Their relationship presented in the article felt unethical and the writing style was a mix of flashbacks, present, and useless “articles” and “interviews” and “blog posts” thrown in to break up the plot for no reason. I really don’t like when those things pop up in books. I stuck with them at the beginning because I was still interested in the “plot,” but then I realized nothing they revealed was actually useful to the overall story and I skimmed the rest. I mean the plot didn’t reveal anything either, let alone the flashbacks. Why do flashbacks get incorporated when the big “fight” scene in the past is just. so. boring?

I did like the beginning (until the faked dog death) and I was interested to see what really happened in the past. But the more I went along, I felt like her article was unprofessional and awkward and made me feel weird. She kept talking about all of these stereotypes, when her article did it’s best to perpetuate them? And she was so sad and angry that she had friends with private jets because she didn’t know if her career was “earned” or not.

✨

I suppose the dude was more decent, but I still didn’t like him. He sounded nice in theory but the execution was lacking. The whole marriage thing and friends with benefits thing was just not what I wanted to see from him and it made him Not Hot. We also finished this book with them knowing each other for a collective six days in ten years. I didn’t buy that.

This book was based on a much shorter, unsubstantial in its own right article and it shows. Maybe the article really didn’t happen like the journalist said, but that didn’t make this book any more logical. And it doesn’t have to be but it just had a weird feeling. I was more stressed out at her being invited to after parties and passing out and getting drunk.

I felt zero chemistry between the characters by the end and I disliked both of our MCs which is impressive. She’s angry that people got the wrong impression from an article she intentionally wrote to give the wrong impression and I just…

✨

If you don’t like books with flashbacks that culminate to nothing. Don’t read it. If you don’t like books with random “articles” and “interviews” thrown in between the actual plot. Don’t read it. If you don’t like books about “great writers” who when you read their “great writing” you’re like um no? Don’t read it. If you don’t like books that trick you into thinking the puppy got old and died. Don’t read it. Circle back to the last one I insist. From 30% to 60% this book tricks you into believing it killed a dog (that you saw as a puppy) and that’s cruel and sick.

I cried but not bc of anything revolutionary the book did. No I lost it at “wow what a cute puppy ten years ago but time is crazy and now the dog is dead and wow just kidding this dog is actually alive but your dog is still dead have a great life.” I gave the book the benefit of the doubt and kept reading to see if the dog actually was dead and thank god it wasn’t but I was triggered and had a terrible time I can’t believe they expect people to be okay with that. That’s a big gamble. From 30% to 60% and now all that in between % has been tainted.

✨

The author uses ellipses so many times at all times and I never knew what she was talking about and she also referenced things that happened to these characters as if we knew what they were and then like three pages later she defined them and I’m like, I just wasted five minutes rereading past pages to see if I missed the information!

The only thing I liked by the end (besides the fact that I was done) was his reveal of what happened in the past. But even then, it wasn’t even revealed in a flashback so my previous point of them being useless still stands. I can see why people like this book, but it checked all the wrong boxes for me.

⭐️⭐️.25/5 🌶🌶/5

Now that I know this book was heavily *inspired* off of a GQ article (about Chris Evans) that the author fails to mention in her acknowledgements, I feel so uncomfortable. I dislike the article because I again found it weird and unethical and I don’t like knowing this really happened. Please don’t feel up the people you’re interviewing. And in the book she kept referencing how he was probably too drunk but she still wanted to get that sound bite.

If you’re looking for an authentic romance you can’t put down, this is it! I binged this in one day; it was so good. This is a second chance Hollywood romance that also explores fame and success. Loved that it alternated between past and present and that in between chapters were interviews, articles, blog posts that made it unique.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When Gabe Parker is cast as the next Bond, the public isn't happy. Chani, a journalist assigned puff pieces her whole career, is hired to write a profile on him. Gabe has been her celebrity crush, but she knows this could make her career. Given unprecedented access, she visits his home and they immediately hit it off, kicking off a weekend of friendship and parties. Her article is a smashing success, launching her career, but everyone still asks if she slept with him, even as she denies it. Female journalists always do it to get the story, right? Chani had hoped there might be something there between them, but it must have been just his acting charm, since he ran to Vegas to marry his costar shortly after. Now, ten years later, Gabe's staff want to recreate that weekend and have her write another article. Ten years seems a lifetime, yet no time at all, as all those feelings come flooding back. Can she trust that he feels the same, or is he really that good of an actor?
This book is written in alternating chapters between the past and present, with some articles and interviews in between. I could see Gabe's struggle with his addiction in the beginning, but his down-to-earth boy-next-door personality was surprising, especially to Chani. She was young, naive, and honestly a bit dim witted in the beginning, but after ten years and a divorce, she's jaded and not so easily won over by Gabe's charm. In glad the two finally found their HEA.
I received an advance reader copy of this book. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

fun and cute and everything i was looking for when i decided to read it. sometimes i’m nervous whether a book will be exactly what i need at the time and funny you should ask hit that right spot!

Elissa Sussman has written many best-selling books, but her most recent novel is sure to be a show-stopper. Set to be released on April 12th, Funny You Should Ask shows how sometimes timing can mean everything and oftentimes the universe has bigger plans for us.

This book was a fabulous binge read for me. I quickly became emotionally invested in the plot and loved how the story was told in alternating timelines. The emotions run so high in this book and there's so much tension in the beginning that readers will be devouring this book like I did trying to figure out just what happened 10 years earlier and how our main characters will come to terms with it in the present.

The way Chani's emotions are conveyed is so well-written and the way fame and its relationship with the media is explored is so well done. You really get a glimpse at both the celebrity side of things, as well as the journalistic viewpoint of trying to do your job, while also being the force that can impact someone else’s life. The way the past and present parallel with one another yet differ so much only highlights the theme of timing and “what ifs” this stroy offers. Additionally, readers can’t help but root for Chani and Gabe to finally give into the feelings, both the good and the bad, they’ve been holding onto for a decade.

I basically felt every emotion while experiencing Chani and Gabe’s story. I laughed, I cried, and I just couldn’t stop reading this book. This was a five star read for me and I cannot wait to see what Sussman will write next!

*I received an ARC from Dell/Penguin-Random House in exchange for my honest opinion.

Such a fun read. I appreciate NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Funny You Should Ask. This will make a great summer read for the beach. Light and fun, ending just the way you want it to, all the while not getting there the way you expect it to. The characters were relatable. They show us that being a huge celebrity or successful writer may nit be what we expect.

Love, love, love! This is one of those rare books that I truly read in one sitting (I did move from my couch to my bed lol) and I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish. This isn’t a perfect book but it was exactly what I wanted it to be. I would keep reading about Chani and Gabe for 200 more pages. Can I petition for a sequel? I loved the idea behind this story. This was such an original take on the Hollywood romance trope. I have already recommended this to multiple friends and told them to pre-order.

Thank you #Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Channi Horowitz got her claim to fame by writing celebrity profiles. A decade ago, Channi interviwed up & coming heartthrob Gabe Parker. Their short time together meant more than they both realized…

Gabe Parker is Channi’s celebrity crush, the object of all her fantasies, the background on her phone -who’s also been cast as the new James Bond.

If she nails this interview, this could be the ticket that skyrocket’s both of their careers. No pressure, right?

What was supposed to be just an interview, turned into a whirlwind weekend that had TMZ buzzing with content.

Ten years later, Channi is divorced and living in LA again. All she wants to do is focus on her work, but she has spent the beter part of the last decade getting asked about that infamous interview. No matter how great of an article she writes – it ALWAYs comes back to Gabe.

When Gabes PR team reaches out to Channi for second interview – she wants to say no. She wants to keep the past In the past and move on from all things Gabe Parker.

But the truth is, those seventy two hours they spent together meant something to the both of them – and Channi wants to explore the what if’s she has been asking herself the past ten years.

THIS BOOK GAVE ME ALL THE FEELS!

There was so much characther growth between both mc’s – and it made this novel THAT much sweeter watching them evolve over the course of
ten years.

This was a story about second chances and how sometimes in life we are lucky enough to obtain full circle moments.

Most of my favorite reads this year have been romances (are we surprised?) and Funny You Should Ask is definitely on the list. This book has movie stars, romantic gestures in a bookstore, dogs, and so much pining! Literally, what more could you want? Thank you to @randomhouse for the early copy.

Chani gets her big break interviewing Gabe Parker, the new (and controversial) pick for James Bond. They spend an incredible weekend together, and then Gabe runs off to marry his co-star.

Ten years later, Chani is asked to interview Gabe once again, and finds that she is still just as drawn to him as she was when they first met. I read this book a few weeks ago and it has stuck with me like glue. Funny You Should Ask is out on 4/12 and I highly recommend it!

Chani Horowitz writes profiles for movie stars. Gabe Parker gives Chani an exclusive and personal interview that turns into a multiple day experience she will never forget. After sneaking out of Gabe's house, Chani writes a profile that jumpstarts her writing career. Fast forward 10 years and the two come together for another interview and follow up to the original profile. Old hurts and confusion give way to future possibilities. Sussman creates a fantastical look into life with a movie star and the complications that come with fame. An entertaining romance that is worth the read.

In this book, Chani is a journalist and interviewed heartthrob actor Gabe for a big profile and there is chemistry between them but they both go their separate ways. 10 years later, Gabe is about to start in a hot new movie, has gone to rehab a couple times and Chani is newly divorced. Gabe’s PR team calls up Chani for a second profile interview. When they reunite, its hard to deny the chemistry. This is the perfect read for any rom com lover! Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

"I stared at his throat. There was a little sweat there and I could smell whatever extremely expensive cologne he was wearing mixed with something more primal. More like him. I was too drunk. Not just on alcohol, but on the intoxication of being close to someone I'd lusted after for a long, long time. Someone who'd felt untouchable. Unattainable."
This book has a bit of a Taylor Jenkins Reid vibe, in that it's a glitzty setting, but a peek behind the curtain.
10 years ago, Chani Horowitz interviewed Gabe Parker, a Hollywood heartthrob on the up and up. She has been promised "unprecedented access" and the line between the job begins to blur over the course of the weekend. The article went viral, launched Chani's career as a sought-after celebrity profiler and essayist, and convinces the public of Gabe's success in his recent casting as the next James Bond.
Shortly after the profile is published, Gabe jets off to Vegas with his bond girl for a quick wedding, and Chani moves to New York and gets back together with her recent ex, a 'very serious writer'.
Currently, Chani and Gabe are both recently divorced and living in LA. Chani has had a successful career and published two books, with her team expecting a third of similar content. Gabe has attended rehab twice and is attempting to make his comeback in a remake of 'The Philadelphia Story', a topic of much conversation when Chani and Gabe first met. Another profile is set up, and throughout the novel, the events of the weekend and glimpses of the past ten years are revealed.
This book is single POV, and we are only ever inside Chani's mind. While I tend to prefer dual POV, I did not mind this, as the reader, I was quite confident of Gabe's feelings and motivations. I appreciate a solid, dependable Hero, and while Gabe had his personal struggles, Gabe was nothing if not stalwart contemporaneously.
One thing about me is that I love a bit of glamour as the background for a story. Much of what Chani experiences over her first weekend with Gabe could be found in many a Wattpad story. It may have come off that way if they were not both so earnest and somewhat bashful. The story was well done and even felt real, for a story about a famous actor and the woman interviewing him.
I appreciated their repartee, and they each had distinct motivations and personalities. I always enjoy a Jewish heroine, and although it wasn't a considerable aspect of her character, it was well done and much appreciated. I identify a lot with Chani, due to this, as well as her fast-talking soapboxing, and self-protective nature.
Much of this book was somewhat predictable, but I still found myself wanting all the nitty-gritty. What was said on the phone call?
3.5 rounded up to 4!

Thank you to NetGally & Dell Books for the advance ebook to read of this one.

I absolutely loved this book from the beginning. It's one of those books that stays on your mind even when you aren't reading it. In a way, it's what a lot of people (writers, anyway) dream of. Getting an interview with the heart throb of the day and having the kind of chemistry you can only dream about. Chani, an author who so far has only been able to write "puff pieces" as her then ex-boyfriend calls them about the entertainment industry, gets an interview with the new "Bond" actor, Gabe. Up until the day of the interview he was her lock screen on her phone. (I especially loved this detail, because I have had a Tom Hiddleston pic as my lock screen forever). They hit it off, and she ends up going to a premiere the next day and a party at his house the following day. They have serious chemistry but don't actually do the deed.

10 years and a divorce each later, she is asked to interview him again. She's determined to keep it professional but again he convinces her to go to Montana with him, to see his hometown and meet his family. She doesn't want to fall for him again, because as it is everyone thinks the success she's had is because she slept with him in the first place.

I devoured this book and am positive it will be a re-read for me.

26 year old Chani gets the opportunity to interview the actor tapped to play James Bond next-Gabe Parker. She ends up spending most of a weekend with Gabe and the resulting article has most of Hollywood wondering if there was more to it than she printed. They meet again 10 years later for another article. At this point, both are freshly divorced and the sparks could still be there. This book took me a little bit to get into. I liked the trope but there is a lot of bouncing back and forth in time which could be confusing. About halfway in, I started to appreciate this set up as each bounce back explained what the characters could be feeling 10 years later in the next chapter.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest review.

The way that I absolutely burned through this book, you would not believe! This book was everything that I wanted from a celebrity/normal person romance pair up. I love a romance where a famous person ends up with a non-famous person so much, and this had the added benefit of giving a shoutout to an interview that I think every Chris Evans fan remembers.
Chani is fresh off a breakup when she is assigned to interview up-and-coming actor Gabe, who I don’t think is the first American James Bond, but this is not a thing I would know. She ends up spending an entire weekend in his world of normal and famous things, and then she writes the kind of interview that people cannot shut up about for the next decade.
Ten years later, Chani is given the chance to do a follow-up article. The vibe is different as Chani and Gabe are now older and more aware of the connection they once shared. I loved the Hollywood article clips and inserts from Chani’s blog. I felt like I really knew and understood these two by the end of the book, which is exactly what I wanted from this romantic getaway. I cannot wait for this book to be available to everyone, because I think romance and movie lovers alike will love this one.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC!

I loved this book SO much! Elissa Sussman, thank you for this story! This funny, sexy, and heartwarming story of two people who become something akin to friends but something more in a short weekend then spend the next ten years orbiting near one another but not quite only to find themselves back in a similar situation. Together in space and time, with ten years of thoughts, feelings and history between them. I loved how this story made me think about the idea of if there really is one right person for us and the choices we make when the things we want don't seem possible. I could very much relate to Chani's feelings of not quite knowing where she belonged and the feeling of staying in relationships that don't feel quite right. I definitely recommend this one! Couldn't put it down and was sad when it was over.

Chani's career was made by a weekend long interview with Hollywood star Gabe Parker--and everyone has always believed that she slept with him that weekend. The truth is much deeper. We spend the book flipping back and forth in time, from that weekend to ten years later in the present where she gets to interview him again. But is it just an interview?

Sussman really works the tension here as the reader tries to work out exactly what happened that long ago weekend and why Gabe and Chani have such a deep connection. In some ways, this is a drawn out love at first sight/first meeting story only it involves some deep levels of celebrity and career, plus both are divorcees by the time they meet again. It's a grown up romance, that also celebrates the life of a non fiction writer, and the importance of having a partner who believes in all your talents.

What a surprise of a book!

Pros: loved that the h was Jewish, few traditionally published romances feature main characters of heritage or religion! Loved that Chani was assured in her beliefs without "shouting"! Great storyline. Love Ollie the side character and his connection to Chani.

Cons: the blurb is about Chani, yet much of this story circles around Gabe and his battle with addiction, even though its from her perspective. I actually prefer to know going into a book that a character has an addiction, there is a totally different mindset in reading these stories.
The jumping between timelines did get a smidge confusing but I don't have a solution for that as I felt the team did a good job of making visual cues in the chapter breaks.

I would recommend this book!

2.5 stars (rounded up)

CW: alcoholism/rehab, death of a parent, sexism, homophobia (mentioned).

Dual timelines, a high-concept Hollywood setting, a second chance, celebrity romance, and Jewish rep are my jam, but unfortunately, this book was not.

I read this book in one sitting, gripped by the dual timeline and the information revealed. Sussman's writing painted a clear picture of the setting but weakened when it came to her characters. Both Gabe and Chani were underdeveloped. Gabe was a flat cliche Hollywood hero struggling with fame, substance abuse, and making rash decisions. We're never in his POV; therefore, it's up to Sussman's writing of his character to prove to us he's a good match for Chani. I could not tell you if they were good together because he was such a hollow character.

Chani is a bit more complicated. In the present chapters, she constantly laments that she was young and rash in the past chapters, but she never felt that way to me. At her core, Chani doesn't grow. If the past/present headers hadn't been there, I'd think it's all set in the same year. Sure, their situations feel young and wild, but Chani never does. In the past, she reads like a quirky eager journalist who is slightly wide-eyed and occasionally reckless, but those labels/descriptors are all we're given about her character. Then in the present, she's the opposite: tired and over-it.

Sussman's writing is supposed to be emotional, but I couldn't muster any emotion for Gabe, Chani, or their love story, since I felt like I didn't know them. I never saw the "connection" beyond Chani's crush, and I didn't feel they had any romantic or sexual chemistry. Most of Chani's emotions were told, not shown, and I wasn't allowed into her mind in the way I should be (since it's her POV). Also, can we stop with all the terrible ex-boyfriend references? It's constant and aggravating. While Chani didn't feel multi-dimensional, her thoughts were. A handful of passages spoke to me, and Ollie's character saved this book in so many ways.

The one thing that I LOVED about this book is the Jewish rep. Not only are there references to holidays, summer camp experiences, and family that are relatable, but there is also a beautiful scene where Gabe practices and then ensures he says her name right. It was the one moment I let out a happy sigh. Now I want Jewish name rep in all my books!

Overall, Funny You Should Ask is an intriguing and readable book with great Jewish rep. Unfortunately, surface-level characters and a lack of connection and emotion dominate the book.

Thank you to Random House for a review copy.

Must read! Funny You Should Ask had me absolutely glued to my kindle until the very last page! I was completely captivated by the plot—a second-chance-romance between a journalist and her dream crush celebrity!! Time hopping between the past and present this addictive read brilliantly maps out the relationship between Chani Horowitz and Gabe Parker that you won’t soon forget! The characters were so relatable and I found myself really rooting for these two! I really felt like my little teeny-bopper self of yesteryear reading the latest gossip magazine to get details of the latest and greatest celebrity couple of the hour—-love that! Funny You Should Ask is a 5 star book that would make a perfect beach read! I have never read Elissa Sussman before, but I will definitely be reading whatever she comes out with next!