This wonderful, charming, entertainment novel was just what I needed this weekend! I was utterly invested in the characters, rooting for them while also enjoying the twists and turns their lives took, While it's obviously a romance, I liked it so much more than anything else I have ever read in this genre. Will definitely recommend!

Thank you Dell New York and Random House for my copy. All thoughts are my own.

I’ve been trying to chase the high I had from reading Lease on Love last month and heard Funny You Should Ask might work for me. I liked it, didn’t love it, but I do think it’s a very satisfying read if you are someone who likes an emotional read. it had an Emily Henry ish tone! I loved Gabe and Chani’s characters. I found them to be extremely relatable!
What I Liked:
The Premise—A writer and an actor, my two favorite professions to read about! I loved the different dynamics and there were so many quotes about acting that could really relate to.

The Structure—I loved how we went back and forth in time with the addition of the articles. I think it’s a really important angle to have in understanding Gabe and Chani.

The Tone—While I love a RomCom, there’s something very satisfying about an emotional Romance. This had a much more emotional and realistic tone than most of the Romance I’ve read lately.

What Didn’t Work:
Some things felt disconnected—There was a little disconnect for me in the established tone and then the ending. But I did love that this utilized one of my favorite tropes, Insta Attraction (much more believable/satisfying than Insta Love).

The 41-65% dragged for me—I just kinda stopped caring in this bit! I felt like so much was established in the first 40% that made the story move and then we stalled out. It picked back up towards the end though.

Content Warnings:
Alcoholism, addiction, death of a parent

Character Authenticity: 4/5 Steam Rating: 1/5 Overall Rating: 3.75/5

Funny You Should Ask
by: Elissa Sussman
Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell

This is an entertaining romantic love story. It will make a good Spring and Summer beach read. The story has an alternating time line.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for the advance reader's copy and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
 #FunnyYouShouldAsk #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I… did not love this book. It was fine enough to read, but I’m rounding my 2.5 stars up. I absolutely did not care for Gabe or Chani. Chani was annoying and I didn’t see their connection at all. The author didn’t do a good job of letting me believe that after 10 years apart they still thought about each other?? Like c’mon. Also, the Hollywood theme isn’t for me. Maybe it would’ve been better if it was dual POV, but to each their own 🤷🏼‍♀️

Reading the description for this book does not prepare you for how instantly Sussman will make you care about the characters. I could not put this book down. I got pulled into the story and wanted to know the truth about Chani and Gabe's first interview and how meeting up a decade later would work out.
Chani makes a living writing what her boyfriend considers puff piece interviews with celebrities and she's really good at it. This is how she gets a chance for a full-access interview with the newest Bond actor, Gabe Parker. She's starstruck by her celebrity crush and he seems too perfect to be real. They spend a weekend getting to know each other and it results in a published piece that launches Chani's career and sets up Gabe for success as James Bond. They meet again 10 years later, both with divorces and other harsh truths under their belts, and have to face the truth of what that weekend truly meant.
The story jumps between the past and the present with ingeniously interspersed celebrity news and gossip articles to fill in some of the blank spaces. It's a very unbelievable, too-good-to-be-true kind of story, but Sussman's writing works to pull you in and believe that the people on the page are real enough that you want to see them have the happy ending they so obviously deserve.
It's romantic, just the right amount of emotional, and charmingly entertaining. I highly recommend it.
And can we please get Oliver's story?

Happy thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine, Dell for the romantic read!

LOOOOOOVED this one. Swoony, fantastic banter & chemistry, loved the dialogue, this one was such a winner from all aspects. Will be a top 10 romance reads for me this year. Recommending to all my rom-com friends!

Absolutely obsessed with this book. It captures the tension of an impossible romance so well and literally pulled at my heart strings.

Wow! This book is so good! Thank you to Random House for reaching out to me to give me an advance copy of this book. I must admit, it sat for a long time. This book comes out on my birthday (April 12) which is very soon so I figured I needed to read it. I really was sleeping on a gem.

This book follows Chani, a writer/journalist, and Gabe, the newest Bond, on their chance encounter and life ten years after encounter. It’s part missed connection, part lovers-enemies-lovers, and entirely romantic comedy. This novel has a little bit of something for everyone - great writing, movie tidbits, some steamy scenes, fighting the patriarchy, existential crises, and recovery journeys. I am someone who loves fiction and loves romance, but especially loves when authors are intentional with their stories. Sideman does a wonderful job covering some heavy topics in a way that allows the reader to still feel like they are escaping from some of the realities of life, but not at the expensive of people’s lived experiences. I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up as one of my top books of 2022.

Recommended for folks who love Rachel Lynn Solomon, Talia Hibbert, & Sophie Kinsella

I really loved the premise of this second chance romance. Chani is a reporter interviewing Gabe Parker, a renowned actor cast as the next Bond, and writes a celebrity profile that causes both their careers to soar and leaves everyone wondering if something more had happened between them. The then/now chapters have a People We Meet on Vacation-esque air of mystery that have us guessing what happened the weekend they met. I was intrigued by this book's commentary on the double standards in the entertainment industry and enjoyed seeing it play out in both the book's past and present timelines.

While I loved the concept, I thought the pacing of this book detracted from the story. The blog posts and news articles included between every few chapters felt excessive on top of the then/now timelines, making the reading experience disjointed and slow. I didn't feel particularly attached to any of the characters or the supposed romance until around the 70% mark, which was far too late for me to be fully invested in this story. Not to mention the third-act conflict at the 95% mark. While my feelings about this book are complicated, it was a quick and enjoyable read that I would still recommend to lovers of contemporary romance.

I think second chance celebrity romance is my new favorite trope. Chani and Gabe shouldn't have worked on paper, I mean is a long weekend really enough time to know if you've met the one, but the way Elissa writes the initial meeting and the subsequent reunion had me on the edge of my seat. I'm actually mad at myself for taking so long to read this. I'll read anything Elissa Sussman writes next that's for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the Arc.

I knew I was going to love this book from the description but just HOW much...WOW! I flew through this storyline because I could not put it down at any point. I had to know what would happen. I am such a sucker for stories about fate or meant to be or paths crossing again. It's my fav troupe to devour! This book was fabulous and anyone who needs a feel-good story with the ending you deserve, dive in! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It took me a while to finish this book but I think it was more about the fact that I've been busy and tired and not because I didn't enjoy the book. Because I did! I love the concept of a fan getting to interview their celebrity crush and then they fall for each other. Every stan's dream! I especially love that he was totally infatuated with her the entire time, despite him being the "hot celebrity" in the situation. The slow burn was magnificent and I loved both main characters. This could also be a super cool movie (and a little meta) if they chose an actual stereotypical hot male celebrity to play Gabe (think Chris Evans, Zac Efron, Sebastian Stan...yes I've thought about this) and then a completely new (Jewish) actress to play Chani. Anyway, this was delightful and I would definitely read more adult romance books by this author if she decided to write more!

Could (and should). be THE beach read of 2022! I devoured it in less than 24 hours. Elissa Sussman covers so much ground in Funny You Should Ask, from celebrity journalism/gossip culture to imposter syndrome to film nerdery. All wrapped in an almost relationship between an actor and the journo whose profile of him went viral. 10 years later, she’s asked to interview him again.

Snappy prose and great banter make for a fast read. And l loved that Chani's POV is interspersed with articles reporting/speculating on what went down. It's a heck of a lot of fun if you read Go Fug Yourself or LaineyGossip on the regular.

Pick this one up if you liked the celeb/normie elements of the Idea of You and the voicyness of In a New York Minute. Last thing, while I view this one as contemporary fiction with a romance in it, romance readers should know you do get an HEA.

CW: alcoholism/rehab, death of a parent at age 10, sexism in Hollywood & journalism, actor loses out on a job because he's gay (eventually comes out on his own terms).

I just finished a book and absolutely loved it! There was the famous/commoner trope, insta-love feel, and second-chance romance. I liked how it didn’t reveal everything at once, but built the story on flashbacks of what’s happening now and what happened 10 years previously. There’s humor in the writing while also touching on the topics of not writing “serious” literature and being a celebrity. I enjoyed it immensely.

HOWEVER: I was looking through other reviews and came across one that said it was a rip off from a 2011 article so I checked out the article. And, while there are some key differences, there are way too many similarities for it not to have, at a minimum, inspired the story. However, there is no mention of the article or the article’s author in the acknowledgments anywhere.

I get that there’s little, if any, truly authentic ideas anymore, but this seemed to be far beyond that point. It doesn’t sit right that the book author nor the publisher mentions the blatant inspiration for this. If that was in there, I don’t think I even would have blinked an eye.

Here are the links to the articles/review referenced above:

https://www.gq.com/story/chris-evans-gq-july-2011-cover-story

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4608077634

https://the-gossip-reading-club.letterdrop.com/c/the-gossip-reading-club-issue-three--a-romcom-interview-with-chris-evans

I hope the author and publisher can salvage this situation because it is not looking good for any of them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine for the ARC - out everywhere 12 April!
10 years after a profile of the actor cast to play the newest James Bond makes her go viral, a journalist is assigned to do a follow-up piece with the same man. Cutting between their first meeting and the one in present-day, the two try to figure out if they can recapture the magic of that original day and avoid the heartbreak that followed.
This book made up for a lot of its initial missteps in the second half, and thank God because otherwise this entire review was just going to be a fume-induced rant. Not perfect by any means, but I get what the author was trying to do here, and it ended up landing on the right side of the very fine line between "second-chance romance," and "why on earth would you ever do this again." This book suffers from obnoxious-MC-syndrome, but the supporting cast is a delight and is featured heavily enough to keep you flipping through.
StephGetsLit has a really great in-depth review on some of the issues we both had with this book (namely the unfortunate way that this book leans into the false stereotype of female journalists sleeping with their sources), and you should definitely give that a read.
Read If:
-- People are constantly mispronouncing your name
-- You like the "Bromance Book Club" series
-- You've ever been on a date where the guy tries to mansplain "literature" to you

I liked this but wish the tension had been a bit more developed/intense! The characters felt very real to me but I wish the relationships had been developed a bit more.

I don’t even know where to start and how to explain how much I enjoyed this book. These characters were so relatable and I loved the back and forth not only between Chani and Gabe but also going from past to present to allow the story to unfold in two timelines with a nice end meetup essentially wrapping it all up.

Chani is a writer that does an exclusive interview with upcoming star Gabe Parker. Everyone was wondering and hesitant about the new actor until Chani’s expose came out and charmed him into Hollywood legend. The story plays out with the articles, blog posts from Chani’s personal blog, the “true” storyline of what happened, and the present storyline of them meeting again ten years after their infamous weekend interview.

This was a fully formed rom-com in my head and I am certain that Hollywood themselves couldn’t even come close to getting it as good as I imagined it already. The characters although at times are a bit immature do age and grow in so many ways as the story progresses. The writing style was very down to earth and felt as though they were actual feelings and conversations being explained. Every girl will fall in love immediately with Gabe and hate him a little at the same time. The suave but rugged, smart but not too book-smart Gabe is every mother’s dream for their son-in-law to be. He goes through some tough times and that leads him down a hard path and a lot of the story is his growth as a person.

This book is one that has opened my eyes to the second-chance romance trope and I’m kind of loving it to be honest. I recommend picking this up for anyone who likes a nice easy read, loves characters growing emotionally throughout the story, YA romance, hallmark fans and the like. I will be looking into more of Elissa Sussman’s books and can’t wait for more of her books in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to give an honest review of this upcoming release.

4.5/5

I love switching up genres and finding a good romance to read between the others. This was a fun witty romance. Here is an example from an early scene. "I didn't think it was possible for so many words to come out of somebody's mouth that quickly, he said. And I auditioned for Gilmore Girls." Chandi is a very down to earth character who meets a celebrity god who is charming as can be. You can't help but root for the both of them. The side kick of Ollie enhances the friendship. Quick easy read.

I decided to put this book aside at 47%.

I really liked the idea for this book and the first few chapters had me intrigued, but then I just got bored. This book is slow moving and feels redundant. Several of the points are mentioned over and over and over. This just isn't for me.

Some books have love stories that are light and fluffy. Some are gut-wrenching and devastating. Funny You Should Ask falls somewhere in between, but in a really great way. The premise is set up to be the perfect instalove, light and fluffy love affair, but has ups-and-downs that span a decade while each one of them have to navigate complications with their professional and personal lives.

It opens with Chani Horowitz reluctantly accepting an assignment to interview a movie star, Gabe Parker, hoping to stage a Hollywood comeback - one that she first interviewed a decade ago, and which launched her writing career. It's clear that from Chani's reaction that they have a complicated past. But before we learn anything, the timeline jumps back to that first interview 10 years ago. Chani meets Gabe at his home for the start of their interview, and she's incredibly nervous because he is her top celebrity crush. She doesn't quite make the best first impression and she's embarrassed, but hopes to salvage it over lunch. But when it continues to go downhill, she continues to try to get a story by accepting his offer to accompany him to a house showing, joining him on the red carpet for a movie premiere the next day, and finally attending his house party the day after that. Along the way, the pair become closer and open themselves to each other, having increasingly intimate moments. But when the moment of truth comes along, neither of them are willing to bare themselves enough to give themselves a chance at something real. But it's made clear in the future timeline that the story is very flattering and successful, but clearly something is still drove them apart. The next decade brings chance encounters full of bad timing, personal and professional crises, and plenty of mutual yearning before they get a chance to try again.

I really, really loved this book. It had so much depth, and the push and pull of Chani and Gabe's relationship was such a rollercoaster ride - you just couldn't help but root for them to make things work. What was most compelling about the book, aside from racing to get that resolution and finally ease the tension, was the juxtaposition between the past and current timelines, and how so much of that single weekend they spent together influenced them for the next decade, as well as how well-paced the details are doled out to the reader. I truly believe this will be one of this year's best reads, and would make the perfect beach read!