Wow hi I loved this book so much! Give me fiction with a romance subplot a la Seven Days in June and pair it with dual timelines and you have me exactly where you want me. I loved the slow burn element, figuring out how the pieces fit together, just a really strong debut. Super impressive. I’m excited for more from Elissa Sussman!

3.75

honestly? in my humble opinion? gabe and chani def didn’t make it past the epilogue. sorry.
however this is super cute and as an avid wattpad consumer i enjoyed this !

This book was such a joy to read, definitely one of my favorite books all year. The characters and the story were so enticing and I enjoyed every minute of this book. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

I devoured this while drinking frosé under an umbrella by a pool. I recommend both the book and the reading environment. This was a fun one, with a hefty amount of yearning/pining (my fave), and didn’t take itself too seriously. If you’re looking to shut off your brain and just go with it for around 300 pages — this will do the trick.

very cute and compelling! I was charmed, the characters felt real and the conflicts made sense (though sometimes felt like yelling “just say how you feel!!!!!!!!!” to them)

Funny You Should Ask
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 (Rounded to 5 ⭐️)
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Physical Book
Date Published: 4/12/22
Author: Elissa Sussman
Publisher: Dell
Pages: 352
Goodreads Rating: 3.91

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for providing a digital advanced readers copy of the book for me to read for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: Then. Twentysomething writer Chani Horowitz is stuck. Then she's hired to write a profile of movie star Gabe Parker. The Gabe Parker--her forever celebrity crush, the object of her fantasies, the background photo on her phone--who's also just been cast as the new James Bond. Gabe will get good press, and her career will skyrocket. But what comes next proves to be life-changing in ways Chani never saw coming, as the interview turns into a whirlwind weekend that has the tabloids buzzing. Now. Ten years later, after a brutal divorce and a heavy dose of therapy, Chani is back in Los Angeles, laser-focused on one thing: her work. So when his PR team requests that they reunite for a second interview, she wants to say no. Chani knows that facing Gabe again also means facing feelings she's tried so hard to push away. Alternating between their first meeting and their reunion a decade later, this deliciously irresistible novel will have you hanging on until the last word.

My Thoughts: This story is narrated by Chani, from two timelines, the before article (10 years ago) and the present, with excerpts of various news articles sprinkled in. The characters were well developed, intriguing, had depth, had witty banter, left you with swooning feelings, and I connected with Chani, believing in her the whole time. The author’s writing style was brilliant, complex, creative, and kept me engaged. Who wouldn’t love a celebrity crush? I absolutely adore the celebrity love trope. The book flowed well and the descriptions were so pristine that I felt I was right there with Chanti. The supporting characters were amazing and provided the support that Chanti and Gabe needed to propel forward. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this piece of contemporary romance! The blog entries and articles scattered throughout gave great depth to the character's backstories. I loved the flashbacks, giving us little bits of information at a time of what happened between Gabe and Chani ten years ago. There are things I'd have loved to see more of, but not because Sussman's didn't give us enough. She gave just the right amount to make this story perfect. I simply loved it so much that I selfishly want more of Gabe/Chani, more of his family, more of Ollie.

god i loved this book. i loved chani and gabe's story, the alternating between the then and now, how we get to read chani's famous article, and the the excerpts from various articles that we find at the end of each chapter. once i started reading i couldn't stop, i was hypnotised by the connection between chani and gabe, and my only complaint is that i wished it the book had been a tiny bit longer. i definitely recommend it to fans of second chance romance.

4 stars! I found myself frustrated by Chani's inability to communicate literally ANYTHING to Gabe and would have liked about 100 more pages of them experiencing life together however, at least I FELT something. This book to me was equal parts romance and contemporary fiction, providing me substance and life lessons that really add to the overall arc. I have a feeling this book will really stick with me in the way only my favorites do.

Funny You Should Ask is an entertaining and charming story about a second chance romance for two people that clicked ten years before. It's told in two timelines, ten years prior and present day. When they first meet, Chani is a journalist with the job of interviewing Gabe, an American actor who was just tapped to play James Bond. The article she writes ends up being a sensation, catapulting herself and Gabe into stardom. I loved the connection they had and the ancillary characters, especially Ollie. I flew through the audiobook, which was perfectly narrated by Kristin Sieh. I was intrigued by the depth of the characters and the heavy emotional experiences they both had ten years later. I really enjoyed the lighthearted, sweet story and would recommend it if you're looking for a great beach read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK is a fun romance between writer Chani Horowitz and Hollywood hunk Gabe Parker.

Chani's long harbored a (celebrity) crush on Gabe; after he's cast to be the new James Bond she's assigned to write a profile of him. There's been blowback and his people are hoping she can contribute some positive press. Which she does -- and then some, when her piece blows up.

Elissa Sussman played with the traditional romance book structure in this one, giving readers several chapters that took place "then" before jumping forward to "now" for a bunch, then back to then, and so on. There also are interstitial movie reviews, celebrity gossip pieces, and articles (including Chani's!). I enjoyed those and felt they helped flesh out the story, especially given that the reader just gets Chani's perspective (rather than trading between her and Gabe).

I thought FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK was just plain fun -- certainly engaging, and sexy too. I so enjoyed the ride and am hopeful Sussman will write more adult romance in the future.

I really enjoyed Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman. It absolutely consumed me and I devoured the book in just a day. But it is by far and away once of the least realistic romances I’ve ever read, so be fully prepared to suspend your disbelief.

Told partly in news articles, interview snippets, and reviews, this book captures what I imagine being a celebrity is like — constantly reevaluating and reimposing your image until it all crumbles around you. And then having to figure out who is still around when you’ve been kicked to the curb of fame.

Although there is realism when it comes to the depiction of mental health, career struggles, and more, the plot itself is truly unbelievable anywhere outside of entertainment purposes.

I adored the flashback component of the book, and its layers of storytelling, which all seemed to depend on who the audience was. Some of the romantic choices are wild (like getting married just to spite someone is…wild), but the romance itself is sweet, sexy, and the kind of immediate but enduring love that I think everyone craves. I mean, we all want someone who we’ve met once and remembers our favorite movie and beer orders, right?

I highly recommend this one if you’re obsessed with pop culture, read a lot of fanfiction, or fantasized about falling in love with a celebrity as a kid.

I received an ARC for an honest review from NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this book.

I love second chance romance, my first book reading from this author and I see she has other books, I'm going to read also.

Thank you, once again NetGalley.

"Funny You Should Ask" has taken Tik Tok by storm and for good reason. It's a charming and refreshing romance spanning multiple time frames that is perfect for fans of Emily Henry in a slump after finishing "Book Lovers".

This charming romance flips the Notting Hill script—Gabe Parker is the hunky Hollywood star, while Chani Horowitz is the every-day girl—and adds an extra dash of social-media-celeb-obsession fun.

Chani writes a profile of Gabe Parker, the Hollywood himbo who’s trying to nab the role of the new James Bond. Chani’s profile goes viral and is so intimate and engaging, readers are left wondering—did they or didn’t they? When Gabe runs off literally the next day and marries the hottest Hollywood starlet, most assume they didn’t.

Plagued by the success of the profile—and its assumption that all she can write are puff pieces—Chani is hesitant to write about Gabe ten years later…after his fall from Hollywood’s grace due to his divorce and several rehab stints. Yet it seems like the original chemistry is still alive. Now did they or didn’t they becomes will they or won’t they?

I really enjoyed this romance. It takes a familiar trope and shakes things up, focusing on Chani and Gabe’s individual growth, which we see as it switches between the past and present. Chani can at times seem too timid, yet the seeds of that discontent become clearer later in the story. Sussman’s writing is funny, heartfelt, and perfectly in tune with the gloss of celebrity culture and the humanity that can be found beneath the glitz. Pick this one up, you won’t regret it!

It definitely wasn’t a bad book, I know people that have read this book and loved it but it just wasn’t really my cup of tea. I hate to say that because I was so excited for this arc but I just couldn’t really get into the book :/

I can't describe how much I loved the plot of this book. It's honestly like nothing I have ever read and I still think about it often.

There were some parts that I felt fell flat and I wish their romantic fallout in the past and then fall in during the present was showcased more but I genuinely felt what Chani was going through.

This story was so sweet. It sucked me in and my heart was attached from the start. These characters are so much fun. The dual timelines worked well for me, I enjoyed seeing the differences too in how the events surrounding the interview happened and seeing then how the article written changed ever so slightly.

The chemistry between the two characters was electric, their banter and respect for each other was adorable and charming. I love the way they adored each other and tried to keep secrets about it, and think they acted like real people, full of mistakes and inner turmoil. I loved this story, I wish there was more it was so fun to be in their world and see them figure out that they have always belonged together. Lovely. Can't wait to read it again.

I love that this book is based off of a real-life interview a budding journalist had with Chris Evans years ago. Basically creating published fan fiction of the "Best Chris" is exactly what I wanted to read.

I delighted in this novel and wanted to move to Los Angeles to head to a cabin-like retreat in the hills and just relax and enjoy life for a moment.

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE READS SO FAR THIS YEAR.

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update: hardcopy secured and sitting beautifully on my shelf 💖💖💖

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can a book make you feel like you’re floating?

answer: yes.
follow up answer: it’s this book.

it’s apparent to me in this moment that i will reread this next year, and possibly countless more times yet to come.

guys, it’s not just good. it’s incredible. it feels REAL. chani and gabe feel like real people. their thoughts, struggles, interaction with the world (and all that sucks in it), banter, their intimacy— it wasn’t crafted to make the reader swoon (it definitely did though), it was raw and vulnerable.


and elissa, besides this book being amazing in every single way, you’ve given me, the reader, so much more.

it left me with the kind of feelings that make me fall more in love with my partner and all of our imperfections, in every season where we may not feel like ourselves. once the last page was turned, my heart warmed even more (i thought it had reached a limit while reading WOW but nope, my heart kept going), and given me that little push we all need (more often than we’d like to admit) to keep on writing, to keep figuring it out, and to keep pushing forward, together.

thanks to netgalley and penguin random house for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts— now, i must got find a hard copy of this asap so i can highlight all the words, and hug this little book close 💖