When everyone is talking about a book my interest can go one or two ways; I want to jump on the train or it turns me off from ever reading it. It depends on the type of book, genre, and what the reviews are.
When it comes to Elissa Sussman's debut novel, "Funny You Should Ask" that was released in April 2022, it was the former. Everyone's interest in the book and the rave reviews it got piqued my curiosity and once I found out it was normal person/famous person love story, I was hooked. I personally think that is a severely underrated trope and we need more of it in the world.
I purchased the paperback version of the book last summer because it was so beautiful, I just wanted the cover to admire, but didn't read it until this month. Part of me is glad I waited because I needed it to pull me out of a reading slump but the other part of me regrets waiting on such a beautiful story.
Publisher's Summary
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 Thoughts
This book blew me away! It hooked me from the very first word and tortured me until the last second. I truly had no idea where it was going. It was sexy, heartwarming, thoughtful, and interesting. I found both characters, Chani and Gabe, to be fascinating on so many levels.
I know a lot of people think Gabe was inspired by Chris Evans so I had that in my head when imagining him which made the book even better.
"Funny You Should Ask" was not cheesy or corny, but rather one of the more thoughtful romance novels I've read in a while. You got to really know Chani and she wasn't an annoying protagonist, which can be the case for romance novels. Chani was strong, powerful, thoughtful and kind; I felt like I could relate to her in a lot of ways so maybe that's why I enjoyed being inside her brain so much.
You also get a really good idea of who Gabe is, both through the public's eye and through Chani, and you could see the difference in the two personas. It was really wonderful to read.
The character development, writing and layout of the book was insane. Sussman writes so beautifully without being overly literary and making the story easy to follow and digest.
My favorite part, however, was how the book was broken up into sections so not only were you going back and forth between the present and past, you were getting snippets of articles being written in the past and present. It really added to the larger story and I think was an excellent addition to the book.
As I said before, this was not your average corny, cheesy romance where things felt rushed or overly sexual; Chani and Gabe had a real connection that jumped off the page and felt like a slow burn, even though things did move quickly once you figured out what was going on.
The story was so well written that it almost felt like it could really happen; the chemistry between Gabe and Chani was off the charts, it was making me blush. I would compare it to Andrew Garfield and the Chicken Shop Girl on the Golden Globes red carpet.
"Funny You Should Ask" is going to be one of my favorite reads of the year! I already have Sussman's 2nd novel, "Once More With Feeling" on my Kindle because I had an ARC from NetGalley and I cannot wait to read it.
Did you read Funny You Should Ask? What did you think?
xoxo
B
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