I received a gifted galley of NO FUNNY BUSINESS by Amanda Aksel for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, PRH Audio, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

NO FUNNY BUSINESS is a contemporary romcom set in the world of stand up comedy. Olivia has always dreamed of being a professional stand up comedian. She actually makes ends meet working as a lawyer, picking up gigs on the side whenever she can. Work is low on her priority list, so it is no big surprise when she loses her job. She’s determined to turn things around and give stand up her all, joining seasoned professional Nick on a road trip across the US to get to a coveted audition in Los Angeles. What could possibly go wrong?

I found this to be an easily bingeable read! I definitely could see where Olivia’s heart was in her comedy even while the more practical voice in her head and the people in her life wanted her to think things through and figure out how to have some stability with a regularly paying job. This road trip gives her the opportunity to really test out her merit with some wins and flops along the way! The author did a good job of bringing in the comedy both between the comedians and in the situations in which they find themselves!

I thought that this was a very unique setup for a book and one that I haven’t read before. I enjoyed seeing some of the behind the scenes insights into life on the road for a traveling performer and the world of comedy specifically. The road trip vibes for this one definitely make for a perfect summer read!

This is the first book I've read where the main character is a female stand up comedian. I loved all the references to famous stand up comics, it made me feel like I was in on an inside joke with the characters.

I was a huge fan of the progression the characters made throughout the book. They progressed in their relationship as well as their own lives separately, with each other's help.

Overall, this was a cute, funny, fast read. I really enjoyed the whole premise of the book.

Thank you to Berkley Romance and the author for the advanced reader copy and to Random House Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

I love when a title is a perfect fit for the book and when it comes up in the book naturally. No Funny Business nails it. I'll never forget this book when I hear the title.

And the book is also funny! It's told in the first person perspective of Olivia Vincent. Her voice is fantastic with the right amount of snark, humor, and self-awareness. And the writing is smart and fast with lots of asides directly to the reader. It was exactly the tone that I prefer in a great rom-com.

There's some heavier aspects to the storyline as well. They hit just the right amount for emotional depth without detracting from the overall humor. I highly recommend this true rom-com.

4.5 stars rounded up

This book was really cute, I really enjoyed reading it. It was funny, charming, and it hooked me immediately

I adored Olivia’s voice! I don’t usually connect right away to a character’s voice like I did with Olivia. Right from the first paragraph, I knew this book was going to entertain!

This book cracked me up and made me feel all the feels throughout. I found myself laughing out loud, tearing up, and smiling throughout this book.

NO FUNNY BUSINESS is a slap happy romantic comedy starring two struggling comedians who set out on a road tour across country while finding their happy place in life without getting involved with each other. Tell that to Olivia Vincent, a beautiful, aspiring comedian with a law degree who is trying to be content with her life, while working at a law firm. When she gets an opportunity to open for comedian Nick Leto, she swoons over him. Oh boy! Not good, since she wants to prove to herself and her dad that she can follow her dreams and be successful. Then why is it so hard to be herself around Nick?

Olivia is let go from the law firm when she tries juggling work and comedy jobs to no avail. Nick sees determination in Olivia. Her agent offers her a touring gig with him for a couple weeks across country. Plus, the caveat is her agent landed her an audition with Anderson Vanderson, from the Late Night Show, in L.A. Olivia is ecstatic! Her agent enforces a hands-off rule with Nick. Olivia is under Nick's tutelage learning the craft of stand-up comedy. Only as the miles tick by, rock songs wail from the radio in the car, Olivia and Nick bond over classic tv shows, burgers, corny jokes, seedy hotel rooms, and more. Attraction sparks between them regardless of the “no handsy” rule. Will Olivia and Nick chase their dreams against all odds?

I loved this new story from Ms. Aksel that follows two comedians who are on a path to self-fulfillment. NO FUNNY BUSINESS is crazy fun with a little fluffy romance on the side. All the references to Seinfeld and pop culture made for a cackling good time! I loved Nick and Olivia's road trip with their singing along to songs on the way. It was so darn funny! I wanted to go along with them! The author wonderfully told a story about healing from verbal abuse and chasing your dreams. There is a little romance as well, as Nick and Olivia spend time building each other's confidence up, getting closer and closer, then, oops, hands go everywhere! Spice is the secret to life baby! NO FUNNY BUSINESS is definitely a hootin' good time!

Olivia has always dreamed of being a standup comic. When she loses her job for being late again, she finally decides it’s time to fully go for it. In steps Nick and his cross country tour. If she can kill it on the road opening for him, and ace the audition for the late night show, her career will finally be moving in the right direction. You know what they say about being on the road though, always be prepared for anything.

This book was exactly what I needed right now. I started it and got to 30% before finally forcing myself to go to bed, and finished it the next day. I was instantly rooting for Olivia and her comedy career. I mean mainly because I love seeing women succeed in comedy, but also because I just enjoyed her as a character! Obviously the miscommunications in this book were infuriating at times since it would have been so easy had Nick and Olivia just had a conversation, but thats needed for a rom com right? Overall this was a quick and cute read about a different career than I have read about before!

Do you have the courage to pursue your dreams and reinvent your life?

Olivia has always dreamed of making it big in the world of stand-up comedy. She spends her days in the boring world of corporate law, and moonlights at comedy clubs trying to catch her big break. She finally gets that break from her agent and ditches a client dinner to get onstage.

Her staid employer has never appreciate her sense of humor. In fact, she doubts he can see the humor in anything. Her schedule realignment makes her one of the jobless. She should feel more apprehension. But she doesn't--- she feels free for the first time in longer than she can remember.

And then her agent comes to her rescue again. There's been a cancellation on a comedy tour and she's the replacement the main attraction wants to accompany him. Nick Leto is on the verge of making it big. He's already had a comedy special, and his good looks and leather jacket only add to his appeal. He's one of the most charismatic people she's ever met, and the way he reels in a room is both awe-inspiring and envious.
The most appealing thing about him though becomes his belief in her.

This was a wonderful romantic comedy about jumping off a ledge, into a sea that's probably full of piranhas, and finding both happiness and fulfillment. It's a story about finding love without giving up on yourself. I loved it for the Seinfeld references, the gritty portrayal of life on the comedy circuit, and of course the fact that it's a road trip romance with fascinating side characters and a discussion of the merits of Twizzlers.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read an ARC of this delightful release in exchange for an honest review.

No Funny Business is everything! I absolutely love this book!

Full RTC closer to publication date (July 12, 2022).

Thank you to Berkley publishing and Netgalley for the e-ARC.

This one was funny and cute.

It follows Olivia as she goes on a cross country comedy tour opening for Nick. Along the way the open up to each other about life, and Nick shares tips to help Olivia improve. Of course sparks fly and things happen.

I really liked Olivia’s progression through this story, how she was determined to make her dream a success. I liked to see her come to terms with her fear and nerves and to not just ignore them.

The situations that Olivia and Nick stumbled into along the road were really funny and were probably my favorite part of this book.

Basically it’s an enjoyable, funny read (3.5)

This book was cute and had sweet moments sprinkled throughout. I liked the delving into her past and how she ended up in her career both in spite of and because of her childhood - and that her journey allows her to reconnect with that. I will say a lot of the comedians that were sort of held up as the pinnacles of comedy in this book were ones that it didn’t really make sense to me that the two main characters would love, given some of their content is the kind of humor they both notably try to stay away from. But overall it was a fun and easy read.

No Funny Business is a sweet rom com about two comedians trying to find their way through life. Olivia Vincent is an aspiring comedian with a law degree who is trying so hard to be happy and content with her life. That is until she gets the opportunity to open for comedian Nick Leto and try out for a spot on The Late Night Show in LA. This is finally her chance to prove to herself and everyone else that she can follow her dreams and be successful.

As Olivia and Nick road trip to gigs and start to get to know each other better, sparks fly and the chance at something more heats up. While at the same time, Olivia must face her past and, in order to move forward professionally (and romantically), she must face her demons and find herself.

Truthfully, I wasn't super invested in this story. I didn't see the sizzling chemistry between Olivia and Nick all that much and found their romance took a back seat to Olivia's personal growth. The ending was good, but again, the romance really wasn't there as much as I had hoped. However, it was still an easy and funny read that is filled with lots of great banter and jokes and an insight into the comedy world.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

No Funny Business is a fresh, fun-filled romcom following Olivia Vincent, an aspiring comedian ready to make a career in stand-up with the help of fellow veteran comedian Nick, and the two embark on a cross-county tour where sparks start to fly. I’ve never read a romance with a comedian lead before, so this felt unique and quirky. I don’t know why, but I did have some trouble really connecting with Olivia and getting really invested in the story, but I was definitely rooting for her and for Nick. I loved Olivia’s journey to finding her comedy path and I loved Nick’s guidance to her when she started to doubt herself. She has so much passion for comedy and so much she’s holding back in terms of the loss of her dad, and I just loved her finding herself in all of it and coming to terms with everything. She may be down on her luck, but she never quits. The standup elements were really great too and I loved seeing how the tour played out. The romance takes a backseat I think to the comedy parts, but I didn’t mind it, and I loved the friends to lovers vibes of these two and their banter. They had great chemistry together and really balanced each other out. And I thought Nick was a great character too. He’s charming and funny and he was a great support to Olivia and they brought out the best in each other. I thought their road trip was just so fun to follow and I really enjoyed this unique and heartwarming story.

Had to DNF at 20%

This writing was just too cringeworthy for me to keep going. And while it was obviously trying to be funny, no laughs or even smiles were forced out of me.

FMC too immature (I’m really expected to believe she’s a lawyer?!), wayyyy to much comedian name dropping, jokes that read more like dad jokes, but told by an annoying teenager…this is what the first 10 chapters gave me.

If you’re looking for a funny and romantic story about comedians, read Funny Feelings instead - it blows this out of the water.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced copy - all opinions are my own!

I’ve never read a romance where the main characters are comedians before and that was such a fun angle! It provided a unique backdrop that I’ve never read before too and add in a cross country road trip and I was sold! As much as there is a romance developing between Olivia and Nick it almost felt like it took a backseat to Olivia and her personal growth. That was ok with me because I was invested enough in her anyway, just know this isn’t all that sexy and it’s closed door too, again Nick and Olivia both have to figure their own shit out in order to move forward both professionally and romantically. There were some great pop culture references from the 90’s and before that I loved and plenty of laughs, these two are comics after all! I really enjoyed this one and think if you know what to expect you just might too.

Absolutely a wonderful road trip with comedians and a humorous love story! Highly recommend that we get a part 2 book, please!

This rom com is very heavy on the comedy - if you are looking for a book to make you laugh this summer, look no further than Amanda Aksel’s latest, No Funny Business.

In this book Olivia is a stand up comedian trying to make it in the industry. After losing her day job, she gets the opportunity to go on tour opening for comedian Nick Leto. This is her chance for a big break and she is determined to make it happen. What might complicate things though, is her attraction to Nick.

This was the type of book that I sat down to read and next thing I knew, I was 80% finished. This book had so many fun moments from I Wanna Dance With Somebody carpool karaoke (my all time favorite song!!) to intense discussions over the best fast food burgers. I loved Olivia as a main character and was rooting for her the whole time! I loved Nick and Olivia and how their relationship grew over time. I loved how they called themselves Jerry and Elaine in the beginning and all of the ridiculous situations they found themselves in (including an Elvis themed show). This book was just such a fun ride.

A huge thank you to Amanda Aksel and Berkley Publishing for the advance copy!

No Funny Business about it! Amanda Aksel’ s upcoming release is sure to leave you with a smile on your face and a craving for a burger.

Olivia Vincent is a NYC lawyer by day and a stand up comedian by night…or afternoon or evening or weekend. Basically whenever her agent can get her a spot. Olivia’s dream is to break into the world of comedy- she thrives off making people laugh. After being fired from her day job, Olivia jumps on the chance to open for Nick Leto, a seasoned comedian (not to mention cutie) on a comedy tour across the country ending with an audition for a late night TV show in LA.

One roadtrip featuring two comedians, a wedding, a funeral, countless fast food stops, too many Elvis impersonators, and one Jeep later- Olivia and Nick make it to LA, forever changed.

This book was a wild ride with plenty of outrageous debacles the characters found themselves in. I thought all the classic comedy references were well placed and the stand up routines performed by the main characters had me laughing out loud.

Thank you to Berkley Pub and Netgalley for my copy.

This was such a funny romcom and I absolutely enjoyed myself so much while reading ! This gave me The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel vibes & I LOVED that. Another thing that I loved about it was the self discovery aspect and the literal journey the heroine (Olivia) took. I found myself laughing out loud more than once as well as smiling from ear to ear. If you’re a fan of romantic comedy, stand up comedy and have a sense of humor, you will enjoy this one!

Olivia is let go from her law firm in New York and she makes the decision to pursue a career in standup comedy. Which is something she had been doing on the side, while being miserable in her boring law firm job, & it turns out to be a blessing in disguise. She gets the opportunity to audition for a real gig in Los Angeles and the handsome & charming comedian, Nick Leto, is taking her under his wing. They take a cross country road trip that inevitably brings them closer together. The physical attraction between them is obvious, but can they stick to no funny business for the sake of their dreams.


You can expect:
* Cross country Road-trip
* Laugh Out Loud Romcom
* Self Discovery
* Stand Up Comedy
* Only One Bed
* Friends to Lovers
* Forced Proximity

i just don't have the same sense of humor as this book, which considering it is all about standup was kind of a dealbreaker!