charlotte_'s review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism
krystalanddogs's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
fast-paced
3.0
This is a little more love at first sight and miscommunication than I really like normally, but I like when a story is told with flashbacks. I liked the main characters, they both made sense to me. It was silly and fun enough that even with the things about it I found annoying, I couldn't really rate it lowly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
alexcooper88's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Addiction
Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual harassment
jennabeck13's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Susanna
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5)
Genre: Romance
About 340 pages
Chani’s article about movie star Gabe Parker launched her to fame in her late 20s. What should have just been a profile on the new Bond-to-be became a tabloid hit as everyone speculated what happened between her and Gabe. Ten years later, Gabe’s PR team reaches out to Chani asking her to do another feature on him. Chani is torn as the original article jumpstarted her career but she feels like it’s put her in a box. Additionally, she has complex feelings about Gabe and everything that happened that weekend. Ultimately, Chani decides to proceed with the reunion and things may never be the same again.
If you love a second-chance romance, this is your book! Funny You Should Ask was a fun, light read that I flew through in about two days. I loved the alternating timelines and the articles sprinkled throughout the book! I did get a bit frustrated with Chani’s mentality/behavior at times but overall loved the dynamic between her and Gabe.
Favorite Quote: “I didn’t think it was possible for so many words to come out of somebody’s mouth that quickly,” he said. “And I auditioned for Gilmore Girls.”
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
emmysforeverbooked's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Where do I start with this review... The main character felt insufferable for about 85% of the book, the writing style was just idek, and the ending??? Really???
I'm gonna flesh out each of these things just to kind of give you an insight as to why I didn't like each thing. But before I get started, please know that these things are not personal digs at the author, I'm sure she's great. This book, however, just did not do it for me. That's not to say you shouldn't pick it up if you think you'll like it! You read what interests you, these are just my personal opinions while I was reading it.
Chani. Chani, Chani, Chani. I feel weird even typing that because the love interest does, in fact, say that during the smut, which I will touch on later. But for now, I just need to rant about the main character for a sec. I honestly think that for once, if this had been dual POV, I would've enjoyed the guy's POV better. Other than Belly from The Summer I Turned Pretty, this is the most insufferable MC I have ever read about. This whole book felt like "Poor, pitiful me. I'm a famous writer and I have the best life ever but it doesn't matter because my life is actually awful since I didn't get to f!ck this hot celebrity man." Babes... this is like the entirety of stan twt complaining because they didn't get to sleep with a member of BTS. It would be nice, but it's just not going to happen.
And then when it did happen? After she spent 10 years complaining and sulking because she didn't take her opportunity to sleep with him and now she finally can, guess what? Her first instinct is to complain because it did happen 🤦🏻♀️
Which I guess brings me to my next point, the ✨️smut✨️ scene. Now my first complaint is that I had to wait 302 pages, nearly the entirety of the book, for her to say "we were tangled up like two horny octopuses." 😐 yep, you read that right. You know what the smut chapter felt like? 10 pages of glorified wattpad fanfiction. Especially when you consider that this man feels like a knock-off Tom Holland or someone like that. The smut in this book was just embarrassing...
Tbh the overall writing style was just... I don't even know how to take it. One minute, there would be fancy words I had to Google the definition of while the only variation of speaker tags we had were "I say" or "He asks". Like there were no other speaking verbs other than those two. Maybe this wouldn't bother someone else, but I'm autistic, I have to have tone indicators to know how I'm supposed to take these things.
Finally, because I could go on forever if you let me, I just need to release my anger for the ending. Because wtf was that? You just expect me to believe they haven't seen each other in a decade, then sleep together the day after they reunite, tell each other "F!ck you!" and basically break up despite not even being together, and their mutual friend sets them back up together all within a span of about 12 hours??? Girl wut?? And then you expect me to believe after they have a single conversation discussing their feelings for all of about five minutes, that they're happily married in the epilogue? I simply cannot compute.
All this being said, I do think this book would've been great as a Y/A book. Someone's thirteen year old daughter would eat this up if there wasn't a smut scene and a scene within the first ten pages of the book where MC thoroughly describes how hot and bothered Gabe Parker makes her feel with one glance over. So I think if you enjoy Y/A romance and celebrity romance, you'd probably enjoy this book. However, for me personally, it just wasn't what I wanted considering I picked this up on the premise that it was a contemporary romance.
I'm gonna flesh out each of these things just to kind of give you an insight as to why I didn't like each thing. But before I get started, please know that these things are not personal digs at the author, I'm sure she's great. This book, however, just did not do it for me. That's not to say you shouldn't pick it up if you think you'll like it! You read what interests you, these are just my personal opinions while I was reading it.
Chani. Chani, Chani, Chani. I feel weird even typing that because the love interest does, in fact, say that during the smut, which I will touch on later. But for now, I just need to rant about the main character for a sec. I honestly think that for once, if this had been dual POV, I would've enjoyed the guy's POV better. Other than Belly from The Summer I Turned Pretty, this is the most insufferable MC I have ever read about. This whole book felt like "Poor, pitiful me. I'm a famous writer and I have the best life ever but it doesn't matter because my life is actually awful since I didn't get to f!ck this hot celebrity man." Babes... this is like the entirety of stan twt complaining because they didn't get to sleep with a member of BTS. It would be nice, but it's just not going to happen.
And then when it did happen? After she spent 10 years complaining and sulking because she didn't take her opportunity to sleep with him and now she finally can, guess what? Her first instinct is to complain because it did happen 🤦🏻♀️
Which I guess brings me to my next point, the ✨️smut✨️ scene. Now my first complaint is that I had to wait 302 pages, nearly the entirety of the book, for her to say "we were tangled up like two horny octopuses." 😐 yep, you read that right. You know what the smut chapter felt like? 10 pages of glorified wattpad fanfiction. Especially when you consider that this man feels like a knock-off Tom Holland or someone like that. The smut in this book was just embarrassing...
Tbh the overall writing style was just... I don't even know how to take it. One minute, there would be fancy words I had to Google the definition of while the only variation of speaker tags we had were "I say" or "He asks". Like there were no other speaking verbs other than those two. Maybe this wouldn't bother someone else, but I'm autistic, I have to have tone indicators to know how I'm supposed to take these things.
Finally, because I could go on forever if you let me, I just need to release my anger for the ending. Because wtf was that? You just expect me to believe they haven't seen each other in a decade, then sleep together the day after they reunite, tell each other "F!ck you!" and basically break up despite not even being together, and their mutual friend sets them back up together all within a span of about 12 hours??? Girl wut?? And then you expect me to believe after they have a single conversation discussing their feelings for all of about five minutes, that they're happily married in the epilogue? I simply cannot compute.
All this being said, I do think this book would've been great as a Y/A book. Someone's thirteen year old daughter would eat this up if there wasn't a smut scene and a scene within the first ten pages of the book where MC thoroughly describes how hot and bothered Gabe Parker makes her feel with one glance over. So I think if you enjoy Y/A romance and celebrity romance, you'd probably enjoy this book. However, for me personally, it just wasn't what I wanted considering I picked this up on the premise that it was a contemporary romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Homophobia, and Cursing
Minor: Misogyny, Car accident, and Antisemitism
litbrett's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Addiction, and Alcoholism
alex_nicole's review against another edition
emotional
funny
relaxing
slow-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
3.25
This book is a great beach read. Would I say that it hooked me from the start? No not really. More towards the last 40% of it did it really want me to not put it down. I found myself asking questions that bothered me about the book more than intriguing me. HOWEVER. I did like the “twist” of
Spoiler
Ollie being gay and not able to be Bond because of the homophobia of the director.Spoiler
it was a twist I didn’t see coming and made SO MUCH SENSE. anywhooo read it if you’re in need of a second chance romance type of thang. Or if you like books about celebrities.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction
samarakroeger's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.0
when I picked this book up, I was planning on just reading the first chapter and then comparing it to the first chapter of a few other books that I might've wanted to read today. I didn't put this one down until I finished it. so much for trying a chapter.
anyways, more than anything, I just really enjoyed Sussman's writing. this is one of those rom-coms that is maybe lacking a little bit in the romance department, but is just a well-crafted and enjoyable book regardless of the plot. I love Emily Henry, and she totally fits into this category as well. it was tightly constructed, and the inclusion of the article/blog extracts was great. the book was well-paced, and while I would normally want the leads to spend more time actually together over the course of the book, I thought it worked pretty well plot-wise here. ah, the joys of reading something that has benefitted from the due diligence of a developmental editor.
this felt like it was somewhat inspired by Taylor Jenkins Reid, but just by the parts of her books that I like without the ridiculous melodrama and excessive sadness. here, you get a lovingly-depicted los angeles setting, multimedia extracts that act as quasi-unreliable narrators, short chapters, alternating timelines, family dynamics, and even some fake famous people. similar themes, but they felt less heavy-handed in the hands of Sussman.
anyways, more than anything, I just really enjoyed Sussman's writing. this is one of those rom-coms that is maybe lacking a little bit in the romance department, but is just a well-crafted and enjoyable book regardless of the plot. I love Emily Henry, and she totally fits into this category as well. it was tightly constructed, and the inclusion of the article/blog extracts was great. the book was well-paced, and while I would normally want the leads to spend more time actually together over the course of the book, I thought it worked pretty well plot-wise here. ah, the joys of reading something that has benefitted from the due diligence of a developmental editor.
this felt like it was somewhat inspired by Taylor Jenkins Reid, but just by the parts of her books that I like without the ridiculous melodrama and excessive sadness. here, you get a lovingly-depicted los angeles setting, multimedia extracts that act as quasi-unreliable narrators, short chapters, alternating timelines, family dynamics, and even some fake famous people. similar themes, but they felt less heavy-handed in the hands of Sussman.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Homophobia
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
laranarenee's review against another edition
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Alcohol
diadoodle's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Alcoholism, and Addiction