This was such a refreshing and compelling take on second chance love. It was so heartbreakingly perfect to read and I'm so glad to have gotten an ARC on Netgalley. Gabe and Chani forever.

Three stars for Funny You Should Ask, a new romantic novel from Elissa Sussman. Chani is a reporter who, ten years ago, became infamous for her profile of movie star Gabe, after a weekend in which romantic sparks flew. Now, as Gabe is putting his image back together after a public breakup, rehab, and on-set antics, Chani is being asked to revisit her profile and all of the emotions that resulted.

This book appears to be no-so-loosely-based on a profile of Chris Evans that was written by Edith Zimmerman and appeared in GQ in 2011, in which Zimmerman recounts her drunken weekend with Evans. Once you see the similarities, Funny You Should Ask starts to feel like fan fiction and loses some of its unique appeal. As a reader, I never felt the spark between Chani and Gabe, which ultimately is the driving force behind the plot. The books starts to drag about halfway through and lumbered to an inevitable conclusion.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So stinking cute!!! This book was such a fun read, and I couldn’t put it down! Some romance is too cringey for me, but this was incredible.

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
I feel like this one was an enjoyable read—definitely lighthearted, definitely entertaining—but likely not something that sticks with me long-term.

Chani is a young journalist who winds up on assignment to write a celebrity profile for the next (and controversial) James Bond casting—heartthrob Gabe Parker. It just so happens that Gabe is also her biggest celebrity crush.

The story jumps timelines between this interview and circumstances 10 years later, when it becomes clear that the interview was meaningful to both Chani and Gabe. Despite the success of Chani’s initial piece and the development of her career writing celebrity profiles, Chani is often negatively thrust into the public eye. Scandal and accusations abound regarding the events of the Gabe interview. Meanwhile, her fiancé turned husband, is also an author, which creates some obvious tension between their approaches to writing and Chani’s own self-worth.

Gabe comes across very likeable, but I was surprised by Chani’s character. Many times I wasn’t even sure if I liked her. Overall, it’s a cute little story, with some warm and fuzzy moments. I wasn’t blown away, but I’d still probably recommend to people who enjoy the crossing-paths-later-in-life trope.

📖: (3.5/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Ten years ago, journalist Chani interviewed famous actor Gabe, with career-changing and life-changing repercussions. Although her career took off as a result of her story, she was plagued by suspicion that she became famous only because of the interview--did she or did she not sleep with him--not because of her own ability.

Ten years later, she's back in LA, newly divorced, with an assignment to interview Gabe again. He's also divorced, sober again, with his career in decline. Whether or not they had sex, Chani did fall for Gabe but questions his feelings for her.

Alternating between the present and the past, this is an engaging love story, with a unique take on a familiar trope. #FunnyYouShouldAsk #NetGalley

Back then, Chani was a 26 year old reporter trying to make her big break in the journalism world. Her attempt? Writing a profile on one of the hottest young actors in LA, the new Bond, Gabe Parker. What was supposed to be an afternoon interview turns into a weekend of fun only celebrities should have, not a Jewish reporter with no claim to fame. What really happened that weekend, anyway? The world still wants to know.

Now, 10 years later, she's a divorcee who's moved back from New York, a successful writer with multiple books, trying to get her head on straight in the city she grew up in but has been away from for many years. Her next story? Another interview with Gabe a decade after the first, as he tries to relaunch his career after being fired from the project they originally met during.

While a lot has changed in 10 years, there's a lot that hasn't, too. This story was one I absolutely could not put down. The ideal page turner after I struggled to read the book before this one for months. The story goes back and forth between then and now, slowly uncovering what really happened back then and how it shaped both Chani and Gabe's lives forever.

Funny You Should Ask is cheeky, funny, and lovable. I would 100% recommend this to anyone looking for a lighthearted read, though it does have some hard topics like addiction and divorce throughout. Though this was Elissa Sussman's debut adult novel, I truly hope there are many more to come. I will absolutely be picking them up!

I appreciate Random House Publishing and Ballantine Books for providing me with a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts above are completely my own. :)

I really, really wanted to finish this one since it was a buddy read, but the writing style just wasn’t for me. The tidbits after every chapter were unnecessary filler to me.

Such a good read! I saw many physical arc reviews before I read this and they all were spot on! I loved the relationship between Chani and Gabe. I devoured this book

The plot of this one sounds right up my street and so many people whose reviews I trust and often agree with raved about this book, so I had a very strong feeling it would be a new favorite. Unfortunately, there were a few glaring issues that kept this from being a great read for me. Firstly, I have been a professional writer for over a decade and I have never, not once, encountered the supposed stereotype that Sussman makes a big part of the foundation of this book: that female journalists sleep with their male subjects for stories. I have not heard this from male writers I know, I have not heard this whispered among the female writers I know, I have not seen this stated anywhere else but in this book. Am I missing something here? I totally understand discussing the rumor that Chani specifically may have slept with Gabe specifically after her story was published, but I think this overall stereotype about female journalists is something only Sussman herself holds. Secondly, I found so many of Chani's thoughts about her writing (is it good enough, interesting enough, special enough, why am I even fighting so hard to make this a career when I might not even be good?) so relatable and I wish Sussman had dived more into that rather than just repeating the same fears over and over. However, Chani's writing in the book is....not very good? The snippets we see from the big viral interview are not great, nor are her blog posts. It felt sort of difficult to root for her as a writer when what she was producing wasn't very interesting or particularly skillful. And finally, I just didn't really buy the relationship between Chani and Gabe. Any chemistry felt totally manufactured by the author and they just didn't jump off the page as two people who would be obsessed with each other after meeting only a couple of times over a decade. There was just no real evidence of spark or connection on the page. Even little things like Gabe proclaiming that his family loves Chani after they've only met once at a very awkward and stilted dinner his teenage niece (with whom the author previously claimed Gabe had such a strong relationship) stormed off unhappily, just felt forced. I've also read in a couple of other reviews that Sussman based this book off of a real-life viral celebrity interview and has never given the interviewer a shout out, which doesn't quite sit right. Overall I think there were some good bones here but the structure built atop needed some work.

This wasn't for me, but to be fair I am not typically a romance reader. I think those that love the genre will enjoy this a lot!

I loved this book so much. This confirms my love for books where one or more main characters are celebrities of some sort. I absolutely loved the two main characters in this one, and how the author went back and forth with the past interview and present interview. It made for a very engaging and fast paced read. I wholeheartedly recommend this romance book.

Unfortunately this one was just not working for me so I DNFd at 30% in. I did not feel any attachment to either main character and their banter felt very forced. So much so that I don’t think it would have been believable for me once they finally fell in love. I know that a lot of people really did love this one so maybe in the future I’ll pick it up and give it another shot because it does have a lot of components that make it interesting.

Chani hit it big with an interview with Gabe Parker when he landed the role of James Bond. Ten years later the interview is still talked about.
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After ten years Chani has a great career but the conversation always comes back to the Parker profile and honestly her life always comes back to that one weekend she spent with Parker.
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I devoured this book in one sitting. I was all in on this story and these characters. I really loved this one!
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Thank you #randomhouse and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one, it was just so much fun! I really enjoy books with the then and now format - it makes me fly through the book. Can we all just take a second to appreciate the cover too like come on!! Gonna have to buy a physical copy just to hold this pretty thing in my hands.

I really enjoyed this one! I loved the premise and Sussman is a very engaging writer. The story overall felt a bit thin but I really liked what was there. I would definitely read her next book and found this to be a very quick, fun romantic comedy for summer.

Well, there are so many mixed reviews about this book! I actually respect everyone’s opinions and big buzz about this book’s story is based on Chris Evan’s whirlwind, entertaining and unconventional interview he’s made with Edith Zimmerman on 2011 for GQ article!

I read the article and it’s possible that author might be inspired by the idea of a celebrity and reporter’s extra entertaining weekend with lots of unexpected events, drunk talks ended with reporter’s crushing in movie star’s house!

At this book; Chani Horowitz makes an interview with movie star Gabe Parker she’s having a big crush for years( she even uses his photo showing his abs as a wallpaper of her phone) which puts her on the map of famous article writers and also gives enough credit to Gabe to become next Bond even he’s American and he’s called a hick!

I have to be honest ten years to fix your unresolved feelings and finding each other with the person you’ve spent only six days it’s not logical for two divorced people who have been through a lot!

But this is a romance story! We all love Notting Hill when famous movie star Julia Roberts stand in front of a boy asking him to love her! So what if these two people who still try to find their place and their own success in the universe fall for each other? Is it still impossible? No it’s not! It’s about emotions, attraction, your soul’s calling! Or maybe it’s fantasy! But it’s still good to believe in fairy tales!

I believed in Gabe and Chani’s chemistry! It was real! Their love story was too instant. Gave was still dealing with his insecurities. He didn’t think he deserved to be James Bond and when he spent those romantic days with Chani, he still questioned his own value.

I found both of them impulsive, childish because of the things they’ve done in ten years. But all those wrongdoings, mistakes, lies, misunderstandings were necessary! Because if they didn’t do those mistakes and separated apart,they would ruin the possibility of happiness between them. They were too young, impulsive, dumb, impatient to know the real value of great love!

Now they met again to make another interview. Chani is successful article writer, publishing her upcoming book, divorced after 6 years old marriage as Gabe waltzed around rehab centers, finally divorced, trying to fix his tarnished reputation.

They can both get benefited from the new interview but are they mature enough to face the rekindling feeling between them?

Overall: I loved the smart, sarcastic writing style! I especially enjoyed to read blog parts of Chani!

The instant love and some immature behaviors of the characters made me pissed off but I still love this book so much and I’m truly looking forward to read more works of this gifted writer!
And I definitely agree with her about Philadelphia is underrated work and still one of the best romcoms of movie history!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Absolutely loved this book. The plot was unique and the characters delightful. Have recommended this to all of my friends!

TW: alcoholism, death of parent, homophobia

Synopsis:

An entertainment journalist ends up spending an entire weekend with a movie star when she meets him for an interview for an article. Ten years later, they are both divorced and have the opportunity to reconnect for another article. What really happened the first weekend? Will sparks fly again the second time?

Thoughts:

While I appreciated the Jewish representation and thought this was a unique idea for a second chance romance which had so much potential, unfortunately, I felt the execution was weak because the story and characters didn’t seem very well developed. It also felt repetitive because it seemed there was not much more to the story than the article she wrote after the first weekend. However, I did enjoy the articles and blog posts sprinkled throughout the story and almost wish the entire story was told through those devices because they were well-written and tied well into the story. I also felt frustrated because it was an extremely slow burn given the first kiss doesn’t happen until after almost 65% of the book.

If you enjoy the following tropes, you may enjoy this romance novel:
- second chance romance
- dual timeline
- celebrity romance
- a very slow burn

This was a cute and clever book. I liked the whole premise of it and it was written quite well!! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!

This is the perfect novel for those who love Emily Henry & Taylor Reid Jenkins!

It follows Chani Horowitz and her relationship interviewing superstar Gabe Parker. I enjoyed the flashback to their first meeting to their current situation. What I wish this book went into a little more depth was how Gabe's sobriety, as that was something I felt was glossed over a bit, and a huge point of character development.

This was a truly fantastic read that I plan to recommend to students, friends, and coworkers alike!