Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Funny You Should Ask

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

67 reviews

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.

Content Warnings

librarianjennifer's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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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.

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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.

Content Warnings

readingwithmeredith's review

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lighthearted 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

3.5

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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

Spoiler

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

Content Warnings

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!

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mjwhitlock18's review

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emotional funny

3.5

A slow-burn, second chance romance between Gabe Parker, a movie star cast to play the new James Bond, and Chani Horowitz, the journalist hired to write a profile about him. After a wild weekend that leaves rumors spiraling, they part ways. Now, 10 years later, she gets an offer to write another piece on him. They’re both drastically different people, but some things haven’t changed.

I listened to this on audiobook, and the narrator did a great job using voices to distinguish characters (even if her British accent is subpar). The timeline alternates between the present and a decade ago, which occasionally got confusing when I was listening (might’ve been easier if I was reading a hard copy), but if I gave it enough time, I was usually able to pick up by context.

Ollie is one of my favorite side characters ever. I wish he’d gotten more development, but he’s such a good friend and voice of reality. I appreciate how realistic and flawed the main characters are; Gabe isn’t the perfect golden boy and Chani is a bit cringe tbh. It has some insta-love vibes, which aren’t always my thing. Feels a bit like fan fiction at times, but take it at face value, and it’s a cute, easy, satisfying read.

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

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