Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing 3.5/5

I think this book may have suffered a bit from me reading another fantastic Hollywood romance recently. Funny You Should Ask is good, even great in places, but it didn’t quite live up to the super high expectations set by How To Fake It In Hollywood.

The plot is great. Well-paced, revealing new things at just the right time to feel surprising but rooted in the story and characters. I love the dual timelines and the way it captures the passage of time and the characters’ growth. I absolutely flew through this book wanting to know how it all works out. The ending was a little bit shorter than I would have liked, but it was satisfying, no real complaints there.

The characters and the prose are a bit weaker, and I think those are often connected. The characters may have felt more fleshed out if there was a bit more showing and less telling. I wanted to have empathy for them, and I did for the most part, but I probably would have gotten there faster if they’d been better developed. They’re like-able, they just could have been…more. I feel the same way about the secondary characters. I liked them, but sometimes they veered a little bit too close to stereotypical (the insecure ex, the gay BFF).

Beyond the characters, the writing is fine. Again, I’m terms of moving the plot along, it’s so well done. But when it gets into setting a scene, it’s the little things that just take you out of the moment. A character being described as moving in a way that seems a bit awkward or hard to imagine. I don’t know if it’s just the writer’s style, but sometimes it felt like repetition was used for emphasis too much, where I would have preferred more detail.

Overall this was a fun book, I’d recommend it, but it’s not my absolute favorite.

Chanti has the opportunity of a lifetime: to interview THE Gabe Parker, hot movie star who will become the next Bond. Written in a Then and Now form (which is one of my favorites) we get to hear the events of a whirlwind multiple day interview & what happens 10 years after the infamous interview. I absolutely loved this book! I loved the dual time frames. I loved the charming, playful, bit of a hot mess Gabe who has a bit of redemption as well. I love Chani & the growth she has. The articles in between each chapter were just so fun! This book was a breath of fresh air & I would highly recommend picking it up!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!!

Writer Chani Horowitz gets the opportunity of a lifetime, a sit down interview with celebrity Gabe Parker, star of the the next Bond movie. A simple lunch interview turns into an exclusive look at the actor’s personal life, as he invites Chani to a movie premier and party at his home. She takes her readers throughout the weekend, begging them to wonder - did this ordinary writer become the romantic obsession of an A-list movie star? Ten years later, after a successful writing career, Chani finds herself thinking about that weekend with Parker a decade prior. When an opportunity arises for Chani to recreate the magical interview that started her career, she realizes she must come face to face with the reality of what happened ten years ago - and what it means for actor today.

Absolutely delightful read, the characters were real, honest, and you couldn’t help but root for them all in their journeys. I wanted to enjoy a sour beer for lunch, spiced cider at the Cozy for my afternoon stroll, and never let the story end. If you like a good Hallmark movie, you will love this!

Twenty-six year old journalist Chani gets the job of a lifetime - to interview up and coming movie star Gabe Parker, who just so happens to also be her celebrity crush. Her number one goal for the interview? To make it special and meaningful while also not coming off like a complete fool in front of her crush. But as they begin their interview, it takes off in unexpected ways and Chani suddenly finds herself on Gabe's arm walking the red carpet of his friend's movie premiere and involved in a whirlwind weekend. Not only that, but the article she writes on Gabe goes viral and fans are left wondering if they slept together.

Fast forward ten years later and that's still the only question people want to know, even though Chani has now published an essay collection and has a successful career as a writer. And now, though she hasn't spoken to him in nearly a decade after their one weekend together, his PR team is asking her to do a follow up piece. Her initial reaction is to say no - she wants to move on from those memories. But the truth is, Chani needs to know if those 72 hours they spent together were as memorable for him as they were for her.

I could not put this book down, I loved it so much. And I'm realizing that I have a serious thing for the celebrity-normal person romance trope. This book gave me everything I'm looking for in a book like this - it gave me the swoony heartthrob, though in this case he had a lot more depth, it gave me the stubborn female lead who just wants to remain independent and not always be linked to her interview with Gabe, and it gave me the will they or won't they vibes that keep me racing through pages. Plus, in this book Sussman keeps things interesting by including not only Chani's viral first article she wrote on Gabe, but also movie premiere reviews, and articles written by places like Vanity Fair. It was a fun way to look through the lens of what was happening in each of their lives without having it all spelled out for us.

The only thing that is keeping this from a 5 star review for me is that because we jumped back and forth in time between the past and the present, I sometimes had to take a beat to catch up with what was happening and what time in their lives the articles were referring to. But overall, this was such an incredible book and if you're a romance fan, you are definitely going to want this on your shelves.

This book will be featured on episode 33 of the Reading Through Life podcast, available April 6, 2022.

★★★★☆
Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

Chani Horowitz is down on her luck. An LA-based writer, she struggles to write anything beyond puff pieces to make a living. Luck strikes when she is tasked with writing an article on actor Gabe Parker to help promote his newest, albeit off-brand, role as the next James Bond.

What should have been a run-of-the-mill interview snowballs into a weekend-long adventure, resulting in a hit of an article, but with endless questions about Chani & Gabe’s relationship.

This book rotates between present day and the past, with snippets of Chani’s infamous interview throughout. I found it a bit confusing to remember what time period I was reading each chapter, but eventually I got the hang of the story’s cadence.

This is a great novel for readers who typically don’t pick up romances. While not a closed-door affair, Sussman narrates the more intimate scenes with a fresh take, and avoids the cheesier nuances of celebrity romance tropes.

Perfect for fans of Malibu Rising, Funny You Should Ask is a modern Hollywood love story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Goodreads review link:
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10553771-the-read-receipt">View all my reviews</a>

3.5 stars. This was a very cute read! I liked the back and forth between "then" & "now", I was engrossed in both timelines and reading late into the night to see how each weekend would end.

Lovers of slow-burn rejoice because this book delivers the slow-burn of mutual pining for over a DECADE.

While I consider myself to be a slow-burn aficionado, I tend to not like books about famous people (the only exception this rule has been Taylor Jenkins Reid) but I found myself thoroughly enjoying and thoroughly invested in Chani and Gabe’s rollercoaster of a journey.

The premise of FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK is so interesting – THEN: Chani Horowitz is a struggling writer when she gets assigned the opportunity of a lifetime – to interview her celebrity crush Gabe Parker, Hollywood’s newest heartthrob and latest casting for James Bond. They spend an amazing weekend together and her piece becomes a viral hit, with the public wondering: did something happen between the two of them during this weekend? NOW: Chani is divorced and trying to focus on her writing and Gabe, after his fall from grace from walking off the Bond set, is freshly sober and out of rehab. Chani has never been able to escape the Gabe profile and she’s asked to write a follow-up. She grudgingly agrees and is forced to face her feelings for Gabe that have never faded into the background.

I found the alternating timelines to be a little jarring in the beginning, almost clunky but it definitely got smoother as you continue to read and the reader is able to distinguish timelines better (there’s definitive THEN and NOW as they two timelines feel different; in the first quarter of the book, they seem to blend together).

There’s many aspects to this book that I loved: I loved that Chani was forced to confront her feelings about self-worth and doubt about the legitimacy of her career as a writer (despite her horrid ex-husband). I love how flawed Gabe is as a love interest; he’s a celebrity sure, but he’s human. I love that Chani is both empathetic and holds Gabe accountable for his past actions. There is a lot of heavy topics in this story (addiction, depression, self-doubt, grief and more) but the author manages to balance those out very well with a HEA that we come to expect in this genre. I also found myself really intrigued by the thread of the book that follows finding the right person at the wrong time. The feeling of looking at a person so deeply and seeing them and them seeing you in a way that feels so right that it’s almost like that first meeting is like finding something precious that you’d forgotten you’d misplaced.

The side characters felt like real people as well. Ollie, another actor and Gabe’s best friend, was a delight and I want a story about him.

However, I do feel like the pacing in the last few chapters of the story feeling like it was rushed - I remember looking down at my percentage, seeing I was at 90% and feeling like none of the storylines had begun to be wrapped up yet.

I am not Jewish, so I cannot speak autobiographically to the representation but I really loved the point that the author made in Chani's name being constantly mispronounced - it's something that I can relate to with a non-Western name. Gabe taking the time to learn to pronounce her name perfectly was swoony - sad because it's the bare minimum but rarely happens in real life.

Special thanks to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was a cute, quick read from Elissa Sussman. When Chani writes an article on up and coming actor Gabe Parker, her career picks up as rumors start to swirl. Ten years later they meet again. We read about Chani and Gabe’s relationship in a then/now format. While at times it felt a little long winded, it was still super cute and I’m glad someone put it on my radar. Definitely recommend for a quick romance read!

Funny You Should Ask does a good job reflecting today’s tabloid media and it’s growth.  It’s also at heart a story about a man and woman growing together – and apart – over the course of a single decade.  While the connection between our central twosome feels a little too instantaneous, the book in general is romantic and provides good character studies.

The article that journalist Chani Horowitz wrote about Hollywood star Gabe Parker, just days before he began filming his first James Bond film, helped launch her career and continued to boost his. So when he requests she interview him again she’s more than ready to finally tie up the loose ends of the complicated, decade-long issues she’s had with their connection. Chani and Gabe spent a weekend together for the article’s sake, a spark lignited between them – and was extinguished when Gabe immediately married his co-star, Jacinda Lockwood.  Chani went on to launch a career with The Broad Sheets, a gossip website, based on that interview.  In between a move from New York to LA, she becomes a well-known interviewer and marries a writer she’s dating.  In between chapters that weave between Chani and Gabe’s first meeting and the present day, we watch Chani’s marriage fail and her divorce percolate.  By the time Chani and Gabe meet again, he, too, is divorced, and has been through counseling for his alcohol addiction.  Childhood traumas and identity issues lie between them.  But do Chani and Gabe have a second chance at love on their hands?

The biggest flaw in Funny You Should Ask is its instalove element.  Chani falls for Gabe pretty much immediately, and this is just as annoying as it always is. They’re both with other people when they meet and are in other relationships for the majority of the book; they reconnect when they’re both single but this makes their decade-earlier separation feel abrupt and arbitrary.  Gabe is of course perfect at first – handsome, humble, a lover of dogs and frequently shirtless.  But as the narrative grows legs, Gabe’s flaws appear and the author adds some interesting secondary characters.  Chani has a terrific narrative voice, and the book’s exploration of journalism – specifically tabloid journalism – rings true.  I liked Oliver, Gabe’s close friend (he really could’ve carried a book of his own all by himself), and Matthias.

I enjoyed the variety of storytelling here – the main body of the relationship is told in those interspersed chapters, with major events in Chani and Gabe’s lives delivered to the audience in dribs and drabs between each new chunk of the tale via reviews, articles, interviews and blog posts.  This is prevented from becoming confusing thanks to the way spacer pages are cleverly employed.  Sussman is talented and excellent at deploying her story in a way that makes it engaging and page turning.

Ultimately, Funny You Should Ask is a fast read with real emotional heft to it.  But the romance ended up being a little hard for me to swallow.

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10 years ago, Chani interviewed a famous actor. Now, she has to reprise her interview. Gabe is basically the one who got away and the reunion is strained at first, until they discuss the ways they hurt each other and realize how they each felt about each other then, and still feel about each other now. I loved this book, the way the story was told, and Chani and Gabe's love story! I also really liked the discussion of what it would be like to be Jewish in a small town in which the holidays mean one holiday (Christmas).

Funny You Should Ask is the story that f a reporter Chani and an actor Gabe who meet during an interview. After a innocent weekend together they reunite.
The story jumps back and forth between past and present. Also between newspaper articles and blog posts. It was a bit slow and confusing at times. The characters and the story were a bit flat.
It was the typical Romance with no surprises

2.5??/5 stars
it would be an injustice to daisy jones to compare this novel to it
chani horowitz and gabe parker, right person, wrong time, right???
that’s what this book WANTS you to believe
but for what?? a 4 day thing that happened 10 years ago?? it’s not fated, it’s just weird
i had an issue w the multimedia stuff confusing the timeline and the weird roasts toward goodreads?? babe at least those people are reading your book
the romance was far too quick for a ten year thing - insta love, never spoke after 10 years, MAD AT EACH OTHER FOR NO REASON, absolutely no consequence 3rd act conflict, then really unsatisfactory resolution
it’s super quick and fun but doesn’t really create anything new or exciting

7 Romance Novels to Read If You Swooned Over Starstruck

The sweetest torture is knowing that there is a second season of Starstruck, Rose Matafeo’s genderswapped Notting Hill dramedy, but that it doesn’t have a U.S. premiere date yet. While we wait to find out what happens to average-gal Jessie and movie-star Tom after last season’s small-yet-grand romantic gesture, the next best thing is sinking into a contemporary romance. Even better if it’s one that encapsulates the utter, ridiculous, unexpected joy of Starstruck’s morning-after “Return of the Mack” dance sequence in book form.

Just like how Matafeo reversed the script with Starstruck, these seven love stories reimagine the famous person/normal person pairing from inside the Hollywood—and Bollywood, and telenovela—machine. From actors to the journalists who profile them to the fans who write their characters into fanfic, each interpretation has a distinctive take on the ultimate fantasy.

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

Just like how Starstruck season 1 takes place over twelve months, from New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Eve, Sussman’s adult debut occupies a similarly recognizable timeframe: the pivotal three-day weekend of a journalist profiling a star. But here, it happens twice: First, ten years ago, Chani Horowitz has the professional and personal dream of spending three days with her movie-star crush Gabe Parker, writing a magazine piece that launches both of their careers. In the present, his people want to recreate that piece for nostalgia’s sake—but doing so will unearth questions about what really happened between interviewer and subject.

Journalists often get to inhabit this liminal space where their professional obligation brings them into brief, charged intimacy with performers meant to embody everyone’s fantasy. Writing a good profile means striking up a romance novel-style “chemistry at first sight” dynamic. But, unlike the Jessies of the world, they are under intense scrutiny to keep everything by-the-book. Which is what makes Sussman’s novel so delightful to sink into, with excerpts from the piece in question as well as Chani’s retellings of what it was really like.

This is a new author for me, and when I read the premise of the book, I couldn’t wait to give it a try. This story is written in the now and in 10 years past with these two characters. In the beginning of the story, I found it confusing, but as you get further into the book, everything comes together to tell such a great story it’s difficult to put down. I loved Chani and Gabe, their chemistry makes you want to keep reading, but boy does the author make us wait for these two to get things right, and it’s sooo worth it in the end. I loved the humor, I loved Ollie, and Teddy just warms your heart. I enjoyed the star to normal gal aspect, it just has a magical side to it, even though there are definitely ups and downsides to this kind of relationship. Loved the different articles to the gossip columnists version of things vs Chani’s article on her experience. Overall a very enjoyable book, I look forward to reading more books from this author.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: April 12, 2022

First off—three cheers for a main character in her mid/late 30s! This has way more depth than I expected it to and I just loved it. The pacing between present day and 10 years prior worked fantastically—there was so much anticipation to find out what happens (and what happened before) that I couldn’t put this one down! I was a bit thrown off by the cover (made it seem more simple romcom) but don’t let it deter you!

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman. I don't usually like actor romances (sorry not sorry) but I really enjoyed this one. Especially the heat!

Thanks Netgalley for a arc copy of this book for a honest review
Funny You Should Ask is a delightful read... I thought Chani and Gabe were great together I read This book in one setting 5 star read


Happy Reading

Lisa

This book has received so much hype in recent days, and I’m thrilled to have obtained access to it! I flew through the book — the pacing was fantastic and I loved the flipping between then and now. The resolution fell a little flat for me, but I will say I lost my mind at the Perfect Day execution. Really enjoyed!

First off, we absolutely love a romcom with main characters over 30. And while the start of the story sees our main girl Chani at 26 when she first meets Gabe, the current plot takes place ten years later. What I loved about this book is one of the central elements is that Chani writes a celebrity interview with Gabe, which propels both of their careers, and the entire book reads like one of these classic celebrity interviews, the ones in Vanity Fair that make you feel like you’re at the table with said celebrity. It’s funny and an interesting style, the story mixed with current time, flashbacks, the article Chani writes and other reviews/tabloid type articles thrown in. Definitely recommend.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this digital advanced copy!

An excellent adult debut from Elissa Sussman. Jumping back and forth ten years past and present yields a fast paced love story. This book was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.