Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Funny You Should Ask

This one is cute. It's bubblegum and rainbows (with some rain sprinkled in there too). There's spice but just a quick taste. It's romcom fluff. Which, sometimes, is exactly what you need.

But what I truly loved about this book was the pacing and structure. The use of then and now plus the article excerpts...it was the absolutely perfect way to tell this story. We weren't bogged down in unnecessary flashbacks and painful memories. And some of those little throwaway tidbits in the excerpts nestled their way beautifully into the story.

I think Sussman deserves major kudos for how she told this story - even moreso than just for the story she told! Need a fun, light, romcom read? Don't skip past this one!

Content Warnings

gemin1reader's review against another edition

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emotional reflective

3.25

I really enjoyed how this book was written - a mix of present-day, flashbacks, magazine articles and reviews. It made for a fun read but it also meant it felt like we missed some of the emotional connections between the main characters

I also found the FMC just a teeny bit irritating by the end.

Content Warnings

booksalacarte's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Funny You Should Ask - 3.5⭐️ 3🌶️

A restless young journalist with big dreams interviews a Hollywood heartthrob—and reunites with him ten years later to discover exactly how he feels about her in this sexy and engrossing novel

Then. Twenty-something writer Chani Horowitz is stuck. While her former MFA classmates are nabbing high-profile book deals, all she does is churn out puff pieces. Then she’s hired to write a profile of movie star Gabe Parker: her number one celebrity crush and the latest James Bond. All Chani wants to do is keep her cool and nail the piece. But what comes next proves to be life changing in ways she never saw coming, as the interview turns into a whirlwind weekend that has the tabloids buzzing—and Chani getting closer to Gabe than she had planned.

Now. Ten years later, after a brutal divorce and a healthy dose of therapy, Chani is back in Los Angeles as a successful writer with the career of her dreams. Except that no matter what new essay collection or online editorial she’s promoting, someone always asks about The Profile. It always comes back to Gabe. So when his PR team requests that they reunite for a second interview, she wants to say no. She wants to pretend that she’s forgotten about the time they spent together. But the truth is that Chani wants to know if those seventy-two hours were as memorable to Gabe as they were to her. And so . . . she says yes.

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 Opinion✨

Second-chance romance

Insta-love

Slow burn

He falls first

Alcoholic/recovery

Fame/public spotlight

This is a fan fiction book. After reading this book I wasn’t sure how I felt about it being based on an actual article about Chris Evans… so I had to go search for it. Chris Evans: American Marvel by Edith Zimmerman.

After reading the source article I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed in the book being such a blatant rip-off of another person’s writing and personal experience. All of the things I had holding me up from a solid 4 star review were blatantly obvious. I mean the confusion and insecurity of the writer’s tone was almost exact. The commentary on alcoholism and celebrity almost breezy.

I enjoyed the book, don’t get me wrong. It was entertaining… but it actually felt like someone was just stretching out the GQ article and morphing it into an actual love story. Maybe that was the point?

I guess I am a little more concerned about hit the author of the GQ article feels about the book… which is interesting.

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fromthefoxhole's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

When we first meet our journalist, Chani, she is a little ball of anger and embarrassment, most of which is directed at Gabe Parker, irrationally hot former movie star. One fateful interview a decade ago led to a whirlwind weekend between them, but things didn't end the way either of them (or the rest of us) hoped.
Rather than flat up front, their story is told through a series of flashbacks, articles, and snapshots from the present.

While I can definitively say I enjoyed reading Funny You Should Ask, I also found myself regularly rolling my eyes at Chani. I found her immature and incapable of recognizing her own faults, so much so that

Gabe literally calls her on it shortly before the book ends.

I think the structure of their story is thoughtful, and their characterizations include a lot of wit and charm. I just also want to hold Chani by the shoulders and very sternly remind her that she is nearing 40.

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hellopatrycja's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

4.5

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danajoy's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Will it stay with me forever? No.
Did I enjoy it while it lasted? Yes!

Content Warnings

_malia_pt's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Content Warnings

thesmutsister_emma's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted 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

3.75

Almost, But Not Quite
I am about to commit the sin of all reviewing sins... and make a book comparison. When I first started this book, I devoured the first 25% of it the night I got it on Libby. I was so excited, and if you know me, you are aware of why this is the case. I read Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren last year and have been searching for something similar ever since. Despite being a similar setup, as you can tell from the title, lightening did not quite strike twice in this case.

In Funny You Should Ask, we follow Chani and Gabe on two different sets of interviews a decade apart. We see an alternating timeline, observing what happened ten years ago, versus what is happening in present day. I thought this set up was going to be what did it for me because it was one of the things I adored about Love and Other Words, yet I found myself searching for more.

The Characters
Chani: I felt like when it came to Chani's character, there was much left to be said. I did not feel like I could name any of her personality traits other than the fact that she is Jewish, she is a writer, and she enjoys Star Trek (and has a weird thing for dogs' tongues...) It didn't really feel like I was reading a three dimensional character. I felt like a lot of everything that came with her was very surface level.
Gabe: I feel very similarly about Gabe as I did about Chani. I feel as though most of what happened in this book with Gabe was very surface level. Not a lot of it felt much deeper than if someone had yelled "For the plot!"and carried on. There was an attempt to try to explain why Gabe fell in love with Chani the first time around but honestly? It felt very shallow. Not everything has to have this huge, deeper meaning behind it, but this one didn't really make sense. And it really didn't make sense as to why he still cared ten years later. There was not much there other than common interests and physical attraction that gave me any reason to believe these two should still be in love.

Things I Loved
I adored the set up of this. The idea of a weekend long interview and then an attempt to recreate it to revive Gabe's career was such an amazing concept. I also loved Chani's blog posts and being able to see what she had written over the years, as well as what had been said about each of the characters. It was a neat spin to give some more outside info.

Things I Didn't Love
The way that these characters interacted was amazing, I just wish it had gone deeper. Maybe a few more interactions over the years or more the first time around would have helped me fall in love alongside them. I feel like had I read this before other books with this main trope that I would have enjoyed it more.

The Final Verdict
If you are wanting a second chance romance that is a mash up of. Emily Henry and Christina Lauren's writing styles with a little bit of Lucy Score, this is definitely the one for you. Sending all my love to you and Teddy.

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