor writing to me overall. But I think she felt more actualized towards the end. It might have come with writing her chapter but I'm glad it got resolved.
I personally just did not like the Jordy / Jordan couple for a few reasons. I get the name thing was to be quirky and also, based on a couple in real life, but man I did not freaking like it! Mainly because it felt like the two did not have a distinct personality other than being gay for each other and for one of them being from Columbia, and that they traveled to Italy once, until towards the very very end. And if I made the whole beginning of the book hinder on one of them dying and wanting a funeral for the other Jordan before his real funeral, I would have wanted them more fleshed out as individuals versus a slightly amorphous couple blob. The name thing didn't help but that wasn't the only reason these two blended together. The whole book kind of suffered from a personality problem at times and in some ways thats how friend groups work, but by the end it felt unrewarding that some characters got more depth while others did not, like the Jordans.
At times this book also suffered from what I'm now dubbing the "cozy book plot hole", which is when a cozy / fluffy book says one thing and does a completely other thing. It's usually minor but this always happens in lighter / fluffy books and it bothers the shit out of me for some reason. This could've been caught with some more eagle-eyed editing but, like I said it's usually minor in the case of good books like this one. The one example immediately coming to mind was towards the end, they made a note to say they weren't going to make it to the pier to watch Jordy race but then they immediately flip to Jordy's POV and he sees them on the pier. Stuff like that just bothers me with the genre and while I think it'd benefit me to read more light books like this, it bugs me enough that I end up back at dark/moody books with less plot holes lol.
My complaint section was kind of long but honestly, it didn't bother me enough to hate this book that much. Like I said I'm kind of neutral on it, didn't absolutely hate it but didn't like, love it to pieces either. It's interesting for the genre and has it's merits and I'd reccommend if the premise interests you!