Ten years ago, Chani got her big break when she interviewed Gabe. He’d just been cast to play James Bond, but the criticism was already rolling in. Her task was to write an article that would get the public on board with his role – and she succeeded. But the article was infamous, too. Chani and Gabe ended up spending the entire weekend together, and though she was insistent that nothing happened between them, it left fans wondering.

Now, Chani and Gabe aren’t the people they were that magical weekend a decade in the past. Both are divorced, and Gabe’s career is slowly resurfacing after being in and out of rehab for alcoholism. When another interview, recreating that initial lunch from all those years ago, is set up between Chani and Gabe, they have a second chance at what almost happened all those years ago.

The dual timeline made sense for this story, though I was often more eager to read about the present day than the past. I think what Sussman did so well in showing the two timelines was proving how much life had changed for Chani, but she hadn’t grown much. She still has the same fears and insecurities as she did ten years ago. Many are understandable. In the few times she interacted with Gabe since that interview, he wasn’t the best person to her.

This book definitely isn’t a romantic comedy, and I struggled to really feel like it was a romance in general. I spent most of the time frustrated, but I think that’s a sign of Sussman’s good writing – Chani, our narrator, is entirely frustrated too – sexually, by her public image, with herself, by Gabe, by her ex-husband Jeremy. (Though I will say the part that frustrated me the most was when Chani blacked out at a party after not drinking and… eating too many jelly beans? Were these “edible” jelly beans? She never questions why a hangover and a lot of sugar made her feel so funny or even says, “Oh, they were those kinds of jelly beans!”) This is a readalike for The Roughest Draft, which left me feeling the same way. We get our happily ever after, but there’s some serious pain along the way.

I was immediately attracted to this books cover art to be honest, I am very much a judge a book by its cover kinda person (which fails me often). The description told me this was going to be something new that I haven't gotten into yet; I like the idea of a then and now point of view when done right and I think Sussaman did it quite well, not my favorite but well enough to not hate.

Overall I thought this was a good read, not great.

Gabe Parker is a sexy movie star and he's about to become the next James Bond. Chani is an up and coming writer looking for one big break to launch her career. She longs to be taken seriously as a journalist. She gets an assignment to interview her favorite actor (Gabe Parker) and although she knows it will end up being a fluff piece, she wants to make it good.
She ends up writing an article that launches her career and has everyone asking "DID YOU SLEEP WITH HIM?" No, readers, she did not.

Cut to 10 years later and they meet up again. Both are divorced but there is still an attraction. But too many missed connections, little lies and miscommunications have happened. Gabe has gone through rehab. Twice. Can they make it work or is Chani destined to be another one of his conquests?

This started out so slow that I almost binned it. I stuck with it and it partially redeemed itself. It's an average read. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.

There's so much to love about Funny You Should Ask — the characters, the pop culture references, the chemistry — and I really did enjoy all of that. However, after awhile, the parallel ways the story unfolds (the article, different perspectives of the same event), I started to get a little restless. While this was a great read overall, it isn't my favorite rom-com book of the year.

This book was fun to read. It alternates between 10 years ago, when Chani met Gabe to write an interview about him being unpopularly cast as the newest James Bond, and now - 10 years on after both have progressed in their careers and gone through divorces. Sprinkled amongst the chapters are excerpts from Chani's article, posts from her blog, and reviews and snippets from other sources that relate to the narrative.
The book is a love story, but it's unconventional. It's more about what happens when you're attracted to someone you shouldn't be, make life choices based on that, and then get a second chance.
I loved Gabe's dog, and Gabe's best friend and co-star Oliver - they both stole the scenes they were in.

Great unique love story! It was fun to see the story develop and all the different media involved. Would (and have!) definitely recommended.

I really enjoyed this book! The story was told in dual timeline with each day of the weekend going back and forth. The articles interspersed were not my favorite but I do believe they added to the story. I personally found it a little slow at the beginning but once I got into it I was hooked!

You know how sometimes you have a book that sits on your TBR shelf and you keep meaning to read it but ultimately keep skipping over it for no reason, but then you read it and are so mad at yourself for not reading it sooner? That was me with this book. I cannot believe I waited so long to read Funny You Should Ask! Once I started it, I DEVOURED this book! It honestly caught me off-guard how much I enjoyed this book. I initially requested it because of the cover and because it was a debut. I had no idea what a swoon-worthy treat of a book I was in for!

Told between alternating timelines and snippets from various articles and blogs, Funny You Should ask is a heart-felt second chance romance between movie star Gabe and Chani, a journalist hired to profile him before a breakout role. The two spend six life-changing days together and the article catapults them both to fame. Now ten years after their initial meeting, they reunite for another interview.

The chemistry and the pining in this book is off the charts and I adored every minute of it! I LOVE this book and I have been telling everyone I can about it. I cannot wait for what Elissa Sussman puts out next!

One of my all time favorite romcoms. So fun and witty. The characters are swoon worthy and the Hollywood setting makes it feel like a the Wattpad dream. 10/10

MAN, I loved this book.

Honestly, I surprised myself with how much I liked it. As a journalist, I'm extra-picky about books with journalists as the main character, but I absolutely loved Chani. I also really enjoyed the format of this book - the shifting timelines and interspersing news reports, Chani's articles and Chani's blog posts kept me turning the pages because I was SO desperate to know what happened to Chani and Gabe.

It's a lovely second-chance romance full of warm characters, witty banter and a very very good dog. I can't wait to read more from Elissa Sussman.

It is the story of Chani, a young journalist trying to get her big break, when she gets an assignment to interview a big Hollywood star recently cast as the new James Bond and her celebrity crush, Gabe. The book flips between when the interview took place to 10 years later when Chani and Gabe are brought back together as a reunion given how the article blew things up. This book was cute. I loved their banter. I loved the Hollywood and LA references. I loved the blogs inserted in between chapters to mix things up. I loved seeing how the initial interview changed their lives. And I loved their emotional connection, albeit a very slow burn. It has reverse Notting Hill vibes and was apparently based on a Chris Evans interview so now I need to do some digging.

Chani wrote a profile on Gabe at the age of 26 that went viral. Now, ten years later she is interviewing him again as Gabe tries to relaunch his career.

I appreciated that the author was trying to create something other than your typical HEA romcom. However, this didn't quite work for me. I am a big fan of celebrity/non-celebrity romances but this one just didn't work for me. I felt like we didn't get much from Chani as a character. I didn't really understand why she was writing the article 10 years later and many of the interactions seemed unprofessional for a reporter in the setting. I could see it at 26 but I questioned it at 36 for a more seasoned journalist.

This one just did not live up to the hype for me, although I know so many loved it. I found myself not caring if I put the book down and did not come back to it for days.

Journalist Chani Horowitz interviewed Hollywood heart throb years Gabe Parker ten years ago and still has so many questions about what happened between them. This is a wonderfully written story that toggles between the past and present when she is tasked with interviewing him again while he is trying to rebuild his career while dealing with his sobriety. It was a fabulous read. Lots of laughter and a lot of reality based issues that women in the workplace deal with each and every day. It’s an important interview for both of them, but with so many things happening between them past and present, the world watching and judging them both, but clearly being harder on her can they make it work in a positive way and both come out unscathed? It’s funny, poignant, honest and realistic. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to this wonderful story. You won’t be sorry.

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.