a lesbian clown? and a critique of late stage capitalism? what more could you ask for. loved this one - not a laugh a minute but definitely a 'hmmm that's a depressing yet pithy observation' a chapter. thank you netgalley for the early copy.

This is my first dive into Kristen Arnett's work, although I do have a copy of Mostly Dead Things sat on my bookshelf. Whilst I did enjoy elements of this book, I found the characters really unlikeable and cringy which, even though I'm sure they are supposed to be perceived that way, it made for difficult and slow reading at times. But I did like the exploration of queerness, and found some parts funny and relatable.

Kristen Arnett has a knack for creating characters that feel real, in their quirks and preoccupations, and their messy humanity. Cherry, the main character here, is the antithesis of the "model gay", and I'm honestly so grateful for some dirtbag lesbian representation in this our time of troubles.

Cherry is mourning the loss of her brother, half-assedly working a nothingburger retail job in an Aquarium supply store to keep a roof over her head and cover the costs of pursuing her real passions (clowning and MILFs). She has one best friend, one crush, and a mother who seems to feel like the wrong kid died.

This is a breezy, fun read that is often deeper than I've just made it sound. It's not all honks and greasepaint and buffoonery, though there is plenty of that. There's also a lot in here about grief and feeling lost, and not liking yourself enough to go after what you want (or even to figure out what you might want). This book made me verklempt over a post it note on a car dashboard, I loved it so. And you might love it too, unless you've got coulrophobia in which case you should probably avoid it.

Thanks to Little, Brown/Corsair and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an interesting read! I thought the premise of it was very unique and really enjoyed the opening scene of the book. I did find the characters unlikeable, but they were definitely relatable. Loved the social and political commentary on being queer in Florida as well.

Thank you NetGalley for the early copy!

A lesbian clown in her late 20’s fumbling her way through life whilst dealing with grief, a society that doesn’t always accept her as she is, complicated family dynamics, a love of seducing moms, and a passion for clowning. What’s not to love?

Stop Me if You’ve Heard This One follows the life of Cherry, who we quickly learn loves women older than her, has a best friend called Darcy, a dead brother called Dwight, a tense relationship with her own mother, and works a day job she doesn’t particularly like to try and fund her real passion - being a clown.

There’s laugh out loud moments, and the clowning aspect of the book is so unique and really adds to the book and Cherry’s character as a whole, and made her more interesting.

But there’s also poignant moments. Cherry lives in Florida and throughout the book it touches on the current political scene regarding LGBTQIA+ people and discrimination that they’re facing, which I thought was really well done.

I also really liked the use of grief throughout the book, and the difficult relationship with cherry’s mother, which gave us some really meaningful and relatable words (I highlighted quite a few on my kindle).

Overall I really enjoyed this unique, funny, and poignant book and the social commentary it offered on today’s world. I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for something different, I’ve never read anything like it. 🤡

A big thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book!

I did not expect to like a book about a clown as much as I did. I loved this messy, dramatic main character as she stumbled through life as a birthday party clown who wants more from life. Her complicated relationship with her mother being reflected in her relationship choices, the fixation on her dead brother, the devotion to clowning all make a really interesting main character. I read it over an afternoon and it was a really easy read. I enjoyed it.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest, unedited feedback. Stop Me If You've Heard This One is an absolute cringe-fest! Cherry/Cheryl is just trying to make her way in this world and find her path in life. We all know how difficult and fraught that can be. I liked Cherry. She wasn't an outright likeable character, but she was real. We can all relate to real. As much as I enjoyed the story and Cherry's journey, finding her place and voice, I had a couple of niggles. I didn't find there was continuity in some parts. This is one example: Cherry was severly allergic to peanuts and an epi pen had to be administered after she deliberately ate peanuts. She just came to and there was no mention of calling an ambulance or going to hospital (which absolutely needs to happen in that situation, btw). Later on we find out Cherry can't afford health care. Overall, a good, funny - sad, relatable read.

The lesbian clown book you didn’t know you needed. Whilst the character development felt a little lacking and Cherry wasn’t an especially sympathetic protagonist, she was a useful vehicle for a variety of philosophical ponderings about the world that I quite enjoyed. Whilst the town was broadly negative, the moments of humour made me genuinely laugh out loud quite a few times, and it ended nicely in a cautiously optimistic note.

I loved this highly original hilarious, serious, poignant and deeply felt novel. You'll also learn a great deal about the clowning industry which is a sentence I never thought I'd say. recommended

Funny, lovely, surprising and earnest! I wish we could have heard more about Miri or that she was a bigger part of this brilliant, sweaty, Florida tale.

This is a fresh and original book about a chaotic, queer woman in Florida who works in a run down exotic pet store but is also a clown.
I liked the characterisation, humour and the premise but the plot felt a but woolly in places and fizzled out.
Great to read a book about a proud queer woman and I liked the nods to the difficulties of life for queer people in the USA.
I did laugh out loud a few times.

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.