I loved this story about a gay clown called Cherry, who has a gay mother (who doesn't seem to like her daughter) a dead brother who doesn't stop goading her and has a dead-end job in pet shop that specialises in fish and amphibians what else could go wrong...funny, poignant and refreshingly different.

Yeah okay I liked the clown book!

I loved Cherry as a character. She’s maybe a bit more self aware than is realistic, but I’m also deeply aware of why I am the way I am and yet...

I enjoyed the exploration of her mommy issues, as well as her struggle to make art in a way that didn’t feel like selling out. Her audition was by far my favourite chapter, it really summed up her personal struggles and how they link to her art, and it felt really cathartic seeing her move through and beyond what was no longer serving her.

At times it felt a bit over the top for me, but that’s definitely a stylistic choice. Arnett is also really desperate for us to know where this book is set, the words ‘Central Florida’ appear 20 times throughout. Also insane to me how she positioned people’s dislike for her as a clown alongside the discrimination she faces as a queer woman?

Overall it was fun and I had a good time reading it!

Thank you NetGalley at the publisher for the ARC!

I absolutely loved Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett, which made me so so excited for her next novel, Stop Me If You've Heard This One.

What I love about this author is her ability to create such complex characters who are not necessarily likeable but are extremely relatable. This is definitely a more character driven book than plot driven, but enough happens along the way to grasp your attention throughout.

This did remind me a little bit of the show Fleabag in it's humour and awkward yet charismatic main character, which in my opinion is a great comparison to have.

I actually ended up liking this more than her previous novel, which I did not expect as I loved that novel. I would highly recommend this one!

Stop Me If You've Heard This One by Kristen Arnett is about love and loss with a realistically endearingly flawed protagonist struggling with various life situations and difficulties.

Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One follows Cherry who is a professional clown. Cherry loves clowning but has to work part time at an aquarium store. She is always hustling due to her lack of money and messy love life. Cherry meets Margot who is an older lesbian magician. Margot has industry connections and seems to have her life together. Margot’s hot and exactly Cherry’s type but Cherry must decide how far she will go to take her act to the next level and discover what kind of clown she wants to be.

This was really good. The writing was great and I was gripped by the story. It reminded me of a sad girl novel in the way this was so wacky, random and just about a woman living her life albeit as a clown. This story has a lot of heart to it and it is a story about grief as Cherry’s brother is dead. Due to this focusing on grief I would recommend this for fans of We Were the Universe by Kimberly King Parsons. This was also a very go with the flow kind of story so I would recommend it for Fans of Sky Daddy by Kate Folk. It also reminded me of Soft Core by Brittany Newell just by the vibe even though it’s not remotely similar to this book. I loved how lesbian this was and I really enjoyed reading this. I’m giving this 5 stars and would recommend this novel. The ending was beautiful and it made me feel so nostalgic. When I finished this I just kept reading the last line because I didn’t want it to be over. This was great and I need a physical copy when this releases. This whole novel is just an experience and I actually learnt some things about clowning.

Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by Kirsten Arnett:

Cherry is a Floridian, scraping a living as a clown and paying the rent with a dead end job. The best entertainer on the circuit is Margot The Magician. Can Cherry fall in love, make a living and reconcile with her Mum?

Well, I’m gonna leave you to find out. It’s the kind of novel that in less-talented hands could be a disaster. The outrageous nature of the plot is always there and there’s the make-up of dark jokes. In between that, it flits between being a workplace comedy (all Cherry’s co-workers have side hustles), a book about art versus commerce, imposter syndrome, the impending fubar of a right-wing America and queer relationships.

It also strikes me as being an incredibly erotic, comedic book. It opens with Cheryl ‘entertaining’ a bored mum at a kids party (Mum has a clown fetish) and we have some great sex scenes - especially Cherry and Margot’s first encounter portrayed as the stages of a magic act.

This is balloon of a book that is dark, funny and ties itself off in a sweet bow. It’s published by Little Brown on 18th March and I thank them for a preview copy. #stopmeifyouveheardthisone.

What a brilliant, bonkers, brave book! On the surface, it's a simple story of a queer clown, Cherry, trying to make her way as a performer (I learned loads about clowns, and how hard it is to be a good one). But there are many more themes that the book explores, from bad parenting to the psychology of jokes, hilarious accidents to homophobia, terrible children's parties to the tenderness of unspoken grief, friendship, community, and finding love.
'Stop Me If You've Heard This One' was a lot more than I expected, heartwarming and heartbreaking, funny and fierce, and I really enjoyed it.