Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
1.75 stars
What a letdown! Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman was one of my favorite romance books of 2022. I remember not wanting to put that down so badly that I skipped going swimming to read! Going swimming! (No one on Goodreads knows me well enough to know that that is the biggest of Big Deals)
This book, however, was one I would have liked to throw into a pool. The premise is interesting enough (I find that I really enjoy celebrity romances), but the execution was weak. I never once connected with our main character and it took until about 70% for me to feel a legit spark between Kathleen and Cal. I didn't really feel it in the before chapters until wayyy through the book as well. But the tension wasn't really there. It was so fabricated. I also did not enjoy the side plot with Kathleen and her best friend, Harriet. It was just not an interesting plot and was done very clumsily.
This book is wrought with miscommunication and, before you grab your pitchforks, let me just say that I don't mind miscommunication. When it's done well, I really enjoy it. But, it was not done well here at all. Kathleen opted to not share her feelings or communicate with everyone in her life (i.e. Harriet and Cal) for the majority of the book. It hindered my ability to connect with her and made for a fairly frustrating read.
I did not care if Kathleen and Cal ended up together or if her career flourished. She is such a blah character.
One positive, the 1 sex scene was really really good!
---------------------------------------------
looks like every book is coming out april 3, 2023. love this for me.
What a letdown! Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman was one of my favorite romance books of 2022. I remember not wanting to put that down so badly that I skipped going swimming to read! Going swimming! (No one on Goodreads knows me well enough to know that that is the biggest of Big Deals)
This book, however, was one I would have liked to throw into a pool. The premise is interesting enough (I find that I really enjoy celebrity romances), but the execution was weak. I never once connected with our main character and it took until about 70% for me to feel a legit spark between Kathleen and Cal. I didn't really feel it in the before chapters until wayyy through the book as well. But the tension wasn't really there. It was so fabricated. I also did not enjoy the side plot with Kathleen and her best friend, Harriet. It was just not an interesting plot and was done very clumsily.
This book is wrought with miscommunication and, before you grab your pitchforks, let me just say that I don't mind miscommunication. When it's done well, I really enjoy it. But, it was not done well here at all. Kathleen opted to not share her feelings or communicate with everyone in her life (i.e. Harriet and Cal) for the majority of the book. It hindered my ability to connect with her and made for a fairly frustrating read.
I did not care if Kathleen and Cal ended up together or if her career flourished. She is such a blah character.
One positive, the 1 sex scene was really really good!
---------------------------------------------
looks like every book is coming out april 3, 2023. love this for me.
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Body shaming, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So, a couple things.
One, someone needs to write a biting satirical novel from the point of view of the Black best friend who is destined to do nothing but accommodate and seek the approval of her white BFF, like Kevin Can Go Fuck Himself but about white feminism. There is just so much cultural material to draw from, as this novel aptly demonstrates.
Two, the writing in this is fine. I appreciate authors who write about FMCs who are not twenty-one year old virgins. But there's just so much here that didn't work that I just want to call the author up and tell her she needs a new editor, because whoever is advising her now is lying to her. The author professes to be such a huge fan of musical theater, but there's really nothing in here that gives me any insight into what constantly dancing and singing does to your body, and only superficial details of the entertainment business itself. The Rachel character falls so flat in 2023. Ryan is a stereotypical villain. Kathleen herself does not seem to have matured much in however many years are between the "now" and "then" timelines. I've already said everything that needs to be said about Harriet.
I kept hanging on until the end because I did enjoy the author's previous book, but this one just wasn't for me. Harriet, get some new friends who actually care about you .
One, someone needs to write a biting satirical novel from the point of view of the Black best friend who is destined to do nothing but accommodate and seek the approval of her white BFF, like Kevin Can Go Fuck Himself but about white feminism. There is just so much cultural material to draw from, as this novel aptly demonstrates.
Two, the writing in this is fine. I appreciate authors who write about FMCs who are not twenty-one year old virgins. But there's just so much here that didn't work that I just want to call the author up and tell her she needs a new editor, because whoever is advising her now is lying to her. The author professes to be such a huge fan of musical theater, but there's really nothing in here that gives me any insight into what constantly dancing and singing does to your body, and only superficial details of the entertainment business itself. The Rachel character falls so flat in 2023. Ryan is a stereotypical villain. Kathleen herself does not seem to have matured much in however many years are between the "now" and "then" timelines. I've already said everything that needs to be said about Harriet.
I kept hanging on until the end because I did enjoy the author's previous book, but this one just wasn't for me. Harriet, get some new friends who actually care about you .
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book has all the potential of being a great second chance romance, but it fell flat for me. Kathleen and Cal met at a performing arts summer camp in their teens and both became big teen stars from scouting at the camp. Eventually their friendship leads to Katee's public eye demise when she cheats on her boyfriend (who is a huge douche in Cal's boy band) with Cal. In an alternating timeline 15 or so years later, Kathleen is no longer in the industry, living off of royalties and Cal is coreographing and directing a new musical and he just HAS to have her as the lead. Oh yeah, and Kathleen's best friend (who was also at the camp) wrote it.
Everything just felt a little too coincidental. Like multiple other kids from this camp came upin present day lives when it doesn't really seem probable that these people still know each other after being such big stars. All of the characters felt very one dimensional and insufferable. And typically a book with alternating timelines gives you something you need to know with each swap, but this one felt like they were just living pretty much the same story line twice, 15 years apart.
Everything just felt a little too coincidental. Like multiple other kids from this camp came upin present day lives when it doesn't really seem probable that these people still know each other after being such big stars. All of the characters felt very one dimensional and insufferable. And typically a book with alternating timelines gives you something you need to know with each swap, but this one felt like they were just living pretty much the same story line twice, 15 years apart.
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
slow-paced